FALL…in Love with Apples!

It’s officially upon us- fall is here, well in most states (sorry Florida folks)! While I do love lazy summer days, fall brings a refreshing change of cool breezes, new shades of nature, sweaters/boots, and pumpkin spice lattes!

For the kiddos that means nature hikes to add to Sean’s growing nature collection, apple picking, pumpkin patch, trick-or-treating, and all the goodness fall has to offer.

This week we kicked off fall with a fun apple thematic unit that will end with a trip to the apple orchard in north Georgia. In the classroom I absolutely loved using thematic units to integrate subjects, apply learning to everyday life, and include fiction and nonfiction books to our lessons.

I headed to some of my favorite blogs and Pinterest  for some fresh ideas and free printables, and filled in the rest with some homemade goodies. This post contains the first 3 days of activities, a later post will contain the last 2 days. These activities are targeted for preschoolers and kindergarteners but can be adapted for younger and older children. I complete the activities with Sean providing assistance as needed.

Skills we are learning and practicing are: cutting, gluing, coloring, counting, measuring, writing, labeling, comparing/contrasting, graphing, reading comprehension, patterns, and investigating.

Introducing the apple:

 

We read Apples by Gail Gibbons and talked about why we label things. I made an easy cutout of an apple shape on red construction paper and a smaller shape on white paper. Glue the white on top, draw a core and seeds in the center, add a leaf and stem. I hand drew some labels and Sean cut and glued them on the apple. We also made some homemade applesauce. I peeled, cored, and large chopped the apples, Sean used a plastic knife and cut smaller chunks, added the cinnamon, and when it was cooked and cooled he mashed it. It was a hit with both Sean and Olivia.

 

 

 

Day 2:

 



 

 

We read Apples, Apples, Apples by Nancy Wallace. Today was my mini scientist’s favorite day, investigation! I found a cute booklet on the teacherspayteachers website, but  I knew I could quickly whip up my own for free. I choose to have Sean measure the apples height and width with legos, pegs, and a tape measure, guess and count how many seeds were inside, and predict and test whether it will sink or float. I hand drew the pictures and stapled a cover page on the front.

 

While we were doing the investigation Sean decided to test the other fruits in our fruit bowl (orange, kiwi, and peach) for size comparison and whether they sink or float as well.

We also completed an investigating apples flip book you can find HERE! Sean colored and cut and as we completed each section I recorded.

 

Day 3:

This was a math focus day. We read the book Ten Apples Up on Top by Theo LeSieg.

I folded a sheet of construction paper into 8 and drew a tree in each box with a random number. I gave Sean some paint and q-tips and he stamped the correct number of apples on each tree. Sean completed this by himself while I cooked dinner but for younger children you could do smaller numbers and count out loud with them while they stamp, for older children you can use larger numbers or write addition sentences for them to solve on each tree.

 

He also completed  an apple  pattern sheet you can find HERE!

 

Sean used the extra paint to paint an orchard, this was one of the first non-abstract paintings he’s done!

 

*Check out The First Grade Parade blog for more great ideas!

 

Still to come:

Venn Diagram comparing apples and tomatoes (cut and paste), apple color graphing, apple taste testing, and making mini muffin tin apple pies.

Busy BODY

Olivia is a very eager learner, and when she is interested in something her focus can be intense for such a tiny being.  Aside from singing nursery rhymes, she has a new interest in body parts. She has been pointing to them when asked for a few months, but has recently been making great attempts at saying them. Her fave book at the moment is called My Nose, My Toes, and Me by Frida Bing. It is a lift and flap book that uncovers various parts of the body.  While we read she always points to her, or my, corresponding body part, and now repeats it herself. She gets so excited and has memorized the book, so she often points to it before lifting the flap.

 

 

                  

 

This week after the reading the story I decided to stretch the story further and add a few activities. Being the diva that she is, she loved looking in her mirror and pointing to the parts of her face on the mirror as I asked her.

We also broke out good ‘ol Mr. Potato Head, always a hit in our home. This was a fun way to see if she could put the parts in the respective areas and then we also got silly creating crazy creations…that’s totally what it’s intended for : ) This is also a great fine motor activity.

 

We sang songs like Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes!

Last, I cut out several pictures of body parts from magazines and gave her the dry erase board with a piece of contact paper taped sticky side up.  She placed her pieces on the contact paper and I simply said what they were while she did it. It created quite a cool collage!

 

I have always had a love for children’s books, and extending the book with fun activities is one of my favorite ways to introduce and practice a skill.

What are some of your kids’ favorite books right now?

Do the Monster Mash

Today was one of our bimonthly trips to the library and while Sean hunted for...gasp- TRAIN books, I picked out a few monster books. We have a few at home that Sean likes to read (Birthday Monsters by Sandra Boynton, Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Ed Emberly, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak) and I had seen some cute projects on Instagram, so I thought I’d grab a few new titles.

 

We read Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters by Jane Yolen and Monsters on Machines by Deb Lund. While reading we took note of how different the monsters looked in size, shape, and body parts. Sean counted eyes, used adjectives to describe, and created silly names for them based on appearance.

 

When we finished the book we whipped up half a batch of The Imagination Tree’s 4 minute no cook playdough. Anna has a very creative play based blog that I’ve been reading for a while. She has TONS of playdough ideas that far exceed simply busting open a jar of dollar store playdough. I usually make JELLO dough but didn’t feel like cooking. I prefer making my own because it doesn't dry out as fast as store bought, and it's a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen.

 

Her recipe is simple: (I halved her recipe so check out her blog for the original recipe)

• 1 cup flour
• ¼ cup salt
• 1 tablespoon cream of tarter
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ¾ cup of boiling water
• Food coloring

 

 

Mix flour, salt, cream of tarter and vegetable oil in bowl. Add food coloring to the water and gradually mix in the water. Mix until it comes together and is slightly sticky. When it cools down knead it until no longer sticky. You may need to add a little flour if it’s too sticky. I separated the dry ingredients into 3 small bowls and added a little less than ¼ cup of colored water to each bowl.

 

 

I gathered some random loose parts and placed them in an old egg carton and Sean, Olivia, and I started creating monsters.

I used googly eyes, buttons, pom poms, cubes and craft sticks. I also pulled out some rollers, scissors and other random playdough tools.

 

This was a great activity for both kids. Yes! Olivia did try out the playdough, but since it has salt she quickly discovered that it was better for play than snacking!

 

 

After making several monsters, Sean decided he wanted to make a birthday cake for his monster like in his book Birthday Monsters by Sandra Boynton.  I love that playdough can really spark those creative juices!

 

 

 

Some other great Monster reads are:

• Go Away Big Green Monster

• If You’re a Monster and You Know It

• How to Potty Train Your Monster

• Tickle Monster

• That’s Not my Monster

• Go to Bed Monster

• The Book that Eats People

• The Monster Show

Seuss-tastic!

 

Every year on March 2 (this year the 3^rd) schools across America celebrate the famed Dr. Seuss by reading his stories, dressing up as favorite characters, and doing activities galore to celebrate his birthday. When I was teaching, especially 1^st grade, I spent the entire week exposing my students to his wonderful works while crafting, playing, and learning along the way. I’m super excited to continue the tradition at home this year with Sean and Olivia! We will share a story a day, or more, with a few activities to extend the fun. Grab yourself a few Seuss classics and join in on the fun.

A few Facts about the Author:

·         His full name is Theodor Seuss Geisel.

·         He took on the pseudonym “Seuss” after being kicked off his college’s magazine for drinking.

·         His first children’s book And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected 27 times before it was finally published in 1937.

·         “The Cat in the Hat, published in 1957, was written by Seuss in response to a 1954 LIFE magazine article that criticized children's reading levels, Houghton Mifflin and Random House asked him to write a children's primer using 220 vocabulary words.”

·         Before his death in 1991 Dr. Seuss published 60 children’s books.

A few activities we will be doing this week in honor of Dr. Seuss…(Click red links to be directed to activities throughout!)

The Cat in the Hat…the book that sparked the craze!

Sean is working on beginning sounds so he will complete a matching activity sheet created on a word document with a simple table. He will look at the –at word picture and find/match the correct beginning sound.

Hat pattern activity- Use various strips of colored paper to make patterns on the Cat’s Hat.

Thing 1 & 2 Handprint art with Sean and Olivia

 

And to Think that I Saw it on Mulberry St… Perfect since that street is in our neighborhood!

Sean will make and decorate toilet paper roll binoculars and take a walk on Mulberry Street in our neighborhood noting things he sees and practice using descriptive language!

 

Mcelligot’s Pool

Sean and Olivia will make water color paintings of a pool and make fish collages to add to the pool.  For the water color paintings, tape a large sheet of white paper to an easel or wall and dilute some blue tempera paint with water. Provide large brushes to coat the paper. Then provide several fish shaped templates and a ton of random art scraps (construction paper, foil, material, buttons, string, etc.) and collage away!

Sean will play a magnetic fishing game where he will fish for paper fish with paper clips attached, practicing his colors, shapes, and numbers. To make the fishing pole simply attach a magnet to the end of a pencil or stick.

 

Green Eggs and Ham… One of my favorites!

We will of course have a good ol' fashion green eggs (spinach scramble) and ham (bacon) breakfast.

Both kiddos will explore in a Green Eggs and Ham themed bath.

Sean will play a matching game (upper and lower case letter) and a counting game. For the letter match I folded a paper into 8 rectangles and free handed 8 egg shapes then made 8 small green circles. I wrote uppercase letters on the paper and lower case letters on the circles. On the back I repeated the same 8 egg shapes and covered it with contact paper. He will place 8 dollops of green play dough as the yolk and stick a dry spaghetti stick in the center. He will place a magnetic number on each egg and count out and place the correct number of buttons on the spaghetti. This is great practice for counting and fine motor skills.

If I Ran the Zoo

Of course a zoo outing is in order to end the week!

Sean will also play an online animal mix up game!

I’m beyond excited for this week’s Seuss-tastic activities! I hope you grab a few of your favorites and join in on the fun!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR. SEUSS!!!!!

Tell me a Tale

I am a huge fan of fairytales, and the benefits they provide for young readers are fantastic. Though Sean is a bit young for the Brother Grimm tales LOL, I love that fairy tales have a moral and often teach children of tribulation and perseverance. Educationally speaking they are a perfect genre in terms of teaching story elements as they have well developed characters (protagonist and antagonist), magical settings, problems, and solutions. Fairytales are simple enough to remember and retell with fun props and have the cutest twisted rewrites (fractured tales) such as The Runaway Tortilla, The Rolling Rice Cake, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, and Goldilocks and Just 1 Bear. They are great examples for teaching fact from fiction and carry children off into imaginary wonders. They also serve as great ways to ease into discussions of various character traits.

I chose to introduce The 3 Little Pigs and Goldilocks and the 3 Bears since they both play off the 3s theme and he is newly 3!!!! He loved both stories as I expected so I created 2 simple activities to accompany them.

The 3 Little Pigs

Supplies:

Clear Contact Paper

3 triangles cut from colored paper

Container to collect items (sticks, straw, brick look alikes)

3 pig stickers or clipart

 

Process:

After reading the book, several times, take your child on a nature hunt for items to build the 3 little pigs’ homes. I let Sean brainstorm items and he found pine needles for straw, twigs for sticks, and mulch for bricks.

 

Tape a sheet of contact paper sticky side up on your surface. Retell the story together and build the houses as you go. Everything should stick to the contact paper. Place each little pig into their newly built home and have the big bad wolf blow the houses down. This was a fun retelling!

 

 

 

 

Goldilocks and the 3 Bears

I made a word document with clipart pictures and labels for the opposite pairs listed and clipart images of a bowl in several sizes. Sean and I have been working on opposites and this story is great for reviewing hot/cold, high/low, big/little, full/empty, awake/asleep and also ordering by size. I placed half of the opposite matches on contact paper (sticky side up) and had Sean find the matching opposite and place it next to it, you could also use the pieces for a matching game or have your little one practice gluing. For the bowls have your child order from biggest to smallest, smallest to biggest or sort small, medium, large.

 

I already have my eye on some fractured fairytales so stay tuned!