Mother's Day and Father's Day Gifts

In the past I have done several different Mother's Day and Father's Day gifts; however, the gift that my class did last year was my favorite. The students were asked why they love their Mom and what they said word for word is what you see in the pictures. I did this for Mother's Day but you could easily do it for Father's Day. 

I saw this idea on Pinterest for Mother's Day and Father's Day. The letters are magnet letters and what the students are holding up is a dry erase board. The background is paper that are in huge rolls and the letters I cut out and glued to the paper. I asked the student why he or she loved his or her mom and then the student used inventive spelling to help spell the words. The students also used their knowledge of sight words to help them. Then I took pictures of each student and had the pictures developed at Walgreens.  Then the students decorated frames for their moms and we put magnets on the back of the frames. We gave the Moms their gifts at our annual Mother's Day Breakfast held at our school. The Moms loved them!

What have you given as Mother's Day and Father's Day gifts in your class?

Holiday Gifts for Parents

In my class this year for a holiday gift my co-teacher and I are having the students create paintings on a canvas to give to their parents. Luckily a family donated over 20 canvas for we have enough canvas for each student; however, if you are not as fortunate a good place to go for canvas is Michaels. Right now there is a sale going on 50% off canvas, 2 canvas for $4.49!  The canvas that are on sale are the same canvas that I am using in my own classroom. The students are given the choice of what painting they want to create for their parents. They are given the following 5 choices to pick from:

1. Christmas tree
2. Snowflake
3. Angel
4. Snowman
5. Gingerbread man 

Micheals even has its own blog that discusses various topics such as project ideas, tips, how to, and much more. 

The following images are ideas that I am using in my own class as well as other ideas that you could use for holiday gifts. The following images were all found on Pinterest. 

For my students I created stencils by tracing the image of a snowflake, angel, snowman, and gingerbread man all on their own piece of cardboard and then cut out the image. That way I can lay the stencil on top of the student's canvas and the student will paint inside the stencil so the child is painting independently with little help from the teacher! I want this gift to be child-done instead of the teacher creating a present for the child to give to their parent. If you do not want to create your own stencils any dollar story usually have holiday stencils around this time a year. My favorite dollar store is The Dollar Tree . Martha Steward also makes excellent stencils with different patterns, which can be purchased at Michaels, Walmart, and Jo-Ann Fabrics just to name a few.

What holiday gifts have you done in your classroom?

Star of the Week

During the first week of school we send home a letter, poster and schedule for "The Star of the Week." Star of the Week is something I do in my class which allows one student every week to be the "star." The child completes and decorated a poster that is all about him or her. Each day during the week that he or she is the star he or she brings in something about him or herself that allows the class to learn more about him or her. The schedule for what they bring is the following: 

• Monday: Family pictures 
• Tuesday: Favorite music 
• Wednesday: Favorite toy 
• Thursday: Favorite book 
• Friday: Favorite snack to share with the class

The below image shows the poster and how their poster is displayed in my classroom. His or her poster is returned during the second week of school and stored in the classroom until her or she is star of the week, and then returned to him or her to take home once he or she is no longer the star. 

Below is another image of a student's poster. As you can see the child is able to make the poster his or her own by how it is decorated. Completing the poster is encouraged to be a family project. 

 This image is a close-up of Ellamae's poster that is above. My favorite part is what Ellamae said she wanted to be when she grew up!

There are many different ideas for Star of the Week. In the past other teachers in my building have done Rockstar of the Week, Player of the Week and Special Person of the Week. My student love being Star of the Week and look forward to it until it is their turn.

After all of the students are the star my co-teacher and I are also the stars of the week. Then it is the parents turn! We have a sign up sheet for any parent that wants to be the star. The parent is given a poster in secret and fills out the poster without their child knowing. The parent fills out the poster and puts a picture of him or her when he or she was 4 years old. Each day the parent brings in the same items the children are suppose to and the children guess who's parent they think it is. The Star of the Week become the Mystery Star of the Week. On Friday, or whenever the parent is able to, he or she comes in and reveals him or herself to the class. The children love it and view it as a game! The children talk about it to their parents and then more parents sign up.

How have you extended your Star of the Week?

U.S. Presidents

Teaching students about current and past U.S. Presidents, even as young as Pre-K, is important for students to learn about U.S history, voting, roles, culture, and diversity. However, in my experience too many teachers, activities, and lesson plans focus on three Presidents, and three Presidents only: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and the current president, which is Barrack Obama.  All three Presidents are extremely important to our history, but so are other presidents. I created the video below using iMovie to show be able to show students the face to the name. The video can be adapted for Pre-K classes as well as older students. 

The above images are from the official White House website. 

The following video along with other materials can be used to teach Pre-K students the following:

• How people have changed over time by comparing and contrasting the first president to the current president 
• Learning important events in U.S. history and the role the president played 
• Different leaderships roles that people play, such as student, principal, president, etc. 
• Voting as a means of making choices and the different ways in which one votes 
• U.S symbols and the meaning behind the American flag and Pledge of Allegiance  
• Coin identification 

Below are images of different resources to use when teaching about U.S. Presidents with links to each 

Above is an image of The New Big Book of U.S. Presidents: Fascinating Facts and Each and Every President 

Above is a bulletin board using silhouettes of the students and former U.S. Presidents. I found this idea on Pinterest. 

Above is an image of a Time for Kids Presidents of the United States in print and there are also resources online that teachers can use for flashcards and other resources. 

 Above is an image of an art activity that students could create based off of U.S. Presidents that could be used in dramatic play and other activities. This art activity is from Pinterest. 

 The above image could be used for coin identification by discussing the different Presidents that are on each coin and by making the coins into finger puppets the coins could also be used in dramatic play. A great technology resource to use to help with coin identification is the following: ABC Learning Coins

The above image could be used as a writing activity for students to write about what they would do if they were President. This writing activity could be adapted for different ages by changing the length of the writing. This worksheet is from another teachers blog, A Cupcake for the Teacher. 

What activities and resources have you used to teach about U.S. Presidents?

Art Appreciation

As a way of introducing and teaching different art we discuss an new artist every month and create a piece of art inspired by the artist. My co-teacher and I chose the following eight artists for our art appreciation: 

1. Jackson Pollock
2. Edvard Munch 
3. Paul Ranson
4. Gustav Klimt
5. Salvador Dali
6. Andy Warhol 
7. Leonardo Da Vinci 
8. Georgia O'Keeffe

Below is a picture of how the artist's art is displayed in my room each month. In the picture Paul Ranson's is the artist we were studying for November.

After discussing the artist and reading about the different techniques the artist used the students create a piece of artwork and then the student's artwork is displayed in the window for the entire month. Below is two pictures of the artwork that the students created for Edvard Munch's The Scream  and Paul Ranson's Apple Tree. 

For Edvard Munch the students used oil pastels to create the sunset, water, and bridge that are in the background. A picture of the students "screaming" was added to replicate Edvard Munch's famous piece of art.  

The students used special water color water and used markers to create an apple tree, sky, and grass. Then the students painted their drawing with water to create a water color effect. 

 To display the finished artwork, two pieces of student work is displayed as shown below until the end of the school year. Below is a picture of two student's art for Jackson Pollock and for Edvard Munch.

The students' art that is not displayed is kept in file folders as shown below, and kept for an art portfolio that will be given to the students and parents at the end of the school year. 

What artists have you studied in your classroom?