Monthly Archives: January 2023

Dinosaurs!

The kindergarten class is enjoying our third week of learning about dinosaurs! For Friday Fun, I prepared a fine motor-focused project that used balloons, water, mini dinosaur figurines, and pipettes!

The students LOVED it!

They squeezed…

and squeezed…

until…

a little dinosaur “hatched!”

This is a quick and easy project you can do at home! Simply grab a balloon (full-sized, not water!) and blow it up. Hold the air in it for thirty seconds to stretch out the shape. Let the air out and then use your fingers to spread open the balloon. Push a small plastic dino figurine into the deflated balloon. Fill the balloon with water and tie it off. Place in the freezer for 24 hours or more. Then, remove it from the freezer. Cut a hole in the balloon and have your child remove the balloon. Provide a cup of warm water and a pipette or turkey baster. Then watch as the egg melts away, and the dino is revealed! The repetitive squeezing of the pipette is the perfect way to strengthen fine motor muscles!

 

 

Candy Land Day!

We ended our Gingerbread Literacy Unit with an exciting and engaging Candy Land Day!

Students visited Cupcake Creek, Licorice Lagoon, Lollipop Woods, Gummy Cave, and Gumdrop Hills.

Three of the activities were independent activities, while two were teacher-led.

Cupcake Creek was an independent activity where students matched a CVC word to a picture, and the end result was a bunch of yummy cupcakes!

At Licorice Lagoon, students had to construct a way to get the Gingerbread Girl across the lagoon without falling in. First, they planned and sketched their design. Then they built their contraption, and finally, they tested it! “Run, run, run! With a leap and a twirl! You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Girl!”

Lollipop Woods was a “write the room” activity where they walked around the room in search of incomplete sentences. Students read the sentence and then solved and recorded the mystery word. Here is an example:

Students wrote the CVC words cat and vet.

After Lollipop Woods was Gummy Cave. At Gummy Cave, students used dice and gummy bears to solve equations. This station was easily differentiated, as students could use multiple dice to add more of a challenge. They also could record their equations. But the most challenging part of this activity was using the gummy bears as manipulatives and not eating them!

The final stop was Gumdrop Hills! Students had to construct the tallest tower using toothpicks and gumdrops. I loved watching their creativity and building processes!

Once students completed each of the activities and “won” the game, it was time for a celebration! What better way to celebrate than with these adorable cookie pops!?

Such a fun learning-filled day!