Happy 100th Day and a Sale!

Yesterday was our 100th Day of School- exciting and somewhat crazy.  As one student told me, "it was the best day ever", so that makes it all worth it!

Students were encouraged to dress up like they are 100 years old.  About half of the class dressed up; some highlights are below.

         

No 100th day would be complete without a hat of some sort, right?  We combined a few ideas I've seen floating around.  Most of this was inspired by Kindergals.  We rolled a die then created an addition problem to indicating how many more to make 10.  Example: If I rolled a 6, my addition problem would be 6 + 4.  Students then used stickers to fill in each of their 10 strips on the hat.  

          

We used our 100th day collections to practice measuring by weight.  In the past, we have focused on length on the 100th day, but I wanted something new this year.  So, I came up with this little activity.  Students were each to bring 100 of something in a quart-sized ziploc (I provided this).  We hung them in the hall and talked about the different sizes and weights of objects.  

Above are a few of the bags hanging in the hallway.  After comparing the items in the hallway, I took them down and took them into the room.  I created a recording sheet pairing 6 sets of items.   During our small group activities, my group worked on predicting which item was heavier, then putting the two items in the pan balance to see which was heavier.  Students then filled in the recording sheet indicating the actual heavier item.  The last activity was giving students 2 similar-weight items, having them hold them, then predict.  I was surprised how well they did with this whole activity!

The recording sheet is here, in Google Docs.  You can edit the document to match the items your students bring in for their 100 day collections.  

We made a 100th day trail mix and also had a special 100th day treat.  The trail mix was made from 10 of 10 different items.  The special treat was made from 1/2 of a cheese stick and 2 oreos.  In the past, I have used a cheese stick and either banana or kiwi slices.  You can also see the 100th day bracelets I picked up at Lakeshore Learning (made by Teacher Created Resources).

    

The final activity was rolling a die and coloring to fill a 100 chart then filling in 100 tally marks on the back and counting by 5s.

That is our 100th day in a nutshell.  Have you celebrated the 100th day?  What was your celebration like?  

I'd love for you to leave a comment and/or follow me!

Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) is having a huge Super Bowl sale tomorrow.  Use the code "SUPER" to get an extra 10% off already discounted prices.  My store will be 20% off.  I recently completed transportation-themed packets for language arts and math and a mini-packet for teaching solid shapes.  Check out my store: A Very Curious Class.  Thanks for visiting!

Five For Friday Linky Party

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five For Friday. I was out Monday and Tuesday with the dreaded flu, so my highlight was being back for the remainder of the week!  Here are 5 highlights from our week.

Today was our 100th day of school!  Here is my class of proud kiddos in their 100th Day hats.  I'll be back with more on the 100th day tomorrow.

We finished our study of space.  The "astronauts" and "mission control" were busy.

We had the opportunity to have the Star Lab visit our school.  We loved visiting and seeing constellations and stars in the night sky.

We explored using "Just Dance" on YouTube for inside recess.  The kids were very engaged and enjoyed participating!

100th day collections were completed at home and returned.  We compared sizes while collections were hanging in the hallway.

Check back tomorrow for the highlights of our 100th Day celebration.  My favorite part was the kids dressing up like they are 100 years old.

Astronauts & Opposites

We are learning about space and opposites.  Below are some of our centers and activities.

At the art center, we are drawing pictures of an outside scene (playground, park, house, etc).  After the picture is drawn, it is folded in half.  1/2 is painted with black liquid watercolor to show night.  The other is left white (day).  You can see the before paint and after paint below.  After the paint dried, students put star stickers on the night side.

At our science center, we are coloring the sun and planets, cutting them out and gluing the planets to black construction paper.  The sun is attached with a brad so the planets can "orbit" around the sun.

We are practicing standard and nonstandard measurement.  There is a picture of a rocket and an astronaut.  Each picture has a line down the middle.  Students measure using: cubes, erasers, links, counting bears and a ruler.  There is a recording sheet for students to record their measurements.  They are doing a great job!

Last week I posted my "spaceship" creation.  As promised, here are the kiddos in action.  The "astronaut" gets to wear the costume and spend time in the spaceship.  The laptop (out of commission) with headset and phone are "mission control".  I have not heard any arguments (I was shocked!), and the kids are excited to take many turns at each roll during their time at the center!

We will finish up with space and opposites this week.  The StarLab is coming, so we will visit that next week.  Friday is the 100th day of school!  What are you up to next week?

Out of This World Breakfast

My students came in this morning to a little extra special treat to go with their regular breakfast.  We serve breakfast in our rooms daily to all students free of charge.  I try to sneak in food projects where I can with breakfast to save the mess later, and it is easier to do it one-on-one or in small groups during this time.

Our theme for this week and next week is space.  First, I found these fish crackers at a Pepperidge Farm outlet.  They were only a dollar and I knew I could come up with something.

Off to the Dollar Tree I went and found black plates (outer space).  I bought apples to use as "moons", but forget them at home, so settled on bananas.  I cut the bananas in half longways.  Students then got stars, a planet and a rocket Goldfish crackers.  Below is the finished treat.

My kiddos enjoyed playing with their food before eating it.  It was a good way to start a Friday!

Do you have ideas for a fun (preferably breakfast appropriate) snack with a transportation theme?

A Delay and a Celebration

The kids were off Friday (teacher work day) and Monday (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), then had a 2 hour delay today.  It is C-O-L-D here!  We haven't had a delay or snow day this year, so this was a whole new experience for them.  They thought it was so cool to have centers in the afternoon instead of in the morning.  Ahh, the little things in life...

As for our celebration... I have a student in my class who has limited use of her right hand (and she is most definitely right-handed by nature).  She receives OT and PT weekly per her IEP and has certainly adapted to her situation well.  She has been struggling to zip her jacket independently, which I think even as an adult would be tough with one hand!  Usually the cafeteria staff is very helpful in getting is zipped prior to recess.  One day last week, when our normal cafeteria worker was out, a staff member told this little girl that she needed to learn to do it on her own. I picked her up from lunch in tears.  Poor girl!  Give her a break; she really does try!  So, I chatted with the OT who said she'd work on it today (which didn't happen thanks to our 2 hour delay...she'll be in on Thursday) and until then, she gave a suggestion of having her get it up as high as she could so she could use her right arm to hold the coat against her body.  In the meantime, I asked another little girl who usually sits near her to help her get it started, and she happily agreed.  Problem solved; yay teamwork!  Today, at the end of the day, Miss B came running over to me (only time I'd allow running in my room!) saying "Miss Hennon, I zipped my coat ALL BY MYSELF!  I bunched it up just like you said, and it worked!"  So proud!  You go girl for being persistant and not giving up- a lesson for us all!

What are you celebrating in your classroom?

Hot Pots: Paint Your Own Pottery

My students, their families and I had the opportunity to paint our own pottery Thursday night at our local paint your own pottery studio!  I used DonorsChoose.org to secure funding for our trip.  I love painting at Hot Pots, and I knew it would be something many of my students would not otherwise have the opportunity to do.  The staff at Hot Pots is very kid-friendly and gives me a great deal to bring my students and their families.

Miss M hard at work!

Mr. C and his mom working on his heart.

Finished painting and waiting to be fired.  Each one is certainly unique!

Have you used DonorsChoose.org?  If so, what have you posted projects for?  If not, you should definitely check it out!

Prepare for Launch

We are launching a two week unit about space on Tuesday.  This is the first year, in my 7 years of kindergarten, that I have had a space theme.  I didn't have many resources and wasn't too excited about it.  We had a teacher work day on Friday, and the ideas started flowing while I was working.

I knew I wanted to make a rocket/spaceship for my dramatic play center. Not being the most creative person who can visualize these things, this was a challenge.  I wanted to be able to use it again next year, but not have something huge to store.  This is what I came up with:

I used an overhead projector to trace a rocket on a gray shower curtain. I cut out a hole (window) for students to look out.  I then taped the shower curtain to a stove box using packing tape.  A hole was cut in the back of the box for students to enter and exit the rocket.  The U.S.A. is created using foam and our Ellison.  I will just take the shower curtain off the box to store for next year.

To the side is a "command center" with an old broken laptop, a head set and a phone.  The student "astronaut" has an astronaut uniform jacket and helmet with a head set.  Looking forward to sharing pictures with you next week as students explore this center!  Our curriculum puts a huge focus on theme vocabulary, so I'm hoping this will bring out lots of conversation and vocabulary!

A colleague requested a little math game I made (not sure where the original idea came from...most likely pinterest!) to go with our space theme.

The game includes numbers 0-20.  The numbers are to be cut apart and placed in a pocket chart.  I use a Target $1 bin pocket chart (which I also recently saw at Dollar Tree!).  Behind 3 numbers, you had a little alien card.  Students must guess (using number names) which cards are hiding an alien card.  The game ends when all 3 alien cards are found.  I uploaded it on TpT as a freebie.

What ideas do you have for a space theme?