Autumn!

Here is a simple apple pie matching game to make for your ABC center: print off pie clip art and apple slices, cut & laminate, and write upper/lower case letters. You could easily change out the letters with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser..OR you could switch it and make it a math game! Students can record their letter or number matches on paper, white board, or even a magnadoodle! 

Mmmmm...the smells of Autumn!  We passed around spices, used our "sense of smell," and guessed what the spices could be!  Here are some of the spices we smelled: cinnamon, cloves, apple pie spice, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, and dried orange spice (Target!). After smelling the spices, students can create spice art! Mix a little watered down white glue with spices. Use paint brushes and thick paper. Students will take home some sweet smelling paintings! 

We set up a practical life station during centers. Students were able to grate their own cinnamon! I found these large cinnamon sticks at an Amish bakery but McCormick sells smaller cinnamon sticks (near the spices in the baking aisle of the grocery store).

I don't think I will ever get this song out of my head!  The kids love it and it is quite catchy! "Herman the Worm" by The Learning Station.  We gave each student a worm (half of a pipe cleaner). This song includes counting, sequencing, and measurement!  Students stuff their "worm" in their hand and as Herman eats, students pull out a little bit more of their pipe cleaner..showing small, bigger, longer!! ..and then he burps! ..and he goes back to small again.. It's a fun song!! doowop doowop! 

Here is another activity we did this week... I first saw the idea on kindergartenkindergarten.com.  It's called "Find the Worm."  I printed off apples..laminated them...and then used a sharpie to write the numerals, number words, and counting dots.  (Write over the laminate..so then later you can wipe it off and use the apples for something else!) We used a small piece of green pipe cleaner for the worm..yarn would work too..(or how about one of those rubber fishing worms!? ..maybe next year!)  We played this activity every day this week as an intro. game for our math group time.  The apples were arranged in a different pattern each day...ABAB..ABC..ABBA.. and after the worm was found I had extra apples on hand so the students could take turns finishing the pattern... Another way to play: Hand out the apples to the students..then they take turns arranging the apples in order...then one student could hide the worm.  Patterning, number identification, counting, colors, and ordering...LOVE IT!

Other things we did with apples this week:

-Finished simple patterns with real apples and created our own patterns with real apples!

-Graphed apples and taste tested apple butter!

-Measured ourselves with real apples, compared heights, and took turns measuring things around the classroom (with apples!)

-Played "Pin the Apple on the Tree" ..used the apples from the pocket chart, masking tape, scarf for blindfold, and butcher paper tree.

-Played "Meet Me at the Top of the Apple Tree" game.. the class was split into two teams. We laid out our butcher paper tree on the carpet and I had drawn a grid up the trunk. Teams rolled a jumbo dice and raced their beanie babies up the tree! (We used a worm and a snake..a chipmunk or bird would work too! OR print off clip art and laminate!) 

-We went apple picking! Red pom poms were hidden all over the classroom. Students worked with partners to collect 5 apples in their baskets. (We used berry baskets that I scored at a garage sale!)  Students had to determine with their partners if they had five apples, more than five, or less than five.

-Apple Eruptions!!! ..Students took turns stirring a bowl  filled with a cup of baking soda and some spices (Students used their sense of smell and they chose their spices..cinnamon, apple pie spice, etc.)...  Then, we dropped food coloring (experimented with a couple of colors!) into vinegar. I cut out holes on the tops of apples..Students took turns filling the apples with the baking soda mixture and (carefully) pouring the vinegar over top. We watched and listened to all the millions of  tiny popping bubbles.. At one point, we decided to try three apples at one time, each apple with a different color.. and then we watched the colors mix. This activity allowed students to use their senses, predict, experiment, and witness cause and effect! It was a super cool experiment that I highly recommend!  

Click here for more fall fun from Pre-K Tweets! 

Winter in Pre-K

Just a couple photos to share from some of our winter pre-k activities... Students counted the letters in their name, counted snowballs, wrote their letters, and created these cute snowmen! 

We filled up the Grinch with hearts by performing extra acts of kindness! 

We read the book "The Mitten" which I have come to love.. there are SO many ideas, lessons, activities that can tie into the mitten on all subjects!
-We measured ourselves with mittens and compared our heights when we discussed small, tall, and small, medium, large!
-We used a thermometer in and outside of a mitten and discussed how mittens and clothing keep us warm!
-Students acted out The Mitten characters by wearing animal masks
(from http://www.janbrett.com/mitten_masks_main.htm) and squeezing into a mitten (masking tape on carpet)!
-Discussed winter animals and hibernation!
-Compared mittens and gloves!
-Designed our own mittens!
-Talked about the color white, camouflage, and snow!

Snow sensory tub:  snow plows, dump trucks, snowman beanie babies, mitten christmas ornaments, forest animals, berries, pinecones, mini trees, clear glass gems for ice, fake snow, cotton batting,
pipe cleaners and beads, and diff. size pom poms.

Snow globe art! We used a pencil eraser for snowflakes...

Torn paper wreaths... used a circle punch for the ornaments, scrap ribbon, construct. paper, and paper plates!

Little Red Hen

I just found the photos from our Little Red Hen on one of my many camera cards... We did this unit after Fall/Pumpkins/Apples.. leading up to Thanksgiving..and right before our Gingerbread Man unit.  Our student "I Can" statements were about answering questions/asking questions about the story, counting sets, and identifying shapes. 

We had many cooking/baking projects including mixing homemade bread! The kids measured and mixed and I took the bread home and baked it.  I found a really easy recipe from Steamy Kitchen http://steamykitchen.com/168-no-knead-bread-revisited.html  The post says "so easy a 4 year old can do it!"and  it was THAT easy! It is no fail, really tasty bread that I have made several times now for family since our unit. 

For counting sets, students counted baked snacks like crackers and even mini chocolate cookies (cookie crisp cereal!).  We read many different versions of the little red hen, including "Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza." Students created paper plate pizzas with paper shapes..they turned out really cute..have to find the photo I took..it's somewhere on one of those camera cards : )

Sign for our pretend bakery that I made last year.  I used images of real life bakers, breads, and pastries. I found these great stickers at Michaels. 

My mother in law made this really cool pie.. she has been making all kinds of "amigurumi" foods and characters for our classroom! 

Small, medium and large amigurumi cookies, fortune cookies, felt cinn. rolls, and cookies... varied textures and sizes!

I picked up some baking tins and trays from the dollar store for our pretend bakery : )

Here are some of our read aloud stories.. I highly recommend "Cook-a-Doodle-Doo!"  For next year I plan to have the class make mini strawberry shortcakes.. wouldn't that be fun?! I put some of our stories in our pretend center along with some cookbooks/recipe cards I took from my kitchen.

We read "The Best Mouse Cookie" before we counted sets with cookie crisp cereal...it's so much fun to incorporate literacy with other subjects!

For the sensory tub, students sifted, poured, measured, and drew letters in flour.

We opened up our play dough center for molding and baking cupcakes and cookies.  I also added in some fall cookie cutters. I found the plastic table cloth for cheap at Big Lots. They had a ton of cute table cloths, including yellow and teal with white polka dots! (Which I also just had to pick up) : )

Cherry pie was the theme for our math center.. After the read aloud I kept the book in the center..students played hi ho cherrio (which I found at a garage sale for a buck over the summer!). I had some mini pie tins and created a little play dough counting game. 

And TADAAAA!!! my new blocks center curtains!  The fabric is from Hobby Lobby. LOVE!

Farm!

Farm theme has been so much fun so far! We are in week one..with two more weeks of this theme.  For an art project the students made their own interpretation of farm animals. We read farm books including, "On the Farm" and "The Big Red Barn." I pre-cut barns out of construction paper and then the students drew their sleeping farm animals inside their barn. They chose to enhance their animals with cotton, yarn, and feathers that I supplied in plastic shoe boxes on the table. Raffia "hay" was included.  I love how their interpretations turned out! 

"Horse and chickens!" 

"Sheep, horse, pig, and scarecrow!"

The "owl" is so creative!

This is our newly opened science center. We are growing corn seeds in the window..some are already sprouting as of this week! 

The science center for farm theme includes chicken "sound" eggs.  (taped plastic eggs filled with rice, cotton, beans, beads, etc) We held a "share square" on the carpet and I introduced/modeled the new science activities and tools. They learned the terms: tweezers, tongs, magnifying glass, and safety goggles. 

This tray activity is called "Chicken Feather Sorting."  We've been talking about colors this week, so I grabbed a bunch of leftover feathers from our barn projects and the colored milk pails from last weeks sensory center, and put this activity together.  The mini pails are actually from the mini desserts at Logan's Roadhouse! I found the trays last year in Target's summer aisle. I love using the trays because the activity is already set up, the students just take it off the shelf to the table, do the activity, and back to the shelf..

Corn seed counting/one to one correspondence. Ice cube trays are so handy!

The kids loved this fine motor activity! I bought mini corn cobs at southern agriculture and students could pick off the corn kernels with tweezers! The shoe box really helped with keeping the corn kernels off the floor.  We can use the corn kernels for other activities and the cob for a painting project!  It took one week for the kids to pick off one mini corn kernel.

Welcome to our "Down Home Breakfast Cafe!"  The cute eggs and bacon were made by my mother in law!  The cow napkins are actually bandannas.  The cafe also serves up a variety of boxed cereals, milk, butter, juices, donuts, and muffins. The breakfast cafe idea came from my great co-teachers! 

I also incorporated some English/Spanish food/family/farm books.

I purchased the the mixer, blender, toaster, and teapot at a garage sale..all as a set for for under five dollars! The cute berries were made by my mother in law too!

Reading center complete with a Mrs. Wishy Washy tub with animal puppets and scrub brushes inside. The students and I have been singing the "Wishy Washer Woman" song: (with hand motions!)

"Way down in the valley where nobody goes..is the wishy washer woman washin' her clothes.
She goes ooh ahh..ooh ahh. And that's how the wishy washer woman washes her clothes.

Way down in the valley where nobody goes..is the wishy washer woman blowin' her nose.
She goes achoo, achoo, achoo, achoo! And that's how the wishy washer woman blows her nose!"

Farm and color picture books and an easel that is soon to house an interactive laminated barn scene.

This is a vocab./letter match tray activity for ABC center..I found the cards at  http://www.2teachingmommies.com/2011/09/on-farm-expanded.html

Students dig through corn kernels to find scrabble letters and match them to vocab. words. This idea is from  http://katherinemariephotography.com/blog/archives/9197/copyright-katherine-marie-228   

Letter matching with clothespins and cards for free from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Farm-Center-Printables

This math tray activity is free from  http://www.2teachingmommies.com/2011/09/on-farm-expanded.html

Farm sensory tub..the oatmeal idea is from my next door pre-k teachers. I would have never thought of oatmeal!  The tub includes tractors ( I didn't have any farm type tractors, so I used construction tractors), garden tools, plastic baggies to fill and dump, a silo, and plastic farm animals (grocery store purchase). 

This tracing activity is in our writing center. I laminated the printables so students could use the dry erase markers. The cards are from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Farm-Center-Printables

Farm animal stencils are also included in the writing center.

This has nothing to do with farm but this is an update photo of our drop off station.  Students are responsible for getting their folder out of their backpack and placing it in the owl tub. I check and sign the folders and place them in their mailboxes. Any artwork or journal papers they complete..they are responsible for putting them in their mailboxes. They are also responsible for taking their folders out at the end of the day. I purchased the mailbox unit for $5 at a garage sale..it was an ugly fake wood paneling ..so I painted it bright teal to match the room!