President's Day

As if we weren't off of school enough due to snow days, we were off on Monday for President's Day. That meant a couple of things. 1- My kids were a little crazy since they "forgot" what it was like to be in school (I don't blame them after having a 5 day weekend!) and 2- it was a perfect time to teach about presidents! To teach about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, we watched a video on each one on Brainpopjr. Then we had a discussion about why each president was important to our country and various facts about them. As a class, we came up with a list of facts for each president and I typed them on the board. I also added pictures of each one, and they sure got a kick out of what they look like!

To show what we learned about the presidents, we each wrote 3 facts about either Lincoln or Washington and created a fun craft. Take a look at how they turned out!

Money Money Money

Today was the first day of money, our longest Math unit of the year! The kids love the idea of counting money, but it's always a tough concept. We started with identifying coins and their value. I started Math by teaching a song to help my class remember the coins and their value. Here we are singing the money song! The words are shown on the board :)

After we sang the song, we played a game! There were paper plates with pictures of a penny, dime, nickel, or quarter on the carpet. Students began by standing behind a paper plate. I started the music and they started walking around the circle. When the music stopped, they had to get behind a paper plate and identify the coin they were standing behind. I said things like "If you have a penny, touch your toes" or "if you have a quarter, do 10 arm circles." They had fun learning and getting out some energy!

Next, we sorted coins at our tables. Each table got 2 sorting mats, a pile of coins, and cards with values 1, 5, 10, and 25. They had to sort the coins and the card that showed each coin's value.

Finally, each student completed a worksheet independently. I know my kiddies can't wait to start counting coins now that they can identify them!

Valentine's Day

Even the snow couldn't stop us from showing our love for one another! We started off our morning by using conversation candy hearts to do various math activities. We created a bar graph, added and subtracted, and created a pattern.

Once math was over, we each made a card for someone we love. Last week, we learned the parts of a letter, so it was the perfect time to practice writing a letter. We all made sure we had a heading, greeting, body, closing, and signature on our card.

After we all created cards, we thought about various things we LOVE! It was so cute to see the things they came up with!

To finish our day, we exchanged valentines with our classmates. I even let them eat one piece of candy when they were finished (oops!)

Patterns!

Last week, we began working on creating and describing patterns. Students have so much fun every year when I teach patterns. This year was no different! After creating patterns on our interactive whiteboard, students worked in groups to use pattern blocks to create their own patterns. Each group created and described their pattern on whiteboards. The first pattern had to use 2 shapes and the second pattern they created had to use 3 shapes. After they were finished, they completed a worksheet independently. Finally, students had the chance to create one more pattern (phew!) on construction paper. I even let them use markers, which they absolutely love!

Interviewing Our Friends

One of our social studies units is about learning from one another and how everyone is special because we are all good at different things. We discussed what we are good at and what we would like to learn from someone in our class. After we shared, I had students fill out a worksheet answering questions about themselves. Once they were finished, I paired students up and they had to interview each other to see what they had in common and what was different. Before they were allowed to interview their partner, they had to shake hands and say hello, just like you would do in a real interview. Their reactions to shaking hands were hilarious! It was really cute to see them ask questions, listen to what their classmate said, and then record their answers on their worksheet. They had so much fun interviewing their friends that they asked me if I could make a new set of interview questions for them to complete the next day. Of course I said yes!

Candy Houses

Before winter break, I started something new and exciting with my kiddies. As part our science curriculum, we began talking about engineering and what it meant. We talked about the steps of a science experiment and why it's important to follow these steps before actually doing your experiment. Since it was way back in December when we started this new project, it was a perfect time to build candy houses! Candy houses in school? You bet! We went through the planning process by each drawing our own candy house. Then I put students in groups and they had to present their plan to their teammates. After presenting, each team picked the best ideas and drew a plan for their house on a huge piece of chart paper (they LOVED using chart paper). Once their drawings were finished, I passed out materials and let the building process begin! It wasn't easy to get their structures to stay standing, but each group didn't give up and was able to build and decorate their candy houses.

By the end, everyone felt like successful engineers and their bellies were full of sugar!