November Quilt

I'm really late posting this due to family issues this fall that took precedence of course. But it's never to late to post. I hope you find some great ideas for next year.

I simply love the fall and all the wonderful activities that go along with it. This November we made our wall quilt using pilgrims and the infamous turkey hand print. The pilgrims reflected the gender of each student as well as their skin tone. We are all pilgrims, right? I love to see how the students create their self-portrait as a pilgrim. I've done this for several years now and they really love making these. This year we put the boys' on a red background and the girls' on an orange background. With all of the turkeys on yellow, the end result was very eye catching. It helped to have an even number of boys and girls too so it would work out perfectly. But I also have two more students than what I have space for on the pre-made quilt so I feature those on our classroom door. Each month, I rotate who is on the door so everyone gets an opportunity to shine.

Here is what the finished quilt looks like, along with some close ups...

Hope you get some great ideas from this! Happy creating!

October Quilt

We are just "fall"-ing for our October Quilt! Each student made a tissue paper pumpkin and a hand print spider.

 The pumpkins were made with small paper plates and tissue paper. One thing we have learned about using paper plates, especially for the quilt, is to flatten them out prior to using.  The students were given orange and yellow tissue squares to make the pumpkin. The students put the yellow squares on first, then added the orange squares. I really like how the yellow shows through. In the close-up below, it looks like the pumpkin has eyebrows! Brown tissue squares were used for the face. The stems were made from green construction paper and glued on. The completed pumpkin was then mounted on purple construction paper.

For the spider, we drew webs on black construction paper using a white crayon. Purple paint, with a little glitter added, was used for the hand print spider. The thumb was not painted and the hand stamped twice, in two directions to make the body and eight legs. The palm on the second print was laid on top of the palm from the first print. Wiggly eyes were added for a final touch!

At the end of the year, all quilt pieces made by a student will be put together for an end of the year keepsake book. Each month features a hand print and seasonal craft.

Pumpkin Jack

A wonderful and delightful story about the life cycle of a pumpkin. The students not only enjoyed it but actually got it! So exciting! 

Using the story as our focus book for a week, we explored mental imaging, vocabulary, made connections, learned about life cycle of a pumpkin, inferred how the story might continue, and carved our very own pumpkin!  

Since election day is coming up, I thought it might be fun to learn about the democratic process. So we voted on the type of face to carve. The students helped with cleaning and prepping the pumpkin then I took over for the carving. (I know, I got the best part) The students were so excited! Inspired by the story, we wanted to name our pumpkin too. Back to voting we went. I am please to introduce you to...

"Is-A-Bella"

our class pumpkin!  

She's a pretty happy one, isn't she! This time of year is always super fun in the classroom. 

We also learned a chant "Jack-o-lantern, Jack-o-lantern, what do you see?" then wrote the response using sight words we have been learning.  The chant whole chant is:

Jack-o-lantern, Jack-o-lantern, What do you see?I see _____Looking at me.

To add to the fun, we made some pretty adorable pumpkins. The results were too cute! We just had to put them on the bulletin board for all to see. 

The vine has the title of the chant "Jack-o-lantern, Jack-o-lantern, What do you see?" with one word per leaf.

Recess Queen

If you haven't read "Mean Jean the Recess Queen" by Alexis O'Neill, I highly recommend it for the start up of your school year. What a great way to open up discussion on bullying and how to reach out to others.

From making connections to our own experiences, looking closer at the characters, diving into vocabulary, and even discussing why Jean behaved the way she did. It was interesting to watch the students explore and share their thoughts. Their drawings were very detailed and certainly had a lot to say about what their favorite part of the story was. As mentioned in my last blog, we posted writings on their favorite part on Padlet. I also made a bulletin board of our work. I printed a color photo of a  screen shot of our Padlet project along with a QR code so other students and teachers in our school can access it online.

Want to see the Padlet as well. Using a QR code reader, scan the image below and it should take you to it.

We Discovered Padlet!

We created in Padlet today! The students drew a response to reading Mean Jean the Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill.They wrote about their favorite part in the story. The results were really something. Many of them added details that I hadn't seen in their writing/drawing so far this school year. I think having their work posted on Padlet made the difference by challenging them to do their best. I shared this with the parents on Class Dojo's classroom story board as well. The response was so positive! With results like this, I'm doing it every week. :-)

McNorrill's Marvelous Crew

Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon

What a wonderful story to use at the beginning of the school year! 
Students learn a great deal from Molly Lou, like how to love your uniqueness (plus uniqueness in others) and how to handle a bully. Molly Lou is really small (but taller than her dog), has buck teeth, has a voice that sounds like a bullfrog being squeezed by a boa constrictor, and can be clumsy. But her grandmother always told her to stand tall, sing loud and to believe in herself. When she moves to a new town, a bully tries to make her feel bad about herself, but Molly Lou stands tall against the bully.

To bring the lesson closer to home, the students shared ways they feel special. Using the responses the students gave, we made a giant sunflower to display in the hallway. The students are proud of it and were eager to find their petal. I saw some really great ideas on Pinterest and the web for Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon craft ideas. Since I teach kindergarten and writing is a challenge at this time of year, I wrote their responses then had them sign their own names. We are also focusing on building classroom community. Our one giant sunflower is an example of our classroom family. To finish off the display, I made a small color poster of the book cover and added a little write up on the story. Needless to say, I'm really excited about the end result!

"Tis the Day Before School

"Tis the Day Before School

'Tis the day before school starts and all through the town,

busy teachers and students are everywhere to be found

The classrooms are cleaned; each desk arranged with care

with hopes that great learning will soon happen there.

School zones signs flash, lighting up morning traffic

causing groggy commuters a small bit of panic.

“Make sure you slow down,” these signs warn,

“for tomorrow morning, young children will swarm.”

Out and about, sun-tanned students visit store after store

using supply lists to gather pens, paper, pencils and more.

Meanwhile, inside the schools, teachers collaborate, copy and plan

Making sure they are ready foreach young woman and man.

Down in the lobby, new students check in

and counselors, office staff and administrators grin;

good thing they are greeted by such an incredible team

cause high enrollment is bursting each building seam.

Over in the library a group of teachers is meeting 

working hard to make sure that their lessons are keeping

with standards based units, concepts and assessments,

as well as individual student needs and investments.

The past week of in-service workshops

were enough to make any educators’ head drop.

But each moment closer to meeting our classes

makes even the most boring PD session seem painless.

The afternoon wanes and I look around my desk

which is slowly gathering its school-year mess,

“Summer freedom feels fleeting,” I sigh,

as I look at the forms and papers stacking high.

As I get overwhelmed, thoughts of students interrupt my musings

and I pause to think of the rosters created by a computer’s choosing.

each of these children will soon be in my care

and I grow excited about all the adventures we will share.

All summer long, I’ve been reading and thinking

about all the ways I can be more engaging.

Professional literature and educational tweets

are all fodder for ideas and plans I can now complete.

So bring on the students, the learning and fun,

even though it is hard to get up before the sun.

For each of my teacher friends far and near

know that the 2015/2016 school year is here!

-Author Unknown