GOOD IDEAS #3

Thanks for taking this journey with me down memory lane.  Let's see what treasures you can find today?

Kindness Sprinkles (Christin Cannan)
You “sprinkle” kindness (hands up and wiggle fingers) on the Star of the Week, Birthday Child, or for other occasions.
                                        

*VIRTUAL CLASSROOM

Put some rice in a Pringle's can and cover it with fancy paper. Write "kindness sprinkles" on the label.  Have the children repeat this chant from "The Help" each day and then shake "kindness sprinkles" on them.
          I AM KIND.  (Touch heart.)
          I AM SMART.  (Touch brain.)
          I AM IMPORTANT.  (Hug self.)

How Do You Feel?  (Bonnie Lewis)

Teacher:        How do you feel?

Children:       We feel good.  Huh!  (Children bend over slightly and flex their muscles.)

*VIRTUAL CLASSROOM
Don't forget to do lots of cheers!  You know, for some of the children you might be the most "positive" thing that happens to them every day!


                                                 
Shape Crackers (Pamela Pounds)
Send a note to parents the first week of school asking them to send crackers to help the children learn their shapes. (Ritz - circles, Club crackers - rectangles, Doritos - triangles, Wheat Thins - squares, and Town House crackers - ovals.)
*Give children two crackers and ask them to describe how they are different.
*Have children eat one half of a cracker.
*Give children a square cracker and challenge them to nibble it into a circle.
*Give children two like crackers. Ask, “Are they the same amount?” Next, have them break one of the crackers into little pieces. Ask, “Are they the same amount now?” You’ll be surprised at their response. (This is called conservation of quantity and is an experiment Piaget used to demonstrate developmental stages.
*Give children a sheet of paper. Pass out a square cracker to each child and tell the children to draw what it looks like on their paper. Next, give them a circle shaped cracker and ask them to draw it. Continue with other shapes. It’s a fun way to practice pre-writing skills.


VIRTUAL CLASSROOM
Ask parents to provide their child with a small bag of crackers for snack.  Children can take turns sharing what their cracker looks like.  Discuss the attributes of the different crackers.  Play a "show me" game where children hold up their cracker when you name the shape.  Can they draw what their cracker looks like?  Can they eat half of one cracker?


Occupation in a Bag (Megan Pope)
When studying community helpers, send home a paper bag with each student. Ask them to put in items that explain what their parents do. This is great for parents who are too busy to come in and speak about their jobs.

                      

VIRTUAL CLASSROOM
Wouldn't this be a great show and tell?

GOOD IDEAS #2

Through the years when I did workshops I would invite teachers to write down their ideas so I could share them on my blog. Some of these activities are like hidden treasures! You can adapt some of them if you are doing online teaching when school starts, or you can save them for that special day when you are a real classroom family again. 

Why don't you start a folder called "My Treasure Box" and copy and paste the ones you like best?
                                              
P.S. I'm laughing at myself because after 50 years as an educator I still get pumped when I learn a new idea. My hope is that you'll be inspired every day this month with something you want to try!

Interest Inventory
In addition to saving writing samples and self portraits in a “portfolio” each month, have children complete an “interest inventory” by filling in sentences similar to the ones below:

I am good at______.

I like to _____.

I want to work on _____.

My favorite book is _____.

I wish _____.
          

Hint! Younger children could just dictate their responses to an adult.

VIRTUAL CLASSROOM
*Use these statements to get information about each child when you do a one-on-one online "get to know you."
*Have children fill these out with their parents to share with their "online" classmates at the beginning of the school year.

Touch and Count
Touch different body parts as you count by tens. For example, touch your head as you count 1-9. Touch your shoulders as you count 10-19. Then touch your knees as you count 20-29, and so forth.

VIRTUAL CLASSROOM
This is an example of ACTIVE learning that would be good online or "off"line!

Criss Cross Nursery Rhymes
This activity combines two of my favorite things – nursery rhymes and crossing the midline. Wouldn’t this be a great brain break for any age?  You can adapt all nursery rhymes to these movements:

Jack (extend right arm)
And Jill (extend left arm)
Went up (right hand on left shoulder)
A hill (left hand on right shoulder)
To fetch (right hand on right hip)
A pail (left hand on left him)
Of Wa- (right hand on left knee)
Ter (left hand on right knee)
(Clap Hands!)
Jack (extend right arm)
Fell down (extend left arm)
And broke (right hand on left shoulder)
His crown (left hand on right shoulder)
And Jill (right hand on right hip)
Came (left hand on left hip)
Tumbling (right hand on left knee)
After (left hand on right knee)
YEAH! (Thumbs up!)

VIRTUAL CLASSROOM
This would be a great brain break for older kids and a fun way for younger ones to learn nursery rhymes.

GOOD IDEAS #1

It's June!  It's June!  The lovely month of June!

If you didn't get to attend the virtual GYTO Conference here is the 
playlist for the songs I sang.

Click for GYTO Playlist

Each day in June I'm going to "revisit" my favorite blog ideas from the past 10 years.  

You might not get to go to a conference this summer, but I'll 
still have a TON of great ideas for you every day!

I'll also give you suggestions for adapting them to the virtual classroom.

ALPHARDY VIDEO

You are going to LOVE this video that some teachers in Iowa created to go with my "Alphardy" song.  Share it with your families or keep it for when school begins again.  Online or in person - it's a great active learning song!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur5E1Btt6qI

Thank you so much Suzy Nordhus and the Northwood Preschool Center 
(Ames Community School District).

Sticky Notes in the Traditional Classroom

Use sticky notes to encourage writing and reinforce functional print. “Get a sticky note and write it down so you don’t forget.” “Put a sticky note on your desk about riding home with your aunt.” “Put a sticky note in the book when you find the solution.”

                 

VIRTUAL CLASSROOM

Include sticky notes in your supply list.  Children can use these to quietly answer questions and then hold them up for the teacher to do a quick check.

*Phonics (write the beginning sound, vowel sound, etc.)

*Math (teacher holds a dot card and children write the number, math facts, number stories, etc.)

*Spelling (spell sight words, vocabulary, spelling words, etc.)

*Review (answer questions about a unit of study)

*Feelings (draw how you feel)

*Doodles (children can draw if they are restless)


VIRTUAL CLASSROOM MEMORY MAKERS 

This idea came from Margaret Moogan, a PreK teacher in the Passaic School District.  I thought it was such a sweet way to end her school year so I'll let her tell you about it.

An idea I will doing next week is showing the children about 10 photos that we have of them in the classroom before March 13th. They miss their friends so much. I thought it would be fun to do a scavenger hunt or a detective game, i.e. find the blue counting bears, what photo is Rachel in, what is she doing, what do you think they are "cooking" in the house area, what are they building in this picture, name your friends in this picture, etc.  If I get a good response, I will do it again with another set of pictures.