Ribbon War

Even though it is Thursday ... I'm linking up with Teaching Momster today for her Math Madness Wednesday!  This week's theme is Measurement.

Here in Kindergarten, we recently finished our Measurement unit and my kiddos really enjoyed playing the game Ribbon War!  The game is played in a similar manner to any War game.  In the game, students compare the length of 2 ribbons and describe which one is shorter and which one is longer, or if they are the same.

Here is how to play!

Materials needed:

ribbon

storage container to hold the ribbon (paper bag, plastic container, etc.)

Prep:

Cut the ribbon into different lengths (from 1 inch to 24 inches).  Place the ribbon lengths into the storage container.  Make sure there is an even number of ribbons.

Let's Play:

The game is played with a partner.

1.  Each student grabs a ribbon out of the bag.  They place them next to each other on the desk/floor, being sure to line up the end points of the ribbons.

2.  Students tell their partner if their ribbon is longer, shorter, or the same as their partner's ribbon.

3.  The person with the longer ribbon gets to keep both ribbons.  If the ribbons are the same, each person picks another piece of ribbon and compares them.

4.  Continue playing until all of the ribbons are used.

5.  Play again!

I have also posted the directions in a file on TpT.  Click below to grab it!

New Post on Who's Who and Who's New

Head over to Who's Who and Who's New to read my latest blog post on CLR - Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning.

Five for Friday {4-18-14}

It's time for Five for Friday from Doodle Bugs Teaching!

I have been on Spring Break this week and have been getting a lot of work done at the house.  I am going to be moving in a few weeks so I have been busy packing up stuff!  Ugh!  But don't think I have been working too hard, I still had plenty of couch/TV time during the week!  Mr. B loved it!

Here is a bubble map that we created during our Plant unit.  We used this chart to help us write informational text about sunflowers during Writer's Workshop.

My little Kinders did a great job on their cooperative group projects on Cesar Chavez.  Here they are presenting their posters to the class.

We have been reviewing the concept of making 10, and I thought this was a cute idea!  Get it FREE HERE!

The Kindergarten teachers at my school had an on campus math training the Thursday before vacation. We were able to make these subitizing plates with paper plates and dot markers.

Happy Easter,

Greenhouses! {FREEBIE}

I am linking up again with Teaching With Nancy's weekly linky - TGIF - Thank Goodness It's Free!  Be sure to head over to her blog to pick up some more free stuff!

We are finishing up our unit on plants and here are the greenhouses that we made.

I have seen similar designs on Pinterest and decided to create one that we could use.

Let me pause here to say - SEEDS ARE AMAZING!

I forgot to buy bean seeds and remembered that I had pinto beans in my sensory bins!  So I just grabbed some from the bins!!!

And they grew!!! AMAZING!

And did you know that you can use dry bean soup mix from the store to sprout?

Here are the seeds on Day 1.

And on Day 11.

I love planting in plastic bags, because we are able to see all the plant parts!

You can grab the Greenhouse pattern and directions below!  Just click on the cover thumbnail!


***If you are having trouble accessing the file, please try using a non-work, non-school related account.***

A New School Garden!

We just received a beautiful new garden for our school!  And it is right outside my classroom!

My Kinders were able to plant some carrot seeds last week and they are all super excited to watch them grow!

 Learning how to plant seeds...

...and water them.

 We also got to explore the sensory garden.  We touched the plants...

...and smelled them.

(My favorite was the chocolate mint plant.  It smells just like a Thin Mint!)

And all the kids loved playing in the dirt!

The garden is a beautiful and peaceful place at our school in urban Los Angeles.  My hope is that it flourishes and acts as a learning tool for years to come!

Storybook Sunday - The Mitten by Jan Brett

I am linking up again with Paula's Place for her Storybook Sunday feature!

We wrapped up our unit on Weather last week and one of the highlights was reading and reenacting The Mitten by Jan Brett.

This book is a beautifully illustrated retelling of the Ukranian folktale.  After a young boy drops one of his mittens in the snow, forest animals come one by one to squeeze in the mitten to stay warm.

If you haven't checked out the website for the author and illustrator, Jan Brett, you are missing out!  She has many resources that are perfect to use in your classroom! 

I printed up the masks that I found on the website.  They are fantastic!

And then we performed our version of The Mitten!  The students had great fun!  And it got them up and moving while interacting with the story!

Here are the actors squeezing into the mitten!  We performed our play a couple of times so that everyone in the class could participate.

Next time you read a story, bring it to life!

Happy Reading,

Brrr....another Popcorn Blizzard!!!

Last year my students loved imagining and writing about what they would do in a popcorn blizzard!  You can read the post from last year HERE!

So I decided to do it again this year!

It is the story of Paul Bunyan and his lumberjack crew.  The weather was soooooo hot one summer that the corn popped right off the cobs!  Popcorn covered the ground.  The men believed that it was snowing, so they began to play in the popcorn snow!

Here is some of the writing from my class.

"I would make a popcorn castle."

"I would eat the popcorn."

 "I would make a snow castle."

"I would slide down the popcorn."

"I would make a snow angel."

"I would get buried in popcorn."

So what would you do in a popcorn blizzard?!?!?!