by admin | Mar 9, 2013 | Categories
Pot of Gold Hunt
A Leprechaun has left their treasure for you to find. Follow the clues and see if you can find it.
This is a super fun activity that promotes reading, cultural learning, teamwork and detective skills. It’s also a great activity to write about afterward. This can be done around the house, or at school. I’ll outline how to do both.
Supplies:
- Die cut shamrocks to write the clues on.
- Some sort of treasure box and treasure. Obviously this should be whatever you feel is appropriate. I’ve found a green plastic pot and gold covered chocolate pieces at Party City. Oriental Trading also has really cute stuff. Consider shamrock pencils, erasers, necklaces, etc.
- Green and gold glitter–because everything is more fun with glitter.
At School
- Plan early! You need to write out the clues, get them hidden, purchase the prizes and get the right people involved.
- Get permission from your school officials since your class will be in the hallways and very excited–and it’s getting close to testing time. A good way to get approval is to ask them to participate. Most principals and office support love being involved and don’t often get to see all the little ones in the office.
- Get as many school personnel involved as you can. Find out who has planning time at the time you’re doing, ask the nurse, librarian, secretary–whoever you can find.
- **TIP** If possible find a parent or assistant to take half the class while you take the other half. This means making 2 sets of clues. (Use the same clues, just let one group go 5 minutes ahead of the other group.) Maybe a light green and a dark green set. Smaller groups allow more kids to have a voice in figuring out the clues.
- Introduce the kids to St. Patrick’s Day by reading them a story such as Clever Tom and the Leprechaun: An Old Irish Story by Linda Shute (I usually do this the day before the treasure hunt because once they see the first clue the next day they’ll be too excited to sit for a story.)
- Write the clues and stash them around the school. I try to have one clue for each kid, or one clue for a pair of kids so they each get a chance to read. See clue samples below. You might want to write the name of the kid who’s supposed to read it on the back. The more organized this is, the less chaos there will be.
- Sprinkle gold and green glitter not the floor in the classroom. You could do glittery footprints or a trail leading up to the first clue.
- The next day when the kids walk in the room the fun begins!
At Home
- Introduce the kids to St. Patrick’s Day by reading them a story such as The Leprechaun’s Gold by Henry Cole. or Clever Tom and the Leprechaun: An Old Irish Story by Linda Shute.
- Write clues on Shamrocks and hide them around the house.
- Hide a special St. Patrick’s Day treasure at the end of the trail of clues.
- Sprinkle the first clue with a trail of green and gold glitter, or glitter footprints.
- Encourage your child to try and read the clues and lead you around the house searching for the next clue.
**I would definitely add green and gold glitter to the footprints.**
Sample clues:
(This is a set I used for my classroom. Clues can easily be adjusted to a home, daycare, etc.)
- Clue #1 Top O’ the Morning kids! I had fun playing at your school last night. But I lost my pot of gold. If you find it and promise to share you can keep my treasure. I was looking for a book about St. Patrick. Where do you think I went? (This clue is in the classroom.)
- Clue #2 I read lots and lots of books in the library! It made me hungry for a snack. (This clue is left with the librarian.)
- Clue #3 Mmmmm. I love green food the best. After my snack I I needed some healthy exercise. (This clue is left in the cafeteria.)
- Clue #4 I wanted to call home to Ireland to see how my leprechaun friends were doing. (This clue is left in the gym or with the coach.)
- Clue #5 Next, I wanted to talk to the big boss and see how you were behaving. (This clue is left with the school secretary.)
- Clue #6 After going all around your school, I took a break in the nicest classroom I could find. It had a lion poster and 20 desks and round, red rug. (Describe the children’s classroom to lead them back there. This clue is left with the principal.) They can hunt all over the room for the “pot of gold.”
**Don’t forget to have the kids write or draw about what happened afterward!
Personal experiences produce the best writings.**
More St. Patrick’s Day Activities:
St. Patrick’s Day Writing Prompts:
- Write about the day you saw a leprechaun. How did you catch him? What did he say to you?
- What would you do if you found a pot of gold?
- What is a rainbow and why do we see them?
- What did you learn about St. Patrick’s Day?
- Pretend you found a four-leaf clover. Write about all the lucky things that happened to you.
- Make a list of all the green things you can think of. Write a story about some of these green things.
- Pretend you just found out your family is really a bunch of leprechauns. Write a story about what you wear, where you work and what you do together.
- Write about all the ways in which you’re lucky. Include your family, your talents, your skills, etc.
- Write a letter to a leprechaun. (Ask him for his gold.)
Videos of St. Patrick’s Day Songs and Stories
by admin | Mar 9, 2013 | Categories
I found this while playing around Pinterest this morning:
List of Dr. Seuss books organized by reading level by Montessori Tidbits. Dr. Seuss and I Can Read By Myself books are still some of the best books to teach rhyming, sight words and other important early reading skills. While reading these books to toddlers is great because they get to hear rhythm and rhyming, this list is a fabulous resource for teachers who have little ones who are ready to tackle these books on their own.
by admin | Mar 3, 2013 | Categories
Tips for Doing Author or Character Studies
- Choose books, authors or characters the kids already love. Maybe they heard No, David! last year, or the librarian read Chrysanthemum to them. Find an author they will connect with.
- Ask the kids to compare and contrast what they see before ever opening a book. Look at covers, titles, illustrations, and see what they notice about similarities and differences.
- Read at least one book a day.
- DON’T save these units until the end of the school year. We all get bogged down with the requirements of the year–but the kids get SO much out of these units, including reading skills and a love of books that will increase their reading skills.
- Busy schedule? Do Author Mini Units several times a year. Have an area in your class dedicated to the Author Study or Character Study books so that they’re always out and available for the kids to read. Use the last 10 minutes of the day to read, do an activity from the author’s website or show a read aloud video. Use it as a reward for getting packed up and ready to go early.
- Combine Author Studies with other units. David Shannon books are great for beginning of the year themes, such as following school rules. Jan Brett books lend themselves perfectly to a Winter Unit. Mo Willems books are excellent for teaching Fluency. Olivia and Skippyjon Jones books encourage imagination. Doing a unit on Becoming Writers? Try incorporating David Shannon, who wrote No, David! when he was a child, or Jan Brett who has several videos on how she creates her books.
A Few of My Class’s Favorite Author and Character Studies
Olivia by Ian Falconer
Books and Comprehension Questions
Olivia by Ian Falconer
Olivia Acts Out by Jodie Shepard (adapted by)
Olivia Saves the Circus by Ian Falconer
Olivia and the Missing Toy by Ian Falconer
Olivia Forms a Band by Ian Falconer
Olivia and the Fairy Princess by Ian Falconer
Olivia Helps with Christmas by Ian Falconer
Olivia Counts by Ian Falconer
Olivia and the Babies by Jodie Shepard (adapted by)
Olivia Goes to Venice by Ian Falconer
Web Links
Olivia the Piglet site
Olivia Printables and Activities on Nick Jr.
Olivia Crafts on Nick Jr.
Ian Falconer site at Simon and Schuster
Ian Falconer KidsReads site
Comprehension Questions
Questions for Olivia
Questions for Olivia Acts Out
Questions for Olivia Saves the Circus
Questions for Olivia & the Missing Toy
Questions for Olivia Forms a Band
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Kevin Henkes
Books
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Julius, the Baby of the World by Kevin Henkes
Sheila Rae the Brave by Kevin Henkes
Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
Lilly’s Big Day by Kevin Henkes
Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
Owen by Kevin Henkes
Jessica by Kevin Henkes
A Weekend with Wendell by Kevin Henkes
Chester’s Way by Kevin Henkes
My Garden by Kevin Henkes
A Good Day by Kevin Henkes
Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes
Junonia by Kevin Henkes
Old Bear Board Book by Kevin Henkes
Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes (a middle grade chapter book)
Birds by Kevin Henkes
All Alone by Kevin Henkes
Penny and Her Doll by Kevin Henkes
Penny and Her Marble by Kevin Henkes
Penny and Her Song by Kevin Henkes
Lilly’s Big Day Read Aloud on YouTube
Web Links
Kevin Henkes Web Site
Kevin Henkes bio on Scholastic
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Mo Willems
Pigeon Books
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late by Mo Willems
The Pigeon Has Feelings Too! by Mo Willems
The Pigeon Wants a Puppy by Mo Willems
The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog by Mo Willems
The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems
Elephant and Piggie Books:
Elephant and Piggie Books by Mo Willems
We Are In A Book! by Mo Willems
Can I Play Too? by Mo Willems
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems
Knuffle Bunny Too by Mo Willems
Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion by Mo Willems
(there are several more Mo Willems books)
Web Links
The Pigeon’s site
Mo Willems site
The Pigeon on Twitter
Mo Willems interview on YouTube–a great way to start of your Mo Willems unit.
Activity Ideas
- After reading several Elephant and Piggie Books, make a Venn Diagram for Elephant and Piggie. Have a discussion about their friendship, and how we can be friends with those who are both similar and different than us.
- Make a class Rule Book for Pigeon. Each child gets to write and draw one rule a pigeon needs to follow.
- Elephant and Piggie Books are great for teaching kids to read with Fluency. Use these books for class read alouds–focusing on expression, tone, and the feelings of the characters.
- After reading the Knuffle Bunny series, discuss the different kind of illustrations the author used in these books. Have the kids make their own by making black and white photo copies of various setting. On a separate sheet of paper the kids can draw themselves, or one of Mo’s characters, cut them out and glue them to their “photograph.” The pictures will make great story starters for writing!
- Parents and homeschoolers: Check out the Mo’s new app: Don’t Let the Pigeon Run This App.
- There are printable coloring pages on Mo’s site. Go to Pigeon Presents, then Fun.
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David Shannon
Books
No, David by David Shannon
David Goes to School by David Shannon
Alice the Fairy by David Shannon
A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
The David books by David Shannon
Too Many Toys by David Shannon
How I Became a Pirate Illustrated by David Shannon (written by Melinda Long)
Pirates Don’t Change Diapers Illustrated by David Shannon (written by Melinda Long)
Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
Good Boy, Fergus! by David Shannon
Jangles: A Big Fish Story by David Shannon
The Rain Came Down by David Shannon
Web Links
David Shannon bio at Simon and Schuster
David Shannon bio and video interview
David Shannon info on Scholastic
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Jan Brett
Beauty and the Beast by Jan Brett
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Jan Brett
The Mitten by Jan Brett
The Hat by Jan Brett
Mossy by Jan Brett
The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett
Hedgie’s Surprise by Jan Brett
Hedgie Blasts Off! by Jan Brett
Armadillo Rodeo by Jan Brett
The Umbrella by Jan Brett
Fritz and the Beautiful Horses by Jan Brett
Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett
Town Mouse, Country Mouse by Jan Brett
The First Dog by Jan Brett
On Noah’s Ark by Jan Brett
Annie and the Wild Animals by Jan Brett
Comet’s Nine Lives by Jan Brett
Honey…Honey…Lion! by Jan Brett
Web Link — Jan Brett’s website includes printables, videos and lessons.
Jan Brett site
Activity Ideas
- Before beginning a Jan Brett unit browse through her website. She has tons of printables, from coloring and activity pages to flashcards, posters, postcards, bookmarks and much more. There is also a lot of printables and ideas for your bulletin boards.
- Watch her videos and choose a few to show your kids.
- Jan Brett is a very detailed illustrator. Show the kids the side panels in her books and see what secret or hidden things they can find.
- The illustrated side panels in books like The Mitten and Armadillo Rodeo often tell a story on their own. Have your kids explore these drawings and write out what they think the story is.
- Go to Activities on the website and print out several how to draw pages. *This always worked great when I modeled how I would follow the steps and draw the character first OR by watching her How to Draw videos.
- There are several printable and online games that go with the stories.
- Make a hedgehog book. Instructions are listed under the Activities tab. Hedgehog pdf pattern
- Make a paper plate armadillo.
- The Hat Readers Theater. (Instructions are listed under the Activities tab.)
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Laura Joff Numeroff
Books
If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Joffe Numeroff
When Sheep Sleep by Laura Joffe Numerous
What Mommies Do Best by Laura Joffe Numeroff
What Daddies Do Best by Laura Joffe Numeroff
The Jellybeans and the Big Dance by Laura Joffe Numeroff
Beatrice Doesn’t Want To by Laura Joffe Numeroff
Dogs Don’t Wear Sneakers by Laura Joffe Numeroff
Web Link
Laura Numeroff’s siteActivity Ideas
- Print coloring pages from Laura Numeroff’s website. Let these be story starters for the kids. They can name their character and try to write a story similar the books.
- Write a class book similar to What Mommies Do Best. As a class, pick a theme and each kid creates one page including illustration and sentence. It could be What Teacher Does Best, What Principal Does Best, What Librarian Does Best, What Friends Do Best, What Kindergartners Do Best, etc.
- For older kids, let them write their own version of What Mommies Do Best–choosing the subject they want. See if they can come with 10 sentences and illustrations to go with them.
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Dav Pilkey
Books
by admin | Jan 26, 2013 | Categories
Some of my kids favorite websites to go back to again and again are the author sites. Many of their favorite authors and book have fabulous sites that include printable activities, online games, videos, facts about writing and much more. We’ve used many of the sites to begin Author Studies, explore features of the Internet, brain breaks and just for fun. They’re also a wonderful resource for teachers and often include lesson plans, activity ideas and questions to go along with their books.
Fancy Nancy
Junie B. Jones
Little Critter
Little Golden Books
Magic Tree House
Olivia
Peter Rabbit
Pinkalicious
Ramona
Authors
Jan Brett
Marc Brown
Eric Carle
Tomie dePaola
Mem Fox
Kevin Henkes
Ezra Jack Keats
Steven Kellogg
Jeff Kinney–Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Robert Munsch
Stuart J. Murphy
Laura Numeroff
Todd Parr
*Check out Todd Parr videos on his YouTube page.
Dav Pilkey (Captain Underpants, etc.)
Patricia Pollaco
Jack Prelutsky
Shel Silverstein
Chris Van Allsburg (Jumanji, Polar Express, etc.)
Mo Willems
Audrey Wood
For older kids:
Roald Dahl
Neil Gaiman
Philip Pullman
Rick Riordan
JK Rowling
Jerry Spinelli
by admin | Jan 23, 2013 | Categories
Why is Valentine’s Day always the the craziest day of the year?
Valentine’s Day doesn’t just have to be about making mailboxes, eating cookies and learning how to deliver letters. It’s also a great time to teach little ones about love, compassion, kindness and friendship.
Clicking on the books will take you to the Amazon link–and purchasing from any Amazon link on this site will help support this blog! ❤
* see entire list of Books by Theme here.
Valentine Books with Questions, Activities and Lessons
Zombie in Love by Kelly DiPucchio
This is a great book to discuss what characteristics to look for in a friend. Join Mortimer on his quirky, ill-fated and hilarious quest to find a friend. He tries ballroom dancing, placing a personal ad and more.
Gross, putrid and warm-hearted, kids will love this silly story. And if they know the lyrics to The Pina Colada song, it’s even funnier.
Possible activities:
- Have each kid make a list of what makes them a good friend. (kind, friendly, likes to share, etc.)
- Make a class list of qualities that make a good friend. (be sure to leave off characteristics like pretty, has lots of toys, etc.)
- Brainstorm ways to make new friends. This is a great time for the outgoing kids to help the shy kids who are always hanging out by the teachers at recess complaining that “no one will play with them.” Make a class poster to display and refer to every time you hear that dreaded complaint.
- For older kids: Create a personal ad for a new friend, including self portrait. Focus on shared interests rather than blanket qualities such as “nice” or “funny”.
Mr. Prickles by Kara LaReau
Poor Mr. Prickles is having a tough time finding a friend. What kid can’t relate to that? This adorable story focuses on the important parts of being a friend–it’s what’s on the inside, not the outside that matters.
Possible activities:
- Expand your kids knowledge of emotions and feelings by making a class list, doing a shared writing or journal writing on having lots of different feelings.
- Turn this into a lesson about others feeling–you can even introduce the word “empathy”. Mr. Prickles is teased in the story, and that should prompt the kids into thinking about themselves, and their friends being teased. Ask them how that feels, how their friends feel, what they can do to help, etc.
- Thinking as authors and illustrators, have the kids focus in on the literary elements that make the story better and funnier. There are hilarious details in both the descriptions and illustrations.
The Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting
Mr. and Mrs. Bear have always slept through Valentine’s Day. But this year, Mrs. Bear wants to celebrate. This book is an awesome way to reinforce calendar skills, as well as prompt discussion on winter animals and hibernation.
Questions for The Valentine Bears:
- When did the bears go to sleep?
- How come the Bears had never celebrated Valentine’s Day before?
- Why did they sleep so long?
- What was on Mrs. Bear’s sign?
- What are Crispy Critters made with?
- What problem did Mrs. Bear have with Mr. Bear?
- Why was he so hard to wake up?
- Do you know anyone who has a hard time waking up?
- How did Mrs. Bear try to wake him up?
- What was Mrs. Bear’s Valentine’s Day gift?
- What happened at the end?
Junie B. Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentime by Barbara Park
Another funny Junie B. chapter book. This one has a mystery–who is Junie B.’s secret admirer? Fans of the previous books will be quite surprised at who it turns out to be.
Questions for Junie B. Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentime:
- What word in the book does Junie B. keep saying the wrong way?
- What happens to Junie B. while she is making her valentine’s box?
- Do you think this was fair? Why or why not?
- Which animal card did Junie B. give to Meanie Jim?
- Why did she pick that animal?
- Who gave Junie B. her Valentine’s Day outfit?
- Who passed out the Valentine’s to all the kids?
- Who is jealous of the mushy gushy valentine?
- What does jealous mean?
- Who gave Junie B. the mushy gushy Valentine?
- How did she feel when she found out who it was from?
*just released December 16, 2014
I love this new release from the author of Crankenstein because it’s perfect for young children who are excited about Valentine’s Day, but not comfortable “loving” their friends. The theme of this book is that Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be about love–it’s about friendship. What a great book to start a conversation with your class.
More Valentine’s Activities:
Free Valentine Coloring Pages:
TIP: I prefer to right click on the image, copying it, and pasting it to a blank page. You can make the image larger that way, and cut out all the adds, and extra text that often shows up along the edges.
A Few of My Favorite Valentines Day Books:
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| Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink |
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| Grover: Messenger of Love |
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| Snowy Valentine |
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| The Biggest Valentine Ever |
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| Happy Valentine’s Day Curious George |
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| The Berenstain Bears Valentine Party |
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| A Charlie Brown Valentines |
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| The Day it Rained Hearts |
by admin | Jan 17, 2013 | Categories
I finally figured out how you can all leave comments without logging in!
I know, I’m a spaz. But I’m still pretty new to this blogging stuff.
