Dot Day

This week we focused on The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds.  We used the Guiding Readers pack as the basis for our study of the book.  Today I tried to incorporate dots and the idea of giving something a try/practicing.  Warning: Picture overload!

All of my students were invited to wear dots to school today.  For those that did not wear dots, I gave them 12 garage sale dots.  Some of their ideas were great!

This little guy's bowtie had polka dots.  He was so proud of it!

This guy and his mom create a special shirt for the day.  The kids thought it was so cool that he got to color on a shirt.

I loved her sun glasses with polka dots!  She was really good about not playing with them.

We had a special dot snack: M & M cookies.

During reading center time, we used Bingo daubers to dot our answers with beginning sounds or CVC words.

At the art center this week, my kiddos created dot art using various sized dots from the Ellison.  A few of them wanted to exercise their creativity and use scissors to modify their dot(s).

The last thing we did was write a goal, sign it and put it in a swirly gold frame.  These are going with the idea of growth mindset, and are displayed on our closet with the word "yet" above them.  The kids thought it was so cool to sign their names.

It was great to see them having fun with activities related to the story and making the connections on their own.  I'm looking forward to finding ways to incorporate things such as these with other stories we focus on this year.  If you have ideas to go with other stories, I'd love to hear!  

Have you entered my Kwik Stix giveaway? The giveaway ends Sunday night.   Have a great weekend!

Kwik Stix Review and Giveaway

My class and I had the opportunity to review Kwik Stix by The Pencil Grip company.  I received a sample when I attended I Teach 1st this summer, and I knew my kiddos would love these!

I began by e-mailing the company to ask for a sample, and I was very impressed with their quick service and getting questions answered.  I knew these Kwik Stix would be great for the whole year, but at the beginning of the school year, when messes seem to be abundant, I knew these would give us the opportunity to paint with less of a mess.

Kwik Stix were used on the flower petals and the center of the flower.  The center of the flower is construction paper and the petals are card stock. 

We read the story Chrysanthemum during our second week of school.  We had a project to do with our names, and I knew Kwik Stix would be perfect for the kids to use independently at the art center.  After coloring, students used permanent marker to write the letters of their names.  It was very easy for them to write with permanent marker over top of the Kwik Stix coloring.  We used this pack (minus the white) for our project.

My kiddos described Kwik Stix as "lipstick" and "glue sticks that color".  They were fascinated by how quickly the dried.  I loved how easy it was for them to color, and how bright the projects turned out.  As they were working, my kiddos couldn't stop commenting on how much they liked Kwik Stix.  Many students asked where Kwik Stix could be purchased.

I not only liked how great their projects turned out, but I appreciated that students were able to grip the Kwik Stix as they would a pencil.  They easily filled in their flower petals and were excited to see the finished product. The area stayed remarkable clean with no spilled paint cups to worry about.  The Kwik Stix that did end up on the table were easily removed with a wet paper towel. 

My students and I cannot wait to use Kwik Stix again!  We'd love for you to try them out too!  You can save 15% at The Pencil Grip website using the code YOUWIN15.  You can also enter below to win a 12 pack of assorted Kwik Stix.

I hope you will consider trying Kwik Stix.  I look forward to hearing your great ideas for trying Kwik Stix!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

First Week...Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

We survived our first week of kindergarten together!  This is always an accomplishment in K!  We had some bumps in the road, but overall, it was a great week.

A few of our favorite things include:

• HeidiSongs: We focused on color words this week. They loved singing and dancing.
• Guiding Readers: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom was our story this week.
• Playing on the playground
• Snacktime
• Art (no art teacher at our school though sadly)
• Friends
• Sharing our day with our families via SeeSaw (try it out by clicking the link)

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom headband

Chicka Chicka snack...sadly, I didn't get a snack of them making them or of one just on it's own.  It was too busy passing out snack parts!  It is a nutty bar (trunk), apple slices (branches), grapes (coconuts), Alphabits cereal.

Fun at the block center

This week we will learn more color words and will read Chrysanthemum.  We will also focus on our names and the names of our friends.  Check back at the end of the week for a review of Kwik Sticks that will be used for an art project this week!