Saturday, December 10, 2011

REMARKABLE REINDEER

We will learn about reindeer during our last week of school before Christmas break.  These activities and more are in my Remarkable Reindeer Unit at my Teachers Notebook Store.



 
 We will end the week with a Reindeer Games party.  
Here are some of the activities the children will enjoy.
We make antlers for the party.
 The students will visit 10 reindeer stations.

1.  Light up Rudolph's nose.

2.  Make a hand and foot reindeer.

3.  Scoop, sort, tally reindeer chow.

4.  Fill out a reindeer application.

 5. Stack and pull presents in Santa's sleigh.

6.  Make reindeer food.

 7. Make a symmetrical reindeer necklace.
8.  Ring and sing a Christmas song.
9. Name the reindeer.
10. Read elf story.
 After completing all the tasks, each student receives a REINDEER AWARD!

Ho! Ho! Ho! Holiday Fun


Stacking Presents Addition Game

Eating Candy Canes Subtraction Game


Elf Tree Map

Elf stories created from the elf tree map.

 Ho! Ho! Ho! Holiday Fun Unit includes:
  • Write a Wish List
  • Christmas Tree Fair Shares
  • Christmas Tree Subtraction
  • Christmas Syllable Sort
  • Build, Write, and Illustrate a Sentence
  • Elf Tree Map
  • Make an Elf
  • Elf Story Frame
  • First Gift of Christmas Write and Illustrate
  • Santa Verb and Adjective Sort
  • Santa List Poem
  • Measuring Trees
  • Do You Hear What I Hear? (listening for sounds)
  •  Fill Santa's Sack (beginning blends)
  • Stacking Presents (addition game)
  • Eating Candy Canes (subtraction game)
  • Opening Christmas Gifts (subtraction game)
 Find this unit at my Teachers Notebook Store

GAME DAY IS BACK!

Every Friday the students participate in GAME DAY!
  The class is divided into 4 small groups for game day rotations. 


  
 Stacking Presents
The students use a die and add presents (unifix cubes) to complete a stack.


Geoboard Fun
Forming numbers on geoboards.




 Treasure Hunt Game
The students pick a card and read the coordinates to find a treasure on the grid. We are using Christmas marshmallows for our treasure this time.  The original idea comes from mathwire.com.


 Eating Candy Canes
The students build the candy canes using stackers or unifix cubes.  The students take turns rolling a die to remove stackers from the candy canes.

MORE HOLIDAY FUN!

 
Look at our class Christmas tree!  We have bright colored flowers from India, tannebaums from Germany, gingerbread men ornaments from Germany, AAAB bead pattern wreaths, and AABB bead pattern candy canes.  We will add a Star of David ornament next week when the GBM visits Israel.

We used a crayon melter to decorate our gingerbread man ornaments.

This is our elf tree map.  We read some stories about elves and I typed up some cards.  The students picked a card and read the words to decide where to add the card on the tree map.  After all the cards were glued, we read the map together to make sure it made sense.  The students used the information on the tree make to write an elf story.
Here are some students writing their elf story.  They are using the tree map as a resource.  Look at the concentration!
Here are some of the elves with the story glued to the tummy.  Too cute!
All the kindergarten classes participated in our annual POLAR EXPRESS BREAKFAST on Friday.  Later in the day the children wrote about receiving the first gift of Christmas.
After the students completed their writing and illustrations, they made patterned gift wrap for their first gift of Christmas writing. 
 
 We added the completed project to our 
December Monthly Quilt.
Here a student's wish list.  I had these hanging up in the classroom for the parents to read during the POLAR EXPRESS BREAKFAST so they could make sure Santa knows the 3 things they wanted most for Christmas...although that could change by next week.
We turned the zero into Rudolph for our
Zero the Hero book page.  Each child had to add at least 3 holiday items.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

SOME HOLIDAY FUN!

Do you like candy canes?  This cute idea is from Mrs. Jump's class.  (Can't find the specific post - sorry)

We made pattern stockings!

A close-up.   I told them they could write fancy. Too cute!

We made AABB candy cane pattern ornaments.

The GBM is in GERMANY!



We did some gingerbread man science.  What happens when the GBM get wet?




We learned how to measure accurately.

We are mixing!

Ready for the oven!

A yummy gingerbread treat!
We made growing tannenbaums.

Did you know the Christmas tree tradition originated in Germany?  They used candles to light the trees.  Yikes!

We can't wait to see where the GBM will travel next!