March 31st is National Crayon Day!

We are celebrating by coloring, drawing, tracing, or scribbling!  All of these activities are skills that work on the fine motor skills associated with writing and drawing - so any opportunity to practice is a good opportunity!

I'd love to see examples of ANYTHING that you draw, write, color, trace, scribble!  Send me a picture of what you draw either through email or using the Remind app.

Don't have crayons?!  Don't worry - I couldn't find any at my house right now either!  Use anything you have - a pencil, a pen, chalk, you can even use charcoal.  I found markers, and here is what I made for you:

REMEMBER:

'It is About the PROCESS - Not the PRODUCT'

This means it is much more important to practice, practice, practice than what the end product is or looks like.

Happy National Crayon Day - Go draw or color!!

Did you do the Directed Drawing?  Color it and send me a picture!

Directed Drawing

We do directed drawings at least once a week, and on the last Friday of the month we draw the same character.

The character looks like this:

If you'd like to follow the step-by-step instructions - click on the image below for a file you can view or download:

Or if you'd rather just copy the drawing - click on the image below for a file you can view or download:

I'd love to see your work!  Send me a picture of your drawing either in an email or through the Remind app.

Fun Friday Circle Time Favorites

On Fridays we have 'Fun Friday Circle Time'.  The students have an opportunity to pick their favorite songs, which are found on YouTube, and we all sing along!

Below are some of our favorites for you to sing at home.  Enjoy and happy Friday!

Who Took the Cookie?
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
The Solar System Song
B-I-N-G-O
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Five Little Monkeys
Big and Small
Baby Shark Dance

Get outside today!  Ideas: Run, kick a ball, bounce or throw a ball back and forth, sit and enjoy the sun, or??!!  Whatever you do - have FUN!

Need to Dance, Move or Relax?

There is a website called GoNoodle, that offers videos that you can follow along with to exercise, to dance, to be silly, and to practice relaxing as well.

We use GoNoodle in the classroom to take movement breaks and to dance.

You can access GoNoodle HERE.

Enjoy!

Math at Home

Math activities that you can do at home with items you already have!

Number Sense:

• Practice counting.  By the time students turn 5 they should be able to count to 20 with increasing accuracy (they may skip a few numbers!).  Younger children should practice counting to 10.  You can count while stomping, clapping, jumping - or sitting quietly!  The important thing is to practice!
• Recognize numerals.  By the time a student turns 5 they should know and name some written numerals.  Numbers are all around us  - if you see one ask what it is, or tell your child what it is and have them repeat it.  You can write numbers on paper as well.  Again, stick to the numerals 0-20 for children close to 5, and 0-10 for younger children.  If they know more numbers that's great - review what they know!
• One-to-one correspondence (one object for each number word): You can count anything!  How many toys in a pile; how many crackers on a plate; count out 4 four plates for your four family members.  Students closer to 5 years old should try to count up to 10 items, younger children up to 5.  If they can count higher - that's great!

Sorting:

• Sort objects by attributes (such as: color, shape, size (big/small)).  Put items of same color together - red toys in a pile and green toys in a pile.  Have something like buttons?  Sort by size - big buttons in a pile and little buttons in a pile.  Have dried beans?  Sort by color.  Have books and magazines?  Sort by shape, or size.  By the time a student turns 5 they should be able to objects by one or more attributes into two or more groups (black beans in one bowl and kidney beans in another; or the big red blocks go in one pile and the little red blocks go in another); younger children should sort by one attribute into two or more groups with increasing accuracy (red blocks in a pile and green blocks in a pile).

Patterns:

• Repeating patterns. Patterns can be made with objects: fork, spoon, fork, spoon; blue block, red block, blue block, red block; sock, shoe, sock, shoe.  Patterns can also be done with actions: clap, stomp, clap, stomp; pat knees, clap, pat knees, clap.  Patterns can be drawn/written: circle, square, circle, square; E, L, E, L.  By the time a student turns 5 they should be able to recognize and duplicate simple patterns and they should extend and create patterns.  Younger students should work on beginning to identify or recognize patterns, and should work to create a simple pattern or help make one.

Shapes:

• Identify/Recognize shapes.  Shapes are everywhere!  Play I Spy:  I spy a circle on the wall (the clock); I spy a big brown rectangle (the door!).  Ask what shape a: book is, a bowl or plate is, bread is, a doughnut is . Fold, or cut, paper into shapes - ask what they are.  Use playdough to make shapes.  Draw shapes.  Put shapes together to make something - a rectangle made of playdough with a triangle playdough on top is a house.  A student by the age of 5 should identify a variety of shapes in their everyday environment; younger children should recognize simple two-dimensional shapes such as a circle and square.

Note: References made to abilities by a certain age were taken from the California Preschool Learning Foundations for Mathematics.

Art Idea: Shadow Drawing

For a sunny day, or near a window on a wet day, shadow drawing can be done of favorite toys or anything you can think of!

For more inspiration see the post HERE.

Wacky Wednesday

Want to have some fun??!!

There is a book by Dr. Seuss (writing as Theo LeSieg) titled 'Wacky Wednesday'.  In it all sorts of 'wacky' things are observed - shoes on a wall, a table with a candy cane leg, a worm chasing a bird - the list goes on!

During Read Across America we read this in our class, and 'wacky' things happened in our class on the Wednesday of that week!  There was a shoe where our timer usually is, the legs of one of our tables was wearing shoes, our furniture was upside down, our snack table moved outside.  It was wacky!!

You could have a 'Wacky Wednesday' at your house on a Wednesday!

Some ideas:

• Turn furniture upside down
• Furniture 'missing'
• A chair wearing clothes
• Hats on a light or ceiling fan
• Shoes hanging around the house
• Eat under a table instead of at the table

A YouTube video of 'Wacky Wednesday' being read can be found HERE.

Enjoy!  Have FUN!  Be SILLY!

Directed Drawing

We do directed drawings at least once a week.  A directed drawing is a step-by-step approach to drawing something: I draw one part at a time - such as a circle or oval - and then the students draw it.  We make it fun, they try to guess what we're drawing, and they get practice at following directions and working on fine motor skills.

A suggestion for directed drawing activities at home:

Mo Willems is an author and illustrator, and has many books out such as 'Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!'  (one of the books I provided a link to yesterday!).

He is putting out a daily tutorial video on drawing and doodling.  They are meant for children, but can be fun for everyone!

You can find all the 'Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems!' HERE.

HERE is a link to step-by-step instructions for drawing the Pigeon from yesterday's book.  It in you will practice drawing shapes, lines, and letters - enjoy!

Tuesday: Alphabet Review

Let's practice singing the alphabet, recognizing/identifying letters and writing letters!

A tip: whatever you decide to do - make it fun!  If the kids aren't having fun - they aren't learning!


Singing the Alphabet.
Here are some fun songs within videos we use in the classroom:

Have Fun Teaching Alphabet Song: this song/video reviews uppercase and lowercase.  It also practices the letter sounds.

The ABC Song by StoryBots:  a quick song, and most kids love the StoryBots!  We practice singing like robots for fun when we watch this video - try it!

Do You Know Your Alphabet?:  a fun song that the kids enjoy!

Finally, there is no replacing the Alphabet Song that we all learned as children - no video required!  You can mix it up by singing it slower, faster, or using silly voices.


Recognizing/Identifying Letters.
Here are just a few suggestions:

• Read books (or anything you have available!).  You can point to letters (uppercase or lowercase) and ask "What letter is this?"  Expand on the activity by naming words that start with the letter.
• Look for letters around you and ask what they are.  There are letters everywhere!  You can find them on: food items, the clothes we wear, on appliances, on grocery ads, again - they are everywhere!
• If you are able to print items out - search the internet for "free alphabet printables' and you will find lots of options to choose from, such as: flashcards, alphabet worksheets, or uppercase and lowercase matching activities.  You can also create all of these without a printer - you just need some paper and something to write with!

An internet search will provide you will lots of other ideas.  Whatever you find, or decide, keep it simple and make it fun!

Writing Letters.

Here are some suggestions:

• Practice writing their name.  It doesn't have to be perfect - the letters may be out of order, they may write a letter backwards, they may forget a letter, they may write big and run out of room and their name will be two rows of letters - this is all okay!  It's more about practicing, and getting positive feedback about their efforts!
• Provide them with letters to trace, or their name to trace.
• Put sugar, salt, or flour on a plate, and write letters - provide a written sample to follow!
• Have shaving cream?  Spread shaving cream in the bathtub/shower and practice!
• Learning to write is supported by fine motor activities such as: scribbling, coloring, and drawing.  Each of these help to support the development of writing and practices the strokes we use to write.

March 23rd: Books!

Below are links to books that can viewed and listened to online. These books relate to our curriculum theme for this week of 'Staying Safe'.

We all have different comfort levels with technology - so don't be discouraged, or overwhelmed, if using these online resources is too difficult.

Reading a book, magazine, comic book (or anything!) with your child is what's important - find something you child enjoys and have fun!  Don't forget to: Ask questions; Ask your child to identify items on the page; Address other skills - look for colors, shapes, or count items.

 Select a picture from below to be taken to the book:


This is a silly book!  Is it SAFE for a pigeon to drive a bus?


How do we stay SAFE when we're sick?


Related activity:
A video about traffic safety. It discusses common signs, what they are used for, and also discusses bike safety for children.
 Warning: the video is 9 minutes long - this can be too long for some.

Access the Traffic Safety video HERE.

Parents/Families: Resources for Well-Being and Community Support

Thank you to Donna, one of our school's psychologist, for providing this document!

It includes mental health/well-being helpful tips and information about food, essentials, and household resources in the community.

The document can be found HERE.

Useful link!

Our classroom's speech therapist, Lindsay, has a blog you can access for additional links and information!  Thank you to Lindsay for the inspiration to start this blog!

Access Lindsay's blog HERE.

What We are Learning: March 23 - April 3

My first post - let's hope this works!

Here is the 'What We are Learning' document that I sent home last week through the Remind app. and via email to those that requested it.

I had also sent:

• 'The Classroom Rules'
• 'How Many?' math table/graph; and a 'Classroom Example' of a math table/graph that we complete in class several weeks ago.

More to come! 

My plan is to provide daily links to items that will support learning from home, links to useful items for families, or links to information from others teachers or support providers.