My student teacher just finished her big EDTPA project this week! Her focus was on money and boy did she do an awesome job!! My kids loved this unit and they did an amazing job with this hard to grasp concept.
The students focused on money this week. They did centers based on money (adding and recognizing coins). They had Math with teacher focusing on coins. They were read books. They sang the awesome song, Show Me The Money by Jack Hartman. Money was earned throughout the week for tasks they completed.This money can be used on Monday to purchase items from our class store.
as a culminating activity, the children made money trees. They were given patterns to make trees. Then thy were each given a different amount they had to represent on their tree using the different coins. Once this was complete, there was a sheet to fill out telling us about the coins on their money tree. This was then displayed in the hallway.
Here are a few of the books we read and some others that are a great addition to your classroom library on this unit:
I love to get mail! Raise your hand if you do too! You know you do!!
So I go to my mailbox in the staff center and what do I see a package from GoNoodle!!! OMG!!!! I love GoNoodle. These brain breaks are amazing!! My kids love them!!!
So I open my package and what do I see???????
I got an awesome flag that I now have hanging on my classroom door!!!
I got stickers to give all of my kids!!!! I got a pair of gloves for high five kitty!! (If you GoNoodle you understand!!!), some coloring sheets for my kids and some wonderful information sheets to share with teachers to get them started with GoNoodle!
I thought I was excited!! My kids loved it just as much! GoNoodle is an everyday occurrence for us! They love all of the brain breaks and with the weather being as lovely as it has been (no, not as lovely as Massachusetts) the Indoor Recesses have been a blessing!!!
Here are some pictures:
You have to go and try this site out if you have not!! Click on the GoNoodle character below to go to the site!!!
This year, we participated in a Valentine Exchange with 20 other classrooms throughout the USA. This was hosted by the amazing Pawsitively Teaching.
What we did was each child in my class created a Valentine. We wrote a letter together as a class and sent a valentine and a copy of the letter to each classroom that was in our group. The states that we exchanged valentines with were: Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Texas, North Carolina, and California.
We then created a display in the hallway and we added a valentine as it came in and after we read it.
We had a state label and section so that all the valentines from that state were displayed together!
We got so many awesome valentines! Being from Massachusetts, I loved the valentine that had Tom Brady drawn on it. But overall I loved them all and so did My kids!!!
Here is our display and the many awesome valentines we received:
It was so nice to send and receive these tokens of love from all over the USA! If you did not hook up this time, please look into it for next year! I promise you, you won't be sorry!
This is a monthly Linky party where we share the three ideas we find off of Pinterest that we will be using in our classroom during the month or want to use!
So here are my February picks:
This is an awesome science experiment to do on Valentine's Day!!!
I love Abraham Lincoln and this would be an awesome project to add to my Presidents' Day lesson plans!
In First Grade, we are focusing on the 101st Day of School! Here are a few ideas for this day!
There are my three Pinterest finds for February! Click on the box below to see what other awesome educators pinned!!!!
This is my absolute favorite time of the year for teaching. I know it is cold and I know there is snow at this time but I just love teaching my first and kindergators about the Presidents!
I absolutely LOVE Abraham Lincoln. I think he is the best President we have ever had. Because of my enthusiasm, my little gators love him just as much!
Just a little trivia question???? How much did a lock of Abraham Lincoln's hair sell for last month?
Give up!!! 25,000 dollars!!!
I love to teach George Washington also but I can not tell a lie, I focus alot more on Abraham Lincoln!!!
To teach my kiddos about the Presidents, I integrate them throughout my day.
I read lots of books and we do so many different activities.
Here are some of the books I read:
Love this book! An awesome nonfiction book!
Brad Meltzer focuses on Abraham Lincoln's trait of staying true to what he knows is right. This series are written in a conversational manner that young readers and listeners can understand! Other books in this series are I am Amelia Earhart, I am Rosa Parks, I am Jackie Robinson, I am Albert Einstein and I am Lucille Ball.
A book that is focused on what Abraham Lincoln is known for, his hat!
A young girl walking in the park passes a man who looks like Lincoln, heads to the library, and dives into research so compelling that she has to share it with us. My kiddos loved this book!
Some activities for Lincoln are:
Make a life size Abraham Lincoln and compare their heights. Also, measure him using nonstandard units.
Have the students draw Abraham Lincoln by doing a directed drawing lesson! Then add some facts about Abe!!
Through a follow me activity, the students all have the same amount of paper. They make Abraham Lincoln by following you. They do not draw anything. They cut as you cut and they glue as you glue. They then add all details at the end. Have them write some sentences about Abraham Lincoln.
Hang your life size Abraham Lincoln out in the hallway with facts on laminated sheets. This makes a great display for President's Day!
Make stovepipe hats from black construction paper! Kids love wearing them!!!
Here are some books for George Washington:
Here are some books about Presidents' Day:
Here are some movies or videos to share with your kids:
