Bring Your Bear to School Day

We just finished our unit on  Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  I sent a note home for students to bring their bears to school.  Students that did not have a bear could bring another stuffed animal.  I also had a few extra bears for those that did not remember to bring a bear.  We started our morning out with our bear introductions.  Students shared their bear name and something special about their bear.

Then we read the story We're Going on a Bear Hunt.

Then we retold the story by creating a map. 

Then we had to act out the motions of going on a bear hunt so that we could get our bears for the next activity. Next, we sorted our bears by size. We had small, medium and large bears.  This led to great class discussion on how we determine the size of our bears.  We compared our bears to others in the classroom to make this determination.

 Then we sorted our bears by the colors of our bears.  We sorted our bears by black, brown, white and other.

Once we completed this sort, the students graphed the colors of bears.  We used this free product on Teachers pay Teachers for the graph.  

We also measured how tall our bears were with snap cubes.

Then we did some subtraction using a parachute.  I had 10 students put their bears (10) on the parachute for a little ride.  Some bears fell off and we counted how many were still on the parachute and how many fell off.  

Next year we want to build a scale to compare weight of bears to each other.  We will also order our bears by size from smallest to largest.  We can also use ordinal numbers when doing this.  I did like this day and will do it again.  Here are some books we read this week to go with our bear week.

We also read non fiction books on bears.

Apples in the Classroom

We just finished up our Apple Unit.  Here are the highlights from one of my favorite units.   I turned our kitchen area into an apple orchard stand.  I put up signs and prices for products. I put out a weighing station, cash register and shopping bags for this area of the classroom.  I closed our puppet theater and made it become our apple stand. I also made an apple tree to grow along our wall.

You can pick up the apple orchard dramatic play kit here.We worked on number representations by building numbers and making pictures that represent our numerals 0-10.  Here is an example of a poster the students worked to create for the numeral 3. This resource can be found in my TPT store here.

 Then students wrote in their booklets the numerals, number word and drew a picture that can represent that number.  

 We examined and identified the parts of the apple.  We then did a craftivity that labeled the parts of the apple afterwards.

We made and tasted apple cider. To make we poured a large bottle of apple juice in a crockpot and poured red hot candies. The candies melted into the juice to make apple cinnamon goodness.  The students also measured and compared apples.

We tasted apples and graphed our favorite apples.  We also made patterns and counted using our fake apples from the apple orchard stand.

Another simple center activity is cut felt to become an apple tree and small red apples to put on the felt tree. 

LEGO Classroom Must Haves

My students and I love having LEGOs in the classroom.  We use them for STEM building challenges, guided reading, math and just for fun.  I like to have our favorite tool up around the room too.  I made  alphabet posters and number posters to go with the theme.  I have also put a birthday chart, welcome sign, table numbers, name plates and teacher binder cover in a this product.

I combined this product with my builder's word wall in a bundle too.  I love my word wall.  I put the bricks on magnets so students grab the words they need to use and put back when they finish.

Here is the link to the word wall. I printed Emmit in poster size and added this acronym.  This is not in my store but I still like to show him off.

For my rules in my classroom, we add bricks throughout the year as we introduce new rules.  I have this in my store and it is editable.

The last decor piece I have in my classroom, is our mood meter.  I put mine on magnets and students manipulate their names to show how they are feeling that day. Here is the link to my mood meter.

and here is another version also available in the product. This teacher put her's on a bulletin board and turned push pins into LEGO heads.

If you are looking for some fun LEGO challenges I have quite a few sets in my store.  Here is a free one to try it out:

Have a great year of Building!

Easy Easter Activities

These Easter activities were easy and fun to incorporate in the classroom. Before lunch the students had a visit from a bunny and chicken that belonged to a wonderful sub we have at our school.

Then we made bunny bags to use in our Easter egg hunt in the classroom.  Then during lunch I had parent volunteers hide eggs through out the room. Students were instructed when they came in to find 5 eggs and put them in their bag and sit down.  Then I sent them out again to find 3 more eggs and come back and sit down.  We counted and added how many eggs we had.   We wrote equations and then I sent them out again and again repeating the process until they had 19 eggs each in their bags.

After we found our eggs, students were able to open and enjoy 2 eggs.  Next, they put their bags away so that we could play some Easter Minute to Win IT games.  I listed the games we played here (FREE).

Here are some snapshots of the fun we had.  I definitely plan to do this again next year. It was easy and fun.

Happy Easter!!

DIY Privacy Folders

I don't know why it is so pricey to buy privacy folders! They are a simple design and made out of cardboard. This is very frustrating, so I have made my own.  I have used file folders taped together and file folders just propped up which can be a disaster as they fall down, as soon as, the student touches it.  Here is my latest solution until something better comes along:

This costs me 50 cents per privacy folder (not counting the cost of the duct tape). Not bad right?! Here is what I used:

I got the project boards at the Dollar Tree.  I will be making 2 privacy folders out of one of the project boards.  You will also need duct tape, a box cutter and a yardstick or ruler to measure with.

Step 1:  Cut the project boards in half.  The half way mark for these project boards was 13.5 inches. 

Step 2: Cut some of the middle out because these are just too wide for a privacy folder. Measure from one crease towards middle 14 inches. Mark it and cut. Then cut at the other crease.

Step 3: Take the middle cut piece out and tape the board back together with duct tape. 

I wrapped the tape around the back and front. Viola the privacy folders are done and did not cost your whole paycheck.   Here is the finished product.  These would also be great for writing.  You could add resources taped or glued on the folder such as a letter strip, writing checklist or a mini word wall.