Wish List Window Ad

We all need a lot of consumables items for our classroom to give the children we teach the best learning environment possible.



Here is one of the ways that helps keep my consumable pantry full. I make a sign with dollar store items that we could use for up coming projects and I post it in the window looking out. Parents have the opportunity to look at the wish list while they wait to come in at the beginning or end of the day. I have always had a dollar store wish list that was posted by the sing In/Out sheets, but never had gotten much of a response. Once I put up the window ad I got items the following day.


So if your are in need of items to insure your classroom has the best learning environment possible think about put up your own window Ad.

The Winner Is...

The winner of the Snow Pal lesson plan from the random number generator goes to Ponytails and Cowlicks.

I’m giving out a second lesson plan to Laura Major of Learning is Child's Play for being the only one how shared on another site. Thanks Laura for the share!

Classroom Routine

Watch a short Video on Routines

The best advice I can give other preschool teachers about classroom management is to create and follow a schedule (Routine). Following a schedule and being consistent will help children know what comes next.

Children need to know what to expect from day to day. It gives them a sense of security and enables them to thrive.

I don’t only have a daily schedule for the whole day, but I have a routine for all the small chunks of the day.

Example:

Group/Circle time is one of the most important parts of the day; your preschoolers will enjoy circle and walk away more fulfilled if they know what comes next through the circle time process. To insure this I follow the same circle time routine everyday. (the order of the circle is the same every day) This helps the children know that when they are done with calendar they will be able to sing a song. When following routines it helps children be able to maintain themselves during circle time because they know what is coming next. The children will know when they can sing, talk or even get up and move around. They know when to listen and when to answer questions. So if you are having a hard time at circle, try to follow the same routine.

When you have a routine for the small chunks of the day it makes the day more enjoyable for the children and it gives them an optimal learning environment where they can succeed.

Remember if you are having trouble with classroom management, step back and take a look at your daily schedule and routines through out the day.

• Are you following a daily schedule?

• Do you have routines?

• Are there to many transitions throughout the day.

• Do you have a large chunk of the day for uninterrupted play?

• Do you have to much sit and wait time?

• If you ask the children what comes after snack can they tell you?

It is also nice for the children to have a picture schedule so that they are able to refer to it.

Snow Pal Lesson Plan Giveaway

Let the snow begin with this fun and engaging lesson plan for your children.

This lesson is made up of 33 pages of small group, movement activities and song ideas just to name a few. Memory games and math games are provided in the plan all you have to do is make copies for the children to use.

The great thing about these lesson plans form Kids World Exploration is that they are not just for preschool teachers, they are filled with ideas that

Home Schooling Families can use with ideas as well. The projects and games can be scaffold for the older children. There are also activities that will benefit the older children as well.

Working Moms can us these lesson plans for ideas that will help them keep their children involved in the learning process while moms are cooking dinner and straitening up around the house. Fun engaging activities to help those moms keep their little ones entertained and learning at the same time.

Grandparent can use these plans that are have their grandchildren come for a visit and don’t know what to do to help keep those little hands busy.

If you are a preschool teacher, home school parent, working mom or grandparent and you would like to win the Snow Pal Lesson Plan .  You can enter three ways--enter once or enter three times, it's up to you!

1) Leave a comment with your e-mail address on this post. I simply ask that you either follow on Google Friend Connect, on Twitter, "like" on Facebook

OR subscribe via e-mail (see top right sidebar).

2). Join a discussion of my Blogfrog community and then leave a comment.

3) Share about this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog! Then, leave a comment.
This giveaway will close on Friday, December 31st at 12:00pm. Good luck!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of you and your families. 
May this season sparkle with wonder and joy.

Happy Holiday's

Today Mickey Santa came to visit the children before leave on Winter break.  Happy Holiday’s to all of you.  Enjoy the season with family and friends.

Just in time for the Holiday's

Candy Cane Patterning

We placed out candy cane shapes with different color strips for a mid year assessment for patterning.

Wish List

We had the children cut items form newspaper flier to create their own with list. We used this as a mid year assessment on fine motor skills and cutting.

 

 Tree Art



Here is a fun art table activity just for fun.

 

Pinecone Trees

Parents have been bringing in pinecones so the children could make them into decorated trees.

The children painted the trees using a mixture of paint and white glue.  Different items were provided for the children so that they could embellish their very own tree.

Gingerbread Man

Gingerbread Boy Lesson Plan

Retell the story with a pocket chart. Have the charters separate from the sentence strips so the children are able to move the text around and retell it again. This will help to develop oral language and conversation skills.

“I ran past the ________.

“You can’t catch me I’m the Gingerbread Man.”

 

Let the children create their own gingerbread person in the creative art center. 

Add cinnamon and ginger to your favorite play dough recipe.

Have the children do one to one correspondence with different cookies. They can also match and make patterns with the cookies.

Gingerbread Song (to the tune of “The Muffin Man”)

Oh, do you know the Gingerbread Man,

The Gingerbread Man, the Gingerbread Man?

Oh, do you know the Gingerbread Man,

Who ran and ran and ran?

Oh, he ran past the farmer,

The farmer, the farmer.

Oh, he ran past the farmer,

Saying catch me if you can

If you can, if you can.

Oh, he ran past the cow, the cow,

The cow.

Oh, he ran past the cow,

Saying catch me if you can

If you can, if you can.

Oh, he ran past the horse,

The horse, the horse.

Oh, he ran past the horse,

Saying catch me if you can

If you can, if you can.

Oh, do you know the Gingerbread Man

Now catch me if you can.

The Gingerbread Man

Gingerbread Boy Lesson Plan

This 118 page lesson is packed full of ideas that will turn your classroom into a gingerbread bakery.  This lesson is full of hands on approach at learning through play that are sure to spark the intrest of all children in your classroom and give them the joy of life long learning.  This lesson will cover large group activities, small group activites, science and math activities, language and literacy activies along with creative art ideas.

You will find in this lesson:

Bakery Bingo Game

Rhyming Memory Game

Gingerbread Memory Game

Math Games

Counting Mats

Sound Sorting Mats

Letter Sorting Mats

Bakery Menu

Word Wall Cards

Pocket Chart Story

You Can’t Catch Me 14 page Early Reader

Go to Teachers Pay Teachers

Lacing Stockings

The children are getting ready for the arrival of Santa Claus.  They have been lacing there very own stockings to hang around the classroom and then take home with all of their goodies that Santa will bring when he visits our classroom.

We prepared all the stockings and yarn in advance.  We knotted one end of the yarn and placed tape on the other end of the yarn for easy lacing.

The children laced and decorated their stocking with cotton balls and glitter.

Classroom Rules

Watch Video

When it comes to teaching preschool and having good classroom management, it is always important to set simple rules. Rules need to be stated in a way for what you want them to do.

Example:

“Walk” this tells the children specifically what you want them to do.

If you say “don’t run” all they are hearing is RUN.

When setting your classroom rules you need to have visual reminders. This helps children understand the rules and be able to follow the rules.

There is a pocket chart in the circle area of my classroom. In the pocket chart are pictures of the children demonstrating the classroom rules with a sentence strip that has the rule written on it. I like to use pictures of the actual children in the classroom because it gives a since of ownership and that it is their classroom and their rules not just the teachers.



Remember that you and your staff are the teachers and their first role model. As the teachers you need to be modeling appropriate behavior at all times. Children are like the saying monkey see monkey do, so if they see you doing something against the rules, they will mimic what they see you doing, not what they hear you say.


Question that get asked:


When do you go over the rules?


I go over the rules everyday especially at the beginning of the school year, during group time and while we are going outside. I will go over the rules that are important at that time. This is why it is import to have the visually children will remind one another of the rules.


What do you do if they don’t follow the rules?


I use positive reinforcement. (Nurtured Heart) We are always looking for and pointing out the good things children do through out the day.


Example:


• “I see you know how to stand in line.” “Thank-you for follow the rules.”
• “I see that Kim and Jimmy are ready for the story.”


This will give the other children a reminder of what they need to do. As those children follow through you need to give them that verbal positive reinforcement.


“I see that you are all ready for the story.” “I enjoy reading and sharing stories with you.”


Positive reinforcement does not mean say “Good Job.” When you say this over and over to children it means nothing to them. You have to be specific in your positive reinforcement.


• I see…
• You know how…
• That is thoughtful of you
• You are a good friend because…
• You are a great example of…


What if I don’t have classroom rules?


It is never too late to start classroom rules. Rules help the children have a since of a school community. Just start out in group time and go over your new rules and why. Let the children give input to why you are starting rules. This will give them buy in to the new rules.


Example of other teacher rule charts.

 

I have also made the class rules into a book for the library area so that if a child needs reminding or help in remember the rules we can have a quiet story time with that child. 

Setting the Stage for the Holiday

It is always fun to add seasonal things to the learning centers to help set the stage for learning fun.

This teacher added a fun hand print fire place to her dramatic play area.  Along with pillow and Santa hats so that the children could pretend that they are reading one of Santa’s favorite stories. 

This teacher brought in an artificial tree and placed it in her reading area.  The children have created all the ornaments for it.  This made her book area warm and inviting for the children to sit down and read one of their favorite books.

Ornaments on the tree are sandpaper people and painted pine cones with glitter.

Cinnamon Applesauce Dough Ornaments

Your children will enjoy making these ornaments for their parents. It is a great sensory experience for the children with the texture and smell of the dough. Make plenty of dough because the children will want to make more than one. Parents will love them for years to come, with the fresh sent of cinnamon for the holiday. You can also use these ornament for other holiday occasions like Mother’s Day.

What You Will Need:


• 1 1/2 cups ground cinnamon (you can get large containers at the dollar store or warehouse stores)
• 1 cup applesauce
• ¼ cup white school glue
• Large Mixing Bowl
• Wax Paper or Foil
• Plastic Wrap
• Rolling Pins
• Cookie Cutter or Plastic knives for cutting shapes
• Ribbon for hanging
• Straw to make the hole for hanging


How to Make Ornaments

• Mix cinnamon, applesauce and glue together in the large mixing bowl. Dough should be firm.
• Have children roll dough out on wax paper about ¼ inch thick
• Cut into desired shape.
• At the top pock a hole in it for hanging
• Place cut out onto wax paper for drying
• You can embellish ornaments with glitter
• Once dry string ribbon through hole and tie.

This is what the dough should look like when you are done mixing it.