Jumping Beans (Gail Harwin)
Make 15-20 flash cards with shapes, letters, numbers, colors, math facts etc. Add 5 or 6 additional cards with jumping beans. Children pull a card and give the answer. When a jumping bean card is pulled the children jump up and down like beans.
Calendar Song (Elaine Barreca)
When talking about yesterday, today, and tomorrow, break into song for each one.
1. Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away.
That’s because it was _____.
2. My country tis of the…Today! Sweet land of liberty…Today!
Of thee I sing! Today! Of thee I sing! Today! Today is_____.
3. Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you tomorrow
Because it will be ______.
Big Book Big Glasses (Ashley Beran)
Buy a pair of big clown glasses from the dollar store and pop out the lenses. Whenever you read a “big book,” be sure to wear your “big glasses.”
Reading Comprehension for Young Children (Kathy Reuter)
To work on reading comprehension with young children ask, “What was your favorite page?” The child describes the picture she liked best. We have to find the page and then we talk about the picture. Every child gets to describe a favorite illustration.
100 Days of Knock-Knock Jokes (Laura Staley)
Use 100 knock-knock jokes for the 100 days of school. Post them in the hallway because they are good for reading, discussing the meaning of the joke, and they entertain the students while they are waiting.
Scrabble Cheezits (Laura Staley)
Use cheezits with letters for hands-on phonics.
You can also use cheezits for measurement because they are 1” wide.
Grants for Workshops (Laura Staley)
An application for scholarships to attend workshops can be found on theeducationcenter.com website.
Mrs. Nosey (Laurie Clark)
Buy a pair of silly glasses with a big nose at a dollar store. You will also need a silly hat, boa, purse, etc. When the class is noisy I’ll say, “I’ll see if my aunt Mrs. Nosey is nearby. She might be looking for friends who are working quietly.” I’ll go around the corner and put on the glasses, hat, boa, and become “Mrs. Nosey.” Mrs. Nosey says, “Oh, my! I hope I can find some friends working quietly because they will get a nice stamp/sticker on their work!”
Or, she might come out at writing time and say, “I’m so excited! Your teacher said I could catch some friends who are doing their nicest writing and leaving spaces. I can’t wait to give them a special stamp/sticker.”
*I just do this once a month so it stays special.
Silent Hike (Terri Eggers)
Collect objects from nature and hide them in a bag or container. For example: leaf, seed pod, dead insect, dried flower, feather, snake skin, etc. Explain that you are going to take them on a silent hike inside the classroom. The only rule is that everyone must be silent. They can only use their senses to learn about nature. Have the class sit in a circle. The teacher models looking in the container and smells, listens, feels, or looks at an object. Pass the object around the circle. At the end, answer questions about the objects. Students then write about their silent hike in a journal.
