ABC Summer Countdown "P" and "Q"

Yesterday was the letter "P" in our ABC Summer Countdown and we also had a field trip. We played at CHOM (Children's Hands On Museum) in Tuscaloosa. We also visited the Fire Station and had lunch at the park. We also played at the park. We had a blast on our field trip!

Today was our "Q" day. I am sure this was the children's least favorite day because today was "QUIET" Day. This was the day we finished all assessments. This was also the last lesson in our reading series! YEA!! We also practiced how to work really, really quiet so we would be ready for first grade.

Have a great weekend everyone!

ABC Summer Countdown "O"

Today was the letter "O" in our ABC Summer Countdown. I asked the students to wear orange.
Mrs. Walker came back again today and did an Octopus in the Ocean Activity.

We hung them in the hall. I think most teachers find it funny that we are hanging things in the hall with only 9 or 11 days remaining in our school year. We will just have lots to take down. I have not even begun to prepare my room for summer. I will have to pack and get ready to move classrooms soon.

ABC Summer Countdown "K"

Today in our ABC Summer Countdown was the letter "K".

We discussed how we are kind to others. Children then wrote how they are kind in their journals.

Mrs. Walker came back today. She is a life saver with all the crafts. The children made kites using contruction paper, glue and yarn.

Wow! They look really good hanging above the board.

ABC Summer Countdown "J"

Yesterday we focused on the letter "J" for our ABC Summer Countdown. This was also our day for the DIBELS Assessment so we did not have much time today scheduled for our countdown. We did jumping jacks.

We also had juice for a snack.

ABC Summer Countdown "I"

On Tuesday May 3 we celebrated the letter "I" in our ABC Summer Countdown. I was so excited about today because I had planned for us to be illustrators. I took construction paper and covered the cover of Two Bad Ants by Chris Van Allsburg. I was going to read the story without showing the children the pictures and without using the word "ant" or "ants". After reading the story the children were to illustrate what they thought the story was about.

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This was going great, UNTIL, I said the word "ants". Oh well, I guess next year I will even cover the words before the lesson. We still illustrated the story and I thought it turned out pretty good.

We also read the story Ice Cream by Eilsha Cooper.

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We had ice cream sandwiches for snack.

ABC Summer Countdown "H"

On Monday May 2 we arrived back at school after the devastating tornado nightmare that came through Alabama.

We picked back up our countdown with the letter "H". Today was our "Hawaiian Hula Day". Children were given leis when they came in. We discussed the state of Hawaii and found it on the map.

We went outside and had a Hula Hoop Contest.

We had pineapple for snack.

ABC Summer Countdown "G"

Wednedsay, April 27 was our "G" Day in our ABC summer countdown. The students were asked to wear somthing green to school. We planned to visit the garden that the Extended Day Program is growing. We also planned to use gloves to pick up garbage around our school. However, our day did not go as planned.

Central Alabama awoke to severe storms coming through our area with high winds. Due to the weather our school system delayed opening by 2 hours. I was able to teach reading before lunch. Then we dismissed school early due to the severe weather that was expected Wednesday night. Our state suffered a massive loss Wednesday night. Our thoughts and prayers go out to each and everyone affected by the tornado outbreak.

Our ABC Summer Countdown will contine when school is reopened.

ABC Summer Countdown "F"

Today was the Letter F in our ABC Summer Countdown.

We read Fancy Nancy Books by Jane O'Connor and Robin Preiss-Glasser. We then talked about Fancy Words.
Mrs. Walker came back today and we fingerpainted flowers on painted plywood donated by Will's mom. These paintings were AWESOME!! Our paintings our not finished just yet. We are going to decoupage a poem on the paintings. These paintings will be our Mother's Day presents.

In today's journal we drew and labeled items that began with the letter F.

When the students went to library class today, Ms. Wiggins, our media specialist read Just Plain Fancy by Patricia Polacco to the students.

We had fruit today for snack. Most children brought in bananas, applesauce or fruit juice. Two children brought in a different fruit--cantaloupe and pineapple. I love how creative some of the children and parents are getting in our ABC summer countdown.

ABC Summer Countdown "E"

Monday we continued our ABC Summer countdown with the letter "E". We began our day by reading An Extraordinary Egg by Leo Lionni.Mrs. Walker, our art teacher, came in and helped us make elephants from paper plates.

We also wrote the letter E on envelopes.

At the end of the day we did exercise activities. The students did great! Our physical education teacher, "Coach", taught the children simple exercises that they learned as part of a routine during their PE class. The children did jumping jacks, twisted like a washing machine, and moved like a surfer.

ABC Summer Countdown "D"

Today in our countdown was the letter "D". We had a full day planned without any extra countdown activities. We did not have many D activities today because of our school's annual Easter Egg Hunt. Each child had to bring a bag to the hunt to hold their eggs. We decorated our bag with Dots since today was "D" day.

We used the shaving cream from the landforms activity to write the letter D and simple words.We also had a wonderful snack today! Krisy Kreme Doughnuts YUM!!!

Earth Day

Friday, April 22 was Earth Day. Our class talked about Earth Day all week in conjunction with our unit on landforms. We used many activities from Mrs. Saylor's First Grade Blog. We used her idea of shaving cream landforms. This was a great activity and it also helped clean our tables.

Our Mountain:

Our Valley:

Two Hills:

On Tuesday, we made the Earth from markers, coffee filters and a little water. I saw the activity on ProTeacher and on Techy Teacher Blog and I thought they turned out great!

On Friday, the students did a writing assignment on "How would you make the world a better place?" Below is pictures of their work. If you would like a copy of the template click Here.

The lunchroom staff celebrated Earth Day by giving each child a Earth key chain at lunch.

ABC Summer Countdown "C"

We continued with our ABC Countdown Today with the letter "C".

Students brought in caps to wear. We were allowed to wear the caps in our classroom, however, they had to remain there when we were in other parts of the building.

We read the book Caps for Sale told and illustrated by Esphyr Slobodkina.

We made a list of C words on the board.

For handwriting we wrote colorful C's on a cup.

We had cookies for a snack.

ABC Summer Countdown "B"

Today was "B" day.

Our class wore blue today. Children also brought beach towels to school. We graphed our towels by character or design.
We made butterflies from the coffee filters we used yesterday.

We read beach books throughout the day. A special thanks to Ms. Wiggins, our school media specialist, for her help if finding beach books.

We had planned to go outside after break to blow bubbles. However, the rain kept us inside.

Posted today In The Teacher's Lounge blog is a freebie with a beach theme. It is a non-standard measuring activity. It is open ended so students can use any items you have in the classroom.