Farm Field Trip

learning about bees 

I love field trips!  I think it is so important to take students on field trips.  It is always so fun, it is a great learning experience for kids, and the students love it.  I personally find it best to teach a unit and then choose a field trip that relates to that unit to maximize student engagement and learning.

learning about horses

I know with budget cuts and school funding issues that money for a field trip can be hard to come by but I find that fundraising works great.  I have asked local businesses for donations, had parents sell snacks after school, and hosted school movie nights to raise money.  I have not personally written grants to receive money but that is also an option as well.

learning how to
brush a horse

This year we spent three weeks doing a farm unit and our field trip was to a farm.  The kids loved going to the farm.  The learned how bees make honey and why it is important.  They also had the opportunity to learn how to feed various animals and they were able to feed the animals.  They learned how to properly brush horses and were able to also brush the horses.  Students also learned various crops that grow on the farm and were able to pick oranges to keep and take home. We finished our farm day with a tractor ride around the entire farm and a giant corn maze which was a big hit.

feeding the goats 

The farm we visited have seasonal activities (apples in Fall, pumpkins in October, christmas trees in December).  Next year I would like to plan the farm field trip after our pumpkin unit because each students has the opportunity to select a pumpkin to take home!

3 Little Pigs STEM Lesson

students signed their
name to a side

I had mentioned in my last post that I like to have my kinder kiddos participate in STEM challenges (science, technology, engineering, math).  There are quite a few STEM challenges out there for kinder kiddos.  While working on our Farm Unit we had read several different version of the classic story The 3 Little Pigs. After discussing some issues with why the houses blew down we started our challenge!

A finished house
ready to test

The students each received a cardstock pig they could color to their liking.  Their pig was then taped down to the center of a small paper plate.  Students were able to use as many toothpicks and marshmallows needed to design a sturdy home for their pig.  You can use various materials, I just had left over marshmallows so I used those.

The Big Bad Wolf

When they were finished with their home they needed to have it tested by the big bad wolf! Which was a hair dryer I taped a wolf face onto.  The student would hold their plate with their structure while the "wolf" would try his best to blow it down.  If their house was successful they had the option to either save it to take home or eat it.  If their house was unsuccessful they had the option to gather a team of friends to help build a new house for their pig and try again.

working together

I must say I was very proud of my kinder kiddos.  They did such a great job working together and thinking hard about how to design their pig house.  They had so much fun with this challenge and everyone eventually built a successful house.

Read Across America

Teacher 1 & Teacher 2

I love Read Across America (RAA) aka Dr. Seuss' birthday.  I like to celebrate for the entire week with my kinder kiddos.  We have a spirit week so each day we can dress up to go along with a Dr. Seuss book, for example Thing 1 & Thing 2 day/twin Day.
                     
For the entire week we read Dr. Seuss books and I try to read two different books a day. We also do only Dr. Seuss themed classwork and projects.  You can find a lot of really cute ideas all over Pinterest as well.

Officer Stubblefield
is always a big hit
with the kiddos 

I like to use RAA as a chance to have a career week for my students.  Similar to when we were kids and we had career day where everyone's parents came in to talk about their jobs.  I have a different guest come for each day (so 5 total) and they read their favorite book to the class and also talk all about their career and how reading helps them everyday with their job.
I like to have various careers to show the students that they have so many possibilities and can be whatever they want to.

learning all about the CHP

My husband comes every year and the kids LOVE seeing a police officer.  Some other guest I have had come to RAA week included: an eye doctor,  a nurse, a paramedic, a firefighter, a wedding planner, a restaurant owner, a chef, a minor league baseball player, and a professional dancer.  It's such a great experience for the kids and they absolutely love it.

smelling the Oobleck

Another RAA activity that is a must is Oobleck! If you are not familiar with the Dr. Seuss book Bartholomew and the Oobleck you need to read it!  After reading the story (warning it is very long, might want to spread it out over 2 days) we make Oobleck.  The kids love playing with it. I give each student a small bowl with some Oobleck and we smell it, feel it, poke it, etc. we talk all about the Oobleck and then afterwards we do a little Oobleck observations sheet together whole class.

Green Eggs & Ham

Whats a Dr. Seuss week without some yummy snacks? Each day I try to make or buy a snack that goes along with a Dr. Seuss book. A class favorite is when I make the Green Eggs and Ham snack.

"When I grow up I want to be
Mr. Stubblefield's police partner." -Luther 

Lastly, to finish off our RAA week (career week also), on Friday we write about what we want to be when we grow up.

It's so cute to see what the kids come up with. This one made my husband feel really cool. It really is co cute and check out that amazing phonetic spelling!

Bear Unit

KWL chart

I like to teach using thematic units. Each unit will last about 2 weeks and at the end of the unit I like to have the class participate in some sort of science experiment or STEM challenge.  Last year was first year doing a Bear Unit and I loved it so much I decided to do it again this year!

comparing bears

We start off the unit by creating a class KWL chart (know, want, learn) students raise their hand to tell me what they know about bears or what they want to know and I write it down on a post-it with their name, the student then gets to place their post-it on the KWL chart.  At the end of the unit we do the same thing to fill in the Learn section of the chart which will show everything we learned during the Bear Unit.

   

bear circle map

Through out the Bear Unit we learn all about various types of bears: black bears, polar bears, brown bears, grizzly bears, etc.

our bear cave

We learn that most bears hibernate during the winter.  Students chose to make their own type of bear to add to our classroom bear cave.  We make sure to make all the bears eyes closed because they are hibernating during winter of course.  On the first day of spring the students get to wake up their bear (take it off the wall) and take it home.

    

blubber experiment 

We learn all about how bears eat a lot to get fat and use their blubber to stay warm while hibernating so we also do a little blubber experiment.  The kids place their hand in ice water and let me know how it feels.  Then i cover their other hand with a glove that has been covered in crisco (blubber) and wrapped with plastic wrap.  They then stick the blubber hand in the water and are so amazed that their hand is warm!  It really helps them to understand about blubber and hibernation.

Teddy Bear Exploration 

Lastly we finish off our Bear Unit by having a Teddy Bear Exploration.  Students bring their own teddy bear to school and we fill out our Teddy Bear Exploration handout. Students get to measure their bear, draw their bear, compare their bear to a friend's bear. It's so much fun and after all their hard work we watch 20 minutes of the Disney Nature movie Bears and eat some gold fish because bears love fish!

Playing Teacher

addition and subtraction 

One thing I love to let my students do in class is play teacher.  So when they have completed their work they have the chance to be the teacher with their friends who are also finished with their work.  They like to grab the pointers and lead the class through morning routines, or practice math activities just like I do! They really are so cute.  It's amazing how they know exactly what I say and how I sound. Sometimes it can be scary, LOL.

number recognition 

So why do I love my students playing teacher so much?  It allows the students time to learn from one another.  They will correct each other while taking turns playing the teacher.  If a student is not reciting the rules correctly or counting correctly the others will show them how to "do it like the teacher does."  I think that it is great because it allows the students to learn while they are having fun.  I also like that playing teacher gives the students a chance to stand up and present in front of their peers.

naming shapes

Lastly it really is just so darn cute to see these little guys mimic me and it allows me to take a second to reflect on how I sound to them.  You never realize just how you sound until you can hear your kiddos trying to be you.  I have actually adjusted some of my routines or ways I explain concepts to them simply based off of my observations of my kinder kiddos playing teacher.  Try it out in your classroom and let me know how it goes for you!