Five for Friday...spring has sprung and a freebie.

Spring has Sprung, the grass has riz, I wonder where the flowers is?

The Vernal equinox came this week, and we went looking for signs of spring. So here is a little wrap up (on Saturday), and link up with Doodle Bug Teaching, plus a freebie.

We have a wonderful natural area behind our school.  We saw buds on the apple and pear trees.  We checked out the ones my kiddos thought were bugs, and found they were just a different kind of bud.  I love to check them weekly now and see how things have changed.  Next week we will take magnifying glasses out with us, and journals to draw what we see.

The week started with leprechauns messing up our classroom and sending us on a scavenger hunt/quest to see if we can catch him and claim our prize.

Each stop on the quest had us completing a task.  The favorite was reading these gold nuggets that were scattered about the library.  Each nugget had a cvc word painted on with a black paint pen (I couldn't get my sharpie to write dark enough).  We collected them and then put them in the leprechaun's pot.  They couldn't keep their hands out of the pot and they read those words the rest of the day.  My kinders will find them again in a reading center this week. 

Other tasks including counting to 100 for the office staff and planting a seed on the trip to our greenhouse.  When we returned to our room there was the leprechaun's pot....but sadly no leprechaun.  He left us magic powder (which turned into green pudding) and bubbles.  Both were a huge hit.

The afternoon found us making these rainbow chains with a pot of gold.  Each color of the rainbow was for one of our stops along the way.  My goal was to help each student retell the story of their quest.

What did I do for my own family?  I did not make them dress like a leprechaun. 

 

 

I did ask a friend to come play bagpipe music (he came to school too!  Thanks Ron Dickenson!!)

I did make them this cake.

Now for the freebie.  If you have lasted this long, you deserve a reward.  I want you to know that we will be having more rainbow fun next week.  Here is a puzzle that will be in my math centers.  Enjoy the wonderful colors of the graphics of my blogging bestie, the talented Nikki at Melonheadz Illustrating, (and there is also some  DJ Inkers mixed in).  I do have it for sale in my shop with more counting options and in black and white.

Just click on the picture to grab your copy.  Please remember to leave me some lovin' (it makes my heart happy)

The leprechauns are coming!

Do you ever get so excited about what is happening in your class that you just have to tell someone?   I do!  And today was one of those days.  I was grabbing people out of the hall....come check out my class....come see what my kids are doing.  Look at them work....aren't they doing great!

Our schedule today got a bit switched around because many of our staff went to a funereal for the dad of a fellow staff member, and others covered our classes or took a class into theirs (that's what happened to mine).  My fellow team member said that my kids were awesome!  So I was praising them like crazy after lunch, thinking of course I bet this doesn't last (doubting Thomas that I am).

Our afternoon started out with our math stations (I really wanted to get them in so that we could focus on Dr. Seuss activities next week).  They did a great job staying on task and working together.  I looked in the hall...no one to tell.

Then we worked on our calendars.  I have my kiddos do a calendar  about the first of each month.  Today being the first, of course we needed to get this done.  I use a great little calendar with numbers to trace.  I use the calendar generously provided by Ms. Gonzalez on her class website.  You can find it here.   But what to put on the top?  After much debate between lambs and lions, shamrocks, leprechaun I decided, at the last minute, to have a pot of gold and a rainbow.  I like when kids of any age can be given freedom to be creative on their own, so with just a wee bit of leprechaun story telling  and a sample rainbow I turned them loose.  What wonderful work, focus, and engagement!  I was so excited at what they were creating I did finally find someone who would come in and look (and give extra praise).  Here is a sampling of what we were creating:

They were working so hard...checking to make sure their colors were in the right order.  So fun to watch them come up to my sample and check the colors.  There was the occasional why don't we have indigo?  Some of them are just too smart.

Then I love when they start adding their own touches.  Someone thought two pots of gold would be good.  Others wanted to be sure the leprechaun was guarding his gold.  Others needed some gold in their pots. 

This little guy told  me that, "pots have holes in them....you know that."  (I am assuming that is how you put the stuff in, like the gold).  I guess I did know that....don't you?