Have you heard of the Snowman by the Trashcan???

Instead of Elf on the Shelf! 

Day 1:

On the first day, we found the snowman ON the trashcan!

Each day, we find him in another position always around a trashcan.

Day 2:

We found our snowman ABOVE the trashcan!

He is enjoying his Starbuck's and he got to spend the day at this table.

Each day he will move to a different table and he will be found 

BELOW the trashcan 

NEXT TO the trash can

BEHIND the trashcan

IN FRONT OF the trashcan

IN the trashcan, etc.  

We can't wait to see where he will be on Monday!

It's such a fun way to learn our position words for Common Core Math!

You have got to leave a comment and tell me what you think about our 

SNOWMAN & THE TRASHCAN!

Here are some more pix from this week:

Speaking of Snowmen, you might like:

Click the image to see the download.

Click the image to see the download.

SEE YOU ALL TOMORROW!

PALMA :)

So Many Skills in this FREE Kwanzaa Craftivity!

Click the image to see the FREE download.

Here is a great way to introduce your students to the 7 principles of Kwanzaa and create an easy craft project.

You can teach all of these skills with this simple creativity:

-color words red, green, and black
-counting & cardinality (count the red candles, count the green candles, count all of the candles)
-subitizing (subitize the red candles, subitize the green candles)
-addition (add the red candles, green candles, and black candle)
-greater than, less than, & equal sets (Are there more or less red candles than black candles?  Are
 there any equal sets of candles?)
-fine motor skills (cutting, pasting)
-sequence and ordering (glue the candles to create the pattern of 3 reds, 1 black, 3 reds)
-shapes (rectangle)
-1:1 correspondence (there is one flame for each candle)

Here Is How To Create It:

If you copy the last 2 pages of the download, you can print them on white card stock or construction paper.

Your students should cut out the 7 principles and glue one to each candle.

Then, they color the candles to match the color words written on them.

They should color the 7 flames and add them to the top of each candle.

Then, they cut and glue the candles (in order: 3 reds, 1 black, 3 greens) to the brown rectangle base.

The base is just a 12" X 4.5" rectangle of brown construction paper.

Here is the link to the FREE download:  Click Right Here

Enjoy and have fun with this FREEBIE.  :)

You might also like:

Ask your students if they would rather be a reindeer,
an elf, a gingerbread man, or a snowman.
The reasons they give you will make you laugh.  

Each child will have a different opinion
about which character they would rather be!  

See ya all tomorrow!  

          Check us out on:

          Facebook:  KFUNdamentals on Facebook

          Pinterest:  KFUNdamentals on Pinterest

          Teachers Pay Teachers:  KFUNdamentals on TPT

See you all tomorrow!

Palma :)

Holiday FUN & $1000.00 for your classroom!

1st, here is the Dec. Fun:

 Gingerbread projects-

Click the graphic to see the download. 

Click the graphic to see the download.

Christmas projects-

Holiday Activities-

2nd, here is a FREEBIE:

It's a Kwanzaa craftivity-

And Hop on over to Teaching Blog Addict for tons of FREEBIES.  CLICK HERE!

AND 3rd... How About $1000.00 for your classroom?

Yes, $1000.00 for you to spend on your classroom!  Just submit an application for our Teacher Award.  The Southern CA Kindergarten Conference has given over $32,000 in grants in the past and they have $1000.00 waiting to give to a teacher this year.  You also get a FREE registration for next year's conference!  I have won this award before and it is amazing!  

Here is the link for more information and the application.  

My only advice about this application is to FOLLOW DIRECTIONS.

They have awarded grants for all kinds of projects from outdoor gardens to music programs.
They typically receive very FEW applications for this grant, so
if you follow directions and request something that is educationally sound,
you have a pretty good chance of getting this grant!

Apply before the deadline of Jan. 8, 2016.

Here is more info about the $1000 grant:

The Southern California Kindergarten Conference is pleased to announce Teacher Awards up to $1,000 each and a paid registration for the 2016 Pre- Conference. The purpose of the award is to encourage the professional development of early childhood educators and researchers and to benefit students ages four to seven. Our goal is to support teachers in their efforts to create and implement innovative applications of theory utilizing sound, developmentally appropriate practices. The 2016 recipient will be presented with his/her award during the early morning Pre-Conference session on Friday, March 4, 2016 at 8:15 am. If you are interested in applying for a Teacher Award, please download the guidelines and application at our website. The deadline to receive the application is January 8, 2016. 

That's it for today!

Classroom Party 101: Keep Calm & Party On!

On the last day before vacation, we will enjoy a 3-group rotation party:

HOW IT WORKS:

Divide the class into 3 groups.

Set up 3 activities:  

     One should be the food prep & eating (1/3 of class eating at once keeps spills to a  minimum.)

     One should be a game (A seasonal bingo game and a story keeps kids calm.)

     One a project.  (A fun craft to take home.)

Each group meets for 30 minutes and then rotates.

Include seasonal books at each center just in case the kids finish early.  

Have parent volunteers run the 3 centers.  That leaves you free to facilitate, signal when the groups rotate, and take care of any problems. 

This year, our 3 activities will be:
1.  Wrap our family gifts and color a special holiday card.  (See our gifts below.)
2.  Holiday bingo & a holiday story.
3.  Create a healthy fruit candy cane.  (See directions below.)

Would you like to see what we made for our families this year?

Our Family Gifts:

Ceramic Gingerbread Men

We  rolled out white clay & cut out gingerbread men with a cookie cutter.

The students used a pencil to draw in frosting trim and indentations for the eyes, nose, mouth and buttons.
We also pushed a straw through near the top so we can hang the ornament when we are done.

We are fortunate to have a kiln at our school so we fired the ornaments.  If you don't have a kiln, you might try ceramic stores like "Color Me Mine" and see if they will fire your clay for a fee.

Then, we glazed with clear glaze.  It fires to a pretty off-white color that looks a lot like a piece of Lenox china.

Painting on 2 coats of glaze.

We worked on our dry-erase mats.
They cleaned up easily with water.

When they came out of the kiln after the 2nd firing,
they were shiny and off-white.

We added rhinestones for the eyes and a ribbon to use as a hanger.

We added rhinestones for the eyes.
You can also add some for the nose & buttons.

We added a ribbon tied at one end, fed through the hole, and then we pushed the knot through the loop to create a hanger for our ornament.

First tie the ribbon.

Then thread it through the hole.

Last, thread it through the loop & pull.

The students wrapped them in tissue paper.

Looks orange, but this was actually red tissue paper.  

Then they placed them into an envelope they made by lacing up the sides and decorating it with construction paper strips to look like ribbon.

We stapled them closed at the top.

Our Gingerbread Number Book:

You can make these on the last day by just tracing the dotted lines on the large numbers with crayons and illustrating the pages, but if you take a week to create this project, you can trace the large numbers with colored glue and let each page dry overnight.

Click image to view the download.

To make colored glue, just add liquid food coloring to white glue.  

We also made a Gingerbread Book of settings while at the computer lab:

Students created a setting for their die-cut gingerbread man.
Click the image to view the download for this class book cover.  

Our Healthy Party Treat:

This year, we are planning to enjoy candy canes made from bananas and strawberries.

Found this cute idea on Pinterest!

We will use 1/2 of a banana and 2 strawberries for each child.  They will slice the pieces with plastic knives on paper plates and then eat them when they are done.  

Leave a comment and tell me about your holiday party ideas.

See you all tomorrow!

Palma :)

A FUN Throwback Thursday Post You Will LOVE!

Would you rather be...

...a reindeer, an elf, a gingerbread man, or a snowman???

Here is a fun way to get your students to discuss their opinions, justify their answers, integrate the Common Core Practices into your lessons, and have FUN.  You can also use this as a springboard for an opinion writing assignment.

Here is the big question:

Would you rather be a reindeer, an elf, a gingerbread man, or a snowman???

Behind the children you can see the live webcam we watch each morning.
It's reindeercam.com and it's a live webcam on 2 of Santa's reindeer.
Santa shows up each morning at 8:00 AM (Pacific Time) and feeds the reindeer!

First, We Read:

Well, actually, I read books to the class about snowmen, reindeer, gingerbread men (and girls), and elves.  I might read only one book about reindeer and lots of books about gingerbread men, but by the time we are ready to discuss our opinions we have all been exposed to these fine characters.  :)

   

 (Click any of the books to see where to buy them.)

Second, We Discuss:

We talk about the pros and cons of being each character.  They have to justify their answers and tell why they would like or dislike being each character.  Yes, Common Core is alive and well in our classroom as we justify almost everything!  :)

Here are some of the things the children have told me in the past:

Snowmen get to play in the snow, but they also have to stay outside all the time.

Gingerbread men get to be covered with candy, but they can't cross rivers.

Elves get to be with toys all day long, but they also have to work a lot.

Reindeer get to fly!  :)  But they also have to work all night delivering presents.

Third, We Completed A Graph:

We used the cute icons that I offer on TPT to label our graph.  I have each child's photograph laminated on a piece of construction paper and I have attached a piece of sticky-back Velcro to the back of each photo and to the graph.  Students come up and attach their photo above the icon that represents snowmen, reindeer, gingerbread men, and elves to express their favorite. 

Click the image to see the link.

Fourth, We Write:

Kindergarten kids love to tell you about their opinions!  :)  Now, we encourage them to write about them!  I give them the prompt dotted on the master that reads:  I would rather be a...  Then, all they have to do is copy the word snowman, reindeer, gingerbread man, or elf.  Then, they tell me WHY they want to be that character and I either write it for them to copy or I let them try to sound-blend the words and write them with temporary spelling.  They love to illustrate their writing too.

You might like our writing prompts.Click the image to see the link.

Last, I Take Their Photograph (dressed like their favorite character):

These are sooooo cute!  You can use them on the graph or on their writing piece.  

Here are some examples of the costumes I use.  I made the snowman and gingerbread man out of construction paper and tag board.  

The nose lights up!

Complete with ears and a tiny hammer!

I made this out of tag board and construction paper.

Made from tag board and construction paper.
We use these to play "dress up" in the home center.
We turn the home into a gingerbread house.

By the way, every year, the reindeer always gets the most votes!  Since we discuss our opinions and justify them, it seems that getting to fly with Santa trumps all of the other positives like getting to play in the snow, being with toys, or getting covered with candy!  

You might also like:

The Gingerbread Man's Book of Settings:

Click the image to see the link.

The Gingerbread Man's Number Formation Book:

Click the image to see the link

Check us out:

 Facebook:  KFUNdamentals on Facebook

          Pinterest:  KFUNdamentals on Pinterest

          Teachers Pay Teachers:  KFUNdamentals on TPT

 See yo all tomorrow!

Palma :)