Pre-K Science Experiments

Below is a description of the some of the experiments we have done in Pre-K! 

In the first experiment we made Elephant Toothpaste  during Zoo Week. The students helped mix Hydrogen peroxide, dry yeast, dish soap, and warm water and observed what happened next. The reaction of all of the ingredients caused the elephant toothpaste to "grow." The students used their senses to describe what they heard, saw, smelled, and felt. 

In the second picture the students created the Salt Water Egg Experiment by experimenting with salt water and normal water by predicting if the egg will float in the salt water or regular sink water. We charted their predictions on a bar graph and then did the experiment. Our results showed that the egg floated in salt water and sunk in normal water. We then introduced the term buoyancy and discussed what it meant. 

The third picture is our Mentos and Diet Coke Geyser experiment. The teachers added the Mentos to the Diet Coke so that the students could observe what happened when the two ingredients were mixed together. The students were amazed to see how high the geyser was! We discussed how the bubbles, the carbonation, in the diet coke mixed with the Mentos candy made a huge explosion. 

In the last picture we created a Pumpkin-cano a.k.a an erupting pumpkin by mixing the following ingredients: baking soda, vinegar, dish soap, and warm water. We took turns taking the seeds and guts out of the pumpkin and describing what they felt like! Then we added all of the ingredients inside the pumpkin and observed what happened next. The students touched the foam and noticed that the foam was warm. We then discussed then the ingredient reacted to each other and caused the foam to become warm because of the type of reaction it is. 

My students love participating in science experiments, what experiments have you done with your students? 

Books that Inspire Lesson Plans

       

This quote demonstrates how books can transport the reader into a different time, place and/or world. In my class whenever possible I base my lesson plans off of books. In this post I am going to share two lessons plans based off of two books: The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar 
This lesson plan is based off of the book but with a different twist. My lesson is based off the story The Very Hungry Illinois Caterpillar. The Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom (IAITC) Department is an excellent resource that allows teachers to bring the agriculture of Illinois into the classroom as the name states. IAITC created The Very Hungry Illinois Caterpillar adapted by the popular book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle to each students about the native crops in Illinois. Living in Illinois this story allows the students to learn about the following:

• Crops that are native to Illinois 
• Life cycle of the butterfly
• Compare and contrast of the two versions of the story 
• Language and Literacy skills 
• Creative Expressions skills
• Ordering the days of the week
• Facts about Illinois  

Below is a picture of a window that I created from student work 

              

The students wrote the what the Illinois caterpillar ate on teach day and they helped create the different crops that he ate. The students also counted sets 1-10 by creating a bar graph with corn kernels, which is a popular crop that is grown in Illinois. The students and parents loved the story of The Very Hungry Illinois Caterpillar so much that my co-teacher and I are binding the story into a book for the students as a holiday gift!

The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred 
This lesson is based off the above book by Samantha R. Vamos. I taught this lesson during the summer during Farm week when the students were able to take a field trip to The Cosley Zoo in Wheaton, IL. All of the animals that are characters in the book are at The Cosley Zoo so the students were able to use the Spanish vocabulary from the story on their field trip. As a class we also made rice pudding just as the Cazuela did in the story. This lesson allowed the students to learn the following:

• Spanish vocabulary 
• Putting events in sequential order 
• Language and Literacy skills
• Creative Expression skills
• Following multi-step directions
• Science and Social Studies skills 

Below is a picture of a window that I created using student work 

The students created the animals and ingredients from the book by using various materials. As a journal the students wrote the sight words in the sentences and wrote the Spanish vocabulary for the animals and the ingredients. The students as a class helped make rice pudding and then individually described and drew the steps needed to make rice pudding. Finally to end the week we took a field trip to Cosley Zoo and we able to see, hear, and touch all of the animals that are in the book.

What books have you used in your lessons?

5 Steps to Creating a Thanksgiving Performance

Below is a video describing in 5 steps how to create an unforgettable Thanksgiving performance. The background music is my Pre-K class performing two Thanksgiving songs at the preschool's annual Family Thanksgiving Feast!

5 Steps

1. Choose the song(s) 
2. Send a letter home to the parents reminding them about the performance along with a copy of the song(s)
3. Make the prompts for the performance
4. Teach the students the song(s)
5. Practice, practice, practice!

Helpful Resources

• Pinterest
• Teachers Pay Teachers
• Everything Preschool

What resources have you used for your Thanksgiving or Winter performances? 

Classroom Management

In my classroom there are a few classroom management techniques that I wanted to share. The first classroom management technique that I use in my classroom is a behavior chart. The behavior chart is meant to be a positive behavior system that shows the students and parents how their day was. The behavior chart is suppose to start a conversation with the child and their parent about the child's day. Below is an image of the behavior chart that I use. My classroom is space themed for the behavior chart is a rocket ship. I found this behavior chart on Pinterest to see it click on the following link,  Pinterest Behavior Chart. There are many other ideas for behavior charts on Pinterest.

My co-teacher and I send home a letter about the behavior chart in our welcome packet and we talk about it at our first curriculum night and discuss if any of the parents have any concerns. Part of the letter that we send home is as follows: One way that we strive to hold students accountable for their actions and making positive choices in the classroom is through the implementation of a behavior chart. It is also a great way for parents to start off a discussion with their child at pick-up about how things went that day.

Below is another classroom management technique that is in my classroom. We have eight student helpers jobs that the students can be. The jobs change every day and the students can lose their jobs if they are not making good choices. The eight jobs in my classroom is calendar helper, weather watcher, snack helper, lunch helper, chair checker, clean-up crew, teacher helper and line leader. The students love to earn a job and strive to do their jobs to the best of their ability. The pockets, people, and sticks I bought at a teacher store that I love, Chalkboard, that sells everything you can image from manipulatives, bulletin board boarders, calendars, laminating, etc. 

Below is an image of another classroom management technique that I use in my classroom. The center sign is used to transition the students from one center to another. The center signs are color coordinated to the center signs on the tables. The star sticks have each child's name on them and can easily be moved because of the velcro that is attached to it. However, each day we move the students around to be in different groups to ensure that they interact with a variety of their peers. After the initial grouping of the students the center signs are what I move to tell the students which center to go to. This method makes transitions as easy as possible because instead of having the move each child's star stick you only have to move the center signs. 

 What classroom management techniques do you use in your own classroom? 

About Me

To my students I am known as Ms. Callie. I am a Pre-K teacher at a preschool in Naperville, IL. I have been working at the school for five years in December! I have worked in almost every classroom from Infants to Pre-K 2. Last March I took over for one of the Pre-K teachers that was leaving and I have loved it every since. I decided to create a blog about being a Pre-K teacher. In my blog I will discuss Pre-K practices that I do in my classroom. I will discuss classroom management techniques, activities, bulletin boards ideas, assessments, best practices, resources I use, etc.


For my first post I wanted to share with you one of my favorite quotes.

Today with technology, academic pressure, and safety concerns children are not able to just play. Children are not able to use their imaginations and creativity. Many children have a hard time making decisions independently because they are used to being told what to do and how to do it. It is not their fault they have become accustomed to it. Being able to do something is great but being able to do something new and think outside of the box using your imagination as Einstein said will take you everywhere. In my classroom I try to incorporate choice, freedom and imagination when possible. For example one of the skills for Pre-K is builds with a different sized blocks. Instead of telling my students to build something specific that was related to the theme I told the students to pick what blocks they wants and to build anything they wanted. Below are picture of three of my students building with their imagination. 

 Eva built a princess castle where she was the princess :)

 Jay built a carnival where the people were waiting in line to take a turn on the ride that went round and round. 

Zander built a monster house who was a bad guy and Zander was going to stop him by using the ice power from his hands. 

Something as simple as letting the children take the lead and make their own decisions makes the children more engaged and it takes a conversation with the students. 

Does anyone else have any ideas or activities that he or she has done with his or her students that allowed the students to use their imaginations?

You can follow me on Pinterest and check out my teaching board to see different activities, lessons, and ideas that I have pinned. My user name is Callie Lee and you can click on the following link to see my Pinterest at Cjarrett.