Pumpkin Poem

From: DLTK


One day I found two pumpkin seeds.
I planted one and pulled the weeds.
It sprouted roots and a big, long vine.
A pumpkin grew; I called it mine.
The pumpkin was quite round and fat.
(I really am quite proud of that.)
But there is something I'll admit
That has me worried just a bit.
I ate the other seed, you see.
Now will it grow inside of me?
(I'm so relieved since I have found
That pumpkins only grow in the ground!)

Portfolio Ideas

I take pictures of each of the children in each center, through out the year. I then tape them on a sheet of paper that tell about that center and the importance of it in their child's growth process.  I spiral bound the papers and then they have a booklet to keep from preschool.

or

Each month, beginning with the first month, children draw their self-portraits. At the end of the year the pages are bound and the cover is titled "Look How I've Grown!" This is a great way to show parents progress.

Five Senses Poem

I found this poem here.

If a bird you want to hear,

You have to listen with your __­­________.

If you want to dig in sand,

Hold the shovel in your __________.

To see an airplane as it flies,

You must open up your __________.

To smell a violet or a rose,

You sniff the fragrance through your __________.

To bite and chew or scream and shout,

To eat or talk you use your __________.

Depending on the ages/abilities of your students or children, you can ask them to write in the appropriate body part, or cut and paste a picture of the body part.

Guess Who?

Each day, put one student's name (mixed-up) on a magnetic surface using magnetic letters. Have the students see if they can figure out who's name it is before Morning Meeting/Circle Time. Once someone guesses the correct answer, have that student come up and put the letters in the correct order. Then use their name to reinforce letter identification.

Math Pocketchart Activity

From The Virtual Vine:

  For my students who are working on number concepts to 10, I like to keep up a pocket-chart activity for them to use. Usually the activity coordinates with whatever theme /unit that we're working on . Cut (6) 3x5 index cards in half and program with the numbers 0 - 10. Using the Ellison machine die-cuts, cut out 55 dies.

  Line the numbers up in random order at the left edge of the pocket chart, vertically. Have the students count out the correct number of dies and place them in the row beside the number. An alternate activity would be to place the die-cuts in the rows and have the students count them and place the correct numbers in the pocket chart.

Letter Assessments

From: Making Learning Fun

Print the page of your choice. Have the children color it. Individually
take the children aside and have them identify the letters. If they get the letter right, stamp it with a bingo marker. Leave the letters that they get wrong blank.

You can also use dot stickers instead of bingo markers. If you don't have the appropriate colored stickers, you can lay any circle stickers out on newspaper and spray paint them the color you need.

Other assessment pages available include:
Apple
Baker
Baseball
Bat
Big Green Monster
Butterfly
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Chicken
Christmas
Dinosaur
Fireman
Fishing
Flower
Frog
Gingerbread Man
Graduation
Ground hog
Jack and Jill
Ladybug
Mail Carrier
Mrs. Wishy Washy
Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick
The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell
Penguin
Pirate
Pumpkin
Rabbit
Racecar
Scarecrow
Seahorse
Snowman
Spiders
St. Patrick's Day
Train
Turkey
USA
Valentine
Valentines Day
Witch for Halloween

Question of the Day

Every Friday, at attendance time, put up question: "Does your name have a(n) (letter) in it?" with "yes" and "no" as the responses using the letter of the week.

Beginning of Year Bulletin Board

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom theme:

Make a coconut tree and use an Ellison machine to put the first letter of each child's name around the tree. On each letter, write the child's name. The bulletin board reads: "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Look Who's in Our Room." Take a picture of each child on the first day of school. When developed, have the child find his/her name by the tree. Tape the photo next to the letter and save it for their portfolios when the board is changed.

Journal Ideas

*Read a story. Ask the children a comprehension question and write down the response. Then ask the child to draw a picture illustrating his/her response. Copy the cover of the book on one side of the paper and allow the child to draw on the other.

*Take a picture of the child doing something in the classroom. Ask him/her to dictate what he/she was doing.

*Copy an action picture (or comic) onto a sheet of paper. Ask the child to dictate a story to go along with the picture.

*Choose your own ending: Begin reading a story aloud to your child. Then just before the end of the story, stop reading and tell your child that she is going to create her own ending for the story. Provide an example by adding another sentence to the last one you read. Then invite your child to continue telling the story so that it concludes any way she likes.

*Cover ideas:
1. Letter stamps: sponge letter paint stampers with paint or letter stampers and an ink pad
2. Letter stickers: both upper- and lowercase
3. Pre-cut letters: kids find, arrange in order, glue to page