Message in a Bottle

Putting a message in a bottle and sending it out into the sea is mystical.  Putting a message in a bottle and sending it to another classroom is magical! 

What can the students write in the bottle? 

• Students can invite other classrooms to a special place
• Say thank you
• Share what they are doing special in the classroom
• Write something they have learned 

 {Please Click Here}for my "Message in a Bottle" sheets to use in your classroom. 

What a great way to get their imaginations working in a fun and rewarding way!

What I would do to be on this beach right now finding a romantic letter that was washed up to shore.  Instead...I am just as excited to write that I will be driving this afternoon to INDY to present at the I TEACH K conference tomorrow.  The best part is my bestie, LuAnn, is going to be by my side!  I can't wait to share how much KINDERGARTEN ROCKS! 

Enjoy the rest of your week, Amber

Retelling a FABULOUS story!

Retelling a story is a very effective way to improve your students reading comprehension.  To scaffold their success in this skill, I like to read the crap out of a book choose one book for each theme and read the book aloud as many times as I can in a variety of ways.  

For our Thanksgiving Theme we read the story, I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie.  There are so many great ways to retell a story!  This month I decided to make a big story to hang in the classroom.  

• First....I grouped the students in pairs and they made visual objects to go with each of the items the old lady swallowed.  
• Second....as a whole group we sounded out each of the words (in kid writing) to display.  I wrote the correct way underneath the "kid writing" word. 
• Third...we discussed what the old lady ate first, second, third, fourth, etc. 

Here is a picture of our masterpiece.  Many times while the students are waiting in line I can hear them retelling the story to themselves.  Yippie....all the hard work was worth it!  
FYI...I like to save the items the students made to use next year if we do not have time to make them.  The kiddos get a kick at seeing their friends work from first grade in our classroom!    

My aide made the old lady...isn't she cute!?!  She looked at a picture from....hmmm....somewhere on the web and I cannot find the resource again.  I should have "Pinned" it!  If it looks like your old lady...please let me know!

 Check out this "RETELLING"" poster from First Grade W.O.W.  I cannot wait to make this for my classroom! 

Click {right here} to go to her post about retelling stories.  AMAZING ideas!

Thanks for reading!  

Amber

"Owl" I need is love!

Can you just say....A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!   

Miss Neuenschwander's creative ideas never stop!!! 

Love "HOO" you are and ENJOY your holidays!  

P.S. In 16 days I will be presenting in "INDY" at the SDE I Teach K Conference.  I know it's not VEGAS...but I am overwhelmed with joy for this opportunity.  I hope to see you there!

Amber

Let the discovery center bring science to your classroom!

Mrs. Ramseier, an amazing Kindergarten teacher that I have the honor to teach with each school day, introduced me to the "Science Discovery Center".   

It is an “Academic Free Choice” center in our classroom.  

Having a discovery center in my classroom is a great way to encourage creative thinking, questioning along with exploration with my students.  Effective science learning requires HANDS-ON contact with materials, time to investigate, and time to write about their results. 

Our "Creepy" Discovery Items brought in by students

Don't forget to include a variety of books, magnifying glasses, discovery bottles, lab coats (big white dress shirts from Goodwill), and science goggles in order for science fun to take place!

I made some Discovery Observation Booklets and I would love to share with you by clicking {HERE} . Clip art is by....DJ Inkers.  Print one per child and place in the science center for students to record their observations each month. 

Here is an example of the parent note sent home each month.  I just change the theme.  Click {Here} for the PDF and click  {Right Here}  for word version ( you will have to play around with fonts).

Theme/topic ideas for each month of the school year:

September – Fall

October – Creepy

November – Senses

December – Tools

January – Winter

February – All About Me

March – Lucky

April – Spring

May – Earth & Plants

I love science.  Kids love science…especially when it is their materials they are exploring! 

Amber