Five for Friday June 10

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday. Thank you for hosting, Kacey! My blog background disappeared- poof! And so did my Pin button.  My sweet daughter Ellie saved the day and fixed it back up for me. Thank you, Ellie. I need to take her shopping...

       

We had so much fun with ducks this week!  We've been working with birds a lot and LOVING it.  I do love my birds, and now the kids do, too.  Isn't that sweet how you can pass on an excitement or love of something to children?  I hope some of them keep that love forever.

This duck activity is simple and really shows the kids why ducks stay dry in the water.  

I traced the ducks on brown grocery bags  and the kids cut them out.  I also traced some feet that they attached with a brad so the feet can go around.   Once they cut the duck out, they dabbed some vegetable oil on the duck.  Then, each child got to spray their duck and see the water bead up on the duck, and not soak in.

Our lesson explained that ducks and waterbirds have a special oil gland by their tail.  When they "preen" (or clean themselves), they spread this oil over their outer feathers.  This oil helps to  waterproof those feathers.

Underneath those waterproof feathers are soft, down feathers that keep the duck warm.  I explained that the waterproof feathers are like a raincoat, and the down feathers are like our warm, dry clothes underneath the raincoat that stay dry and keep us warm because the raincoat keeps us dry.

This lesson is just one of MANY of our bird lessons in the new Birds and Bird Nests Packet that Dr. Jean and I made.  It's 60 pages of Birds and Birds Nests.  The are so many great hands-on, STREAM ideas, my Bird Nest Prezi, writing prompts to go along with books, 10 QR Codes for a center or Read the Room Activity, fingerplays, pictures for a bird journal,  and Dr. Jean's song download, "Birdies." That song is one of the kids' FAVORITES.  They think it's hysterical!  



If you would like a copy of this Duck Activity, just click HERE.  I included a simple duck pattern if you'd like to use it- or feel FREE to make your own!  I added a yellow craft feather to each duck, just for fun.

         

We read some great duck books to go along with this activity!  I LOVE Just Ducks by Nicola Davies.  Her books are so much fun because they are excellent non-fiction books with a story  that the children love to listen to.  We read the story the first time through, and then go back for the facts she scatters all throughout the book.  

Here are some sample pages:

Perfect for this activity!

Always great for the "uck" word family and rhyming


     

 We did some writing after we learned lots about birds and nests from our Prezi...

 made our nest packets

 and bird feeders, and read and listened to lots of bird stories.

If the story has a QR Code, I added that to the prompt so the children can have the story to listen to when they go home.  The prompts are simple and quick enough to be independent, but to really let the children be creative and answer questions.  Here are some samples of writing prompts we did about birds, that are also in the packet.

 

 

 

 

Have you watched the DC Eagle Cam in your classroom?  My class LOVED watching the eagles and their babies! I had it on during free choice time. It's quiet and so peaceful. OK- I say that... and then a duck ended up in the nest- which made us all stop and watch!  I saw a kitten was in one nest- but we didn't see it (thank goodness...).  So, it is LIVE and it is NATURE.  But the thrill of watching the eagles is just amazing.  Some of the kids are just mesmerized! 

 There are lots of online live camera feeds that are fun to watch.  Africam is another one we love.  Sometimes you can see some really neat animals at the waterhole- some days it's pretty quiet. 

Writing this time of year is very creative for me...because I feel like the kids are excited for some different ways to write.  When you think about it, it's the first time in their LIVES they can really get down on paper what they want to say.  That's huge!

Sticker writing is always fun.  We read lots of animal books to get some ideas about illustrations and facts.  Then,  everyone got a paper with two stickers on it.  Nobody knew which ones they'd get. I put them face down on the table, and they turned the paper over and had to draw a detailed background and write something about their animals.  They loved it. Nobody even complained! Maybe because as I was handing them out, some of the kids started with, "You get what you get, and you're thankful for it!"   I love that little saying.  I love it so much better than "You don't throw a fit."  It makes it so much more positive.

The gorilla was looking for a friend.  The fox was looking for a friend, too.

I live in the jungle.  I know, I know.  I am big and strong, but I am nice.  

These are my sweet girls.  I took the fairy wings outside to play- well, just because I can... and they had a ball!  Oh I love these sweet fairies!

This saying made me think about not worrying about falling, but instead trying to fly.  Apparently, I  must like that reminder, because this is my phone case!  

I'm just sharing this video because I thought it was sweet of Nicole and Keith. (I say that like they're my friends...) I know it's not a Christian song, but the chorus makes me think of God telling me that He won't let me fall. He won't ever make me cry.  And when everything seems to go wrong, He will fight for me.  <3  Another great reminder. 

Thank you for stopping by. Have a wonderful weekend!

Five for Friday June 5

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

As I was looking through these books ready to write my post for PreK and K Sharing tomorrow (June 6) , my daughter Ellie, who will be 25 in July, picked up Mud Pies and Other Recipes, and said, "OH MY GOSH I loved this book!" We had fun reliving all the delights that we made using this book. We used it all the time at my parents' house when my children were young and we would go there to play.

 My PreK and K Post will be all my favorite, most magical books for outside summer fun to share with children on relaxing summer days.

I am going to write about just a few of them today.  If you haven't seen these books, they are really special.

These recipes are so much fun- and just so sweet.  I've read reviews of this book that described it as delightful and charming- and that's exactly what this book is.  I would also add magical.





This may be my all time favorite.  Well, maybe tied with Mud Pies.  I could read and reread this book. It's beautifully written and so sweet.  Every time I read it, I found another little gem and detail in the book.  It takes you to such a wonderful place.  

I MAY have a thing for fairies...  

When my kids at school ask me if zombies or monsters are real, I am so quick to say, "No." But... if they ask me if fairies are real, I always say, "Wow, I really hope they are!"

I sort of have proof that they are real. This is a picture of my kids and my nephews in 1999 inside a fairy ring at my parents' house. There you go!

Here is a description of fairy rings from Wikipedia (so you KNOW it's true... )

A fairy ring, also known as fairy circle, elf circle, elf ring^[1] or pixie ring, is a naturally occurring ring or arc of mushrooms.^[2] The rings may grow to over 10 metres (33 ft) in diameter, and they become stable over time as the fungus grows and seeks food underground. They are found mainly in forested areas, but also appear in grasslands or rangelands. Fairy rings are detectable by sporocarps in rings or arcs, as well as by a necrotic zone (dead grass), or a ring of dark green grass. Fungus mycelium is present in the ring or arc underneath.
Fairy rings are the subject of much folklore and myth worldwide—particularly in Western Europe. While they are often seen as hazardous or dangerous places, they can sometimes be linked with good fortune.

They are very rare... and I believe the good fortune part. I love happy things that surprise me- and this was one of them!

Have some fun with this Fairy Dough from Laughing Kids Learn. I haven't made it, but it looks pretty magical to me!

Don't you just want to peek inside?

OK... back to the book...these pages give you an idea of what it's like.  It's a breath of fresh air.

We had the BEST time with Touch-Me-Nots. When you touch them, they POP and explode right in your hand.  It truly is magic. The bush looks like this:

You look for the seed pods that look like this: 

When they are fat and ready to pop- and you touch them just a little, they explode right in your hand. It's so much fun to go on a hunt for these late in the summer.  

Back to the book again...

This is another great book to read when you make your sunflower house!

Here are some sunflower house pictures from The Examiner.  Making a sunflower house is fun every step of the way- from planting it to seeing those first sprouts, then playing in it, and finally watching the birds enjoy the seeds- and saving some of those seeds for another year!

My friend Amber, from  School is a Happy Place, always has such wonderful ideas.  She shared this free Summer Break Review book that is perfect to send home with the kids at the end of school. Thank you, Amber!

My class made a book for me during library time.  This was the first page in the book, and for some reason, even though it may appear to be superficial, I love it with all my heart.  The superficial part doesn't bother me at all. How strange...   It made my day.  



I love this one, too.  Not really sure about my hairdo. 

And then-  here is my sword.  You never know when it may just come in handy.

Oh and one more... She just told me her favorite number is six, so I am prettttty sure her sentence meant to say, "I like six."  Let's hope.

This is a paper from Whimsy Workshop Teaching's Phonics Search and Write Packet.  

I love all of her packets and use them all the time!  The kids love them, too.  

Happy Weekend! Thank you for stopping by!