SKILLS GALORE OUTDOORS!

Sometimes you just have to think outside the box to make standards more fun!

Reading Tree
Choose a poetry book, storybook, and non-fiction book to read outside under a shady tree. Can the children identify the books?


Reading Buddies
Divide children into pairs and let them each choose a favorite book. Go out on the playground, find a shady spot, and enjoy sharing their books with each other.
*Encourage them to ask each other questions about the books they read.


Alphabet Walk
Write letters on a paved surface with chalk. Challenge the children to step on the letters as they name them. Can they think of something that starts with each sound.

Word Hopscotch
Draw a hopscotch grid on a paved surface. Write high frequency words in each section. Children hop on the spaces as they read the words.


Talking Stick
Choose a stick on the playground and then have the children sit in a circle under a tree. Explain that you will start a story. As you pass the stick around, the child holding the stick can add to the story. Only the person holding the stick is allowed to talk. You might want to start a story about the day a space ship landed on the playground or the day animals started to talk.

Prepositions on the Move
Using playground equipment, call out various prepositions, such as on, off, over, under, by, between, to, from for the children to demonstrate.


We Can Do Opposites
Gather children around playground equipment and tell them you will call out a word. Can they demonstrate the opposite? For example, if the teacher said down, the children would climb up. If the teacher said front, the children would move to the back. Other words could be over, behind, inside, and so forth.


Verb Relays
Divide children into relay teams. The teacher names a verb and the children act out the meaning until everyone on their team has completed the movement. For example, you could have them walk, march, strut, prance, and so forth.
*It's a good way to integrate synonyms!

PARTY TIL THE END!

Some of you have one or two more days of school, and some of you have a month to go. What ya' gonna do? Party every day!!!!

Sports Day – Enjoy the warm weather with a “Sports Day.” Children can wear t-shirts and hats from their favorite teams. Let them bring sports equipment to share with friends on the playground.

Beach Party – Bring beach towels and wear sunglasses, shorts, and bathing suits. Set up sprinklers or other water activities on the playground. Play beach ball games, beach music, and have a “cool” snack like popsicles.

Book Party – Encourage children to dress up like their favorite book character. Play “Guess Who I Am?” or have children describe why they like a particular character. Let them bring favorite reading material (books, magazines) from home and sit or lay wherever they want for independent reading

Talent Show - One of my favorite memories is of a Talent Show we had at the end of the school year. I just invited all the children to think of a “talent” (song, dance, story, gymnastic stunt) they could do. We sat in a circle and they all got up and performed! We clapped and laughed and cheered!

Pajama Party – Have children wear pajamas and bring pillows and stuffed animals to class. Read books, watch a movie, and eat popcorn.

Career Day – Children come dressed for the career they’d like when they grow up. After sharing with friends, have each child draw a picture (or take a photograph) and make a class book.

Luau – Make grass skirts from draw string garbage bags. Cut straws in 1” pieces and alternate stringing with paper flowers on dental floss to create a lei. Hula, surf, and eat pineapple fruit kabobs for snack.

Toy Day – Children bring a favorite toy from home and share with their friends.

Wash Day – Wear old clothes and bring sponges, pails, and squirt bottles. Let children wash tables, desks, toys, etc. (You could tie this in with a water play day.)



Teddy Bear Parade – Children bring in a teddy bear or stuffed animal and parade around the classroom. Have them write stories and draw pictures of what they like to do with their bear. Have a “tea party” with your bears.

Board Game Day – Let children bring board games from home. Set aside the last hour in the day to share games and play with friends.

Take a Vacation (Instead of "Time Out")
Carrie Tibetts shared this brilliant idea. First, children get to choose a "vacation location." This is any special place they like in the classroom. If a child needs a break they can "take a vacation" and go to their quiet spot.

ABOUT TOWN

It made my heart happy to be back volunteering in the schools in Greenville this spring.  

 

Here is a picture from one school that is worth a thousand words.  (Do you think any parents pay attention to this????)

I'm always looking for new ideas and these are some of my favorite creations!

Parents and children painted sticks and then they arranged them on a canvas. 

The children glued crayons to a canvas and then heated them with a hot hair dryer.

Can't get enough positive words in a school!

What a beautiful way to make names and letters meaningful!

So true!

This was created with plastic water bottles and was hanging in the entrance hall.

 

I love all my new Greenville teacher friends!!!

 

 

MEMORY ROCK GARDEN

Several weeks ago when I visited a school in Greenville I saw this garden and it captured my interest. The principal explained that her son had died and the children and staff painted rocks and created this beautiful memory garden for her.

I was so intrigued by the project that I did a little more research and found this fabulous website:

Click here to visit Kids Gardening

Just think how you could adapt this to an end of year project. The children could paint rocks with their names, kind words, a welcome message, etc. You could even make a letter garden where children choose a letter, sight word, or other skill and paint a rock. 

Hint!  Rocks can also be a bridge to talking about diversity.  Go on a rock hunt and let each child find a rock.  Have the children sit in a circle and take turns describing their rocks and passing them around for other to hold.  How their rocks alike? How are they different?  How are people alike?  How are they different?  Wouldn't it be a boring world if all the rocks and people looked exactly the same?

Here's some background information from kidsgardening.org:

The American Journal of Public Health published a literature review on The Connection Between Art, Healing and Public Health examining the health benefits of visual arts therapy, movement-based creative expression, and expressive writing. The Children and Nature Network’s Research Library is full of studies looking at the social and emotional benefits of spending time in nature. What if you combine the two by engaging in creative activities that encourage self-expression in a natural setting?

In an ideal youth garden setting, kids would have the opportunity to help design the garden and select the plants and special features included. However, when there are a large number of kids utilizing a garden (such as at a school or public space), this level of involvement can be challenging due to cost and available space. Educators can turn to simpler crafts using inexpensive or repurposed materials as an alternative for allowing students to help decorate the garden space and make it their own. This lesson lays out ideas for using painted rocks in your garden to allow young gardeners to express themselves, to communicate with each other, and to contribute to the garden in a personal way.

Note!  They stressed the importance of working together to create guidelines so it's a positive experience for everyone.  

*Acrylic paints/pens and sealant were recommended.

Branching Out
Use KidsGardening’s Growing Poems lesson to encourage more ways of using the garden as inspiration for self-expression.

Check out the Kindness in the Garden lesson for more ideas for incorporating kind acts in garden spaces. Additional ideas can be found through the Compassion Flower Project developed in partnership with Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day.

LET'S READ AND TALK!

The best things in life are free -

like these stories, books, and language activities.

Here's a link to download all of the the activity cards for May 13 through May 17:

Click here to download Activity Cards

Use these prompts to encourage talking, reading, and writing with your child.

Lunch Sack Book

Baggie Book

Gift Bag Book

Box Top Book

Letters of Love

Good Book

I Can Read!

Writer’s Briefcase

Story Tapes

Bedtime Ritual



file:///Users/jeanfeld/Downloads/ActivityCARDS-DrJeanJuly2015-2.pdf

LET'S EXPERIMENT!

I KNOW A SCIENTIST - AND YOU CAN BE ONE, TOO!

Download all the activity cards for most recent blog posts here:

Click to download Activity Cards


You'll be amazed by these experiments you can do with simple materials around your home.

Pepper Scatter

Shiny Pennies

Happy Face Balloon

Magnetic Mouse

What’s Up?

Funnel Phone

Growing, Growing

Feely Socks





file:///Users/jeanfeld/Downloads/ActivityCARDS-DrJeanJuly2015-2.pdf

LET'S PLAY A GAME!

People don't stop playing because they grow old -


They grow old because they stop playing!
Stay YOUNG as you play one of these games with your children!

 

Here's a link to download all of the the activity cards for May 13 through May 16:

Click to download Activity Cards

Check out these games for indoor and outdoor fun.

Play Ball

Juggling and Balance Beam

Follow the Leader and Mirror

Jump the Creek

Camping

Step School

Going on a Trip

Penny-Penny

Tower Topple

Charades




file:///Users/jeanfeld/Downloads/ActivityCARDS-DrJeanJuly2015-2.pdf