More Dr. Seuss!!

I love Dr. Seuss and so the whole month of March we do a lot of Dr. Seuss readings and activities.  I decorated the outside of our room with the children's work.  I tried to pull a couple of things from each activity that we did.  I made some truffla trees out of black and white pipe cleaners and these fun gift toppers I found at Michael's in the clearance section. 

The students had to create and write about something that was in their pocket after reading There's a Wocket in My Pocket.  The kids came up with some really creative ideas. 

After we read The Cat in the Hat the students all were given their own box of fun.  They were asked what we be in their box of fun and to decorate any way they would like.  They also did a journal entry on What would you do with Thing 1 and Thing 2?  That week during Fun Friday we made Thing 1 and Thing 2 pictures using their hand prints. 

After reading Green Eggs and Ham I let the students actually try it.  Our school policy permits us from making anything at home for students to eat so everything has to be store bought.  I was a little discouraged at first because I wasn't sure how I was going to do this.  In the past I have always made scrambled eggs at home. Well I found some hard boiled eggs that were already prepared at Walmart.  There were 12 in a pack and since I have 25 kids it worked out perfectly I just cut them into halves and one into three.  I bought some green food coloring and took them out of the package and placed them in a bowl with some water and let them sit until that afternoon.  They came out dark green and the kids were totally amazed.  I bought some ham cubes from the section where they keep pizza toppings. 

I used the different color Goldfish crackers in our Math Center for One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.  The students had to scoop a handful and divide the fish into two different parts of the tank.  The students were then asked to complete the worksheet provided.  I place all worksheets in a clear plastic sleeve that I reinforce with duck tape because I have found they last a lot longer.  The students can then write on the sleeve with a dry erase marker.  I am all for saving as much paper as possible.

Fun Friday

Every Friday we have Fun Friday.  We incorporate a craft into our afternoon that sums up what we discussed during the week.  Students are only allowed to participate in Fun Friday if they have kept three or more of their behavior surfboards.  Fun Friday is a reward for the students who completed all their work and managed their behavior throughout the week.  The students that are no allowed to participate are given workbooks.  Fun Friday can be pricey so I look for ideas that I can get the most bang for my buck.  This usually involves a trip to the grocery store or Dollar Tree.  Dollar Tree is my favorite place in the world besides Starbucks.  This Friday we made Abe Lincoln's log cabin out of pretzels.  I saw it on Pinterest of course and the kids loved it.  I paid $4.00 for both bags of pretzels and that was enough for 20 students with a half a bag left over.  The students thought it was cool that they got to use their teeth as a saw and were able to eat the left over pretzels they didn't need to complete their cabin. 


This student choose to lay out all of his pretzels first, trace it with a pencil, and then glue them on. 




This was the one I made last night to show them as an example. 



This one turned out better than mine. 

This little girl wanted to keep her cabin small so that she would have more pretzels left over to eat. 

This is a picture of my calm down station for my students who need a minute to collect themselves after getting upset or somewhere to think about their behavior.  I keep a gallon sized Ziploc baggie filled with hair gel for those who may need something soothing to feel.  I keep my weighted stuffed snake (got it for autistic children but works just as well for children not diagnosed)  for students to place around their shoulders.  I also keep a snowglobe over there.  When I place the child there I flip the snowglobe over and explain they are allowed to rejoin the group once all of the snow has collected at the bottom.