Wild about field trips

Yesterday we went on our field trip to the zoo and it was definitely wild! Most of my babies had never been on a bus, so before we even left the school parking lot I must have heard, "Mrs. Alexander, THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!" at least 10 times! As you can imagine, their excitement and enthusiasm only grew from there!

Once at the zoo (along with several bathroom breaks and the all important lunch) we got to see all kinds of cool animals....

The kids got to check out the Komodo Dragon,

the cougars, 

 the leopard, 

And many, many more! 

It was such a great experience for the students since many of them had never been to the zoo before. I was happy that they got the chance to see so many different animals and even happier that my parent volunteers and I were able to keep track of 21 VERY excited 4 and 5 year olds the entire time.

When we got back to school, we took a much needed nap and then did a quick writing activity reflect on our favorite part of the day. 

Happy Earth Day!

We started our one on one end of the year testing this week so needless to say, it's been a little crazy! But that did not stop us from having some Earth Day fun yesterday! 

I decided not to get too deep into the "3 R's" because we do a whole unit on protecting our planet during the month of May. So, to give a basic introduction to some Earth Day concepts,  we read this cute, informative and did I mention FREE Earth Day reader from Sweet Sounds of Kindergarten

Then we did a sort of things we can do that help the Earth and things that hurt the Earth.

We also did this adorable Earth Day writing activity that I have seen all over Pinterist.  I'm not sure where it came from originally but thanks to which ever creative mind came up with this; I just love how they turned out!

"I promise to plant trees, recycle my clothes, I promise to help the Earth by donating clothes, and picking up trash." I have to say, I am pretty proud of my little pre-k friends phonetic spelling! They have come such a long way from learning letter names in September!

Finally we used some of the recyclable materials my kiddos brought in to make these "binoculars." We are going to use them on our field trip to the zoo tomorrow. I cannot wait to watch them looking at all of the animals through these! 

I cannot wait to continue reusing and recycling more materials throughout the month of May! I  hope everyone had a happy Earth Day!

Oh Hoppy Days

Last Friday was our first make up day after missing 2 "bad weather days" earlier this year. In Texas, "bad weather days" are usually days where it's cold enough for it to freeze or snow - but it probably won't. :) Because it was Good Friday and originally a day we were supposed to have off, I tried to make the day as fun and festive for the kids as possible.

First we made these adorable chick hats to wear during our "animal egg hunt." I have to admit, I am a little obsessed with these! They each had their own little personalities just like the kiddos wearing them!  I think I will be making many more paper plate hats like these. 

The kids were WAY into being chickens and even threw a little "balk balk" in between verses of several of our calendar songs! Inspired by their love of all things chicken, I taught them the Chicken Dance during music and movement. I could not believe how many kids had never done it before!

Here are some of my little chicks having a blast hunting for eggs. 

When we got back inside from the hunt, we did an "egg-periment" inspired by these Magic Rocks. I wish I had taken pictures of the before eggs, because the after doesn't really look like anything but bubbles! I made the eggs the night before by forming a clay mixture using about a cup of baking soda, a tablespoon of water, and some food coloring for each egg. I just squished the baking soda mixture oh so carefully together to form an egg shape and let it dry overnight. *Now that I have made them once, I will say that letting them dry in an egg carton is a BAD idea. The bottom parts did not dry at ALL. Next time I will let them dry overnight on a paper towel.* I also want to find little plastic chicks or something to sneak in the center next time I do it. How cute would that be?!

While the kids were in ancillary, I hid plastic eggs containing a letter of the alphabet in each egg.

When the kids came back, it was egg hunt round two! After the students found all of the eggs, they had to work together to put the letters that they found in ABC order. 

We also explored sounds using a few left over plastic eggs. 

I filled each egg with different objects from around the room and then hot-glued the same objects on the other side of the carton. Students had to shake the eggs and try to match it to the correct object by the sound it made. 

That afternoon, my sweet Mom came by to help me make an Easter treat for my little chickadees. The kids loved these goldfish carrots! You can download the "Some Bunny thinks you're GREAT!" tag that I made for free here. It comes in several different colors. By the way, sorry the picture is so dark - I was trying to sneak it in during nap time :) 

I think we had an "egg-cellent" day if I do say so myself :) 

Buggy about Spring!

Here in the Amazing Ants classroom, we have gone absolutely buggy - in more ways than one! Over the past few weeks, students have begun to notice lots of little critters popping up outside. We have seen June bugs (lots and LOTS of June bugs), rolly pollies, butterflies, and of course ants! Seeing all of these not so creepy crawlers roaming around outside has really peeked my students interest, so while talking about life cycles this month, I have put an special focus on investigating "bugs."

Here are some of the bug themed workstations my students are using this month:

Matching objects to the letter line by begining sound: 

Finding the 2 words that make up the compound word on the firefly:

Matching the spider web to the correct spider by counting syllables:

Spelling out the CVC words on the caterpillars:

and matching the 2 sides of the butterfly using alliteration to name a few :) 

And now for my favorite bug themed portion of the classroom: Dramatic Play! For the month of April I have turned dramatic play into an Entomologist Laboratory. The kids LOVE it! Here is a little tour of our lab:

 

I don't think the kids really get the "Don't Bug Me" sign, but it makes me smile every time I see it :)

On this side of the lab, students can read the "Color Bugs" book, try and guess where these patterns in nature are found, and take a closer look at some real bugs as well as a chrysalis from one of our old classroom butterflies that we released a couple of weeks ago.

  I filled the area with real pictures and diagrams of different bugs and insects for students to view:

  

 In this area, students are able to take a closer look at different insect parts using a microscope and slides as well as practice the life cycle of a butterfly in a variety of ways:

  

 

  

  

  

 

I hope you enjoyed the tour :) I hope to post a few more of our buggy ideas as we continue of unit of study throughout the month!