D is for

. . . dump! The kids filled a bucket choosing only items that started with the letter d and when it was full, they got to dump it out. For a more detailed post on how to create your own dumping activity, see the post here.

. . . dotted diamonds! We used bingo markers to make dots on a diamond. I have seen the bingo markers in the pen or kids craft section of the dollar store.  We read the book Lots of Dots by Craig Fraizer. It shows how dots can be used to make fun pictures. . . . dinosaur feet! We used cracker boxes to create dinosaur feet. I spray painted each one green. The kids painted them and added claws using double sided tape that I put on th edge of each box. 

Then we had a lot of fun stomping around the classroom and being dinosaurs. (This is a picture I took of Brandon later in the day for our family blog. The pictures I took during class were too blurry to use.)

We even sang "We are the Dinosaurs" by the Laurie Berkner band.

Shapes

Every class that I have taught is different and has their own personalities. This class cracks me up because I cannot get them to look at the camera for the life of me. I try to be as quick as I can when taking pictures of the students during center time or class so I don't disrupt the class time. So sometimes we don't get the best shot and sometimes I can't get them to look at the camera, but we just move on. So I thought I'd throw that disclaimer out there because this class is the "looking dramatically into the distance" picture taking class. Maybe they all have great modeling careers ahead of them. :) Pipe cleaners and straws make an amazing opportunity for kids to be creative and learn about shapes or letters. We worked on making shapes and identifying them during centers time. For more instructions see this post here.

Every year we read this amazing book called Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert. We use her inspiration of making animal faces using simple shapes to create our own animal faces. Each child is given a picture of their favorite animal and we decide together what shapes should make the different features of the face. I provide them with precut shapes and they assemble the faces. I must say that this year is definitely our best batch of animal faces yet! We got to make some really fun faces like rhinos, giraffes, and elephants. Check our your child's amazing creations, you are about to be blown away!

Shape Zoo

Last week we read the book Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert. 

We used this mentor text to learn about shapes and how we can use shapes to make different pictures. Before the class, I asked the kids what their favorite animal was. I printed a picture of each of those animals and worked with the kids one on one to talk about what shapes might be used to make that animal. I had a variety of shapes precut in different sizes to help the kids talk more easily about what shapes might be used. We looked at ears, noses, and eyes to talk about what shape might be used. The kids did an amazing job. Here's what they came up with. 

Shapes

 Shapes are some of the first math concepts that young kids learn and they tend to love them. We always take some time at the beginning of the year to review shapes and practice working with them. I know I have said it before, but this year's class is amazing! We have already started talking about octagons and pentagons because they are just so darn awesome. Here are some of the fun things we did working on shapes the last few weeks. 

Pipe cleaners and straws were a favorite center for our shape learning kids. The great thing about this center is that it lends itself to 3-d shapes as well. Brandon and Jaxon are working on making squares. You can see a cube that Connor and I made in the background. In the foreground you can see a heptagon (7 sided shape) that Valerie made. Lucy made a pentagon and made the connection that it looks like a house. Pretty cool shape learning going on there. To check out how we did this center, click here for more detailed instructions. 

You all know that I can't sing enough praises about pattern blocks. They are so amazing for teaching different subjects like fractions, angles/geometry, colors, and of course shapes! Today we worked on matching and fine motor skills by building premade pattern block pictures. As you can see the kids were really engaged and also really proud of themselves when they finished. It may not seem like a big deal, but when you are still working on how to control your hands and fingers to do hard things, putting those blocks in just the right place without disturbing the rest of your picture can be a hard thing. Do you know what else is a hard thing for them?  Turning the block in just the right way as you put it in just the right place. It's a good thing that these kids can do hard things! We found our pictures a long time ago and I don't have the link, but if you google "printable pattern block pictures," lots of great ideas come up.

 Learning numbers and shapes? Yes, please. We played this game where the kids worked on counting the dots on a side of a die and matching it to the shape for that number, then coloring that shape on their robot. As you can see, we didn't finish during class, but I gave kids the option of taking it home for "homework" and they all brought it back.

I know that all of you have these shape block toys at home. Ours is a little more advanced because it has shape holes on 5 sides so you have to turn the cube to match the shape. These are a great way to talk about shapes! The kids learned fun words like trapezoid and rhombus while working on their matching skills. I know these toys often gather dust in a closet, but pull yours out and open a dialogue about shapes with your young ones. They will have a lot of fun.

S is for . . .

. . . silly scissors

. . . shape bingo. I used the cards found at Preschool Mom. Thank you for the free printable!

. . . star connect the dots.

. . . sewing.

. . . skipping.

. . . strawberries.

 

H is for . . .

 . . . hats!

. . .  hexagons!

It is no secret how much I love pattern blocks. Seriously. Coolest. Blocks. Ever. (Awesome Christmas gift for those of you who are stumped.)

Anyway, I was super excited when I found out a couple of years ago that they sell pattern block stickers on Amazon.

We worked on making hexagon "cookies" with our pattern blocks and then converted the blocks to stickers so the kids could take their hexagons home. The kids used yellow hexagons, green triangles, blue diamonds, and red trapezoids in different combinations to make a hexagon.

  

Here's a free hexagon cookie pdf. Each hexagon matches the size of the yellow pattern block hexagons. 

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