P is for Pre-k, Penguins, Pigs, Peacocks...

Do you know how many things start with the letter P?

I am now well aware... Peacocks, Penguins, Pandas, Polar Bears, Pigs, Panthers, Pretzels, Popcorn, Pizza, Pancakes...the list continues.

We're actually doing two weeks of letter P, which is cool with me.  More time to drag out the letter P snacks (popcorn, pretzels, pancakes...)

My 3's made these peacocks last week--I think I did a poor job explaining how the feathers should look.  Oh well.

Wednesday brought on the mess of penguins to my classroom.  It literally looked like it exploded after I had three centers worth of penguin mosaics, but they sure turned out well.  We learned some fun facts about penguins and then made these for the hallway.  Did you know that penguins can swim up to 15 mph?  Well...they can.

 

I think I missed out on showing our O is for Octopus craft--I love it too much not to share.

We also made penguin puppets!  These were so much fun--and I loved listening to their little voices talking to each other through the puppets.

Today in centers we made the three little pigs' houses.  Then I traced some pigs and put them on the wall.  I love them!

Tomorrow I am doing a pancake day with my three year olds--wish me luck!

Back in Action!

And….we’re back!  Actually we were back on January 2nd, but now I’m finding time to write!

Christmas was a ton of fun, but I was definitely craving a change-up for my classroom.  As in, it was covered with Christmas artwork and lots of clutter, and I needed some free space.  So I said goodbye to my paper chains and made a new banner.  Which I am loving! 

Our castle play is also over…we are now rockin an IGLOO!  I had parents saving milk jugs for the last month, and it was so worth it!  Check it out:

We also made “Marshmallow M’s” in 3’s preschool.  I told them if they didn’t eat any of the marshmallows for the craft, they would receive some with their snack.  My morning group was much better with this than my afternoon group…no cheaters in the morning, and three in the afternoon!  It kind of reminded me of the marshmallow test that I watched in psych class in high school.  Anyone else remember this?

The Marshmallow Test

We also made snowflakes with cotton balls.  The original source looks a lot better than ours, but hey, sorta fun?

My pre-k class copy-catted this craft from pinterest.  Lots of marshmallows this week!  But they sure turned out cute. 

The wall outside our classroom was looking pretty bare, so we made a “Snowman Salad.”  We made a list of our “ingredients” and then we taped them up to the wall.

This week we made N is for Noodle Necklaces—very fun, but a HARD concept!  Lacing is so much harder than I realized.  However, it is a great fine motor activity! 

We also made these sweet snowmen for the wall:

And we made O is for Owls in the hallway--cute!

I also have a funny story from one of my three year olds.  She was holding a doll and she said, "I'm going to have a baby."  I asked when and she said, "When I get older and meet a nice boy, I'll have a tiny baby and he will be so cute!"  I asked how much older and she said, "Oh, when I'm seven or eight."  I love how matter-of-fact three olds can be at times.

Have a happy Friday!

TGIF

Whoa, what a week!

This week has been PACKED... projects galore, Gingerbread Day, and 

We finished these handprint wise men.  I can honestly say this is one of the most {annoying} time-consuming projects I have ever completed.  They are super cute, but you have to have a TON of patience (especially with the glitter--you have been warned).  

Also, please note how well this one followed directions for putting the faces on the camels (donkeys?)...

Our kids were sooo thrilled with the snow.  We went sledding and played outside lots this week--so fun to watch.  Oh, and we also ate it.  I shouldn't say we.  THEY ate it, while I stood nearby saying, "The snow has been stepped on...do we step on all our food before we eat it?"

My three year olds made these strings of Christmas Lights on Tuesday with sponges and paint.

Gingerbread day was a success--even if it did turn out to be quite a bit of work.  Note to self: do NOT follow the "Heavy Duty Gingerbread Ornaments" recipe!  The dough was too dry, then too sticky, and even though it smelled pretty good, by the end of the day I never wanted to smell it again.  Here is a picture of the ornaments:

Next year I think I will be using salt dough or white clay--they can just paint it brown!

Speaking of salt dough... my 3's made these adorable little ornaments to give to their parents...

Last night I made playdough for my kiddos to play with when they finished with their "wrapping paper."  The wrapping paper is made of construction paper, cookie cutters, and white paint.  Super easy, and cute!

The playdough was quite a hit as well!  And so therapeutic for me... haha.  Does anyone else love playdough?

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful

I have to admit, the snow is absolutely gorgeous.

I just hope that my car can battle the unplowed streets of Saint Paul to get to school tomorrow!

We are in Christmas mode at school--my three's made these popsicle stick reindeer ornaments.  Aren't they cute??

Last week I forgot to mention that my kiddos absolutely LOVED their visit from a pilot parent that came to share about his job.  He works at Delta and he brought all the kids junior pilot wings.  Here's one wearing hers proudly :)

We worked on letter K's this week--I was really unimpressed with the K crafts out there, so we made crowns fit for a "king."  At first I thought it was sort of lame, but they sure loved putting the "jewels" on--and they don't know how great it is for their fine motor skills!

I have been spending my snowy afternoon blaring my Christmas music in the kitchen, covered in flour, prepping for our Gingerbread Day--happening this Wednesday.  Stay tuned for more Gingerbread activities.

I'll leave you with a cute story from one of my little ones.  Our current unit is "food" (how perfect for the month where we consume the most food possible!).  I had a center where we talked about different food, where it comes from, and different utensils in the kitchen.  I held up a spatula and I was asking what you could do with it.  I got some typical answers--flipping pancakes, making eggs...swatting flies. Yes, who knew that sometimes when there is a fly in your house, you use those things to smash them on the window.  This little one gives me the giggles more often than any other--his perceptions in life are priceless.

Hibernation Station

So I mentioned in my last post that I was going to tell you about my hibernation station.  

It was an adventure.

But TOTALLY worth it!

I had seen this idea of introducing the concept of hibernation to pre-k students, so I decided to run with it.  First I gathered my materials--Crisco, cling wrap, a quart sized plastic bag, and lots of ice in a bucket.  Yes, this is an interesting list of items.

I wanted to see what they already knew about hibernation, so I made a K-W-L chart.  They have no idea what that means yet, but I do.  So we listed what we knew--mostly that bears hibernate and they sleep all winter.  Perfect amount of information for pre-k.  Then we asked why and where they hibernate, and which other animals hibernate.  Then we did our “experiment”...

I had them all stick their hands in the icy water and tell me about it.  It was cold (I know...seems pretty basic, just wait, it gets better).  I asked what they do when they get ready for recess (keep in mind we live in Minnesota and it is cold!)--they said, put on jackets (and mittens, hats, boots, snowpants...I’ll get to that later).  We decided to call these “layers.”  Then I told them that bears and other animals need to eat a lot in the fall so that they can build up a “layer” of fat over their bodies to keep them warm.  Then I had one of my students put her hand in the bag, and I covered it with Crisco.  They thought it looked like ice cream.  Then I wrapped the Crisco layer with plastic wrap (be generous on this part--seriously, it helps!).  After the Crisco layer was in place, I had her put her hand back in the icy bucket and asked, “Does it still feel cold?”  And she replied, “NO!”  

The genius part of this is that the plastic bag is dry and they can slide their hands in and out of it--every kid was able to try it and feel that it wasn’t cold!  

We read the book “Hibernation Station” and learned about other animals that hibernate in the winter.  We also established that it is a fiction book because the animals are wearing pajamas.  

It was one of my favorite lessons so far this year, and I made my students tell me at least one animal that hibernates to leave the classroom today--everyone was able to do it!

In other news...it is officially winter weather, which means coats, boots, snowpants, hats, mittens, etc.  Going out for recess takes at least 15 minutes of prep work.  We decided to make a zipper club.  Yes, I said zipper club.  Anyone who can zip their own zipper will be able to write their name on this beautiful little jacket that my aide made, and they get a piece of {stale} candy (I have way too much left from the parade at the beginning of this year...whoops!).  I’m hoping this will inspire my little ones to learn to zip their own coats!

Our dramatic play is changing once again.  We are now the proud owners of our very own castle!  Check it out:
  

It is not all I hoped and dreamed it would be, but I couldn’t get it to stay up on top of my shelf without falling over.  The kids were loving it though.

Last but not least--I couldn’t help but share this Grinch I made for our door.  Every time someone is caught doing something nice for someone else, they get to sign their name on a heart to give to the Grinch.  I am hopeful this will encourage my little ones to play NICE!  As in, I wish they wouldn’t shove one another to the point of falling on the ground to be first in line.  What is it that makes us all want to be first in line anyway?!?!

Jellyfish and Jingle Bells

After the long weekend, my kids were super chatty and wanted to tell me all about their breaks.  I had one adorable little one who patted my leg and said, “Miss Rabedeaux, it feels like I have one of those robot birds in my ear.”  Thinking I misunderstood, I said, “In your ear?”  And he said, “Yeah, it feels like they are in there.”  I asked how and he said, “My dad probably put them there.”  Then he giggled uncontrollably for at least thirty seconds. 

Not long after that little episode, I hear the words, “She was killin me in that mini-skirt…” I wandered over to the table I heard it coming from and realized that a boy was singing a country song, word perfect, while he was coloring.  Not something I hear everyday—it made me wonder if any of my teachers ever heard me singing backstreet boys under my breath! 

We’re working on letter J this week—check out these adorable jellyfish my co-worker made with them during center time!!  One little boy won’t stop asking when he can take his home—I keep telling him I’m keeping it up the rest of the year.  He desperately wants it at home…to which I’m saying, “Too bad, it looks too cute in my classroom!” 

We also did the story Jack and the Beanstalk.  Someone asked me why the giant is wearing a tutu.  I have no idea.

I received this picture of myself today.  Look at those amazing letters!

We are in Christmas-mode in our classroom now.  They made these adorable manger scenes during center time.  If you don’t have a lot of time to cut, these are NOT the craft for you, but they sure are cute!

This is our little Christmas corner—we are having trouble not touching the ornaments…so we colored our own!  Here is a glimpse of our classroom :)

Okay, I know that is a super long post—coming soon: castle dramatic play and hibernation station!

Sish and Portapotties

I’ve written about this little one several times, but have I mentioned that he has a slight lisp?  As in, all of his “F” sounds come out as “S”.  Fish becomes Sish, Friend becomes Send—you get the picture.  I also haven’t told you that he often has troubles with another boy in our class.  He is a little rougher than other preschoolers, and he has trouble keeping his hands to himself.  And “Owen” CONTINUOUSLY calls this boy “Jonah”—and his name is NOT Jonah, nor is it even close!  It makes me laugh every time, but today he said, “Teacher, teacher, Jonah is going to sast (fast)!!!” while we were walking to the library.   Too funny.

Today I showed my students what we were going to be working on.  First I showed them the sheet and said, “What do you think this could be?”  Since they can’t read, the I is for Insect was no clue.  One boy shouted out, “A port-a-potty!”  And I guess…in a way…it sort of resembles one! 

I was reading a book about apples in my class—the book was going through the process of making an apple pie.  I stopped on the word “prepare” and asked if anyone knew what that word meant.  I was met with blank stares.  I explained that prepare means “get ready”—a sweet little one remarked, “Oh, like Jesus is preparing a place for us in heaven?”  My heart just about melted on the spot…I love their faith!

I passed a sign in the hallway that said, “Attitudes are contagious.  Is yours worth catching?”  What a great reminder to all of us!  I know there are days that I need a attitude check (particularly if a child has an accident in my room…I’m typically not a happy camper after that!).  I am so thankful for the place that I work and the people in our school.  They are tremendous!

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, I am excited to celebrate at school and at home.  I’ll try to remember to take some pictures of our “feast” on Wednesday—sugar cookies, frosting, skittles, popcorn, and apple cider.  What more could a kid ask for J

(P.S.--This is NOT what they will look like...but it is the general idea!)