From Halloween to Thanksgiving

Wow! I just realized that I totally missed out on posting the rest of our Halloween fun!  The week of Halloween we did a few book related projects that turned out GREAT!  This first picture is a class project.  We read Ten Timid Ghosts (and a few other books with a haunted house, too!)  then I told the kids I wanted to draw a Haunted House but I didn't know where to start! So they gave me every detail---right down to what shape of windows I should use and even an "Olaf" trick-or-treater at the door! They did a great job using their knowledge of our stories and their imaginations to create this with me. They were also given 3 Triangles and a semi-circle to create Jack-o-Laterns.  There was no preset pattern to use.  They just had to go for it! They did wonderful work!

We also spent a lot of time investigating pumpkins.  We did one week of pumpkin study during Halloween and the next week we did the first week of November with our Thanksgiving kick-off!  After reading SEVERAL "From seed to pumpkin" type stories, the kids got to use sequencing cards to create the life cycle of a pumpkin. And of course we used a real, BIG pumpkin to explore.  We investigated the inside and outside.  Weighed it and measured it.

As a fun inside recess project the morning class got to create these super fun PAPER bag pumpkins from brown paper bags and some newspaper for stuffing.  The corn was made after reading a book about growing corn and talking about how the Native Americans taught the pilgrims how to grow corn and squash.  The kids really seemed to enjoy learning about the Thanksgiving story.  BUT of course they enjoyed it much more from PETE THE CAT.  I am so very thankful that they are making Pete the Cat stories to engage kiddos in a variety of holidays!

I also decided this month to try something totally new.  I found these free Printable books from 1+1+1=1 Preschool Packs.  This site has TONS of FREE printables that are just great for PreK-ers.  (*Click the picture to get the pack THIS book is in)  Well we copied the books but it looked like we weren't going to have time to do them in class.  SO....I made them into a take home book project! I sent home instructions on how to do the book together as a family and how to encourage some pre-reading skills with it!  From the kiddos that brought their book back to share it with me, they seemed to LOVE getting to do this.  ((((So much so, that I already have a CHRISTMAS family book project ready to send home)))  I really enjoyed how the kiddos enjoyed this take home activity.

From one turkey project to another, this one just happens to be my FAVORITE turkey project maybe ever.  Using paint strips create a fanned out turkey tail and staple it together.  Then give the kiddos the other pieces to create an awesome turkey!  We crinkle folded (or accordion folded) the legs.  Then they were given their color words that they had to match to the right color on the tail (as you can see...we are still workin on that!) BUT the kids had a blast creating their special turkeys.

 Using their handprints they got to make Mayflower ships! Getting preschoolers to learn the name of the "BIG BOAT with those one people on it" is hard work!

They also really enjoyed getting to use shapes to create their Pilgrims and Native Americans.  Each character was made entirely from different shapes the kids identified as they were creating.

All in all I would say I am thankful for my little friends who make each day such a wonderful voyage. 

Thanksgiving Songs for Preschool

It's tricky to find songs that are easy enough to learn for preschool but still let you have some fun with Thanksgiving!  We have a few that we have enjoyed so far that I would like to share.

5 Little Turkeys

(*This is much like 5 little pumpkins, which is helpful so it's easy to learn) 

5 little turkeys sitting on the ground. (Hold up one hand with 5 fingers spread out)

The first one said "Oh my! We're getting round! (take your hand and make a big belly motion) 

 The second one said, "I smell Pumpkin Pie!" (sniff with your nose)

The third one said, "But we won't cry!" (shake head back and forth and use hand in a crying motion)

The fourth one said, "Let's run! Let's run!" (running motion with your arms)

The fifth one said, "Thanksgiving isn't fun." (Look scared or sad and shake your head)  

Then out came the farmer with all his might! (march with arms and make an angry face)

And the 5 little turkeys RAN out of sight! (run in place)  

10 Pumpkin Pies on the Wall

(*this was found in a story called Pumpkin Countdown)

10 pumpkin pies on the wall

!0 pumpkin pies!

Take one down pass it around 

8 Pumpkin pies on the wall.

8 pumpkin pies on the wall 

8 pumpkin pies!

...you see where this is going right????? 

Finish the song down to zero!    

10 little Pilgrims 

(or you can sing it with pumpkins or Indians *please note that I have tried to sing it with the term "Native American" but it just doesn't work with the cadence of the song so please do what you feel comfortable with.)

1 little, 2 little, 3 little Pilgrims

4 little, 5 little, 6 little Pilgrims

7 little, 8 little, 9 little Pilgrims

10 little Pilgrim Boys and Girls!   

 *if you sing it with pumpkins you would say 10 little pumpkins in the pumpkin patch! ALSO you can use these songs to count backwards which is still a harder concept for preschool kiddos!

November 

*sing to Clementine
(p.s Totally found this on the internet!)

Leaves are falling!

Winter's calling!

We are thankful for our friends!

NOVE-M-BER

It's November once again!  

Hope you can use and enjoy these songs in your classroom or in your home with your kiddos! 

Transportation and Hallowen

I'm not gonna lie...doing Transportation in the middle of October was hard.  I felt like we should still be doing some activities that related to the Halloween holiday.  SO, I got creative.  :) Here were a few of our Transportation Centers.  Fire Safety Matching, Firetruck with Firefighter Puppets, Magnatrucks and maps, and our really awesome Sensory Table. 

 The Transportation Sensory Table was full of black beans, small numbers, sandpaper numbers, Construction vehicles, and different road signs to match. 

Now...how did I mix Halloween and Transportation together?   WELL...we did a day airplanes so we made an air plane AND an owl.  Because they both fly of course! 

Then we made Bats and Boats.  Because they both start with B and bats are nocturnal like owls are!











Our letters of the week were letter T and letter C.  T for Transportation obviously and T for Triangle and C for CANDY CORN!

And of course we did school buses.  SO we made a school bus AND we learned The Spooky Wheels on the Bus.  Click the image to get your copy from Amazon.com

 

This song is GREAT! A counting, "spooky" spin on the Wheels on the Bus.

Total credit goes to the author of this story for these great lines.

1 spooky bus goes rattle and shake (shake your arms then bottom)
rattle and shake, rattle and shake.

1 spooky bus goes rattle and shake

All through the town.

2 white wipers go creak, creak, creak. (spread fingers apart and wave whole arm back and forth)

creak, creak, creak.

creak, creak, creak. 

2 white wipers go creak, creak, creak.

All through the town.

3 noisy cats go meow, hiss, hiss. (make hands into claws and swipe them up and down)

meow, hiss, hiss.

meow, hiss, hiss.

3 noisy cats go meow, hiss, hiss.

All through the town.

4 glowing wheels roll round and round. (standard wheels roll around maneuver)
round and round. round and round.
4 glowing wheels roll round and round.
All through the town.

5 big spiders spin their webs. (dance your arms around back and forth)
Spin their webs. Spin their webs.
5 big spiders spin their webs.
All through the town.

6 singing mummies hum, hum, hum. (hands pressed together, sway body back and forth)
hum, hum, hum. hum, hum, hum.
6 singing mummies hum, hum, hum.
All through the town.

7 silly monsters wiggle and waggle. (wiggle arms above head, wiggle arms down low by legs)
wiggle and waggle.  wiggle and waggle.
7 silly monsters wiggle and waggle.
All through the town.

8 wacky witches cackle and howl (let students howl at the moon)
cackle and howl. cackle and howl.
8 wacky witches cackle and howl.
All through the town.

9 magic brooms go swish, swoosh, swish. (pretend to hold a broom and sweep back and forth)
swish, swoosh, swish. swish, swoosh, swish.
9 magic brooms go swish, swoosh, swish.
All through the town.

10 goofy ghosts say BOO! BOO! BOO! (hold up ten fingers and open close them on each BOO!)
BOO! BOO! BOO!
BOO! BOO! BOO!
10 goofy ghosts say BOO! BOO! BOO!
All through the town.


*And that is how I sneaked in some Halloween during our Transportation unit!

Apples!

We have been working on Apples for the past two weeks.  Learning the lifecycle.  When we pick apples.  What can be made with Apples. The parts of an apple.  We read lots of nonfiction stories about apples and apple orchards.  We also read The Apple Pie Tree and Ten Apples Up On Top!

Here's a few of the projects we made!

First we worked in the math center on Patterning.

 Then we took those patterns and used them to create a sequencing activity for The Apple Pie Tree story.

 We did lots of group writing about the things we were learning about apples.  We also made Glitter Apples.  This is a great sensory type activity.  I make the kids spread the glue with their fingers and hands before we sprinkle on the glitter!

 We did an apple tasting! Each child got at least one slice of each color of apple then we voted on which one we liked best.

 We read Ten Apples Up On Top (like ten times!)  Then the kids got a picture of themselves and had to count out ten apples to glue them up on top of their picture!  They loved this project!

 We also cut apple cores.  They had to follow the curved lines, then color and draw seeds, to create an apple core!

I think we enjoyed our unit on apples.  This week we will focus on Transportation (and fire safety).  THEN we will get to do PUMPKINS and Halloween! 

Preschool Fall Songs and Projects

One of the things I absolutely LOVE about preschool is the songs we get to sing.  I have an old favorite and a NEW favorite! I'm an Autumn Tree is my old favorite.  The Leaves on the Tree is my new favorite.


I'm an Autumn Tree
(*Sing to the tune of I'm a little Teapot)
I'm an Autumn tree all orange and brown (Have your arms up in the air like a tree)
I shake my roots and my branches, too! (shake your legs "roots" and then wave your arms"branches")
On a windy day there's a howling sound! (continue to wave your arms back and forth)
WOOOOOO!!!!
And then the leaves fall down! (wave your arms down to the ground)

The Leaves on the Trees
(*sing to the wheels on the bus)
The leaves on the tree turn orange and brown (hold arms up in the air)
Orange and Brown
Orange and Brown.
The leaves on the tree turn orange and brown.
All through the town.

The leaves on the tree come tumbling down. (wiggle your arms and bend down)
Tumbling down.
Tumbling down.
The leaves on the tree come tumbling down.
All through the town. 

The leaves on the ground go crunch, crunch, crunch. (march in place)
crunch, crunch, crunch.
crunch, crunch, crunch.
The leaves on the ground go crunch, crunch, crunch.
All through the town.

The leaves on the ground go swish, swish, swish. (squat down and wiggle your arms/fingers back and forth)
Swish, swish, swish.
Swish, swish, swish.
The leaves on the ground go swish, swish, swish.
All through the town!


We have also made the PRETTIEST fall trees! We used a di-cut tree, drew a shape so the kids had a different shape on each tree to stay inside with their paint.  THEN we made a color/number key and made it into a Paint by Numbers activity! The kids loved it, and these trees are always my favorite project!

We are currently studying apples! I am excited to share all the cool work we have been doing and a few more cool fingerplays/songs we have learned!

Apple Seed Counting Book

So I searched to find activities to go with our Apple Unit starting on Monday.  I found the idea to make a "book" for them to count and draw apple seeds on an apple.  After searching I could only find them in places where you have to pay a membership every year to be a part of their teacher website. 

With TeachersPayTeachers, there is NO membership fee.  You just log in and look around!  So I made my own apple seed counting book! There is a title page, a page for them to write their name, and numbers are from 1-10.  This gives them a chance to do number recognition as well as hands on 1to1 counting experience for your math centers.


You can get your copy on my teacherspayteachers website! Click the link or the picture to purchase this item!

Happy Fall! :)

Sensory September

The new curriculum we have been using this year has been shifting our focus a bit to be able to provide sensory learning experiences for our students.  Basically they are getting a 360 full senses experience.  They get to see, hear, touch, smell, and taste a variety of things each day. 


In our science center, I have made a magnet sensory box.  There are different things for them to touch and learn with to figure out which things are magnetic or not.  Inside the box we have: feathers, pompoms, paper clips, popsicle sticks, jingle bells, buttons, and binder clips. The plastic horseshoe magnets came from Dollar Tree! :)

 

In our actual "Sensory Table" we have dry noodles and foam magnet letters.  The pizza pan is one from Dollar Tree that has just been spray painted to look neat! The students actually had the chance to help me dye the noodles to add to the sensory table!  We did that project during inside recess one day! We used sandwich bags, 2 drops of food coloring, and 2 pumps of hand sanitizer! They got to shake the bags and watch the magic happen!  They loved getting to be a part of making their center!

The kids love and learn from activities that engage their whole bodies, not just their brains!