Apples, Apples, Apples!

This month we focus a lot of science and things that tie into anything having to do with FALL!!!  Last week we finished up our apple unit and we had tons of fun!  We began by cutting up apples and talking about our observations.  We had fun looking at the seeds and the "star" in the center of the apple.

We used these apples and added some popsicle sticks to them and went straight into apple printing.  Unfortunately I did not get a photo of this because painting is something we all get really into and we needed all hands on deck!  It was busy!  While apple printing was going on at the art table, I was in charge of the great APPLE VOTE!  Three students at a time came to taste green, red, and red and yellow apples.  Then they took a voting ballot and colored the apple they liked the best.  They folded up their ballot and waiting to see what apple was the winner.

 At circle time we unfolded the votes one at a time and my students took turns tallying the votes.  

 At the end, we counted them up and the GALA apple won!

Around the room we had apples everywhere!  My awesome student teacher set up the writing table.  Everyone enjoyed making apple books and reading Ten Apples Up On Top!

We had a math game for one to one correspondence and pom pom for apples!  These were loved and even thrown around the room!

 At the writing spot we found these great letter hunt pages on TpT!  We set it up with bingo markers.  When done if all the A's are found, the green markers form the letter "A."  I actually did not even know this was going to happen!  It was a cool surprise even for me!  You can find this great product by clicking here:  Teaching Products

In the end it looks like this...  I did this one of course for you to see!

We also did a very cool sensory bin that was just for two people to use at a time.  I wish it could have been in the sensory table, but the beans were pricey!  I got them in the international isle at our grocery.   These beans were everywhere but they are getting some serious play time!  Next week there will be spiders and rocks and some fake flowers and webs!

Our apple pie play dough was also a hot station.  Our play dough trays had traditional cooked play dough with cinnamon, all spice, and cloves blended in.  It smelled good enough to eat and I know some did get gobbled!  Each day we had a little less on our tray when we began our day!  Unfortunately I took the photo without the play dough in the container but I am sure you get the idea!

We had an apple farm in our dramatic play and we finished off the week measuring our bodies with apples.  It was a great unit!  We covered many of our Ohio Early Learning and Development Standards and we had fun doing it!

My kids loved wearing the apple aprons and bandanas!  They were $.99 at Hobby Lobby!  Just a simple bandana and they were off to being apple farmers!

Apple measurement with our student teacher was very exciting  We set up in our extended learning area and they could not wait to head out and do the counting with her!

Our last math game was inspired by Ten Apples Up On Top.  My pictures of the kids were not cropped like I would have liked but all of my kids loved putting the "apples"(beads) up on top of their photo in the frames!

I think this could be one of my longest posts on my blog yet!  Hope that you get inspired to do apples too!  We had a great time!  Now off to plan for our skeleton unit!  I will add that post soon!

Starting Off With Pete the Cat! Freebie Included!!

Well my year is off to a great start!  We began with 10 returning preschoolers and ten new ones and we have a great group of kids.  We set up a two day Pete art project at the creation station and every Pete we made is unique!  Day one we cut out the cat.  I am re-posting these instructions for those who missed it last year. This is by far one of my most read blog posts!

On day one we gave each child a folded piece of blue paper.  On it draw the lines as we have here.  We have the child cut the bigger line first and then the small one.  Those create the cat parts!  The child will end up with two pieces for the head and tail.  We have our students put the extras in the middle.  We use those for the kids who are not the best cutters!  Those are our extras which we always need!  This year we used three different blue papers too which added some variety in the cats!

The class really got into putting on all of their parts on their Pete!  All of them turned out unique!  We have read two of our Pete the Cat books and already the students have learned the songs and love the books.  Next up is Pete the Cat and His Groovy Buttons! 

This was my Pete!  He sits at the parent sign in book and starts a lot of great book conversations in the morning with my students and their moms!  They have all been asking who Pete is!  

We made a matching shoe color game and we have been playing traditional memory with it.  This week we are using these same color cards to pair up the kids to have a partner to sit with a t lunch!  This helps my class get to know each other and they love walking with partners in the hall.  Usually we walk down the hall in a traditional line, but on partner days we walk two by two!  The colored Converse shoe cards are a fun way to practice color matching and also a good way to pair up new friends!  I have it here if you would like to try them too!  I print on heavy card stock and laminate!

Click here for : Free Colored Shoe Memory Game

Bloglovin'

Come follow me in a fun and creative new way at Bloglovin'!  It is like using Pinterest but, with very specific blogs you want to read!  This is new to me but so cool.  I know you will love it!  I just wish I had thought of it!  Be sure to look over at the top left corner if you want to add me to your read list!  I look forward to you following me and enjoy!  Bloglovin' is an app too! 

Photos of our favorite projects from the month of March!

Even though there was not much snow...we painted like there was!  This art lasted three days!  The first day we finger painted.  The second day was cutting out parts and the third day they stamped snowflakes with a snowflake sponge!

Wacky Wednesday Celebration

Wacky Wednesday was on my to do list all year.  We finally had all the details planned out and had our day set!  We read the Dr. Seuss book and got started right as our "wacky students entered.  They were greeted by me in my wackiest creation I could manage...

It began with my students coming in through a tunnel!  This was the best part for my 3 year olds.  They walked past the writing table, but it had puzzles and they were all upside down!

Around the room things were a bit strange and shoes were everywhere!

More shoes!

We create crazy hats to go with our "wacky" theme and our crazy outfits!

There were eyes looking at us in the water beads and we even added shaving cream for extra fun!

With our snack we added ice cubes with plastic flies in them!  This was the best part of the day!  No one wanted to try fly water!

Drawing upside down with markers attached to rules provided entertainment all morning!

We began and ended by reading this book and everyone loved our celebration!  We will definitely be doing this again next year!  

Our last activity, I did not photograph but outside we had hidden the letter "W" all around the playground.  We had each child see how may they could find and they were hidden everywhere.  We just write them with sidewalk chalk all over.  

I Am Back!

I have been working really hard getting my certification for Lead Teacher.  Basically it give me a little more opportunity to make some extra money with extra duties!  It has been a tough road but the first part is over.  I completed my comprehensive with a perfect score on observations and on my collection of evidence!  I was so happy.  Now I am onto the 14 page paper that I have to compose about myself!  It is not easy and I am getting a very slow start!

This month we had a lot of great activities in the classroom.  Our pirate unit really took off and all of the students loved riding on our pirate ship!  

We also used all of the games from my tpt store and it was great.  Their favorite part by far was the Walk the Plank Game!"  I got into full Pirate Character and wore a pirate bandanna all day.  I did my best pirate voice and the balance beam from our gym!  We had so much fun!  Each time I showed them a letter card, if they got it right, they "WALKED THE PLANK!!"  I will be using this game for a long time to come!  They also really enjoyed the hand prints and making their own pirates with construction paper.  Each center game provided lots of practice in counting-especially with our clip game!  I hope you get time to stop by and check out my first product!  I had no idea how much fun I would have making the games and centers!  It is very time consuming but fun!  I am still learning but I think this summer, I will have more time to create!  Below are a few of the photos of our pirate unit!  It was a great one to do in the winter!

Pirate Unit Ready To Purchase on TpT

I am finally done getting my TpT (www.teacherspayteachers.com) store up and running!  I have the hang of it and I hope that all of you will enjoy the things I am making to put in your classroom.  I worked a long time practicing and getting all of my ideas together.  My students love the games already!  I think they will never get tired of the clothes pins and clipping the right number on the counting cards!  Thanks Erin!   I use that idea all around my classroom and they never get tired of it!  Below is the link to my gigantic pirate unit of fun!  Check it out!

                                         

                                                Here is my link to my TpT store and first unit!