super. simple. snowmen.

Last week we compared fiction & non-fiction with snowmen.

The first day we read Snowmen at Night & made an anchor chart about the elements of fiction stories.  {they have illustrations, make-believe elements, a problem/solution, a beginning middle & end, characters and you read it just for fun}

The next day we read How To Make a Snowperson on Reading A-Z and made an anchor chart about the elements of non-fiction stories.  {they have photographs, teach you something, don't have to be read in order, may have a table of contents, labels, etc}

Then we wrote on snowballs to show what we learned!  On the top snowball, they wrote to tell how they know that Snowmen at Night is fiction.  On the bottom snowball, they wrote to tell how they know that How to Make a Snowperson is non-fiction.  The middle snowball was optional and used as differentiation for students who finished quickly or I knew could be challenged with thinking on the next level.  They wrote about whether they like to read fiction or non-fiction books in general, while providing a reason, of course.

Then I got out the scrap bucket of construction paper and let them go to town with hats, gloves, boots, arms, bows or whatever they wanted to create!

They're super cute hanging in the hallway and I figured you'd think so, too. Click the picture below for your free snowball template download!

I see new ideas looking at me.

You knew which book I'd be referencing before you even clicked on this link, right?  You good teacher, you.  ;)

I've always thought of Brown Bear as a pre-K or early kindergarten story because of it's simplicity.  But I used it with my K-1 class this year and the simplicity and repetition lead to some awesome skill mastery and understanding.

I see {sequencing} looking at me.

One of my goals this year is to work in more fine motor activities using scissors and glue...which will in turn work in creativity & art!  So for our retell activity, my students colored pictures, cut them out & glued them in order to sequence the story.  If they finished early, they labeled the different animals.  Of course, I forgot to take a picture of any of my dolls wearing their crowns but this is how they looked.

I don't know where our pictures came from - I've had them for years - but you can get an ever cuter coloring page from 2care2teach4kids:

I see {writing} looking at me.

I. love. these. books!  Teacher to the Core must've created these just for me because there's a kindergarten version and a 1st grade version!  My 1st graders created their own circle stories, writing their name on the first page then continuing the story by carrying over whatever they saw to the next page.  The number of pages depended on fast they worked but each student started with 3 and added from there.

My kindergarteners created a group book together.  We used the kindergartener page each time to minimize the sounding out frustration and only asking them to sound out one word per page.

He saw a coconut tree.  Hmmm...can you guess which book we used last week?!  ;)

I see {math} looking at me.

I chose this math activity because it takes the typical graphing activity to the next level.  I gave my students M&Ms to represent the colors of six of the animals.  {The white horse & black sheep are missing but no one seemed to mind since they were working with candy.}  The students sorted their M&Ms by color and graphed.

But then Happy Teacher, Happy Kids extended the math practice with this addition sheet that was amaze balls!

{can I say amazeballs??  I hope so because I just did...twice.}

This activity is actually 4 pages in total with a sorting page, graphing page, recording page and the addition page.  Best news: it's a free download.  Actually, everything in this post is a free download! Just click the pictures or linked text to go to the original store or blog to grab your copy.

Don't stay away too long...I see apples looking at me next!!  ;)

Eric Carle goodness. {get it before it's gone!}

A few weeks ago I posted about my love for Crayola and clued you in to a bunch of Crayola items for sale on Zulily.  I do not work for Zulily, nor do I get anything for posting about their sales.  However, I have to share another one...Eric Carle!!!

What teacher doesn't love Eric Carle?  Honestly.  Look at some of these academic goodies!

{magnet letters in Eric Carle art.  capital & lowercase.}

{hardcover books.  board books.  books with CDs...listening center!!!}

{Eric Carle books in Spanish!!   repetition is SO good for language learners.}

{3D Very Hungry Caterpillar retell kit.  only $6.99!}

{pocket chart cards.  reading text & matching the picture.  fab for word work!}

Lots of classroom decoration options, too!

{vinyl wall decals.  love these for classroom decoration or retelling the story right on the wall.}

{bulletin board sets from multiple stories.  again...decor, retell, puppets, so many uses!}

{full color prints.  how great would these look in bright frames in the library?}

{a Very Hungry Caterpillar rug!!!!}

{teachers never have enough thank yous...and these notecards are adorable!}

And 2 more that may be drawing my attention because of the gymnastics currently taking place in my stomach...  :)

{Very Hungry Caterpillar foods in an apple!  hee hee!}

{little food board books that work on colors, shapes, etc}

These shops are only open for a few days at a time so don't hesitate if one of these caught your eye!  Click on any of the pictures to go to the sale. You may need to create a Zulily account to check it out but it's free, you won't get overloaded with emails & there is some seriously great stuff.  Happy Shopping!  :)

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getting to know our characters. {ie Pigeon's funny expressions}

As we delve deeper into character studies, we looked at facial expressions this week. {CC K.RL.3} I started by reading a few books on feelings and having my kids practice making each expression as they came up in the story. {It was hard for them to keep angry or sad faces while looking around at each other on the carpet and trying not to laugh!}  Two great options to lead your mini-lesson on expression are Today I Feel Silly and The Way I Feel.

Then we made an anchor chart of some of the expressions we read about.  I drew the heads and let my kids draw the expressions.  It helped to make the faces again so they kids had a good idea of what to draw.  ;)

And who better to help us read expressions than our emotional friend Pigeon?!  We had so much fun with this Mo Willems character, reading a different book each day to practice telling how he felt.  {I also got to introduce body language because Pigeon is just so animated!}

After practicing looking for character expressions in our book bins, we created this Pigeon bubble map to show some of his various expressions and the feelings they conveyed.  How great did my little illustrators do?!

Thanks to The Kinder Cupboard for their blank Thinking Maps!  Here's a copy for you.

After even more practice - and explaining our characters' feelings to a partner - we talked about how their feelings can change throughout a story.  Focusing mainly on Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! the kids got to choose 3 expressions for Pigeon and explain why he was having those feelings at each stage of the story.  Again...so much more fabulous than I expected!!  What was meant to be a quick skill practice is turning into the makings of a super cute bulletin board!  :)

And here's another download for you!

Remember to enter the Origami Owl giveaway for some new fabulous jewelry too!  Enjoy your week friends!  :)

How to tell my students that I'm pregnant?

I told my kids the baby news this morning.  It was so so sweet and I'm sure I will never forget it.  I wanted to do something special instead of just blindsiding them with the information so I looked around and found a book called Our Teacher's Having a Baby by Eve Bunting.  Thank goodness I waited and didn't read it in the library.  Page one and I was crying.  And that was at home in my kitchen while I waited for my 2nd lunch to cook!

If you ever find yourself pregnant while teaching, you must read this book.  It was great.  Just be warned that you might tear up if you're anything like me.  {don't fight it, just grab a tissue.}  The kids in the story share their feelings, draw pictures for the baby, suggest names for the teacher and put stickers on her big belly...bless!  It's so cute.  I used it in a mini lesson on making connections.  After they shared their self-to-text connections, I shared mine!  It took a few minutes to sink in, but then they were super excited!!!  :)

{Sorry it's so shaky...I was nervous and excited and trying not to cry all at the same time!!}

I knew my kids would need a follow-up so I created a little packet.  The pages print in pink or blue or you can just print it in black & white if you don't know!

We only did the 1st page today {drawing my picture and what the baby will look like}.

{still in my heels with lots of hair bows}

{love the little baby in my see-through belly}

{my shirt is still regular size, my stomach just sticks out the sides!}

And the sweet notes to the baby!!

{You mom loves you.  Your mom is going to teach you.}

{I hope you can be in this class.}

{I love your mom because she is being nice to me.}

Eve Bunting did a fabulous job capturing honest child feelings in the book as they talk about being scared to have a substitute who isn't "their" teacher, being sad that their teacher isn't coming back for a while and the excitement of a new baby in general.  I also included some titles that you can use to make an "I feel..." anchor chart and an anchor chart for questions.  I suggest leaving them up for at least a few days because the questions have been coming non-stop!

Since I'm not due until September these kids will already be in 1st grade by the time the baby comes but I plan to read it all over again in August before I go out on my maternity leave.  The beauty of the download {besides being free} is that you can use it all at once or spread it out.  I'm saving the gender graph for when I go to that appointment - it'll be something great for the person covering my room to do while I'm at the doctor! - and will save voting on a name until the end of the year.  It's meant to be fun and I hope you'll share it with any of your teacher friends who are sporting baby bumps covered in stickers!  ;)