End of the Year Activities

It seems like FOREVER since I have posted.  We've had so many things going on... and it's just plain been busy.  We moved.  Jeff's sweet mother passed away.  And then there's school.  You all know!

I have a few fun ideas if you are still in school like I am... (until June 23).

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

First of all, our writing units are DONE!  We scored our last writing sample.  It always amazes me how far the children come in a year.  Yes- when we read the kindergarten 'sample' and it says something like "Spring is best because the wind blows through my hair..." I shudder a little because I know mine don't sound like that- but I couldn't be more proud of how far mine have come- even if the wind doesn't blow through their hair in their stories...

This time of year, I like to do some "fun" writing- the kind where the kids like it so much, they don't even realize they are writing as much as they are.

One of the children's favorites is directed drawing and writing. It's one of my favorites, too because there is so little planning.  First, I check YouTube to find some fun directed drawings.  We did castles this week. You can read a story to go with your lesson, which I usually do.  This time, we brainstormed all sorts of things we know about castles.  We shared who lived there (princesses, kings, queens, Beauty and the Beast, Disney characters) how it is protected (moats, alligators, army guys, you name it- we heard it!), what they are made of, and what the inside may look like.  Then we did the directed drawing. This is the one I used- it's very simple and was just perfect for my kids. I paused it if anyone seemed to need a little extra time.


After we drew, the children could decorate their castle any way they wanted, remembering to use at least 5 or 6 colors and details. (Most of my children are 6 now, so that's our magic number!)  Then, they wrote about their castle and tried to fill the front and back of the paper.  That was it- and it was so much fun.  Finally, we shared our castles and marveled at how special each one was.

 (My castle is big and colorful because it is special because it is protected by sharks.)

 (I have a castle.  My roof is gold.  I have alligators and sharks surrounding my castle.)

                                                            

Sticker writing is always fun.  We read lots of animal books to get some ideas about illustrations and facts.  Then, everyone gets a paper with two stickers on it.  Nobody knows which ones they will get. I put them face down on the table, and they turn the paper over and have to draw a detailed background and write something about their animals.  They love this writing!  Nobody even complains.  Last year when I was handing the papers out, someone started saying, "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.  

Here is another fun drawing activity for this time of year!  The children really WANT to know how to draw different things- and directed drawing makes them feel so successful.  We read Mrs. Wishy Washy's Farm and Otis to go along with our farm drawings.

We drew the pictures after we read the stories, and then wrote about our drawings later in the day.   I printed out these papers from Activity Village and let them go!

I loved that when he added details, he added TEETH to the farmer. 

Loved the wind!

I didn't want to leave you in suspense...  

My class LOVES to play Sparkle!  We play it probably almost every day during those extra minutes we always seem to have.  The game only takes a few minutes and we practice spelling so many sight words during that time. 

If you don't know how to play, here you go!

The children stand in a circle.  You say a word for the children to spell.  One at a time, a child says one letter of the word, as you make your way around the circle of children.  If the word is "at," the first child says, "a," the next child says, "t," then the next child says, "sparkle," and the next child sits down.  You continue right on with the next child spelling a new word:  You say, "The word is 'you.'  And the children spell   "Y," "o," "u," "sparkle," then sit.    I go right around the circle and point to each child as  it is his turn to say the letter to keep the game moving right along quickly. 

I always put my hand on the head of the child that has to sit and make a funny sound as they sit down so everyone is laughing, and it's never sad.  You continue spelling around the circle until only one child is left standing and is the SPARKLE CHAMP!

Well, we love this game for learning sight words so much, so when we did our Opinion Unit in writing and the children needed to know how to spell because,  we played this game and ONLY spelled because around the circle.  "B," "e," "c," "a," "u," "s," "e." "sparkle," sit, "b," "e," "c," "a," ...   

You could use this game to have your children learn to spell any word!

I put together my Summer Journals for my class this week.  It is FREE at my TpT store!  Dr. Jean and I had lots of fun putting this together.  Usually, we do a few pages together before the children go home for summer. Then, I send home the rest for them to have for the summer. These have always been a big hit with the kids!  Here are some sample pages:

Dr. Jean and I also made 20 different designs for 17 sayings for our Gift Tag, Gift Card, and Gift Idea Packet.  Each saying is on both a half sheet of paper to use as a gift tag or a full sheet that can be printed, folded, and made into a card that your class can sign. 

Last year we gave everyone a Thanks a Latte card with a gift card.  You can use them anytime of the  year- and for any occasion!

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Thank you for stopping by.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Five for Friday May 20

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

Dr. Jean and I put together another science packet.  This one is called I am a Scientist .We included QR codes, a Prezi, anchor charts, her song "I Know a Scientist," and 20 of our favorite, tried and true lesson plans for hands-on STREAM activities.  We love hands-on learning, and so do the kids. 

Here is a list of the activities we included. It's a great variety of STREAM (Science,Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, and Math) activities.   

These anchor charts are included. I printed them for the kids' science journals.

The Prezi has the videos that are on the QR codes, too, so I used the Prezi to teach and the QR codes as a center to reinforce the concepts.  I zoom in on either the "I am a Scientist" or "The Scientific Method" slide and leave it up on the Smart TV for science so the kids see it as a huge poster.  

We had a BALL with the Shoe Classification Activity!  (I used some of my pictures from the week for the activity pictures!)

I love this packet because it's great for the end of the year- when I want to let the kids move and have fun- but still learn.  It's also great for the beginning of the year, to introduce science and what being a scientist is all about.  Next year, I'm going to start Scientist of the Week.  The kids will love it.

I hope you enjoy the packet as much as we do.  It's a great way to instill a love of science into your classroom!
                                                              
Some of my sweeties wanted to show you exactly how our "sh" spray works!  I think they should do an infomercial or go on Shark Tank- and we can put this right on QVC...

(It's almost creepy when I say, "sh" at the end.  It sounds ominous...  but you get the idea.  They get quiet.  :)

                            

It's a small spray bottle with "sh" written on it.  The "magic spray" is water and glitter. It's fancy, that's for sure.   I keep it by the door, and when they're lined up and ready to go- I spritz down the line- and ta-da.... silence!  So magical!  AND - they really learn that "sh" digraph!



Luckily we had a delivery in a very big box.  What could be better?   We decided we would make a Reading Box. That was simple- and the easiest to make- so it worked great for me.  I cut the flaps off. Done!

 The first day we decorated the box.  Everyone  got to add something special.  When they felt they were a part of making the box, they want to take better care of it. 

Each day, during center time when a group of 4 are on the rug, I split the time so two go in the box to read for the first part of their center time, then the other two go in to read for the last part. Everyone gets a chance in the box.  It's REALLY special- and SO exciting! AND you do your best reading in the box, don't you know!!!



Dr. Jean and I made 20 different designs for 17 sayings for our Gift Tag, Gift Card, and Gift Idea Packet.  Each saying is on both a half sheet of paper to use as a gift tag or a full sheet that can be printed, folded, and made into a card that your class can sign. 

It would be fun to give a variety, but I decided to go with "Thanks a latte" for my end of the year thank you's for everyone at school. We have a lot to be thankful for every day- and I want the kids to know that!  I got packs of Starbucks $10 gift cards and added them to our cards.  Everyone signed each card. We read Elephant and Piggie's THANK YOU book, and had a delivery day.  That's one of my favorite mornings of the year. The kids are SO THRILLED to give- and I just love that. 

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Did you know this is the last book in the series?  I'm sad it's ending, but I can't wait to see what Mo Willems comes up with next!    

I got out the Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, Gears- all sorts of building activities.  The Tinker Toys became microphones.  The boys became back-up dancers. (The girls reminded them that "back-up" dancers go... in the back.) And that was all she wrote.  They went into housekeeping to practice their performance and surprise me.

Yeah- I probably wouldn't have chosen a Flo Rida song but...  they just kept singing this line over and over- and having a ball!  Welcome to our house!

Thank you for stopping by! Have a perfect weekend.