Beach Day Update, Snowy Fun and The 100th Day!

I'm a bit behind on posting!  We had tons of fun in Jan.!  We started with Beach Day, did some fun winter crafts, and ended with the 100th day of school!!

Okay, this isn't a kinder, it's my older niece hanging out in K. ;) I had a big blow up crab pool in the room. She always likes to come hang out and see what's new in K. ;)

Here are the kiddos enjoying some octopus (hot dog). ;) I cut the bun length hot dogs in 1/2 and cut slits on the bottom. Boil until they are curled up.

Here are some cute torn paper snowmen.

We also did some q-tip painting snowmen. Lots of snowy fun even if we haven't had any good snow. ;)






 For the 100th day, we made some crazy hats with 10 colored strips of paper. On each strip, the kiddos used q-tips again to paint 10 dots on each strip to make 100. The kids put 100 things on their clothes and shared them with us. We strung 100 fruit loops, colored 100s, made 100 day snack mix, drew ourselves as 100 year olds, and counted lots of 100s!

Found the cute 100 day snack page on TeachersPayTeachers.






 Okay, updated! Now it's time for February ideas! I posted one on my previous post. Hearts with dot painters. I cut out a heart and taped it to the kiddos paper and they used dot painters to paint around it. Turned out cute! Here it is again. :)

Have a happy heart and happy teaching!!

A Happy Heart and a Playful Spirit! :)

Okay, here's another soap box, I get on those every now and then. ;)  Play in Kindergarten is how children learn!  Do I teach academics, absolutely, if you go back a bit I got on a soap box about abeka phonics, math, etc...  My kiddos are blending, counting, writing, reading, and more, but they are also playing.  When I'm teaching they don't just sit and attend, which has it's place too, but we move and learn.  We count and jump, we sing and dance, we rhyme and memorize, but we also play.

Some of my favorite times are when kiddos are in centers.  I love to hear their ideas when they are working together, I love to watch as they plan out a block building project, I love to hear them "read" and discover books through pictures, and I love to see their creativity as they play and imagine.  I change out the big centers each month, housekeeping, dress-up, and books, when I do that, you'd think I was the greatest decorator around.  The kids get so excited to see and try out the new areas!  Sometimes housekeeping is a store, it's been  a restaurant, it's been a pumpkin market, a beach shack cafe, pizza parlor, bakery, etc...  Dress up has been transformed into a vet, a puppet stage area, fairy tale and nursery rhyme acting stage, crazy hat dress up etc...  It's such fun to think up some new and exciting things in these areas!

Each week we have a writing center, math center, art center, listening center, table toys, blocks, and science.    These usually have a theme for the month.  Sometimes we throw in sand or playdough.  Through all of these, children are exploring and learning at their pace.

These children are going to have years sitting at a desk and doing homework, this is their time to be kids, to enjoy learning and have some fun!  Kindergarten is usually the year that sets the tone for learning through the years, and don't we want them to have a positive outlook on that?  So, let your kinders be kids a bit longer, let them squish some playdough, put on a fun and crazy costume, pretend they are a great chef, build a skyscraper, and just be kids!  Research shows that play is key to all kinds of higher learning, so pat yourself on the back, and when one of your students is a National Merit Scholar, you can say, I had a part in that, I let them play! ;)