Learning about the Amazon Rainforest

Hello Friends,

It has been a very long time since I have posted here. I have almost forgotten how to write a post! But I thought that I would try sharing again and I thought that I would start with a fun theme that we did in my classroom at the end of the year. 

Kids love to learn about animals and so we took a few weeks to learn about this interesting environment. 

After learning about the layers of the rainforest and the animals that live there, I placed colored paper on the tables and told my students to use what they have learned to transform our classroom into the Amazon rainforest.

I loved watching them work together and make a plan about what they were going to make. They came up with some great ideas!

This is the Amazon River. 

Before transforming our classroom, we talked about the layers of the rainforest and the animals and plants that live in each layer. I choose the animal to learn about and import that animal upon my smart board. Here we are learning about the jaguar. 

I love making books with my students because it is something that they can take home and share with their families.  Drawing together with my students is one of my favorite parts of the week. So after learning about the animal, we got out our pencils and illustrated our books together.  I do not allow them to start drawing with crayons or markers. I tell them that everybody makes mistakes and it is so much easier to erase your mistake than to start all over or become unhappy with your drawing. 

The first thing we do is write the word "rainforest" on the handwriting line. I import this page on the smart board for them to copy. 

Then we draw together. 

When our drawings are finished, the kids use their crayons to color their pictures. 

We do this for every animal, staple the pages together and when finished, they have a book to take home to share with their families. 

You can find this Amazon Rainforest resource in my TPT store.

Until next time,

Respect Activities - For Young Children

Hello Friends!
One area that I feel is so valuable these first few weeks of school is setting the foundation for respect in the classroom. When my kinders come to school for the first time, everything is new and exciting for them, but it can also be overwhelming. Even though many of them come from a preschool or daycare setting, coming into a BIG school for the first time with new faces and places can be a bit scary. Teaching kids respect for each other, their classroom, and the school creates an environment of trust and kindness.

Before beginning our discussion of respecting the space of others, I allow the children the opportunity to blow bubbles. We look at how bubbles can float along without popping, but when you touch them, they pop!

 We discuss how we can pretend that everyone is surrounded by an invisible bubble. When we keep our bodies to ourselves, we all can all "float along" like bubbles without hurting the people around us. But when we touch someone inappropriately, we can pop their bubble and we do not want to do that.

 Using bubbles as a way to understand how to get along is a great discussion starter for how to use respect in other classroom activities.

 We discuss ways to line up that do not pop the bubbles of others.

We also discuss how to sit on the carpet. We start with "criss cross applesauce", but as the year progresses, we talk about other ways that we can sit without breaking someone's bubble.

Another important area of respect is how to control our bodies when we are angry. I read two books to my students to discuss anger. They are "When Sophie Gets Angry, Really Angry" and " Lily's Purple Plastic Purse."

 After our discussion, we do a craftivity to reinforce the concepts in each book.

 We discuss steps to help us control our anger with respect.

We also do "What would you do" questions and role play to help us understand what to do in situations that might be upsetting or unclear.

We certainly do not do all these activities at one time! We revisit respect often throughout the year and will do the activities that build on that knowledge. Teaching kids to respect each other and their environment takes time, but is worth it when you see your students being respectful towards each other and their environment!

You can find my RESPECT resource by clicking the image below.

Until next time!!
Take care,

Make Your Own Sight Word Game at Home

Hello Friends,
This is an old activity that I am renewing again in this blog post. Parents are always asking if there is something that they can do at home to help their children learn their sight (high frequency) words that are not just flashcards. This activity takes a little bit of work on the part of the parents, but it uses simple materials and if they only make 8-10 cards, they can do it quickly. 
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The supplies needed for this activity are: 2 pieces of paper (any size), 8 different colors of markers (or crayons), scissors, and a sight word list.

Here are the directions:

*****The kids can draw any shape on their paper that they want. They can even draw a different shape under each word. They just need a shape that they color in. *****

So that is my tip for now.... I hope that you are able to take some time to breathe and focus on yourself for a bit before returning to school...

Until next time!

Blessings,