We're Going to the Zoo!

This week and next week, the 4K frogs are going to the zoo!

I started with reading a letter.

They are always a brief introduction or overview 

of the upcoming unit.

In the zoo letters set, the first day intros different kinds of animals

they might see on the trip through the zoo.

Day 2: I read a letter for a specific animal.  That day we read books about the specific animal and do a directed drawing of that animal.

Those directed drawings get put in our art center.

There are over 20 letters in the set, so you can pick and choose

exactly which animals you wish to teach your children about.

I try to pick letters that I can find directed drawings 

to go with them.

I found these directed drawings at From the Pond

At the end of the packet, I give some ideas as well about what 

we do with our zoo animals. 

Here is more about the letters: part 1 and part 2.

Here are some more zoo ideas that I have done in the past.

Here are the books I started with:

I begin with "I Went to the Zoo" 

followed by the student reader, if needed.  

The students get to color the story.

Finally I end the unit with the book

"We Went to the Zoo"

this one is the best of all, because 

the kids star in the book!

I will get these uploaded ASAP.

Read more about our classbooks here

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Class Books

I love love love using class books in my room.  When I taught in first grade, we made a book a week.  Being in 4K is no different.  I do more of the work, but they do the reading!!!

When I intro each unit I read a letter (more on those here)

Later I share the class books. Here are some I've made.  Each child gets their own page.  Even if I have to use the pages twice, they get their own page. I laminate my page and the cover page. These are usually the first and last pages.
We did these two for our insect unit:

Catching bugs found here.

This is a firefly book. We use name recognition and color words. 

The read aloud can be found here.

At the beginning of the year, we did a leaf book.

I just wrote with a marker on the line provided.

They are printed on cardstock.  

If the pages get ripped, I use packing tape along the "spine."

I also use a generic book as well.  Sometimes, I read that book first.  Sometimes, I read the class book first.

For example the "In the tree" classbook, we will also read a book that just covers the leaf colors. For more advanced students, we might make a mini-book that they get to color and add things to.  In this book, they trace the color word and color the leaf that color.

Kids love to star in the books and they are super popular during reading/library time.


At the end of the year, I break down the books, and each child gets their own page from each book we make.  I know that some teachers send home a different class book with each child too :)

Here are some other classbooks in my store.

Seuss Centers

We celebrated Dr Seuss for two weeks.

Here is a floor puzzle.

We stacked mini red cups and index cards to make a pattern.

We sorted wacky alphabet letters on our magnet board.

Tracing sheets.

Sensory bin-

teal pasta (It starts with a "C" and red bow ties

and rice.

These letters were from Bullseye's Playground at Target.

The clear buttons were from Discount School Supply (I think)

Morning Bins for February

Scissor Skills

I use these as part of our monthly assessment.

I do these and a monthly draw yourself and write your name.

On these, I have them trace the line with a high-lighter.

I tell them not to cut picture.

My students think it sooooo funny to say that they cut their hearts lol

In January, they cut to a cup I called it hot chocolate, they called

it coffee. I was like don't cut the cup, it will spill the coffee lol

I have this product.  I chose some for each month.

In my assessment binder, I have all of my monthly sheets:

reading homework, monthly portrait, and scissor skills.

Seuss lacers

I find that my students pull the lace a bit through, and then have a very short lace to thread with... more explicit teaching is needed :)

Letter game-boards found here.

Children put on hearts from Dollar Tree if the letter matches.

So these fabulous cards found here.

I tell them to trace with their fingers, 

trace with a marker,

write the number/letter.

The whole set is awesome.

Sometimes, I copy on colored cardstock, 

but sometimes it's white :)

February Centers and Morning Work

Here are our morning work bins:

Filled muffin cups with heart beads.

Used a pipe cleaner for the bracelet part :)

I used red, pink, and white bands and craft sticks for 

number practice and fine motor work.

The sticks have numbers written, words and dots on them :)  

Snap cube sheets and pattern blocks are from Pocket of Preschool.

Here are our centers this week.

Play dough tray.

Cookie Cutters- bought on clearance last year lol

red hearts from Dollar Tree

and the things with the red handles in the lower left side, 

were stamps from Target.

Cup stacking

Light table accessories

bought from Dollar tree and Target.

Here are more ideas for the light table.

I have two headbands and some funky glasses for 

Write the Room.

(Wonders where the glasses were? lol

well, they were there for the students to use!)

Tic Tac Toe boards.

From Target.

Side note: do you let them win?

We had a few games of CAT and some games where

they beat me.

One gal, told me where I should put my pieces. ;) 

Roll and fill the ice cube trays :)

Traveling writing center.

Stickers and stamps.

I teach my students to clean the stamps by using 

a baby wipe.

My Pampered Chef tool turn about,

is perfect for our writing center!!

When you need to try to see if all the pens work lol

Rice is in our sensory table.

Cupcake liners and erasers :)

Writing trays from Target.

I take out the lacing toys and use them elsewhere.

Heart pointer is from Target too lol

The red sand is from Dollar Tree.

Grab your sets here:

Letters

Numbers

My student looks for this letter each and every time....

can you guess what his name starts with? :)

Morning Work Feb week three

It is a short week, we have off Monday for President's Day.


Our theme is still friendship and kindness, but our morning bins change.

We will be using mini dominoes from Dollar Tree and these awesome frog numbers.  Students will count the dots on the dominoes and match them on the frog.


We will be using the shapes and number lacers from Target:
I just picked up these felt sets, check out what else I picked up at Target here.

We will use these stacking toys from Target:

We will play this gumball game from Target:


So I don't really like how the game was designed, so I am making it my own!
I printed the gumball gameboards.  My students will take out a gumball and if they know they number on the gumball, it will go into their gumball machine.
If they don't know the number, it goes back into the box.
I am wondering if the gumball machines I got at Dollar Tree would work instead of the box.  I will check and let you know!

This would be a super easy center to make yourself.

Punch out different colored paper and write numbers on it.

Some of the gumballs say "POP" where you have to put back all of your gumballs.

Beginning a new unit

Beginning each of my units, we begin with a letter addressed to the class. The kids get to open the sealed envelope. Then I put them in a binder and the kids can read them anytime. I have one letter for each unit I teach.

The letters introduce the new theme and key vocabulary words. As I read the letter, I hold up the word cards.  Those word cards go into my writing area.

Shortly after that, we look at the new books for the theme. These are only some of the books we have in our classroom.  I have another

When I taught higher grades, where they could read, I would have them share a page of their favorite new book with the class. Now my students are 4 and 5 year olds, so we find our favorite page and they show the picture on that page to the class. My goal is to see that they see different books that they might not pick up and look at.


By having them share their favorite books, I am trying to have them start the conversation about books. Yes, they love to read the books that I read too, but a recommendation from a friend, is so amazing!



So far I have letters for:

• All About Me

• School/alpha

• Fall

• Monsters

• Transportation

• Thanksgiving

• Nutrition- covers each food groups

• gingerbread

• Christmas non-religious

• snow/polar/winter

• space

• weather/GH

• friendship/love

• teeth

• Seuss

• Leprechaun

• Vet/pet- intros different pets

• Rain Forest  layers and animals

• Community Helpers- intros different ones

• Spring

• Insects- intros different insects

• Zoo- intros different animals

• Ocean- intros different animals

• Dinos- intros different 

• Apples