Leaf Week

This week we will be learning about leaves.  We are going to start by going on a fall scavenger hunt.  My students have a scavenger hunt sheet so they know what to look for.  Then we are going to sort our collections and graph the results as a class using our document camera.

Since it is leaf week, we are going to finger paint.  Then we are going to trace and cut out a leaf after our paint dries.  Here is what the leaves looked like last year.  I would share the pattern, but it was hand drawn and it's too large to scan with my printer.

  We are also going to paint our trees in fall colors using our fingers.  We are going to use the same tree pattern as our apple trees, but use red, yellow, and orange to make fall leaves.  Here is what our apple trees looked like.  They are still hanging in my room so I will take them down when our fall trees are finished.

So we will collect, sort and graph leaves this week and we will talk about symmetry.  I think leaves are a good example of symmetry.  We have talked about symmetry before so this will be a little review.  I am working on a symmetry sorting activity for them to do during math stations.  I hope I have it done by Wednesday.  Yep, the kids are off Monday and Tuesday, but the teachers have to go for staff development and parent-teacher conferences.  I wish I was a kid.  No, not really.  I'm still the big kid in the class though. Lol!

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Hanging Art and Painting Leaves

It seems that every teacher I know is always struggling to hang up artwork and classwork.  It seems we never have enough wall space or bulletin boards.  Last year, I came up with the idea to use a binder clip with a Stikki Clip.  I was frustrated that I had to use more that one Stikki Clip to hang up papers, one at the top and one at the bottom.  So I stuck a small binder clip in the Stikki Clip and attached it to the wall.  Can we intelligent ;)!  Here is what it looks like.  I took this of one hanging outside my classroom in the hall.

I also have some classwork hung up with clothespins that are hot glued to the wall.  I didn't hot glue them to the wall, but I know who did and I'm not tell.  They hold work up too, but they are not easily removed and repositioned. 

If you notice, I also have a strip that I can hang work on too, but it's just not enough to hang everyone's work up.  Do you like our fall leaves?  My students did a little finger painting with red, yellow, and orange.  Then I gave them a leaf cut out to trace.  After they traced the leaf, they cut it out and I hung it up.  Kinders love to finger paint and I was surprised at the many that had never done finger painting until we did these leaves.  That just means we need to paint more often. 

So next week we go to school Monday - Wednesday and then we are off for Thanksgiving.  I know many of you get the entire week off.  Let's just say I am a little jealous, but I do have a lot that I will be doing with my class and one thing we are doing is taking a field trip to a nursing home and singing Thanksgiving songs and rhymes to the people there.  We have a lot of practice left to do on our singing and we are dressing up as Native Americans.  We are tie dying shirts brown for this, and we are making some pretty patterned necklaces.  We have already made our headdress which I have already posted about.  We just need to add some feathers. 

I also like to do a pilgrim costume and let the kids eat lunch with them on.  More on that later.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday!