Think about it Thursday

Running out of ideas for ways to kick start your school day? Many schools are encouraging activities that allow more conversations among students; hoping teachers will take a back seat or rather a vow of silence in order to let their students weigh in on issues.

We started “Think About it Thursday” to fill this need. It turned out to be awesome! Each Thursday, we pose a question to our students and give everyone a small copy of the question to glue in their journal. 

They always have an opinion! Some students can’t decide between the choices so they pick both and justify why.

After writing, they insist on sharing. Some students even like to tally the opinions of the class. If time doesn’t allow for whole group sharing, try team share or a buddy share. Have fun! 
Click here for some printables to start you off. If you come up with any good ones, let us know!

I Wonder Wednesday

As a kid, I remember having so many random thoughts. Things like “I wonder what my teacher’s pajamas look like,” or “I wonder what fish do all night.”  Most of the time I made up an answer, but sometimes I would try to find the real one. I started “I Wonder Wednesday” with my class to reinforce creativity and inference skills.

Every Wednesday, I give my students something to wonder about. Everyone gets a small copy of the idea to glue in their journal.  We enjoy discussing our thoughts in small groups or as a class. Some students even explore further to try to get answers to things like, “I wonder where all the plastic bottles go,” or “I wonder how chocolate is made.”  Now our week consists of Tell me Tuesday, I Wonder Wednesday, and Think about it Thursday. Lots of higher order thinking going on in first grade!
Here are some of the I Wonder Wednesday printables we like to use.

Tell me Tuesday

We are always looking for a new way to start our mornings, (our first graders get tired of worksheets!) so we came up with “Tell me Tuesday.”

Every Tuesday morning, we project (on the SMARTBoard) a picture of an unusual creature that we think will be unfamiliar to our students. Some examples they’ve enjoyed include: a hydra, coati, sea cucumber, narwhal, naked mole rat, slipper lobster and an agouti.

We pose the same questions each week with a different picture. The students respond in their journals and share their guesses later. We always reveal the accurate information on our chosen creature after everyone has responded. They really enjoy being introduced to new animals. Have fun and let us know if you think of any good ones to add to our list!

Winter Surprises

The joy that students have during this time of year is undeniable. I gladly nurture it using some exciting projects in the classroom. A few years ago Ann Marie and I decided to compile many of our fun activities into a “Winter Surprises” basket. It gives students something to look forward to and you can use it as motivation for good behavior and work habits.

Below are 15 activities that I’ve had in my basket before. I print out these cards and put them in boxes, bags, envelopes, etc. and each day we open a new one. I like to label each container with a number and keep a list of what activity is inside, because I need to make sure we have time for the chosen activity. One idea involves going outside, so I always look at the weather forecast before deciding when to do that one.

1.  Light up somebody's day.
I found this idea on Pinterest. I like to open this one first so my class can pick a new idea each day. It really helps encourage kindness in the classroom. (Which can be hard to come by right before winter break!)

2.  Write a letter to someone who lights up your life.
Use this paper to have students write a letter to someone who makes them happy. I’ve had students write to bus drivers, Girl Scout leaders, parents, friends and even me! One year I took the letters and put them on a bulletin board with a banner that said, “Who Lights Up Your Life?” We added a tree decorated with light bulbs colored by students and covered with translucent glitter.

3.  Eat a snowy treat.
I found white cheese balls called “Snow Balls” and knew I wanted to share them with my class! You could also use powdered doughnuts or marshmallows.

4.  Make a paper plate popup snowman.
Another Pinterest find! I had a parent volunteer trace a template, like the one from the tutorial, onto plates and made sure to tell my class many, many times NOT to cut on the dotted line. I’m glad we had some extra plates because my “Distracted Donnie” cut the dotted line anyway and needed a new plate. 

5.  Make a silly snowman.
Visit this website and have your students create a silly snowman. There are tons of choices and the students have a blast making them. (To avoid choruses of "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" use the word *make* or *create.* OR: Go all in and ask them the question.)

6.  Make a candy cane reindeer.
These are adorable! To encourage students to use their reindeer as an ornament rather than a snack, I recommend giving students another candy cane to eat.

7.  Write a letter to Santa.
There are tons of templates online that students can use to write their letter. If you want to go the extra mile, grab an envelope to decorate and/or address to Santa.

8.  Make peppermint fudge.
Use this really simple recipe to make tasty, no-bake peppermint fudge in the classroom. You can even print out recipe cards on cardstock and give them to students to take home. (Bonus: no one's hands touch the fudge!)

9.  Open me.
Wrap a book to read to the class. It can be a new book, or any book that your class hasn’t read this year. This is one of the most anticipated surprises because students can see the wrapping paper and are always itching to rip it open.

10.  Go outside and use chalk to build a sidewalk snowman.
Since we typically don’t have enough snow outside to make a real snowman, I like to have my class use chalk to draw them instead. They have a blast choosing accessories for their snow people. 

11.  Build a mini fire and roast mini marshmallows.
We use small pieces of cardstock and different colors of construction paper to make tiny fires. When students finish they come get a toothpick and a mini marshmallow to “roast” over their fire. 

12.  Draw a portrait of Santa.
One more Pinterest project. Check out these easy steps to draw a picture of Santa. Even kids who always say, “I can’t draw that!” are able to follow the steps. Every Santa turns out different and adorable!

13.  Make a marshmallow man or woman.
Give a rounded square shape to your students and have them create a marshmallow man or woman. Encourage them to add some wintery accessories like scarves, hats and mittens.

14.  Design a wintery bookmark
Cut pieces of blue cardstock or construction paper into bookmarks. Let students decorate them using white and silver pens or crayons. When they’re done, sprinkle the bookmarks with glitter to really winterize them.

15.  Have a silent snowball fight
I’ve done this two different ways. I’ve had students make and throw imaginary snowballs and I’ve had them throw cotton balls. They’re both entertaining and get students out of breath quickly.

Just typing up this idea has me anticipating the last 3 weeks before Winter Break!!

Enjoy!

It’s a Scarecrow Fashion Show!

This is one of my favorite bulletin board ideas. A few years ago I’d been looking for a new way to involve parents in our class’ hallway display for November. I’d searched for hours and couldn’t find inspiration. I told Ann Marie about my predicament and she helped me come up with a killer idea. A scarecrow fashion show! I made a basic scarecrow template (both big and small) to send home with all of my students along with this note. I sent it during the second week of October and set the due date a few days before I would set up the bulletin board. I hung up some stage lights to showcase the scarecrows. As a really fun addition, I found some crows to fly by and gave them cameras to hold for our very own paparazzi. My class loved seeing their creations in the hallway and as parents came to school for our parent-teacher conferences they stopped to check out their kid’s handiwork in the hallway.

I liked the board so much that I did it again this year and I still love it! (So do the kiddos!) Check out the creative scarecrows the class made this year.

A Book We Adore!

Have you ever adored a children’s book so much you couldn’t wait to share it with someone? This happens to me often and I usually end up sending an email about it, walking the book over to another teacher’s class or sharing on planning time. But sometimes I wish I could share it with all of the kids, teachers and parents that pass by my room each day too! I created a unique way to share these fabulous books called “A Book We Adore.” Each month I display a book cover (or a picture of the cover) on my door. (Did you see our Book Bite last week for this book? We can't get enough of Bob Shea!)

I also write a few words about the book (like a mini review), which will allow passersby to quickly read about it. I include small cards with the title and author, so those interested can remember the book for library check-out or purchase from a store or school book order. Some publishers or authors have fun printables on their websites to accompany the book you’ve chosen. You can print those as well and hang some copies on your door.

If you love books like I do, you may find yourself changing out your display more than once a month! Happy Reading!

Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship

We love this book!

We used it at the start of the school year last year and had so much fun we are using it again this fall! It’s an adorable story about an apple named Mac and his unlikely friendship with a worm named Will. There’s game-playing, bullies and an irresistible happy ending. After reading the book, we do different writing activities like “I am a good apple because…” or “A good apple never…”. We also do a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast a friend and a bully and a web containing the qualities of a good friend. This book is an easy way to introduce the rules of your classroom, as well as ways to be a good friend. As a final treat, serve apples and gummy worms!