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Sunday, September 30, 2012

Halloween Party Centers

Halloween bowling with pins
Skeleton Man with Pasta (dried)

       Halloween Fun
            Centers

**  Orange play-dough with Halloween cookie cutters

** Halloween Bingo

Race: Who can pick up the most
paper spiders and get them in
their can the fastest!


Witches Broom Limbo


Sensory - Reach inside and feel
what is labeled on the outside!
This year - make cute outside labels.



Halloween Learning Centers

Counting Halloween Seeds *
Pumpkin Alphabet Match *
Pumpkin Measuring *
I am a (costume). Writing then made into
a class book. Writing was glued next to their
picture.
* These are in a free download on TPT.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Ten Apples on Top (apple activities)

I like to jump into this after celebrating Johnny Appleseed's birthday because it connects with apples which is perfect for fall.

Read the book Ten Apples on Top by Dr. Seuss.

Student picture (or they can draw their face) and add apples on top of their head.  I used tiny di-cuts, but the apples could be drawn too.
   (I have students draw a number and that is the number of apples they get on top of their head)

Five Apples on Top Emergent Reader

Di-cut large apples, hole punch holes around the edge - kids sew around the apple with yarn (fine motor skill)  (Could laminate these and have as a permanent center activity.)

Apple Tree Number Matching (print, laminate and cut)

Apples: Sink or Float?  (science)

Color by Number

Apples on my tree art



















Opinion writing and art
Favorite color apple









I have ___apples up on top!
Writing and math activity











Johnny Appleseed and Apples Unit

Johnny Appleseed's Birthday Celebration  My APPLES UNIT for $3
                Celebrate his birthday with a day dedicated to Johnny Chapman!

Celebration Ideas:
Read a book about Johnny Appleseed
Watch a video about Johnny Appleseed  (9 minutes)
Johnny Chapman visits (wearing cut off jeans and plaid shirt and a pot on his head)
     He tells what it was like out planting seeds. Sometimes I get lucky enough where I get a man who
     knows how to play the guitar which the kids love!

Apple Centers (Open centers - students choose which to go to and in what order they want)
    1. Applesauce Scensory Table
    2. Apple Tasting and Graphing
    3. "I like (color) apples." sentence writing and then paint their apple
    4. Apple Patterns
    5. Apple Number Sequencing
    6. Apple Sorting and Graphing
    7. Apple Stamping (suggestion: cut out wedges on the tops of the stamp so they are easier to pull out)
    8. Johnny Appleseed picture (next to a tree with a pot on their head and apple)

Apple Sauce Sensory Fun
    9. Apple tree hand and foot art (then they get to count out and put some apples on their tree with a
    sentence that reads "I see _____ apples on my tree."
10. Scrap paper apple fill art
Apple Tasting and Graphing
Favorite Apple writing and painting.
I put these out on the table for the students to
copy their favorite color in the sentence.
Apple Stamping
Johnny Appleseed pictures
            
I printed the apple labels to show students
which center was what number for their mark
off sheet.
Apple Number Sequencing
plus counting apples
Scrap Paper Apple Fill Art
Johnny Appleseed pictures
Johnny Appleseed Visits!


Discussions:
Why is it so important that Johnny Appleseed help plant appleseeds all over the country?
Why did Johnny Appleseed wear a pot around on his head?
What would be hard about traveling around planting seeds?
What would be fun about traveling around planting seeds?
What was your favorite activity of the day?
Have you ever been apple picking?

Shared Writing: (students help write the words with teacher help)
Describe an apple using scenses on any organizer
Class writing a sentences (We like apples because ___, ___, and ___)
Class writing a paragraph about apples (older than beginning Kindergarten)

Additional Items in my Johnny Appleseed-Apples Unit
*  Apple Opinion (goes along with tasting, graphing, writing and art from above centers.
*  "I see # of apples on my tree."  Apple Tree (hands and feet) art (includes sentence strips)
*  3 various counting apples reader (focusing on the word "have") plus numbers in 5 frames (1-10)
*  1/2 sheet homework or classwork math concept pages (patterns, counting numbers, identifying  
     numbers, number sequencing and writing, adding apples
* Apple Sorting and graphing half pages (also practices tally marks) - need to cut out or di-cut or
   have apples on hand for sorting.
* Apples: Sink or Float Experiment (teacher and parent instructions only)
* "I have # apples on my head" portrait and sentence

Cycle of Apple Tree Life video

Apple Tree Game


The students have 5 seconds to come up and pick an apple off the tree and read the apple. If they read it in 5 seconds they get to keep their apple. My apples had upper and lowercase letters (uppercase on 1 side, lowercase on other side) - some were showing uppercase while some were lowercase. The students got to pick the apple of their choice, so they felt good about knowing the letter on the apple.

Could use this same concept with math or sight words. 



Thursday, September 6, 2012

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Christmas



Christmas Tree - Color ornaments color game  (Spin for colors)

Math Games:
Silver Bells - match numbers with dots (written on the bottom of kisses)
Sort ornament designs on tree mats
Reindeer Chow - Sort and Graph  (M & Ms, marshmallows, pretzels, chex ect.) in circles
Stockings - count stocking items, mark on page



Animal Report

Student Animal Reports:  
Assignment:  Students create poster, mobile, diagram, book or something else to teach about an animal.

Research: Students pick an animal book from the school library to check out and take home to read. They write down some notes on their brainstorm paper.  They are encouraged to use more research options.

Presentation: 
After the students complete their project they share their animal report with the class and teach about their animal.


Important Dates (celebrations)

Dates and celebrations for my Kindergarten Years

September 8 - Grandparent's Day

September 26 - Johnny Appleseed's Birthday

October 31 - Halloween Fun

November - Thanksgiving Feast (3rd Thursday)

December - Christmas Around the World (Germany last for our party)

January - Martin Luther King Jr. (3rd Monday)

February 2 - Groundhog's Day
February 14- Valentine's Day
February        President's Day (3rd Monday)

March 2 - Dr. Seuss's Birthday
March 17 - St. Patrick's Day

April 22 - Earth Day

May - Mother's Day (2nd Sunday)

June - Father's Day (3rd Sunday)


Activity ideas are under Holidays and Celebrations