Meet Raja

I don't know why I haven't posted anything about my pet bird, Raja. Raja means Prince in Urdu. He is an Australian Budgie and he has been with us for a little over 5 years. 

He is super friendly. He loves to sing and tweet. And he is just really, really cute!!! Oh, and he is a bit of a show off which is why he is super friendly!

We let Raja fly around in the house at times. He likes to take about  4-5 rounds around the kitchen and the living room and then he sits back in his cage.

In the cage, I have some bells for him, a swing and a couple of mirrors. He loves anything shiny so he is crazy about the mirror.

Raja loves walking on shoulders and arms. And he loves sitting on my finger. Every time I put my thumb up to his beak, he kisses it...so cute!!

I have taken him many times into different classrooms for the students to see. They love to observe him and listen to him when he is tweeting. It is a great way to spark an interest in pets, animals and science all at the same time.

For an art activity, I bought feathers from the dollar store and put it with paint on the art table. The children loved painting with feathers. Super fun activity.

On the science table, I took some feathers and put them with magnifying glasses. The students had a great time observing the feathers and feeling the feathers. I also put out white paper and crayons if they wanted to draw some feathers. 

For the play dough table, I was lucky enough to have cutters in shapes of birds. The children loved recreating Raja with play dough (I also used green play dough so it seems more realistic). 

My students drew pictures, painted pictures, built bird houses and wrote stories about Raja. They love it when he comes for a visit. Has anyone else taken their house pets for a school visit?

Bulletin Board - Kindergarten Pizzazz

In my classroom about a month or so ago, my children LOVED talking about pizzas. I decided to make a Pizza Parlour in the Dramatic Centre. And in the art centre, we made our own pizzas with different toppings.

I used Large paper plates. (I took pictures I have to find them!)

Day 1: They painted the paper plates yellow for the dough

Day 2: They used red strips of construction paper for the tomato sauce

Day 3: They put cheese on (I used yellow tissue paper, put it in the shredder and used it as cheese). 

Day 4: They added different toppings (used tissue paper and they cut them out themselves to make different toppings. Mostly it was cheese or pepperoni. Some added mushrooms!)

Here is what my bulletin board looked like!!

Mortimer - Storytelling With Instruments

I love Robert Munsch as many other teachers do too. But the children love it even more with how I do the story 'Mortimer' in my classroom.

Very simple and very fun!

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWdsQdsC3dLuH51Ui6PtQGb7AF82a5mlQ4ePghvTUT4xTzF5vtIrKRcct5la7TK2bNaNCAHNyV3_Fx30y2OFeDSHeWrSJAmJNLE7iYtFx0UtwG5scCqF7RBvBZpiIz9xMruZe1okXipmig/s1600/Mortimer+-+Robert+Munsch.jpg

All you need is the book: Mortimer by Robert Munsch and...

http://www.mytimeasmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Musical-Instruments-01.jpg

                                          Instruments!

Every time Mortimer sings "Clang, clang. Rattle, bing bang. Gonna make my noise all day", the children make noise with the instruments! I have done the story with the kids making loud noises with the instruments, medium-level noises, soft noises and even as-quiet-as-a-mouse noises. It's a ton of fun!! (Though, I do recommend you close the door during this circle time story!) 

Classroom Centres - Sand Box/Table/Bin

I know. I know. I have been MIA since the beginning of October. But it is unbelievable how busy I have become. Battling my Masters part-time with a full-time Kindergarten position, I don't know how I found the time to even sleep some days.

But I am back. Hopefully not taking huge breaks this time. I love, love, love the sand box. In my classroom, I have done quite a few different things with building sensory skills but unfortunately did not get the time to photograph all of them. Here are some of the things I have used and some I did not get a chance to yet!!

http://kindergartenlifestyle.blogspot.ca/2012/02/sand-table-in-kinder.html

I started off the school year with putting in letters and numbers in the sand box. It is the easiest thing to put in, it's fun and it is also academic. The students love it. Yes, it gets messy. But that is the point in Kindergarten. To get messy. Also, under the sand table, I put a little basket with brushes and pans from the dollar store. The children tidy it up themselves at tidy up time. It's great for self-regulation!

Sand is excellent for adding in other things:

http://www.microscopy.org/education/projectmicro/image001.jpg

Shovels and Pails. Scoops and Cups. (teaches them to fill and empty and learn about mass, capacity and quantity).

http://dinosaurstudy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/dinosaur-toys.jpg

Dinosaurs!!! (Always a hit! Add magnifying glasses)

http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00rBAauMOtJYqQ/RC-Toys-Mini-Construction-Truck-ABC3378-.jpg

Construction Toys!

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Sea Shells! (with pails and shovels. Goal can be to find as many sea shells and then count them. Also, can look for patterns. Add some magnifying glasses!!)

http://www.glancesatnature.com/d/2387-5/Nine+Rocks+_amp_+Sand.jpg

Rocks! (with brushes. Great for archeologist-in-the-making students to find fossils!)

http://www.jeannienmini.com/persistent/catalogue_images/products/e4003seacreatures.jpg

Sea creatures (could be the plastic ones or actual rubber toys)

with shovels/brushes

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/4735153689_f61a7252b7.jpg

Jewels/Gems!! (Buy these from the dollar store/Michaels. Look for hidden gems! Add brushes/pails/scoops).

http://www.zegarelli.com/getwhet/images/s_whet_water_pour.jpg

Water! (Making the sand wet makes for an excellent way to build castles!)

There are so many other ways teachers use the sand box in their room. Another way to build fine motor skills (small muscles) for better hand control is to put in the alphabet on the wall or beside the sand table/box and have the kids use their fingers to write letters/numbers/words. It works really well for children who have not yet grasped the strength (or learning ability) to hold a pencil well. And most of all, it is FUN! They don't think this is work that they need to finish.

How do you use your sand table? (Please share how you have used sand in the classroom since I will be doing another post about the sensory bin.....which is different from the sand bin! Thanks!)

Happy Teachers' Day!!!

Source: http://www.prrdweb.com/images/pages/World%20Teachers%20Day%20Online%20Image.JPG

October 5th is World Teachers' Day! I just want to thank all teachers out there who make a positive difference in every child's life. Teachers are probably one of the most under appreciated people of all the time all around the world.  And please remember that anyone that has taught us anything is a teacher. Whether it be parents, family, friends, co-workers, etc. So thank you, thank you, thank you to all!!

Here are a few pictures that help teachers feel better about what they do. Enjoy!!!

Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4zWt3TTzwvPf7rtt_rYAJeWwO1_XfxQdt-DLcXdsV1Ezc9zrQLFrQq8ezeMG-tuB9RHNQlJf9rx94O_0CxLZm8EGyoX-iVDYtrLv20fKFouMDWn12o2hDgqvL9Xl_Vty7mOlKjUMRsGw/s1600/modernteacher.gif

Source: http://wikinewstime.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/World-Teachers-Day-Card-2012.jpg

Source: http://vincentloy.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/teachers-day-sms-masseges.jpg

Source: http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/c78.0.403.403/p403x403/523113_10151017799633639_2111779300_n.jpg

Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhidRXHTj55ZP421tADPyM_MT432Iik2J3nIX31_qqEfks_cpfG3XHq_ea7xh6Q6sCrDmL70lKUDfDCAMjeEkWUm053uCxos5uGbWOp8RVzZrsf3euizf0EoPKz9DgEIv5oNrJIEkj2QU4/s1600/Teachers+Day+Wallpaper3.jpg

Recognizing Alphabets - Matching Centre

I have been trying to put out different activities every other day in the literacy centre. Here is an alphabet centre that was donated to me by a teacher (I hit a jackpot with it because it was free!!!) If you are unable to buy it, I think it is super easy to create it as well (take a large bristol board, add pocket cards, label them with letters, cut out letters small enough to fit into the pockets and you are done!)

I only put out letters for now in a basket. As the weeks go by, there are picture cards with the whole word. The first letter is highlighted so they may match it and put it in the right pocket.

I put this centre on a round table. It is easier for more children to participate at one time rather than up on the wall or board. 

Here are my kids working away! I did not even model this activity to them. They all knew what was expected which is super easy!

What are the children learning?

• communication and social skills as they use this centre with other children and learn to take turns
• sorting skills as they take the letters and sort them accordingly
• matching skills as they match the letters accordingly
• hand-eye coordination as they use their eyes to match the letters and use their hands to insert them into the pockets
• literacy skills as they recognize their letters (both upper and lower case)
• math skills if they are counting how many letters are in the alphabet
• observation skills as they figure out the differences between upper and lower case letters
• gross motor (large muscles) as they use their hand to insert the letters and insert them into the pockets

Recognizing Alphabets - Media-Enriched Activity

One of the easiest and realistic ways for children to begin recognizing letters is to use media around them. This is such an easy activity where children can learn their letters. All you need is newspapers/flyers and yellow marker/highlighters. 

I wrote down the letter that we are working on. I also send this activity as an at-home activity. It is easy for parents since they don't have to purchase anything to work with their children.

The goal is to highlight every S you see in the flyer or newspaper. If you don't have highlighters or markers, use pencil or pen to circle. And there you have another activity for learning alphabets! Choose a different letter each week and you have a centre ready!