Five for Friday April 8

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday. Thank you for hosting, Kacey! 

I thought I would share our favorite settle down poem for the rug. Some days I say the first part, "Criss Cross," and they say, "Applesauce."  Some days the girls say the first part and the boys say the second part.  Some days the leader says the first part... some days if you wear blue you say the first part... some days we whisper the first part and say the second part LOUDLY...  You just never know!  But the kids love it.

Criss Cross -Applesauce

Hands in lap- Gingersnap

Back straight- Chocolate shake

On my rear- Root beer

Lips zipped- Cool whipped

SHHHHHH.

                                                           

We also had fun with frogs this week.  

Of course I adore the Frog and Toad books, too.  I posted all about ideas to go with Frog and Toad are Friends HERE.  I posted the ideas I use for Frog and Toad Together HERE. 



I made a Frog and Toad Prezi (free at my TPT store) that I use all the time in the spring when we are watching our eggs (and reading these stories). It has lots of videos of the stories, videos about frogs and toads, ideas, games, and charts to use if you are reading Frog and Toad, or having a science lesson about frogs and/or toads!

The kids loved reading The Lost Button.  We watched it on the Prezi after we read it, while they were finishing up snack.  Then, for a center, I got out my buttons again. We used them a lot in the beginning of the year, but  they loved sorting, patterning, and just looking at all of my different buttons- like they were new to them again. 

This is my newest frog story acquisition, and I love it!

Here is a description from Amazon and a book trailer!

Fans of Mo Willems’s Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and Jon Klassen’s I Want My Hat Back will love meeting this willful young frog with a serious identity crisis. Frog wants to be anything but a slimy, wet frog. A cat, perhaps. Or a rabbit. An owl? But when a hungry wolf arrives—a wolf who HATES eating frogs—our hero decides that maybe being himself isn’t so bad after all. In this very silly story with a sly message, told in hilarious dialogue between a feisty young frog and his heard-it-all-before father, young readers will identify with little Frog’s desire to be something different, while laughing along at his stubborn yet endearing schemes to prove himself right.

And some pictures!

This book lends itself to so many writing activities: Why didn't Frog want to be a frog? Of all the animals Frog wanted to be, what one might you want to be and why? Would you want to be a frog? Why or why not? and on and on... 

I had the kids write what animal they would like to be and give me two reasons why.

I want to be a cat because it is furry and it is my favorite. 

Dan Colquhoun's (Rocking Dan Teaching Man)  class wrote a "How To" song about making a paper frog. My kids had fun following along and making their own.  Thank you, Dan!

I posted everything I do for Earth Day and then some HERE.   I found some GREAT freebies on TpT and shared them, too.  My Prezi, above, is also free. It has lots of videos, games, and stories we use for Earth Day.  We watch the videos and play the games all week in our extra minutes here and there.  

Our kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students all made cards for each of the  3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students who took the ELA tests this week. We did it last year, and the older kids loved it.  We give each student who took the test a card and a pack of Smarties, just as a little pick-me-up.

 I love her "Smart Cookie!"

 You are really smart.  You did a great job!  How did you get that smart?  



I  found this post  the other day, loved it again, and wanted to share it.  I could read it every day, just as a reminder. 

30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself by Marc and Angel

The post has a great write up about each thing, but here were some of my favorites, with just the message that I put with the picture.

 (Sometimes I have a hard time forgetting when someone is mean...)

Luckily, I don't really worry about competing against anyone else (or I just gave up- ), and I feel so blessed with my life that I am not jealous. But these pictures were awesome.

(Oh my gosh, I LOVED that dog's face!)

There were SO many that I really, really loved.  Which ones are your favorites?

Thank you for stopping by!  Have a wonderful weekend!