Kindergarten Activities

Hey everyone!  I'm so sorry that I wasn't around yesterday, it was completely unintentional.  You see, there is this AMAZING blog/site called Once a Month Mom, which is all about dedicating a day each month to preparing freezer meals for your family.  That way when things get busy, you always have something to serve for dinner.  The first time I had followed their plan was last month and I loved it!  Everything we ate was delicious and even my very picky husband like it.  So this month my mom decided that she wanted to do it too.  We opted to try the diet version of the meals, since both of us already have enough fat to keep us warm for winter.  I figured that with two people it would maybe take 5 hours.  Boy, was I wrong!!!

This is what we started with!!!!

 It took us the entire day and into the evening.  I didn't get home until almost eight, but it was so worth it!  My freezer is stocked full with great breakfasts, lunches and dinners, and the best part is that they are all healthy!  Needless to say, after a long day on my feet, I was exhausted and frankly not coherent enough to blog about anything, especially education!  But I am back and today we are going to talk about a couple of kindergarten art activities.

As a sub, I'm in different classrooms almost everyday and so I get to see what everyone is up to.  The sad truth is that art is often pushed aside in favor of test practice.  But in Kindergarten there are several standards that go along with art, so you still see cute projects decorating the rooms.  Please keep in mind that if I mention a standard, I am referring only to the California State Standards because those are the ones that I am the most familiar with. If you ever have a question specific to your state just let me know, I am more than willing to do the research and find out.

OK, chances are that if you have ever worked in Kindergarten or with a kindergartner then you know this poem:

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate

The first one said, "Oh my, it's getting late!"

The second one said, "There are witches in the air"

The third one said, "But we don't care!"

The fourth one said, "Let's run, let's run!"

The fifth one said, "Isn't Halloween fun?"

Then WHOOOOO went the wind

And OUT went the lights.

And five little pumpkins rolled out of site.

Great poem!  They use it in Kindergarten to practice counting, coordination (with the movements) and rhyming which is so important to speaking and reading!  But here is a great craft that I recently saw:

Here is what I love about this activity:  The students practiced their cutting with all of the pieces, which is a standard.  They also practiced counting, and writing with the numbers.  And the best part?  The glittery stickers!  I mean, come on!  If you are five and the teacher says that if you follow directions that you are going to get five glittery stickers, you are going to pay attention.  The kids there were also so excited to tell me the poem that goes with it.

If you are interested in exploring this poem more at home I would highly recommend googling it!  DLTK's is a great resource, and youtube even has some people that show you the movements that go with the poem.  WARNING: The videos are really cheesy!

One last thing I want to share for today, just because they are cute:

I love these cute spiders, and they would be great to make at home.  Most teachers make these "I see" pages several times a month, and then put them together in a book for students at the end of the year.  It is a really great teacher gift!

See all tomorrow!  I am hoping to share a pumpkin science experiment!