Resources and Ideas for Teachers

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Fine Motor

Take an easy coloring page from a coloring book and laminate it. Have the children use Wiki sticks to trace over the picture.


Kelly's Web Link

Our Occupational Therapists gave us the idea to cut up a dish drainer mat and fill the little suction type holes with beads and tweezers or colored water and eye droppers. Kids love it.

Centers

An idea to get art squeezed in amongst all the literacy "who-rah"

I choose an art project for each week and make it part of my "must do" centers...and I call it "reading to perform a task" to please the suits. It's always the favorite must do center for most of my kids!

Daily Schedule

This year I am going to try and do a daily schedule on the board. It will be fairly simple... one with pictures and writing on it to help "chunk" up our day. I think it will give the kids a good sense of order and routine while also teaching vocabulary. Another K teacher used this last year- I was so impressed when one of her kids said, "You are the teacher we see at Dissmissal". I thought that was such a big word for a small kid to use- but in reality she had taught them a great deal of vocabulary and writing and reading skills by simply posting her schedule. I plan to do just as she did. My schedule will be on laminated posterboard with a magnet on back.

Housekeeping?

Ever thought of changing housekeeping? Here are some ideas and links

hospital, grocery store and restaraunt... more ideas on http://www.kidcount1234.com

Bakery

I change it into a veterinarian's office. I bring in stuffed animals and I get out my doctor's kit. I also put old ankle wraps (the stretchy kind that you wrap on sprained ankles)along with a small cat carrier in the housekeeping area. The kids absolutely love checking out the animals and wrapping them up in the bandages.

flower shop and pizza parlour

There are a couple of "sets" out there with pizza stuff in them. One is by Melissa and Doug and I bought it at Tj Maxx. The other I got at Lakeshore, I believe, or Discount School Supply. There are pieces to make pizza, cutter, cheese shaker. Check your catalogs. I put out a cash register, order pad, telephone and pocket chart with pizza words pepperoni, mushroom, cheese, etc, I made checked aprons and tabkecloth and chef's hats. Also, I went to local pizza shop and got small boxes, menus, and bags.

School, Doctor's Office, Toy Store- Lakeshore has dramatic play boxes of several of these ideas! Each box comes with 4 write$wipe cards and 4 word rings with different vocab. words.

I've done several of the ideas already listed but a couple of others are a pet store and a bus station. We made a bus by painting a big box and put up small Judy Clocks labeled arrival time and departure time. We also had maps and a cash register for them to play with purchasing tickets. We created tickets, printed them out, and laminated them for durability. I teach pre-k and we follow ECERS. We have to have 2 well developed dramatic play themes in our dramatic play center. One of course is always home living since we have all the stuff and then we swap out the second.

plan a wedding for q and u and thus the drama center becomes the site for the wedding - prepare reception foods. Kids love playing dress up for the wedding afterward

It had such great ideas I had to keep it to help me with my own plans!
October- I have lots of pumpkins which i have collected. There are the type used for trickor treating, small ones which once had match box cars in them etc. Ihave also been given many donations. During this time I do everything up with fall and Halloween decorations and put our a cash register along with pricing stickers. The kids love to charge 100 for everything! I also put out fall silk flowers and leaves which some kids like to use to make arrangements in the pumpkin buckets. Nov. I don't do anything new because we miss so much school during conferences and Thanksgiving. I just fo back to housekeepingDec.I have 3 small fake trees and lots of decorations. I have a variety of. boxes along with wrapping paper. The kids decoratand and wrap. I put out the cah register and sometimes they charge each other for their services. I find that they also love to make things to decorate the center with (It is a mess and kind of drives me nuts but they love it.Jan.Grocery store. I put grocery ads out and lots of empty food boxes and cans along with baskets for shopping. The kids set up and then price things and use the cash registerFebruary- I made mail cubbies from 1/2 gallon milk cartons which I have put letters on a b c etc.I have tons of stationary, stickers, a variety of pens and pencils and envelopes. Kids write letter and put them in the appropriate box. I often buy 200 penny stamps and they can use those as well. 1 per letter. sometimes kids sort and then take turns putting the envelpoes into the kids cubbiesMarch is Dennys. I have menus from the restaurant a pad for taking orders and the kitchen comes back out because we need to have a cook. Someone is a waiter ,there are customers and then a cashier.In my imagination station kids pick a job and then do that until someone wishes to trade. For example, at the restaurant there are necklaces with the job on it 1. cook 2. waitress 3. customer 4. customer 5. cashier. The center is full when all necklaces have been taken. Kids can trade off if they wish. When I introduce a new center we look at the jobs and discuss what each person should be doing then we make the necklaces, customers do not ring up their own food! (;This works really good for me.

Snacks

I love pictorial recipes so the kids can look at the directions and follow the directions themselves. That way I can set the activity up as a center. I started making printable pictorial recipes because of that. You can check them out on my free printable website

Making Learning Fun

We make Reindeer Sandwiches during Christmas. Cut a piece of bread in half diagonally. Spread peanut butter on bread. Use 2 raisins for the eyes, a cherry for the nose, and pretzels for the antlers. The kids loved it.

This may be something you might try. We use it for large groups of cub scouts every year. And its very cheap for supplies, you can make lots for a little ( bring several pans or use 13x9 cake pans cut the baking time to 20-25 minutes). The kids love when they get to eat it too. You could also sprinkle raisins or fresh chopped apples in this. I set out the ingredients,call up each child to measure for me.. mix the sugar/cin in 5-6 bowls on long banquet type tables table . Cut up biscuits into 5-6 bowls.Put the baking pans on the table to place the rolled biscuits in. Place children on each side of table in chairs, and have them roll the biscuits in the sugar mix, then drop in the prepared baking pans. Bake as directed.

Monkey Bread

We are making
1. blueberry muffins for Blueberries for Sal,
2."porrige" for Goldilocks and the 3 Bears (instant oatmeal)
3. purple cows when we do Harold & the Purple Crayon and the poem I've never Seen a purple crayon : put a scoop of ice cream in a cup , pour on grape soda (like a grape float)

There is a second grade website that has lots of great easy snacks to go along with great books called "Snazzy Snacks" that you can down load.I've got it saved under

Snazzy Snacks

I think the easiest way to afford cooking projects in the classroom is to build it in to your budget. I always ask for a supply fee from my parents. One of the things it covers is cooking supplies/projects.
I TRY to do at least one cooking project a month. I usually will work it into our center time, which is towards the end of the day, if it is a simple activity. If it is something that takes time to cook (applesauce or stone soup), then obviously, you have to start in the morning.
I try to correlate it to a book we are reading or a theme. Nursery rhymes correlate well with cooking projects! Some of my most memorable cooking projects were:stone soup (with a REAL stone!)porridge (3 Bears oatmealrici e bici (rice and peas...yum!)the Queen of Hearts tartsapplesaucedinosaur dirt cakepirate shipshalloween trail mix
I also think that whatever you cook in the classroom, everyone should have a part in preparing it. Write the recipe out rebus style (literacy, writing, reading). Have some children measure (science, math); some chop; some mix; some clean up. Offer everyone a taste; seconds for those who really enjoyed it. I also feel that it shouldn't be "snack". I think PARENTS should provide a snack for their child(no soda, candy) on a daily basis. Cooking with the teacher in the classroom is a special activity.

What is a healthy snack?· Fresh or tinned fruit. Bananas, apples, grapes, oranges, applesauce cup, etc · crackers or rice cakes · Cheese slices, cubes, sticks, shapes or string cheese · Vegetable sticks/carrot sticks· Yogurt cups or gogurt · Raisin bread, fruit loaf or toasted English muffins. · Fruit or vegetable muffins, such as carrot, banana, zucchini, pumpkin· Granola bars· Graham crackers or goldfish crackers· PretzelsIf you have a question, you can send me a note or call me!What is NOT a healthy snack?Candy, cookies, cupcakes, pop, Little Debbie’s, chips, fruit snacks or fruit roll ups.

Literacy Props

In the interest of expanding my CD collection- I have began to take note of different CD's and prop opportunities. Below are several from Jack Hartmann and other K folks.

Literacy Props
Shari's Site

A couple of other names include Greg & Steve, Jim Gill

About Me

My photo
In Him I live, move and have my being. Acts 17:28