Kindness Land

As part of our Gingerbread Literacy Unit this year, I decided to add more of a general candy theme. In fact, instead of having a gingerbread-themed party at the end of this week, I am planning a Candy Land-themed one! Over break, I started thinking about my favorite game as a child- Candy Land. I also was brainstorming how I could encourage kindness in our classroom. I came up with the idea of “Kindness Land!” I created a game board on a bulletin board with the hopes of recording specific acts of kindness.

I introduced the game to the students two weeks ago. Since then, I have read aloud a book a day that focuses on ways to be kind. Some of the titles I have shared include Finding Kindness, by Deborah Underwood, Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller, The Smile that Went Around the World, by, Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Day by Emily Pearson, the 12 Days of Kindness by Jenna Lettice, and Kindness to Share from A-Z by Todd Snow.

Look at our progress:

The students do not know it yet, but once they reach the finish line, I have a sweet candy bracelet kit that they will each make and wear on Candy Land Day!

Busy Little Elves

In lieu of Friday Fun, students were surprised with the annual kindergarten Elf Workshop! When they walked into the classroom in the morning, each student had a special elf hat on their table..accessories always make learning more fun! Ms. Barker and I got into the theme as well!

After a quick tour of the workshop, we had no choice but to get right to work!

I organized the activities once again using our Smart Board.

And the busy elves were off to complete five activities!

At “Deck the Halls,” students had to match CVC words to pictures.

The “Gift Wrapping Station” had students wrapping homemade holiday gifts for their loved ones. This sweet gesture also is a great fine motor builder, so parents, let your children help wrap gifts at home! The folding of the paper, the manipulation of the sticky tape, the physical pressure the fingers use to complete these tasks help strengthen those little finger muscles!

“I Spy an Elf” was a reading activity, where students used a magnifying glass to read CVC words that were written in teeny tiny print, that even with the glasses and the magnifying glass, I still couldn’t make out!

The fourth rotation included puzzle building, where students assembled puzzles of mystery holiday toys/gifts and then recorded their findings.

Lastly, students met with Ms. Barker where they used unifix cubes to measure actual presents! (not really…I just happened to have a lot of boxes from Black Friday purchases that I wrapped and decorated.) But, what fun the children had guessing what was inside each box!

We ended our Elf Workshop with a well-deserved rest by the fire…..

while I get the classroom ready for the next event…Candy Land Day!

50th Day!

Our 50th day of school fell on the day we returned from break last week! I had prepared the classroom before we left the week before, and the students were shocked to see the transformation.

My favorite comment was, “Wow, it really does look like a shake shop in here!” Not only did they love the decor, but they enjoyed seeing the morning attendance on the Smart Board. We jumped right into our 50th-day activities even before the morning bell rang!!

I took pictures of each little greaser in front of the 1950’s car.

Then the rotations began! I made sure to organize the activities using the same method that we use daily during our Literacy Centers…that way students were already familiar with the flow.

During my rotation, students participated in a writing activity:

Students learned how to blow a bubble gum bubble in another rotation. Would you believe that five of the students were able to blow a bubble?! That is a new record!