Five for Friday

This week has been a bit of a whirlwind.  We're starting to wind down the school year, and we only have 2 1/2 weeks left of school...YIKES!!!  The last week of school technically doesn't count because it's full of field trips, fun activities ('cause we don't do them the rest of the school year, haha) and the last day, families are invited to come in for the afternoon.  I have a slideshow planned, along with an activity for families to do together with the children, and plan to pass out certificates so parents can take pictures.

Now it's time for Five for Friday with Doodle Bugs Teaching, and I can't believe the week has come and gone already!

{One} Science in preschool is all about investigating the world around us...right down to the little details we tend to forget we learned about when we were young children.  Since we've been talking about rainbows, we decided to do a color experiment.  First we talked about the color of plain water, then added food coloring (red, blue, yellow) to three cups of water.  The other three cups were left empty.  Then, we took paper towel and put it between all of the cups to let the colored water absorb into the paper towel to go into the empty cups.  When the water goes into the empty cups, they make new colors (purple, orange, green)!  We quickly found out this is a S-L-O-W process...

...so we decided to revisit this later.  This is what it looked like the following day.  It took about 3 days for the water to evenly distribute through the cups, but was a great experiment to discuss and make predictions.

{Two}  I set the experiment off to the side on the counter and then made up new cups of colored water for the children to mix together to find out what colors they could make.  They really enjoyed mixing the colors, and even asked questions like "I wonder what would happen if we mixed purple and yellow?"  For the sake of this experiment we did not mix those colors, but I put this activity out at a center for them to explore the following week to discover the answer for themselves.

{Three}  One of my favorite centers in the classroom is the Listening Center (this is what we use our computers for).  I read the story Froggy Builds a Treehouse by Jonathon London a few weeks ago when we were learning about frogs.  I always read the story first because I believe it's important for children to hear how good readers sound, to see the expressions on my face as I am reading, and to get them interested in wanting to listen to the story before I put it in this center.

{Four}  This was probably my favorite art project we have done all year!  We had leftover strips of paper from when we made our rainbows, so we used it to make caterpillars.  The kids used the 10 second gluing rule to hold down the strips, then added eyes, and used plastic forks (straight ones work the best) to make the grass.  We talked about what color caterpillars can be, and what color grass is...then I told them they could make their art whatever color they wanted.  I LOVE how they turned out!!!

{Five}  The preschool teacher across the hall was playing this video, and I couldn't resist playing this for my own kids and dancing along with them.  They love the minions from Despicable Me, and we tried to dance like the characters in the movie while we were singing along with the song.  This makes a great brain break for any age to get them up and moving!

Currently May

Wow, was I busy this weekend!  So busy I forgot that April is no longer here, and we're already 4 days into May!  Before I know it, the end of the school year will have come and gone...

It's time for Currently May with Farley from Oh Boy Fourth Grade.  With the end of the year approaching, the school year is starting to wind down but there is so much left to do and my mind has not stopped thinking for one single second since Spring Break!!!

{Listening} It's Sunday, so of course I'm washing clothes.  I'm more of a weekend warrior when it comes to cleaning because I spend so much time at school doing it throughout the week, I lose my motivation by the time I get home.  Plus, I loved to listen to the soothing repetition of the washing machine as a back drop for my thoughts...

{Loving}  This morning, it was cloudy and pouring down rain!  Blah!  Now, the sky looks like a perfect rainbow, there's not a cloud in sight, and the wind calmed down to a gentle breeze.  This is what Spring feels like...and we sure haven't glimpsed much of it yet this year!

{Thinking}  I am venturing into some new hobbies this year.  I plan to get into blogging more, as well as decorating in a new theme for my classroom design.  If you haven't discovered Schoolgirl Style yet, I love almost all of her designs, so it's going to be hard to pick just one!  I think I'm going to go with something between the Turquoise, Black, & Gray theme and the Rainbow Chalkboard theme.  Click on the pictures below to see how Melanie used these designs!

I love the silhouettes of the kids above the windows along with the banners.  They are just so whimsical!  This would be fun to do with other themes in mind as well, like a bug theme or bird and owl theme.  

{Wanting}  This leads me into what I want.  I'm already thinking about a new design for next year.  Something a little cleaner than what I currently have - a jungle theme - that would still be fun but simple and sophisticated is what I'm going for.  So, my goal is to decide on a design so I can start SHOPPING!!!

{Needing}  I, much like everyone else, am in much need of a vacation!  This August, my family and I will be staying in a cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee for an entire week.  I have never been on a vacation for that long, and look forward to a retreat to get me relaxed and ready for the next school year!

{Surprise}  Kinder-Craze is one of the new blogs I discovered from Schoolgirl Style because she made over her classroom with the Rainbow Chalkboard design!  

Hop on over to her blog and check out how she organized her new classroom library!

Must-Read Monday...on Wednesday!

One of the blogs I am following introduced me to a new linky and a new blog from Teaching Maddeness.

I'm a few days late, but since I just discovered it, I think I can be excused!!!  The thing I LOVE about this idea is that I get the opportunity to hear about books I may not have ever heard of, or get new ideas of activities I can do for some of my favorite books.  Some books are also great to read just for the fun of it!

Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin, is one of the books I read this week, and is simply a book you can read for good, clean F-U-N!  Yes, I said fun...and we have plenty of it in preschool.  The kids could not stop laughing!  Doreen Cronin is also the author of these favorite children's books:

To go along with the story Diary of a Worm, and the theme we've been discussing about the signs of Spring (rain, rainbows, insects, and caterpillars, clouds, wind, etc.), my kids made worms at the Art Center this week.  We talked about what colors worms are and what color the grass is.  Then, I told them they could make their worms and the grass whatever color they wanted.

I believe art projects turn out WAY more creative this way, and I'm not a fan of cookie cutter art where everyone's product looks exactly the same.  (The grass was made with forks dipped in to paint to create the individual blades of grass.)

To get more ideas for read aloud and activities you can do with your class, visit Teaching Maddeness to check out the linky!

Spring is Here!!!

It's been a while...a few months actually...but I'm back to blogging.  We've been doing some exciting things in preschool, and with all of the breaks, snow days (we had somewhere around 14 this year! yikes!) and evaluations going on around here, I have realized the school year is almost over.  Our little tykes have 5 weeks left of school and then they will be moving on to the Big School!

To get on to business and F-U-N, it's time for: 

{ONE} Our class went on a nature walk this week to see if we could find all of the signs of Spring.  Children noticed baby trees and flowers popping up out of the ground, the buds on the trees and bushes, the sun and clouds in the sky, they heard the birds chirping, and felt the wind blowing.  

During our walk, we collected branches, sticks, pine cones, seeds, rocks, and wood chips to put into our discovery tub.  Then today, I added bugs to the tub for the kids to explore when they get back to school as a surprise!  

{TWO} Last week, when we came back from Spring Break, we did a writing piece with the kiddos.  We asked the children to think about something they did over Spring Break, and they were actually excited to write about it!  I couldn't wait to hear their stories!!!  This one says, "I'm playing with my sister with Barbies!"

Since this is preschool, I encourage them to say their sentence to me and I write it down on a sticky note to type up later.  We say each word and I say something like, "What do you hear at the beginning of 'sister?'"  Then, I ask, "What else do you hear when you say the word 'sister?'"  Often, they write down the first sound and last sound in the word.  I am thrilled they feel confident enough to write letters now...you should have seen their writing a month ago!

{THREE} The last few weeks, we've been talking about rain and rainbows.  This week, the children painted stripes of the colors of the rainbow on a sponge and then painted sponge paint rainbows!  We had to get the sponge started so they could see the colors, but they turned out pretty cool...even the ones that were a little more free form.  That's what preschool's all about!

{FOUR} To continue with the rainbow theme, at small groups, we talked about the 10 second rule.  The kids picked out a strip of paper from each color of the rainbow, then put some glue at each end and then made an arch on a large piece of construction paper.  Then, they layered the strips to make a process based rainbow!  

The 10 second rule was to have them count to 10 when holding the strips down to make sure the strips stayed glued on...we encouraged them to count aloud, so they also practiced counting at the same time!

{FIVE} I've been doing this for a few years now, and love it every time I do it.  I tell the kids we're going to paint a handprint rainbow, and that they get to pick which color they would like to get their hand painted (or they can pass if they want).  Some children were more involved than others, but all of them loved the rainbow when it was finished!

The clouds above the rainbow were done with puffy paint.  We put glue, shaving cream, and white and black paint into a bowl for the kids to mix together and paint with their hands!  The kids that like shaving cream, but usually don't like to paint LOVED this activity!

I enjoy participating in the Doodle Bugs Five for Friday linky party because I get to find new blogs, and see what other teachers are doing in their classrooms.  So, go ahead and hop on over to visit and take a look!

Currently December

It's that time again...Currently December with Oh' Boy 4th Grade!

 

 

{Listening} I love watching inspirational shows, and I know that the contestants on The Biggest Loser work out way more than the average person, but it helps to get me motivated.  If they can do it, I can find 30 minutes or an hour to exercise!!!

 

{Loving} We've only been in school twelve weeks and my students have made some amazing progress!  I sat down with a student yesterday, who a month ago only knew 1 letter, and today she knew 8.  Being a preschool teacher, and not isolating a letter a week, I often wonder if my students are learning and they always find a way to surprise me and make me proud.  I can't wait to share their progress with their parents next week at parent/teacher conferences.

 

{Thinking} I am counting down the days until Christmas break for two reasons:  1) It just doesn't feel like there are many more days of teaching left.  After January, it seems like the end of the school year comes up fast, and things always come up to take away valuable teaching time.  2) It is also Christmas break, and I only have a few days left before the word "Christmas" is the only word spoken in my class, and focus is short-lived!

 

{Wanting} I need to find a day planner that works for both school and work to better organize all of the things I have going on in my life.  Once I became a mother, not only is just about every thought I have fleeting, but I have more priorities in my life, more appointments, music & movement class for little ones, church activities, and I have to schedule my workouts or they just don't happen!  If you have a planner that works for you, I'd love to hear about it. :)

 

{Needing} See thinking...I just need more days with my students!

 

{Favorite tradition} Every year, my mother-in-law has a cookie party.  She collects $2 from every person that comes to pay for cookies and frosting.  She spends the week before making dough, baking cookies, and making frosting.  Then, we bring a $10-$15 gift to pass for everyone that wants to participate.  We spend the evening enjoying each other's company while we decorate gingerbread, sugar & spice, and sugar cookies.  After the cookies are decorated, we take 2-3 dozen home to share with our families.  It's something I look forward to every year and I am thankful for the tradition!