Miss Erin and I recorded another video to help you learn some of our Circus vocabulary. First we review our circus words and then read the book "Ringmaster, Ringmaster, What Do You See?"
You can watch it in the presentation below, or on YouTube here: Ringmaster, Ringmaster, Who Do You See?
(We like to embed the OneTrueMedia presentations into the blog entries because they are visible from the school computers.)
Take some time at home to talk about the circus vocabulary. We made a book this week. We each wrote about what job we would have at the circus if we worked there and why.
-Tell your child which role you would want to play.
-Ask your child about what he/she would want to do. Ask why.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Colors at the Circus
In our last post you see the clown hats that we made while reading along with the book "Colors at the Circus". You can watch it at YouTube here: Colors at the Circus
Or you can watch it in the presentation below:
-Talk about the colors with your child.
-Play "I Spy" to come up with other colors in your house that match the colors we talk about here.
-Think of other items at the circus that could have those same colors.
-Find pictures in magazines or books that have the same colors.
-Think of other items at the circus that could have those same colors.
-Find pictures in magazines or books that have the same colors.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Welcome To Our 3 Ring Circus
We continued our Circus theme this week. We have had fun exploring all of the different "jobs" at the circus. We have been:
elephants
monkeys
clowns
tight rope walkers
ring masters
lion tamers
Pictures of us enjoying our Circus during work time:
Pictures of us as a clown:
We made clown hats by putting colored circles on our white hats. Miss Stephanie read a book that talked about different colors that we see at the circus. As Miss Stephanie read each page, we had to find the colored circle that matched and put it on our hat. We loved making our hats and gathered with our classroom clown to take a group picture!
Making our clown hats:
elephants
monkeys
clowns
tight rope walkers
ring masters
lion tamers
Pictures of us enjoying our Circus during work time:
Pictures of us as a clown:
We made clown hats by putting colored circles on our white hats. Miss Stephanie read a book that talked about different colors that we see at the circus. As Miss Stephanie read each page, we had to find the colored circle that matched and put it on our hat. We loved making our hats and gathered with our classroom clown to take a group picture!
Making our clown hats:
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Pete the Cat
Check out Miss Erin and Miss Stephanie reading "Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes" by Eric Litwin.
You can watch on YouTube right here: Pete the Cat in Sign Language
You can see our other post about Pete the Cat here.
It has become one of our favorite books to read in class. You can always find at least 2 students at the Listening Center reading AND singing along with the book during centers time.
Even the students in our deaf and hard of hearing class LOVE using the Listening Center. Thanks to modern technology, we are able to hook up Miss Stephanie's microphone to the Listening Center and the CD is transmitted right to our hearing aids and cochlear implants to help us follow along with the story!
You can watch on YouTube right here: Pete the Cat in Sign Language
You can see our other post about Pete the Cat here.
It has become one of our favorite books to read in class. You can always find at least 2 students at the Listening Center reading AND singing along with the book during centers time.
Even the students in our deaf and hard of hearing class LOVE using the Listening Center. Thanks to modern technology, we are able to hook up Miss Stephanie's microphone to the Listening Center and the CD is transmitted right to our hearing aids and cochlear implants to help us follow along with the story!
Friday, January 6, 2012
Pete the Cat and Story Expansion
This week we read the story Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes several times.
Here you can see a Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes YouTube performance:
Check out another Pete the Cat video here:
For more Pete activities you can click here:
color the shoes
Here you can see Miss Stephanie reading and signing the story:
After reading the story a few times we talked about our own shoes and how we love our own shoes. We each sang about the type of shoes we were wearing! Some of us had white shoes, pink shoes, black boots, rainbow shoes, Spiderman shoes, and even Buzz shoes!
PM
AM
This is just one example of how you can take a story and expand on it at home! Ask your child how THEY relate to the story.
Another great way to encourage your child to develop his/her literacy skills is to have your child look at a book and tell the story without words. Some kids will say "I don't know what the words say" and some will jump right in. Encourage your child to look at the pictures and try his/her best to tell the story by using clues they see in the pictures. Understanding that pictures give us clues is a great first step to reading!
Here you can see a video of two students in the afternoon who were sitting independently in the library area reading a story together. Miss Stephanie thought it was a great moment, so she got out her camera and had them start from the beginning.
It is OK if the plot of the story isn't the same. Using pictures as clues to try to understand the story is a great tool! Try it at home this weekend. Pull out a picture book and tell your child, "Read to me!".
Check out another Pete the Cat video here:
For more Pete activities you can click here:
color the shoes
What We Know About the Circus
We started our unit on the Circus this week. Before we started talking about the circus, Miss Stephanie told each of us to tell her something we know about the circus (in the afternoon).
NP-There's elephants there.
MV-There funny clowns.
NR-People watch silly clowns and eat popcorn.
CP-There giraffes.
JB-The clowns.
MM-The elephants play and everyone sits quiet.
EK-The elephant jump.
PG-The clown can juggle.
JP-Elephant drivin' the car.
MP-A cars honk.
JR-Silly Clowns.
KP-Elephants dance.
MJ-Elephants
CH-I ate popcorn too.
MD-Circus.
Ideas for home:
-Find books at the library about the circus and read them.
-Find pictures on the Internet of the circus and talk about them.
-Draw pictures of what you think the circus looks like.
NP-There's elephants there.
MV-There funny clowns.
NR-People watch silly clowns and eat popcorn.
CP-There giraffes.
JB-The clowns.
MM-The elephants play and everyone sits quiet.
EK-The elephant jump.
PG-The clown can juggle.
JP-Elephant drivin' the car.
MP-A cars honk.
JR-Silly Clowns.
KP-Elephants dance.
MJ-Elephants
CH-I ate popcorn too.
MD-Circus.
Ideas for home:
-Find books at the library about the circus and read them.
-Find pictures on the Internet of the circus and talk about them.
-Draw pictures of what you think the circus looks like.
Monday, December 26, 2011
The Gingerbread Man Song
Here we have the afternoon class singing our Gingerbread Man song.
Miss Stephanie cannot currently locate the file from the morning class!
Miss Stephanie cannot currently locate the file from the morning class!
The Gingerbread Man
We have been reading various versions of The Gingerbread Man in the month of December. On the Thursday before break we acted out the story with some Gingerbread Man cookies!
When the Gingerbread Man arrived at the river, he met a fox. The fox offered to help.
(We think the fox was trying to trick the Gingerbread Man, not trying to be nice)
The fox said, "Come jump on my back. I will help you get across the river!)
Then he said, "The water is rising! Get on my shoulder!"
Then he said, "Quick! The water is rising more. Get on my head!"
The fox said, "The water is still rising! Get on my nose!"
Then, quick as a wink, the fox threw back his head, and flipped the Gingerbread Man into his mouth.
That was the end of the Gingerbread Man!
Ask your child to retell you the story of the Gingerbread Man! See what parts he/she remembers! Post your child's answer in the comments section.
Before we read the story the first time, we did a prediction activity. We read the story most of the way through and then I stopped before the last page. I asked each student to predict what they thought was going to happen when they saw the picture of the Gingerbread Man standing on the fox's nose.
Guesses from the AM class:
T/TH
OP-A fox ate the Gingerbread Man.
EH-He eat the Gingerbread Man.
HG-He will eat him.
JN-The fox melt in the water.
ZP-I think he going eat him.
5 day
CK-He gunna eat him.
IE-Fox. No.
JTT-nose
Guesses from the PM class:
NP- I think he's gunna eat him.
MV-The Gingerbread Man is going to bake some other GIngerbread Mans.
CH-His yes.
CP-Eat him.
MP-A dog gunna drown.
EK-The fox gunna eat the Gingerbread Man.
MJ-He's gunna get on his nose.
MM-Then his legs.
MD-water
SF-The fox is gunna eat the Gingerbread Man.
NR-He's gunna eat him.
JR-The old lady try to catch him.
JB-In the water.
JP-The fox will eat him and the fox will shrink.
PG-He wanna eat him.
KP- He eat it
As you can see, we had some great predictions! This is a skill you can practice at home before you get to the last page of a book. Ask, "What do you think will happen next?"
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Apple Apple Song
Here is another one of our very favorite songs: The Apple Apple song!
This song helps us learn our letters and letter sounds. It also helps us think of words that begin with that letter! It is one of our alphabet song choices at circle time.
You can see the YouTube video (higher quality) by clicking the link on the right.
Enjoy!
This song helps us learn our letters and letter sounds. It also helps us think of words that begin with that letter! It is one of our alphabet song choices at circle time.
You can see the YouTube video (higher quality) by clicking the link on the right.
Enjoy!
Hear ye! Hear ye! The Preschool Royalty!
We have spent the last 2 weeks enjoying our new royal status as princes, princesses, knights, kings, queens, and dragons! We thought it was funny to call Miss Stephanie "Your Highness". She thought it was funny too!
We worked on our castle walls in the creation station and then helped Miss Stephanie put them up and make them look like walls and towers. We have enjoyed playing with the props that we made at home for our family projects. In the Construction Zone we have been building castles. We even have a book with pictures of real castles we can look at for ideas while we are building.
Miss Erin made a SmartBoard activity that she shared with our class. We really enjoyed sorting the castle people from the farm animals during a small group. Later we were able to do it on our own during work time. We had several debates about the noble steed (horse) and the dragon. We decided the noble steed could stay in the barn until the knight needed him.
Do dragons go in the barn or in the castle??
What do you think? Why? Ask your child what he/she thinks and post the answer in the comments section below.
AM
PM
We worked on our castle walls in the creation station and then helped Miss Stephanie put them up and make them look like walls and towers. We have enjoyed playing with the props that we made at home for our family projects. In the Construction Zone we have been building castles. We even have a book with pictures of real castles we can look at for ideas while we are building.
Miss Erin made a SmartBoard activity that she shared with our class. We really enjoyed sorting the castle people from the farm animals during a small group. Later we were able to do it on our own during work time. We had several debates about the noble steed (horse) and the dragon. We decided the noble steed could stay in the barn until the knight needed him.
Do dragons go in the barn or in the castle??
What do you think? Why? Ask your child what he/she thinks and post the answer in the comments section below.
AM
PM
Friday, November 4, 2011
Putting on a Jacket
As winter gets closer, we have been working on our independence skills. Some of us are still working on putting on our jackets by ourselves. Kids at this age put on their jackets in a variety of ways. Some of us do it just like adults do: one arm and then the other. That is hard for someone of us to manage. Some of us use the "flip it over your head" method.
Miss Stephanie had some expert jacket put-er on-ers help her make a video so others can practice at home.
Tips:
-Fix sleeves of jacket so they are the right way.
-Put jacket on the ground with the tag/hood facing your toes.
-Stick your arms in the sleeves.
-Keep yours arms in the sleeves and flip it over your head.
-Your jacket is on!
Another tip:
When you are purchasing winter wear, consider getting mittens instead of gloves for kids who are unable to put on gloves independently. Miss Stephanie and Miss Sandy don't have time to put 120 individual fingers in gloves!
Practice putting on your jacket this weekend!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
New Castle Vocabulary
Our November theme is "Castle". We are really excited to transform our classroom into a castle and discover all kinds of new vocabulary about things that are found in a castle.
Don't forget to start working on your family project this weekend. We need items for our castle! You could make a tower or something a king/prince/princess/knight would have. Be as creative as you want! We just need props for our castle. Make sure you work together as a family. It doesn't need to be perfect, it just needs to be done together.
Here is a video reviewing some of our new castle vocabulary:
Monday, October 31, 2011
Go Away Big Green Monster
We had a great time with our Go Away Big Green Monster Day at school today! We had 6 stations that we rotated through all around the school. All of us participated and it was a blast! Even though we had so many transitions and it was such a different routine, we did a great job and had lots of fun!
Our stations:
monster mash obstacle course
parachute and Trick, Trick, Treat (Duck, Duck, Goose)
making a monster face snack
pin the nose on the big green monster
making a monster face on a paper plate
watching the big green monster story and playing a smartboard activity
Check out this retelling of the story on YouTube that I found (sorry about the high pitched voice! But the felt board activity she uses is cute!)
AM Class
PM Class
Saturday, October 29, 2011
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
Miss Erin and I videotaped ourselves reading one of our VERY favorite books: The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything. It has been a big hit in our classrooms over the last couple weeks. We love to read the story and make the hand motions to go along with it. We have also enjoyed our SmartBoard activity that goes along with it!
Check out the YouTube video by the link on the right sidebar for a higher quality version.
Miss Jill and some of the other Independence staff helped perform this story on Thursday. We had a blast watching them and participating with them! Our class was the "shirts". When Miss Jill read about the shirts, we held our white shirts up in the air and said "Shake, Shake!". You can enjoy the Independence rendition of the story here:
On Friday, we watched the performance again in the morning because some of us were absent on Thursday. We enjoyed it just as much the second time! (This time Miss Stephanie is interpreting the story in sign language).
Miss Jill and some of the other Independence staff helped perform this story on Thursday. We had a blast watching them and participating with them! Our class was the "shirts". When Miss Jill read about the shirts, we held our white shirts up in the air and said "Shake, Shake!". You can enjoy the Independence rendition of the story here:
On Friday, we watched the performance again in the morning because some of us were absent on Thursday. We enjoyed it just as much the second time! (This time Miss Stephanie is interpreting the story in sign language).
Pumpkin Fun
In our slideshow this week you will see some creative ways we used the pumpkins we picked at the pumpkin patch. One of our favorite activities has been pounding plastic nails into a pumpkin in the Construction Zone. It is harder to get them out than it is to pound them in!
In addition we have been very silly and creative making Mr. Pumpkin Heads with pumpkins and the Mr. Potato Head pieces. We have all kinds of fun creations!
The last few photos and videos in the slideshow you will see something new that we have been doing with our SmartBoards! We are practicing our story retelling skills with The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything and Go Away Big Green Monster. We can wear a microphone that is plugged into the computer. Then we move the pieces around the SmartBoard and retell the story. The SmartBoard records the movements and our audio and we can play it back! It was really fun to play with!
We have an update to our blog design. If you notice, at the top of the page there are tabs "home", "stories", and "songs". If you click on the "stories" or "songs" tabs, you will pull up all of our blog posts about stories and all of our blog posts about songs. We are loving to watch theses stories and songs during our work time and have said that we'd love to watch with our families at home as well!
In addition we have been very silly and creative making Mr. Pumpkin Heads with pumpkins and the Mr. Potato Head pieces. We have all kinds of fun creations!
The last few photos and videos in the slideshow you will see something new that we have been doing with our SmartBoards! We are practicing our story retelling skills with The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything and Go Away Big Green Monster. We can wear a microphone that is plugged into the computer. Then we move the pieces around the SmartBoard and retell the story. The SmartBoard records the movements and our audio and we can play it back! It was really fun to play with!
We have an update to our blog design. If you notice, at the top of the page there are tabs "home", "stories", and "songs". If you click on the "stories" or "songs" tabs, you will pull up all of our blog posts about stories and all of our blog posts about songs. We are loving to watch theses stories and songs during our work time and have said that we'd love to watch with our families at home as well!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Learning Letter Sounds (Alligator Song)
In addition to the ABC Rock (in another post) we also love the Learning Letter Sounds song! We like to call it the Alligator Song.
It is one of the 6 songs we can choose from at circle time.
You can also click on one of the links on the right to see it on YouTube (better quality).
Enjoy!
Pumpkin Carving
After visiting the pumpkin patch this week, we went back to our classroom and carved the top of pumpkin. We carved pumpkins that we found in the pumpkin patch!
We talked about how knives are sharp and only grown ups should touch them.
After that we each stuck our hand inside the pumpkin (or touched the inside) and took a handful of pumpkin goop out! Then we put the pumpkin in the Discovery Zone so we could finish cleaning it out during work time. Some of us really really didn't want to touch the pumpkin goop! That is OK. Some people like or don't like certain textures. Everyone did, however, at least touch the inside of the pumpkin!
AM Class Pumpkin Carving
PM Class Pumpkin Carving
Have you carved pumpkins at home? Will you? We'd love to hear what you made. Please leave a comment and tell us about pumpkin carving with your family!
We talked about how knives are sharp and only grown ups should touch them.
After that we each stuck our hand inside the pumpkin (or touched the inside) and took a handful of pumpkin goop out! Then we put the pumpkin in the Discovery Zone so we could finish cleaning it out during work time. Some of us really really didn't want to touch the pumpkin goop! That is OK. Some people like or don't like certain textures. Everyone did, however, at least touch the inside of the pumpkin!
AM Class Pumpkin Carving
PM Class Pumpkin Carving
Have you carved pumpkins at home? Will you? We'd love to hear what you made. Please leave a comment and tell us about pumpkin carving with your family!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Following Directions with Pumpkins
We have been practicing following directions. We practiced following directions in the morning class with mini pumpkins! You can try this at home. We practiced using body parts. The day we practiced these directions with the deaf and hard of hearing class, we did it using our auditory skills only. No sign! We did a good job listening to the directions and picking out which body part Miss Stephanie said!
Put the pumpkin on your head.
Put the pumpkin on the floor.
Put the pumpkin on your foot.
Put the pumpkin on your nose.
Put the pumpkin on your ear.
Go ahead and try these directions at home!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Visit to the Pumpkin Patch
Today (finally!) we took our walking fieldtrip to the pumpkin patch!
We had a blast walking through the pumpkin patch and seeing the pumpkins in all different stages of the pumpkin life cycle. We also loved seeing the one HUGE pumpkin that Miss Stephanie has. After each picking our own little pumpkin (though Miss Stephanie says it is technically a gourd) we got to sit on her old tractor and pretend we were driving it. Then we all started jumping in the leaves! It was so much fun to jump in the leaves and bury each other.
AM Class
We had a blast walking through the pumpkin patch and seeing the pumpkins in all different stages of the pumpkin life cycle. We also loved seeing the one HUGE pumpkin that Miss Stephanie has. After each picking our own little pumpkin (though Miss Stephanie says it is technically a gourd) we got to sit on her old tractor and pretend we were driving it. Then we all started jumping in the leaves! It was so much fun to jump in the leaves and bury each other.
AM Class
Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com
www.onetruemedia.com
PM Class
On the way to school today Miss Stephanie saw something really exciting. She saw a deer in her pumpkin patch! She said the baby deer comes by every day, but this was the first day she saw her in the morning. The baby deer was even starting to follow Miss Stephanie to school! We enjoyed looking at the pictures of the deer.
Ask us:
What did you see at the pumpkin patch?
What did you do at the pumpkin patch?
What was your favorite part of the pumpkin patch?
How does a pumpkin grow?
What color is a pumpkin before it is orange?
What do a pumpkin plant's flowers look like?
Sunday, October 16, 2011
ABC Rock
One of Circle Time jobs is mail helper. Our mail helper checks the mailbox to see if we have received any "letters". We talk about the letter of the week and what kinds of words start with that letter. We always amaze Miss Stephanie with what we come up with! Then the mailperson gets to choose which alphabet song we sing. The favorite lately has been ABC Rock! We recorded the AM class singing ABC rock and have been watching it during computer time too!
Here is our rendition of ABC Rock!
Here is our rendition of ABC Rock!
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