Year of the Dragon

Gung Hei Fat Choy!

Finding inspiration here, I decided to make my own Chinese dragon template which I then copied onto several pieces of different colored construction paper.

The Stars were happy to cancel Brain Break for the afternoon, opting to cut-cut-cut, snip-snip-snip and glue-glue-glue:







Our classroom aide folded the bodies (red and yellow construction paper strips, 32 inches by 1 and a half inches) as the Stars created their dragon faces.



Once assembled, the dragons were added to our hallway bulletin board, wishing everyone health and happiness during the year of the dragon:





They certainly have their own personalities!

How do your students celebrate Chinese New Year?

Coloring Books in the Classroom

Kindergarten is a wonderful place for hands-on learning!  Students build, form, cut, pinch, push, pull, press, squeeze, tap, pound, stack, jump, balance and *imaginate* so many creations daily that it's easy to observe which boys and girls are coming along nicely with their fine and gross motor development.

From time to time you may want to collect work samples demonstrating your students' fine motor control.  I keep portfolios for each of my Super Stars, with samples of their drawing, writing, coloring, and cutting from their first week of school, each mid-quarter, and quarter/semester.  Samples can appear both formal and informal: a cutting page with specially drawn lines to demonstrate control of scissors and tracking, or a sweet "I love you Teacher" drawing gifted to me on some special morning.

Simplicity ~works~: I pull pages from a coloring book for a "quick-check" coloring assessment that students can work on as a filler activity between lessons, or a center of its own on an indoor-recess-day:



Most coloring books have illustrations on both sides of each page, so it's easy to have my Stars color one side of the page, have me date it, and tuck it away until the end of the quarter when they can color the back.







Holiday coloring books are on clearance after Christmas, making them very affordable.  My Stars don't tend to try to "copy" one another as no one ends up with the same picture to color, and they appreciate the non-worksheet feel of the activity.  Using coloring book pages saves on your copying budget/allotment (if you have one) as parents are often willing to donate coloring books their children no longer use, and students tend to try to color more neatly than they did previously when they see their  *flip side.*

Win win winwinwin.



*I love the words and phrases my students use!  Imaginate: used as a verb, "Mrs. Sommerville, I'm going to imaginate these blocks into a castle, okay?"  The "flip side" is the back of any page, because to see it, you have to flip it to the other side!*

*****

~ You can also use coloring books for sight word practice!  Instead of coloring by numbers, shapes, letters, or color words, choose a simple illustration (not too many small details) and write sight words on each section of the picture.

~ Instructables shares How To Make a Coloring Book.  Wouldn't your students love to color pictures of themselves?

Great Gobblers!

We used our gobblers as a writing prompt, gluing them above our responses to "Save a turkey, eat more ______________!"

Cupcakes, chicken nuggets, candy, and even pudding were suggested as suitable replacements for the traditional turkey dinner.

:)

Gobble gobble!

The Hand

My mother sent this to me over Thanksgiving last year.


Of course it gave me another reason to appreciate my decision to wear waterproof mascara that day.


Have some tissue ready:


  THE HAND


                Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun
                assignment -- to draw a picture of something for which they were thankful.


                Most of the class might be considered economically disadvantaged, but still
                many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies
                of the season. These, the teacher thought, would be the subjects of most of
                her student's art. And they were.


                But Douglas made a different kind of picture. Douglas was a different kind
                of boy. He was the teacher's true child of misery, frail and unhappy. As
                other children played at recess, Douglas was likely to stand close by her
                side. One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt behind those sad eyes.


                Yes, his picture was different. When asked to draw a picture of something
                for which he was thankful, he drew a hand. Nothing else. Just an empty hand.


                His abstract image captured the imagination of his peers. Whose hand could
                it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer, because farmers raise
                turkeys. Another suggested a police officer, because the police protect and
                care for people. Still others guessed it was the hand of God, for God feeds
                us. And so the discussion went -- until the teacher almost forgot the young
                artist himself.


                When the children had gone on to other assignments, she paused at Douglas'
                desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was.


                The little boy looked away and murmured, "It's yours, teacher."


                She recalled the times she had taken his hand and walked with him here or
                there, as she had the other students. How often had she said, "Take my hand,
                Douglas, we'll go outside." Or, "Let me show you how to hold your pencil."
                Or, "Let's do this together." Douglas was most thankful for his teacher's
                hand.


                Brushing aside a tear, she went on with her work.


                The story speaks of more than thankfulness. It says something about teachers
                teaching and parents parenting and friends showing friendship, and how much
                it means to the Douglases of the world. They might not always say thanks.
                But they'll remember the hand that reaches out.


                -- Author Unknown

Happy Thanksgiving dear teachers.

Veterans, We Love You

As my Super Stars were deciding what "thankful" meant, one of them asked "Mrs. Sommerville, what's that holiday after Halloween, but before Thanksgiving?  The one for Army guys like my dad?"

Veterans Day, perhaps not the holiday that many students of civilian parents would group together with the usual Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas trio, but one that we as teachers on a military post observe with respect, not only for our nation's Armed Forces past and present, but for their families and children as well.

After we identified who veterans were and are, and agreed that veterans not only gave us our freedom but continue to protect it as well, I asked what kind of art project we should make for our hallway display.  Our shared kindergarten wavelength being what it is, one student began "Veterans gave us our freedom..." and a second student finished the thought with "We give veterans our hearts.  Mrs. Sommerville!  We should make hearts!"

Of course I teared up.

And then got to work.

I traced a large open heart onto white tagboard:



...asked our aide to punch out red and blue stars (each student used six or seven of each, depending on how far apart they spaced them onto the heart):



After students affixed the stars around the heart in an AB pattern, they glued it onto purple backing paper (yes, one of my student's fathers is a Purple Heart recipient):



Students then wrote "Thank you Veterans.  We love you." on handwriting paper and glued it onto the heart (apologies for the grainy photo):



Silver glitter glue was swirled onto stars for some added sparkle, and the hearts framed our bulletin board turkey character:



Student-inspired displays are the best, don't you agree?

Thank You for Your Vote!

Click and vote- and many thanks!


Michaele

New Homeowners

I'll be "off the grid" for a week or so, but for a wonderfully good reason:

Dear Husband and I have bought a house!

Yes, we are still in possession of our right arms and our first-born child.

The packing and moving crew are the same ones who helped rescue us after the flood, so we're in good hands.

Have a great week, and check back soon... I'll be busy unpacking boxes and decorating!

:)