Leaf Lanterns

In Kindergarten this week, we started working on our Leaf Lanterns.  We started off the class with a really fun movement song, Listen and Move by Greg and Steve.  The song tells us what to do and we follow along.  Then, the directions disappear and we have to remember what to do by just the music that accompanied each movement!

We then moved on to our lanterns, which were modified from DLTK's Crafts for Kids.  The students were given versions with their name in one of the "boxes" and asked to write their name two more times in the remaining boxes, using "Kindergarten writing" or "lowercase letters".

After writing their names, the students were asked to color the leaves using "fall colors", which we brainstormed together.  They worked hard to stay in the lines!  Next week, we'll work on turning these masterpieces into lanterns using scissors and glue!  If your child attends Kindergarten at Effingham Elementary School, they have already finished their lanterns, so ask to see them :)

Go Away Big Green Monster!

This week, the kindergarten classes and the preschool class met the Big Green Monster!  We read Ed Emberly's Go Away Big Green Monster! using the iPad app.


First, they were given a blank monster with circles at the top spelling out their names, as well as round stickers with letters.  The children needed to peel off the stickers and put them on the circles to spell their first name; in preschool, the letters were given in the right order, but in Kindergarten there was an added challenge of scrambled stickers!










Then we read the book one page at a time and the children colored their monster according to the narrator.  When the book was finished, we listened to the sing-along version of the book.  The children really enjoyed the animations that the app provided!

Laying on your stomach helps
to build muscle strength!

Duck! Rabbit!

We read the book Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld.   It's about two people who look at the same thing and see two different things - one sees a duck, one sees a rabbit.  They argue and show their perspective throughout the book.  "Two unseen characters debate the identity of the creature at the center of this clever book - is it a duck or a rabbit?  Readers will join in the discussion, because the creature could, in fact, be either.  Just as each of the debaters begins to see the other's perspective, the duck/rabbit runs away and they see an anteater.  Or is it a brachiosaurus?"  

After reading the book and talking about our perspectives, we made a duck/rabbit (or "drabbit" as one student liked to call it!)  

Coloring the duck

The duck!

But if I turn it around...

See my duck?

It will be this bunny!

Coloring with Paper

For the past two weeks, the kindergartners have been coloring...without crayons!  They have worked on ripping paper (using "alligator fingers") into small pieces and then gluing them onto a picture.  The goal is to have the picture colored without using any crayons or markers.

Melted Snowmen

In Kindergarten, we made "melted snowmen"!  First, the students worked on cutting out the "snow pile"...

Then they cut out pieces for their snowmen, without drawing the pictures first.  NO PENCILS ALLOWED!

This was a challenge, as many had never cut out a circle without a guide before.  We talked about rotating the paper while closing the scissors.  A new skill for every student!

Puzzles!

Looking for pieces

In Kindergarten, we worked on some paper puzzles.  Each child found pieces numbered 1-4 and then worked to put them together.  After they discovered all the pieces and organized them on paper, the students then glued them on the blue construction paper.  We talked about putting glue on the back of the white paper (not on the blue paper), so that we use just the right amount.

Making sure to get glue
 in all of the corners!

There was a lot of gluing to be done!

Time to color and decorate!

Then the children were allowed to decorate their gingerbread men.  Some used "rainbow frosting", some colored them brown...one even made his black - or "burnt"!

Go Away Big Green Monster!

We read Ed Emberly's Go Away Big Green Monster! using the iPad app.

As each page came up, the children saw another piece of the monster's face.  They colored their page to match the monster.

The students loved seeing the animations in the app.  After the activity was done, we listened to the song available within the app and watched the illustrations come to life!

Sorry for the blurry pictures - these kids are always in motion!

Go Away Big Green Monster!

Paper Pumpkins

Today, we "colored" pumpkins with paper.  The kids used their "alligator fingers" (first two fingers and thumb, with the last two fingers curled into the palm) to rip orange paper and glue it to a pumpkin template.

We danced along with some music as well!

Color by Number

We worked on our coloring skills by completing a color by number.  Each student received a paper with their name on it and followed the group direction to find a single crayon and identify the number to color. 

While some students struggled with the concept in the beginning, they all had the hang of it by the end of the group.  Many of the students laid on their stomachs while coloring to help strengthen upper body muscles.

 They did a wonderful job staying in the lines!

Revisiting Mat Man

In the Kindergarten classrooms, we reacquainted ourselves with Mat Man!  There are many mini-Mat Mans running around the classroom.   As a group, we built Mat Man while listening to the song.

Back at their tables, each student drew a picture of a person, making sure to include the parts we sang about with Mat Man. 

They then spelled their first names by using stickers and matching the letters to their name tags.  They peeled each letter off and "wrote" their names next to their drawings.