Grass Heads and More...

I feel like I have totally disappeared from blogging...I haven't told you all about our plant unit and I am already coming close to ending our space unit! Where has the time gone?? 

I have been completing all of my students FAIR testing, preparing for our big parent appreciation show, I started working out again (finally!), and I have also been taking my class to swimming lessons everyday...imagine changing 21 little ones back into their dry clothes everyday for 2 weeks! AH!!

Okay..enough complaining ;)

Here is a picture of how some of our grass heads turned out...

The children love making these! They can't believe that the grass grows through their socks :) As the grass grows I let them give their 'heads' haircuts and all! So fun!

We also have been working on multiple meaning words. I wrote a bunch of words down and put them in a hat. Each child chose one word and had to come up with 2 meanings for that word. Here is an example:

 If you would like the activity above, click HERE.

Have a great night! And I promise I won't disappear for so long again ;)

Play-Doh!

My students LOVE using play-doh! I added the play-doh into their word work center for them to stamp out words with. BUT...I realized very quickly that they were playing a lot more then spelling! So, I knew I had to add some work to that center also :)

There are two rings full of sight words in this center, letter cutters, a rolling pin for them to roll out the play-doh...and now there is also a folder with an activity sheet for them to complete.

I also added a new activity. They love looking at books and I have a ton of alphabet books. So, I put the ABC books along with an activity sheet into their center. Most of them will not finish this activity in one center rotation, so they can put it back in the folder to finish another day!

 

If you would like either of these activities click HERE or on the pictures to download for free :) 

New Writing Center Addition...

My students absolutely love the writing center. I probably have over 15 options for them to choose from when they go there now.  These options were slowly introduced throughout the year so that they know exactly what to do with each activity. By now they are experts at all of them! I have to say that their favorite activity is writing letters. I have stationary, post cards, writing paper, envelopes, and play stamps there for them to use. They write letters to each other all the time...and one student even wrote a letter to President Obama asking if he could have a play-date haha. 

Last week I introduced another writing activity to them and added it into their center....the students are loving it.  I gathered a bunch of brochures

 and I let the children look through them. Then, they can choose a place that they really want to go and write about it! They are so cute! Here are some examples:

 

"I want to go to Kennedy Space Center. It is really far. I had a really fun time. It is also really cool."

 "I want to go to Busch Gardens. It has dolphins."

 "I want to go to the Theater of the Sea because I want to go swimming with dolphins."

 "I want to go to the world's largest McDonalds. I can eat there. I can bowl. I can play there."

I want them to start looking closer at the brochures and use more details in their writing about the place they choose, but I thought this was a good start :) I also have some other options in my Writing Center pack where they can use their brochures to write!

Now, I may need to get together with some of my blog friends out there and trade brochures!! My students would love ones from other states!! :)