Oceans of Fun!

The past two weeks we have been learning about the ocean.  I find it so fascinating!  The kids also loved learning about the different ocean animals!  When the end of the year comes, I try to do some fun and exciting activities to keep the students engaged.  Let's get real - I do it to keep me engaged also!  :]

OCEAN WRITING

For writing, we focused on two different topics.  Our first topic was about how to survive in the ocean.  The students did a fabulous job writing.  We started by writing a list of ways to survive in the ocean.  I am able to have several students write their own list independently which is always fun because they are able to come up with their own ideas.  However, there is still a small group that requires that we come up with ideas together.  After they have completed their list, they begin their four square writing prompt.  I generally split up the four square writing into two days - the students complete the topic sentence and two of the four squares one day.  Then, they complete the other two squares and the conclusion the following day.  Students use the four square to write a rough draft and once they edit their work, they complete their final copy. 

We painted seashells to go with our writing this week.  My students always love to paint!  So, I try to give them the chance whenever I can.  Honestly, they do a great job, and they are always eager to help me clean up!

Check out our awesome writing!

We also wrote about what we would do if we found a box of treasure in the ocean!  I love hearing what the kids will do with their treasure.  Some are really funny!  For example, they will say that they want to pay bills with it or buy food with it.  We completed this writing piece using the same process as above.  At the beginning of the year it would take us 2 weeks to complete writing following this process, but now we can successfully complete it in 1 week!  WOW!

READING CENTERS

I love when the reading centers match our theme for the week!  Check out the reading centers my students completed below!  Students picked various writing topics to write about in their writing journals.

We also practiced making sentences using ocean words.  The sentences also shared various ocean facts!

Students reviewed punctuation.  You can find my punctuation packet in my TPT store!  

*Click to buy your copy!

We also used our Ee/Ea Packet that you can find in my TPT store.  I love the book that highlights ee/ea words, and there is a comprehension compare and contrast activity that goes along with the book!  

Click to buy your copy!

Students also reviewed rhyming by completing the fun ocean rhyming activity!  At the bottom you can find the various resources I used from TPT. :) 

MATH CENTERS

Students love math centers that include hands-on materials!  So, I give my students what they want!!  I have 6 different math centers.  There is one center for each table.  This helps my students stay focused.  If they complete a center during their center rotation (during Math Workshop) then they can go to another center.  My students were so excited about the different centers.  Check them out!

*This center helped students practice their addition facts.  They used the fun containers to add dice together and color in the seashells.  You can find this product for FREE in my TPT store!

*Click for your FREE copy!

*My students LOVED this math center!  They practice exchanging coins using this fun tray.  It is perfect.  You can sort the coins in each section - then save two sections for your bank and your partner's bank.  You can use the middle cup to roll the dice in.  This is perfect because the dice don't roll all over the place or make too much noise!  Students roll the dice, get that much money, and exchange the coins until they get 4 quarters to equal one dollar.  The first person to one dollar wins!  For some reason my students flocked to this center!

*Greater than and less than is a great concept to review.  Students would pull a foam mat and count the ocean animals on the mat.  Then, they would use the sign to show if it was greater than or less than.  They also recorded their work.

*Place Value Noodles!!!  Students would close their eyes while their partner would set out the noodles.  Then, their partner would open their eyes and state the number the noodles represented.  The one long noodle counted as ten and the small pieces counted as ones.  Check out my TPT store for your free worksheet that helps check for place value understanding!  

*Click for your FREE copy!

Sunglasses Subtraction was a fun center where students could wear fun sunglasses while they practiced subtraction problems.  They would pull a card, write the numbers, and subtract them.  You can find this fun center in my TPT store!

I also used a sand bucket with balls that had numbers on them.  Students then had to scoop out the balls and write addition facts using the numbers on the balls.  They enjoyed scooping out the balls during this center!  What do you do during your math center time??  Please leave me a comment with a link so that I can follow your blog to learn about your math time!

JELLYFISH

Students learned all about jellyfish, and I learned a few things too!  We made our jellyfish and write jellyfish facts to help us comprehend what we read.  Look at how great their jellyfish turned out!  Of course I had to add glitter to them!

FISH

We learned about fish and how they survive in the ocean.  I swear, I learn something new every year! I find it all so fascinating!  We then made an addition problem using the fish.  We added shiny spots to their fish bodies and added the dull spots and the shiny spots together.  I had the students add the shiny spots and paint the fish before we did the addition problems, so many had very large numbers to add!

CRABS

Crabs are really neat!  Did you know that they walk sideways?  We read a book about crabs and wrote down text evidence from the book.  Then, students practiced writing details about crabs using commas in a series of three.  I believe this is great practice and helps them not use the word and over and over and over...

FOODIE FRIDAY

Foodie Friday treat with goldfish! YUM!

WHALES AND SHARKS

Whales and sharks are ginormous creatures of the ocean!!  I have no desire getting close to either one of them!  My students are a little scared, too.  We made whales and sharks to help us remember what facts we learned about each animal.  We read 2-3 books on each animal and recorded important facts that we learned.  We then compared and contrasted whales and sharks.  My students are getting really good at this!  Check out the chart we made together, as well as their own writing that highlights similarities and differences between whales and sharks.

TURTLES

Turtles are such fun reptiles!  We enjoyed reading about turtles and really enjoyed making a turtle Foodie Friday treat!  Yum!!  It was so simple and FUN!

OCEAN OVERVIEW!

The ocean is a great big place.  We learned about the four different oceans and played a game on the globe where they had to spin the glob with their eyes closed.  Students would then point their finger anywhere on the globe.  When they opened their eyes 8 out of 10 times students landed on water and not land.  This helped students understand that our world is made up of more water than land!  This was a great visual!!

**Check out these resources to find some of the ocean activities I did!

All About the Ocean by: Kindergarten Smiles

Under the Sea by: A Cupcake for the Teacher

Ocean Unit by: Victoria Moore

Ocean Unit for Early Elementary by: Once Upon a Creative Classroom

I hope you had a wonderful week.  What are you working on in your classroom?  Now that I am done with our ocean fun - we are going to move on to camping!  We have two weeks of school left and we're going out with a bang in Kindergarten!!  

Moms and Muffins

    Happy Mother's Day!

We made our very own Moms and Muffins invitations!  Our event was planned for a Friday afternoon on a beautiful sunny day!  My students talked about this day all week.  They were so excited for their moms to visit!

                                   

                                   

Each mom got a silhouette of their child, a placemat with their handprint, a thumb print magnet, mother's day book, and a fun questionnaire the kids answered about them!  We were super busy creating all of our gifts for our moms!  I found most of these items on TPT and some were free!

                                  

        

                                   

                                        

To make the thumbprint magnets, we used molding clay.  I used the Crayola brand. It comes in a white package from Wal Mart or any other craft store.  You don't need very much-so you take a small piece of the molding clay and roll it into a ball.  Then, you take the child's thumb and press it into the mold one way and then take he other thumb and match it up with the thumbprint to press it the other way so that it looks like a heart!  You will want to let it sit for a few hours to let it harden before painting them.  I had the students paint them using water colors.  It makes the heart stand out!  I tried getting them to color the inside one color and the outside another color, but they turned out great how they painted them!  I also bought round magnets from Wal Mart (pack of 50) and used a hot glue gun to glue them on the back of the heart.  I used a permanent marker to write their name and year on the back.  If you have any questions let me know! 

                         

We had a great day - thanks to all the moms that came and for their continued support this school year!  At the end, we had a surprise video that showed the moms why their child loves them!  I hope you enjoyed it! :]

My mom brought her Brazillian students to sit with my friends whose mothers couldn't come. 

 

Sunflowers

Spring Flowers!

I was inspired by Kooky Kinders to do some sunflower writing and planting this week!  So, we planted our sunflower seeds in cups and placed them near our classroom windows.  My room does not receive much sunlight, so they were struggling to grow.  Therefore, we took them outside to our little playground and placed them on top to see if that would help them grow.  We used our sunflower observation book to keep track of what happened each day.  My goodness, they seemed like they were never going to grow.  But, on Friday there were 3 that started to sprout!  I was thrilled because I never can make plants grow and I don't know why!  However, the students loved planting them and were eager to check them out each day!

Check out the observation book that we used during the week to track our progress from Kooky Kinders TPT store.  Click the image for your FREE copy today!

After planting our seeds, we made a sunflower and labeled it.  You can find this from Kooky Kinders TPT store!  Click the image below for your FREE copy today!

After labeling our sunflowers, we wrote sunflower adjectives and wrote sentences using adjectives to describe sunflowers! 

We also tried sunflower seeds and graphed whether we liked them or not.  Well, there wasn't much to our graph because EVERYONE loved them!  I was so surprised because I have some picky eaters in my room!  We then wrote about the sunflower seeds and practiced writing adjectives 3 in a series using commas.  This is great practice for them!

Click on the image above for your FREE copy!

Check out our first plant that started to grow!!  I was possibly more excited then the kids!  What do you do to teach plants in your classroom?!