Thursday, February 9, 2012

MAGNIFICENT, MARVELOUS, MICHIGAN!

Oh, my goodness!  The teachers I met in Michigan last week were MARVELOUS!  I’ll be sharing some of their ideas the next few days on my blog.

Recess Monkeys
Jennifer Altwies told us about these three creative male teachers from Seattle.  Search “recess monkeys” and you’ll be able to see some of their free videos.  “The Teens” is fantastic!  Quirky fun that your kids will love!

Envelope Puppet
You know how I love to recycle!  Well, here’s an envelope puppet that Martha RoHer shared that you can make from junk mail.  Slit the top edge and take out the junk.  Bend the top corners down as shown.  Open and squeeze. 
I think this would be great for Mother Goony Bird!

He, She, They Turtles
Look how clever Colleen Callahan was to teach pronouns using a finger play.
         Here is a turtle.             (Make fist.)
         He lives in a shell.                            
         He likes his home                            
         Very well.                                   
         When he gets hungry       (Stick out thumb and wiggle.)
         He comes out to eat.                 
         Then he goes back into      (Tuck thumb back in fist.)
         His house to sleep.        
*Second Time:  Here is a turtle.  SHE lives in HER shell…
Third time:  Here are two turtles.  THEY live in THEIR shells…        

Humpty Dumpty Puzzle
After learning “Humpty Dumpty” Amy Fielbrandt gives the children paper ovals.  She lets them cut the ovals into 4 or 5 pieces and then asks them to "put him back together again" by gluing the pieces on another sheet of paper.  These are displayed on a bulletin board with this rhyme:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.
But the kindergarteners got out some glue
And put him together as good as new!

Cheers for Sharon Dudley!
Sharon Dudley is an amazing teacher from Maryland.  She's a National Board Certified Teacher, has been Teacher of the Year, was featured on Fox news, and she just happens to be blind.  You'll be inspired by her story http://teachingwithsight.blogspot.com.