Play-Dough Snowmen

First of all, let me say how good it is to sit down and blog.  Life has been so busy!

We had our first snow about a week ago. It happened over a weekend so I didn't get to bring any in for the kids to play with.   I thought it would be fun to see them make snowmen with pay dough.

  I have to admit, I am a one color at a time kinda girl! 

 Mixing the play dough colors drives me CRAZY! 

 So, I modeled how to carefully build a snowman and then take it apart without mixing the colors.  I was blown away by their creativity.  Check these adorable snowmen and snowgirls out!

We had to get fresh play dough after this one, but the story that was being told as she built her snowgirl a beautiful dress was priceless!

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Here's a little Christmas freebie for you! 

Just a fun way to practice one to one correspondence and number recognition.

Just click on the page below and get it for free at my TPT Store.

Ocean Week in Preschool

I love ocean week! It is different every year and I always learn something new myself!  I begin by reading a few ocean books to the kids and then ask them which animals they would like to learn about.  I write down each student's answer on a poster and we get started.  Each day we take 1-2 of the animals on the list to learn about.  As we learn about each animal we actually make that animal and add it to the class bulletin board.  The student's share what they have learned and we write their answers on bubbles to add to the board.  Here is the finished bulletin board.   

Here are a few behind the scene shots.....

 

  I can't bring the ocean into the classroom or take the students to the beach.  What's the next best thing?  Goldfish in the sensory table!  I didn't get a very good picture this year of the fish.  The kids absolutely love watching them for a few days!

Here are a few pictures of some of the ocean themed centers that were open during the week.  These are activities from my "Ocean and Beach Fun Unit", available at my TpT Store.  

This is a freebie I made, "Ocean Hidden Pictures".

  Fun activity to use for counting and number writing practice.

We ended our two week ocean unit with a beach party!  The students brought their swim suits, beach towels and sunglasses for our "indoor" beach party.  After watching some videos of kids surfing and listening to some Beach Boy's  music we were ready to make our own surf boards. 

Surf's up!!

TpT Cyber Sale and Snowmen!

In case you haven't heard yet.....

TPT is having a HUGE sale!  

Monday and Tuesday only, are you ready?

There is a chance of snow here later this week!  I'm soooo excited!

I made this for my kiddos to celebrate!

Check it out now, but wait until tomorrow to snatch it up!

Have a great week!

This Week in Pre K... "Scarecrows"

A big thank you to Deedee Wills and everyone that entered the monster give away this weekend! 

Those are always so much fun! 

I worked on a new unit to go along with my scarecrow week.
You can get it in my TpT Store. It will be 10% off today only!

I am linking up with Deedee from Mrs. Wills Kindergarten.  Great ideas to be shared!

Thanks Deedee!

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Going Batty and a FREEBIE!

All you need are two ladders, a broom handle, and some tape!

  We had some gross motor fun today by hanging upside down like bats!  

The kids loved it!!

We had some fine motor fun too while working on number recognition and counting!

Here's a little FREEBIE for everyone! 

Enjoy!

This Week in Pre-K...."Bats"

This week we will be learning about bats!  

The kids are naturally interested in these spooky creatures this time of year.  By the end of the week, they will have learned just how useful these little creatures are to us. I created a new product to add to my science and math centers this week. It focuses on teaching the differences between bats and birds, bat themed counting and number recognition, and other nocturnal animals. Look for it in my TpT store. 

I am linking up with Deedee from Mrs. Wills Kindergarten.  Great ideas to be shared!

Thanks Deedee!

Here is some of the fun we had today...

Christopher Columbus Art!

Bat vs. Bird
We had a great discussion while playing this as a class about the differences between bats and birds.  Tomorrow this will be open as an independent center.

Have a great week!

Roly Polies

I can't believe I have never seen this before!  One of my former students caught a roly poly and brought it to my class to show me.  At first I thought, oh a roly poly......nothing too exciting. 

 Then I saw it!!!! 

 Teeny tiny roly poly babies!  Apparently roly poly mommies carry their eggs in a pouch.  After the babies hatch, they stay in the pouch for several days before leaving to explore their new world. 

  I love unexpected moments!!!

Going underground! 

 The kids loved playing with our tub of plastic insects underground.  They built tunnels and houses with the blocks for the insects as well as pretending to be insects themselves!

This is the beginning of the insect mural the kids are creating.  I am out today and tomorrow for meetings. 

 I can't wait to see how it turned out when I get back Friday!

Check out these patterns!  We have only practiced AB patterns.

  They came up with AABB and ABB on their own!

They had fun counting and matching numbers this week.  

Bugs are awesome!

This Week in Pre K ..."Fall and Apples"

Welcome Fall!!! 

 I'm so thankful for the four beautifully different seasons! 

This week we will be learning about our new season, apples, and worms!

Yes, worms!  

I am linking up with Deedee from Mrs. Wills Kindergarten.  Great ideas to be shared!

Thanks Deedee!

My Lesson Plans, "Fall and Apples"

Tip: To print on 8x11 paper click "Fit to scale" before printing.

A closer look...

You can find the words to these super cute songs / finger plays at the site below:

http://www.preschoolexpress.com/music_station07/fall-leaves-songs-rhymes-sep07.shtml

Hope you have a great week!

Colors and Patterns

Three weeks in and we are doing great!  

My kiddos are getting much faster at the color hunt game.  We play it everyday.  Some of them get really excited about being the first one back to the rug while others like to get a little more creative on the item they find.  The language part of the game is improving too.  They are learning the correct names of items around the room.  Scissors are no longer "cutters" and hot pads from the home center are no longer "blankets".

I introduced patterns for the first time today through a community helpers game I made over the weekend.  I was amazed at how fast they picked it up!  

Hope you all have a great week!

Community Helpers - Construction Workers

Today we discussed how important construction workers are to our community. 

 They build all kinds of buildings....Wal Mart, McDonalds, churches, hospitals, banks, and even our school! We learned the names of some of the tools they use and  had some fun.

Measuring some wood for my building!  I will teach them how to really measure later in the year. 

 For now, this is more about the jobs and tools of a construction worker. 

 It's a great way to get number recognition in your block area! 

I used some nuts and bolts from Lakeshore and made up a fun game to play.  I  handed each student either a nut or a bolt and had them hide it behind their back.  When I said "GO!" they had to find a friend that had the matching piece and put them together.  Fun way to build problem solving skills, fine motor, cooperation, math-color and shape match, and reviewing new friend's names. 

The picture is a little blurry, they were in a hurry to find their match!