Get Moving with Scavenger Hunts

How much recess time do you get in your day? I think most of us would agree that our kids need to move more.  Unfortunately we don't always have a say or control over adding more recess time, so my solution has always been to add active learning whenever possible.

 Here in Wisconsin the winter can seem never ending so I need to find ways to get moving that don't always involve going outside.  One way I have incorporated more indoor movement is with the use of academic scavenger hunts. These can definitely be done indoors or out, and in homeschool or the classroom. This morning was snowy and wet so we chose to stay inside. Here's how it works:

First, print themed cards with the numbers 1-10.

Next, hide them all over the house or classroom.

Then give each child a clipboard, recording sheet and some crayons and send them off to find the first card. You can choose to have kids search for them in numerical order or in whatever order they find them first.

We are working on number recognition, so after finding a card my Madelynn would tell me the number, then color it on her paper. In a large classroom, students may tell you the number or just find it on the paper whatever is manageable for you.

To spice things up I gave Madelynn a different action to do as she searched for her next card. My favorites? Fly like a bird, crawl like a turtle, gallop like a horse, run like a cheetah, slither like a snake, walk like a bear, tiptoe like a ballerina, and hop like a rabbit. This definitely helped to get a little extra energy out and prevented her from just slowly walking to each new card.

I created different levels of response sheets to practice counting sets and writing numbers as well. If you'd like a copy you can grab them here:

This seed themed alphabet scavenger hunt is also included FREE with 3 leveled response sheets for uppercase letter ID, upper/lower case match, and letter writing.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

5 Easy Steps for Motivating Reluctant Writers

Writing is not my forte. I know, I know, I'm a blogger I should love writing, right? But I have always dreaded putting pencil to paper to get my ideas out. Things always sound great in my head but never seem to come out right.  Although I muster up all the enthusiasm in the world for my students, I just know that many of them feel the same way every time I flip the schedule card to Writing Workshop.  So how do I reach these little sweeties that just aren't motivated to make progress in writing? I'll show you in 5 easy steps.

If you teach kindergarten and maybe even first grade, eek, you are no stranger to a page full of random scribbles.  You may be pulling your hair out wondering how on Earth you are ever going to get this kid to some level of proficiency by the end of the year, trust me, I've been there.  Here are my 5 easy steps to push those kiddos to find their inner author.

 Yup that's right, step one has nothing to do with actually writing words...(yet!) Because seriously, "tell me about your picture" only works if there is something to actually talk about.  That's why before ever pushing students to write words I focus a TON on adding detail to the picture.  I stress that someone should be able to look at their picture and know mostly what is happening. They should never have to guess who are those people, where are they, and what are they doing. Of course during this time I ask them to dictate their story afterwards while I write.  They watch as I write the words slowly, modeling (painfully slow...) how I sound of the words and write each one.  I also make sure students are working on letter sounds throughout the day so that they have these skills down when they are ready to try writing.

 Now that their pictures are so full of detail and popping with excitement, I encourage students to label at least a few parts. Maybe they label the characters one day, the setting the next, you get the idea. Sometimes students jump right in to adding many consonant sounds for their words, while other sweet little friends need more structure. If they are still reluctant I start by asking them to at least write the first sound they hear in each word. Then we move on to beginning and ending, then all consonants, then vowel sounds (maybe...)

 Next up, patterned language books! Anyone who's read Brown Bear, Brown Bear aloud 1,867 times knows the power in repeated language.  Well repeated language is so helpful in writing as well. It really builds student confidence and gives them a chance to try out their growing sight word vocabulary. I usually write the first part of the sentence on a card or white board for students to reference while making their book and their job is to write it on each page and add a word or words to complete the sentence. I try to switch up the sight words often so they see how much they know and can try out on their own when they are ready.

 Here's the big jump into independent writing. I start with students telling me one sentence about their picture. I draw a line for each word and they must write something for each word on each line. Our mini goals again start out with just writing beginning sounds, then beginning & ending, then all consonants, and finally trying out vowel sounds. To move students towards independence with this I have them begin to help me count how many words are in their sentence, then they draw their own lines, then slowly they realize they don't need the lines at all.

So finally when my reluctant writers are writing, but still not going beyond 1-2 sentences, I break out the first, next, then, last stories. I have a million prompts for these, but I also try to leave it open ended and tell students to write about something that happened. 

Writing is such a huge process for the youngest students when you think about all the skills they are combining. I hope trying out some of these steps will help you see progress in your most stubborn challenging little writers!

Student Led Learning in Kindergarten

My last few years in the classroom I really tried to achieve a more student led classroom, however I have had a really hard time wrapping my mind around how to achieve it on a day to day basis. Because I am extremely type A, I like to plan everything out the best I can, not to mention letting go of controlling the classroom and the content often goes against everything I learned in college. But I know that by focusing on shifting to a more student led classroom students become more engaged, independent, self aware, and able to find and run with their passions.

One way I have tried to "let go" and give my students more control is through the use of inquiry learning. Using this model I still take time to build background with my students on a topic, but then I really listen to the questions they want to investigate and those questions are what fuels our future learning. 

January is when we begin to dive deep into inquiry with our Antarctica unit. After reading and learning more about Antarctica, students decide what they'd like to investigate further.  Some students may wonder what it is like to visit Antarctica while others want to know what penguins do all day.  We then make a plan to find out more through books, videos, classroom guests, and even video chat when we can. Here are some pictures of our learning:

 

 

We do spend time discussing what collaboration should look like, how to be a great group member, and what to do when things aren't going so well in a group. But overall, I am always amazed at how well students come together and collaborate on their final projects. Kindergartners have tons of passion about their learning and it shows when they are given ownership over their learning choices.

  Want to know more? Here is an example of how I run a 3-4 week inquiry unit on the butterfly life cycle:

You can find this pacing guide and everything else you need for this butterfly unit here:

And other life cycles here:

I hope you will give student led learning a try in your classroom, even if it is just for one part of the day, you will soon become a believer like I did! Happy investigating!

Teacher Shopping Finds...and Why I LOVE Amazon Prime

I've always liked shopping online for things but since having my second child, I have grown to appreciate shopping online so much more.  Not having to bundle up 2 kids, put them in the car, stress about keeping them happy and timing around nap times is why I do 90% of my shopping on Amazon Prime. The other 10% is of course Target because scoping out the dollar spot on a regular basis is a must and is thankfully made possible by bribing my 3 year old with popcorn to keep everyone smiling ;)

So how do I use Amazon Prime for teaching supplies?

First, I scope out the Today's Deals section.  There are always some amazing discounts that I can't pass up. As I'm writing this I just had to check out today's offers and here is what I found:

Next, I buy most of the office and art supplies I need too. I love that I can plan a project find what I need and have it at my door within 2 days.  Here are some of my most recent purchases:

Finally, books. Yes, I admit I have a problem with buying WAY too many picture books, but I just can't help myself when shipping is free and so fast!

Also if Amazon wasn't so great at suggesting other books I'd like I probably wouldn't buy so many, but I find a ton of great titles this way! I recently purchased a new copy of The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats and just look at these suggestions:

That first book, A Poem for Peter is absolutely beautiful and a great biography for the primary grades and I never would have found it without Amazon and their suggested book magic.

So if you aren't an Amazon Prime member yet, you really should check it out. It's a small price to pay for free 2 day shipping, tons of great deals and shopping in your jammies at 2AM.

Word Work Checklists {...with Mrs.Plemons' Kindergarten}

Do you have a love hate relationship with word study in your classroom? I know I've tried a million different routines but I always struggle with figuring out how to differentiate for student needs. But then in a magically moment of wisdom I came up with a simple one page printable that saves me loads of sanity!

Truth be told I hate figuring out what to have my students do right away in the morning when they come in. I struggle with not wanting to give them busy work but still wanting to get them engaged in learning right away.  That's why I decided to create a simple word work checklist that students can do first thing in the morning when they arrive.

To differentiate these checklists, I first decide which words my students need to work on. Depending on the students' abilities and the time of year the word lists may include their name, sight words, color words, word families, spelling patterns, etc. I do hand write all of my students words on their lists each week but often I have groups of kids with the same words, so I am able to write it once then copy it for each kid to save some time.

Then when students come in for the day they grab their list and pick from 8 (or more) choices to practice their words.  They pick one choice for that morning and color it on their paper. I ask them to choose a different activity each day.  Here are 8 of the "all the time" options I have. 

Play Dough

Cubes

Whiteboards

Stickers

Rainbow Write

Stones

Magnets

Beans

I also add up to 3 additional choices each week to keep things interesting and I usually just draw/write those on the bottom quickly before copying.  Some of the other options I add include:

Alphabet Beads, Stamps, Tiles, Magic Words (write with white crayon then water color paint over), Clothespins, Squishy Bags (ziplok bags filled with hair gel, write with Q-tip), and Dot Stampers.

You can grab the FREE printable word work checklist here:

I hope you can use this idea in your classroom to help simplify your work work and cut down on the prep work you need to do!

Integrating the Arts in Kindergarten

Kindergarten has changed so much since I was in Mrs. Ryan's half day class back in the 80's. Kindergartners have gone from playing house to being expected to read and write by the end of their first year in school full time. While I could debate the merits and pitfalls of these changes at length I prefer to focus on how to incorporate more of this creative energy alongside the push for academics.

I was fortunate to teach in schools that still had full time art teachers that saw my students on a weekly basis so I knew they were getting solid art instruction regularly, however I feel that in kindergarten especially the need to practice writing, painting, coloring within the lines and cutting with scissors is essential for fine motor development.  One of the ways that I integrate arts alongside my instruction is through the use of paper crafts, often called craftivities, that accompany our read alouds, comprehension and writing work.

These crafts require students to really focus their attention to building strong scissor skills which help in so may aspects of a child's development.  If you have an administrator or even parent that is less than enthusiastic about your cute little paper crafts lining the walls and wants to know how this could possibly be helping students, then I have a little one page info sheet that you can quietly slip into their mailbox or backpack. (Click on the image to download a printable copy.)

If you need some really great advice for helping those kiddos in your class that have never picked up a scissors before entering your classroom and you don't know where to start with them, Mama OT is a FANTASTIC resource for parents and teachers, I use lots of her ideas with my 3 year old all the time.

Here are just a few of my favorite craftivities. Click on the pictures for the printables!

 

 

Thanks for reading and happy crafting!