Oh, my goodness, WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?? I had all of these grandiose ideas for getting this blog going and it seems like every time I have an idea or something to put on my blog, something gets in the way. We are so busy in my room right now finishing up assessments, our nonfiction genre study, and all of the other loose ends that come with the end of the school year. I know that May has only begun, but we all know how quickly the end of the school year comes. So, I got the kick in the pants I needed to get this going again. Lovely Shannon at K:Double Stuffed gave me the nicest shout out after I gave her an idea for Sight Word work. Thank you, Shannon! How can I not be re-energized after such kind words. So, here is my public declaration that I will get this blog going...for real this time!
To kick it off, I thought I would share what we are currently working on in math. MONEY. The kiddos love seeing money and talking about money, but it is sometimes tricky for them to remember which coin is which and how much it is worth. In my room, we are fortunate enough to have an ELMO and projector and the kiddos love watching videos from HarryKindergarten. He has some wonderful videos that deal with money. Here is their favorite. (I love listening to them try to sing like Rhonda Crigger!)
We have also created an anchor chart for each coin after reading these books from Scholastic. We sing a song for each coin as well (some more elaborate than others):
Quarter (to the tune of Frere Jacques) What's a Quarter? What's a Quarter? It is money. It is money. It's worth twenty-five cents, and it has George Washington. That's a Quarter. That's a Quarter.
Dime and Nickel (to Mary Had a Little Lamb) A Dime is worth ten cents, ten cents, t-en cents. A Dime is worth ten cents, and it has a head and tail.
A Nickel is worth five cents, five cents, fi-ive cents. A Nickel is worth five cents, and it has a head and tail.
Penny (to London Bridge) Whose fine face is on the penny, on the penny, on the penny? Whose fine face is on the penny? Abraham Lincoln!
Could there be a more fun day in kindergarten?? I love the 100th day celebration every year, and try to add a different activity each year. We repeat all day long, "We're 100 days smarter!" Our 100th day is Tuesday, so I have spent the last couple of weeks compiling activities that I want to do. In my building, there are 4 sections of kindergarten. We plan on spending the morning rotating our kiddos among the 4 rooms for different activities. Here is what they will be doing in each room:
Room 1: 100 footprints You may have seen this activity around the internet and it works perfectly for our classes this year. We have 95 kindergarteners, so each one will trace and decorate their own footprint. Then, each teacher will do one, and for the 100th footprint, we've asked our principal to trace and decorate her footprint. I think it will be so cool to not only see each individual design, but for the students to see how far our 100 footprints can reach.
Room 2: 100 glasses Students will decorate and wear glasses that look like the number 100. After they have completed their glasses, they will wear them to help them look for numbers around the room.
Room 3: 100 hat Students will decorate a 100 cutout with 100 dots. It will then be attached to sentence strips or construction paper strips to make it into a crown. They love wearing these around all day.
Room 4: $100 book Students will receive a book with a $100 bill on the front and 3 blank pages inside. They will write "If I had $100, I would buy..." on the inside of the cover, and then draw and write one thing on each page that they would buy if they had $100. The students love getting their very own $100 bill.
Some other activities I am doing with my students in the afternoon:
Hershey's kiss hunt. I hide 100 Hershey's kisses around the room with colored dots on the bottom and numbers from 1-100. When a student finds one of the kisses they bring it up to a 100's chart I have laying out on a table and place it on the matching number.
Fruit Loop Necklace. Students will string Fruit Loops on yarn in groups of 10 by color until they have 100 on their necklace. This can also be enjoyed as a treat later!
100 snack. Each student brings 100 of a small food item. (i.e. cheerios, M & M's, raisins, etc.) They count their snack out on a small 100's chart and I take their picture. Each student puts their snack into a large bowl and we have a snack made up of everyone's items. (I suggest giving them a plastic glove from your cafeteria to avoid germs) :)
100 signatures. About a week before the 100th day, I send the students home with a sheet that has room for 100 signatures. They are supposed to try and collect 100 by the 100th day and bring in their paper to share. We also hang a poster outside our room that says, "We're collecting 100 signatures for the 100th Day! Can you help us out?" Then when other teachers, students, the principal, custodians, etc. pass by, they can sign it for us. Another way for students to see just how many 100 is.
I would love to hear your 100th day ideas. I'm working on getting printables for some of these activities up as well. Enjoy!
I have been wanting to start a blog to place all of my thoughts about kindergarten. Funny stories about my kiddos, and ideas for other educators. I have always loved collaborating with other educators, and to be able to do that on a larger scale excites me. So, here you'll find some of my ideas, and hopefully you can share some of yours. Enjoy!
