HAPPY HANDS

My Marchactivities will be like sending little fingers to the gym.  From lotty dotty to weaving, tongs,sewing, stringing, cutting, tearing, molding, tummy writing, and letterlimericks - you’ll have to check it out tomorrow.

Here are somehappy hands at a concert I did recently in Richmond, KY.  Oh, what cuties!


Lion or Lamb?
Tomorrow is the first day of March. so write "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb" on the board.  What does that mean?   What kind of weather would be like a lion?  What kind of weather would be like a lamb?  Each day in March let the children decide if it is a "lion" or "lamb" day and color it on the calendar.  

FILE FOLDER FLANNEL BOARD

Here is an idea to make a flannel boardthat is easy cheesy lemon squeezy. Staple the sides of a file folder and then glue a piece of felt to thefront.  You can glue the words tofinger plays, stories, or songs to the back of the file folder and store thepieces inside.

*Cut out photos of the children in yourclass and attach a small piece of Velcro to the back of each picture.  Make sure and do one of the teacher andprincipal.  Children will have aball making up stories with their friends. 

*Cut geometric shapes out of felt and letthe children use them to create objects.

*Cut out seasonal objects from felt and usefor making sets and other math activities.

COUPON CLIPPERS

Take the coupons from the Sunday paper toschool tomorrow morning.

1^st -  Let the children cut out the coupons.

2^nd – Can they sort the coupons?

3^rd – Can they sort them anotherway?

4^th – Can they match up couponsby amount?

5^th – Can they make a list oftheir five favorite coupons?

5^th – How much money could theysave if they used the coupons?

6^th – How much could they saveon double coupon day?

7th - Use the coupons to make a file folder game.

DINOSAURS AND TECHIES IN THE SANDBOX

It’s no secret that mybrain was wired up before computers were a household word.  I know a lot of finger plays and songs,but I’m a dinosaur when it comes to technology.  But I TRY!

It’s bogglingand overwhelming to keep up on the latest gadgets and games available for theclassroom.  I visited http://ipadeducators.ning.com  and I was impressed with the free resources.  http://ipadacademy.com/ was another great site for newbies to theapp world like me. 

If any of youhave a free app you’d like to share, please email me and I’ll post it on mysite.  (FREE is the operationalword here!)

The thing thatimpresses me most is that technology enables educators to “prescribe”activities to specific skills for specific students.  Instead of just throwing general information out there (likegiving an aspirin to everyone), teachers have the ability to match instructionto individual needs.

REMEMBER!  Balance is a key to life and education.  The more time children spend in frontof a computer, the more they NEED to sing, play outside, talk, and haveconcrete experiences.  Dinosaursand techies can play in the sandbox together!

STICK PICK, MATH BRACELET, TATTLES, AND GAMES!

StickPick  (Michelle Vinsanau, NewOrleans)

Michelledemonstrated this fantastic app for your Ipad or Iphone.  It costs $3, but when you see all thelearning possibilities it’s certainly worth what you pay for it.  Anyway, you write your students nameson “sticks” and then when you tap the app it chooses a child’s name.  The really cool thing about the app isthat it suggests different levels of questions from Bloom’s taxonomy.  Questions can be adapted to the abilityof the children and can be integrated with classroom skills and content.

Note!  If you don’t have an Ipad you can writestudents names on jumbo craft sticks and keep them in a can.  Color one end of the stick green andone end red.  After they have had aturn put the green end down and the red end up.  When all the sticks are red on top you can flip them overand start again.

MathBracelet

String10 beads on a pipe cleaner and twist the ends to make a bracelet.  Children can use the beads like anabacus for doing simple addition and subtraction problems.

DoughnutShop Song (Jeanette Landry – Napoleonville, LA)

(Tune:  “Turkey in the Straw”)

Well,I walked around the corner and I walked around the block,

AndI walked right in to a bakery shop.

Iplucked two doughnuts right out of the grease

AndI handed the lady a five cent piece.

Shelooked at the nickel and she looked at me.

Shesaid, “Young man, you’re fooling me.

There’sa hole in this nickel and it goes right through.”

SaidI, “There’s a hole in the doughnut, too!

Thanksfor the doughnut – so long!”

Musical Chairs (Holly Vaughan)

Reinforce skills as you play musical chairsby placing letters (numbers, words, etc.) on chairs.  Children have to identify the information before sittingdown.

Letter Twister (Hollly Vaughan)

Write letters (numbers, words, etc.) onpaper and place them on the floor. Call out different letters for children to touch with their hands orfeet.  For example, “Put your handon the ‘A.’  Put your foot on the‘X.’

Four Corners (Holly Vaughan)

Put a picture (snake, bee, bear, cat, etc.)in each corner of the room.  Countto ten while children choose a corner. Say a word like “hat.”  Ifthe picture in their corner rhymes with the word then they act like thatanimal.  So children would meowlike a cat.

Tattle Box or “Important Box”  (Melissa Arceneaux)

Instead of tattling to the teacher,children write out their complaints on paper and put them in the box.  They must start with a capital letterand use good spacing and punctuation or the teacher won’t read their tattles atthe end of the day.

MOUTH OF THE SOUTH

When I was a cheerleader in high schoolthey called me the “mouth of the south.” As I was working on my blog it dawned on me that 45 years later I’mstill the “mouth of the south” for teachers.  You share wonderful ideas with me and then it’s my privilegeto pass them on. 

Thank you, Louisiana teachers, for thesegreat ideas!

HighFive Hands

Eachweek cut two hands out of construction paper and tape them to the classroomdoor.  Write upper and lowercaseletters, words, numerals and number words, shapes, etc. on the hands.  Each time the children enter theclassroom they “high five” the hands and identify the information.

QuizQuiz Trade – Pass out flashcards (letters, shapes, words, etc.) to thestudents.  They walk around andfind a partner.  Each childidentifies the information on their partner’s card and then they trade and finda new partner. 

Hint!  Encourage students to give hints tohelp their partner identify the information.

Magic Finger (Suzanne Newton, BatonRouge)

Havechildren hold up their index finger and tell them it’s their “magicfinger.”  Tell them to close theireyes and then spritz their finger with water.  They can use their “magic finger” to track print and point.

CheerBook (Norma)

Normamakes a book for each child in her room to help them learn letters and to learntheir name.  For each letter in thechild’s name there is a page that says, “Give me a letter.”   The last page says, “What’s thatspell?  Child’s name!”  You could let children illustrate the lastpage with their picture or use a photograph.

Friendship Game  (Allison Andrews, Shreveport LA)

This is a great activity to use at thebeginning of the school year, to start your day, or when children are havingdifficulty getting along.

Skills:          orallanguage, social development, self esteem

Materials:    large bucketwith lid (Decorate it with pictures of the children.)     popsiclesticks or cards with each child’s name    (Makesure to put the teacher’s name in as well!)

Instructions:  Sit in a “Friendship Circle.”  Each child draws a    nameand says something special to make his/her    friendsmile.

Dial a Word  (Sheila Howze, Livingston, LA)

Here is a great game to recycle an old cellphone.  Children take CVC words andfind the numbers they represent on the phone.  They can then “call” the word and talk to it. 

D O G – 3, 6, 4

R A T – 7, 2, 8


Want a free concert?  If anyone in Springfield, MO, reads this I will be flying into Springfield Monday and I'll have time to sing at a school that afternoon.  Give me a call 404-386-9057 if you're interested.

MEASURE UP

Bean Counter

Lay a 14” piece of packaging tape on thetable sticky side up.  Place tenlima beans end to end in the middle of the tape as shown.  Fold the top of the tape down, thebottom up, and seal.  Trim off theends.  Children take the beancounter and place it on the end of the object to be measured.  How many beans long is the object?

*Have children record their measurements.

*How many beans long is the classroom?

*Ask children to find something in the roomthat is 2 beans long.  Can theyfind something 5 beans?  10beans?  etc.

*Make similar rulers with toothpicks, paperclips, and other flat objects.

CircularCounter

Make a strawruler to measure circular objects. Cut  plastic straws into 1”segments.  Tie a knot in one end ofa shoelace and string on 12 straws. Tie off the other end of the shoelace.  Good for non-standard measurement.

I'M SO EXCITED!

I’m soexcited because I’ve got a few new cheers for you today!

I’m SoExcited!

When childrenlearn something new or do exceptional work start singing, “I’m so excited.  And I just can’t hide it.  You know, you know, you know, you know,you know skill children have accomplished.”

Camera Cheer

Tell yourstudents that they are “front page news” and pretend to take their picture forthe newspaper.  Make a clickingnoise for the flash as you do this.

Eye Hug 

Smile, closeyour eyes, and shrug your shoulders.

Love It Cheer

Make a heartwith your hands (index fingers touching at the top and thumbs at the bottom)and extend from your heart.

Rock StarCheer

Put hands downlike a rapper and say, “Rock star!”

Smile Cheer

Cock your headto the side, place your palms under your chin, and give a big smile.

Fire CrackerExplosions

Place palmstogether and make a hissing noise as you move them up in the air.  Clap hands, and then wiggle fingers outand down as you say, “Ahhhhhh!”

Do a baby firecracker with small movements and a soft voice.

Do a giant firecracker with exaggerated movements and a loud voice.

Do a slow firecracker.

How about ahappy fire cracker?

How many othervariations can the children come up with?

GIVE ME A CHEER!

I think most ofyou know that I have these cheer cards you can download free from mywebsite.  I also have a YouTubevideo where I demonstrate the cheers. 

*Use a Cheeriosbox or a Cheer detergent box to store the cheers. 

*Choose onechild each day to be the “cheerleader.” That child gets to put their five favorite cheer cards in a pocket chartand lead the class in cheers.

*Greta Delpartefrom Bismarck, ND, cut a pocket off an old pair of jeans to store her cheersin.  When it’s time to do a cheershe asks a child to draw a cheer from the “cheer pocket.”

THE CROOKED MOUTH FAMILY

Last week whenI was in Florida a teacher requested that I tell the story of “The CrookedMouth Family.”  I had not told thatstory in so long I had forgotten all about it.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it, so I wanted to share it withyou.  It’s best if you light a realcandle to tell the story, but in the classroom I would just pretend my indexfinger was the candle.  You’ll needto practice this story several times in front of a mirror before attempting itin front of a group.

This is a storyabout a silly family called the Crooked Mouths.

         FatherCrooked Mouth could only talk out of the left side of his mouth like this.  (Say this out of the left corner ofyour mouth.  Every time fathertalks in the story say it from the left side of your mouth.)

         MotherCrooked Mouth could only talk out of the right side of her mouth likethis.  (When mother speaks say itfrom the right side of your mouth.)

         BrotherCrooked Mouth could only talk out of the bottom of his mouth like this.  (Stick out chin and bottom teeth totalk like brother.)

         AndSister Crooked Mouth could only talk out of the top of her mouth likethis.  (Stick out top teeth andtalk for sister.)

         Onenight when the Crooked Mouths had gone to bed they heard a strange noisedownstairs.

         “Oh,dear,” said mother.  “What couldthat be?”

         “Well,I better go see,” said father.  Sohe lit a candle and walked downstairs. (Take a candle and light it or hold up your index finger and pretend itis a candle.)

         Helooked all around, but he didn’t see a thing.  Father decided to go back upstairs and go to bed.  He tried to blow out the candle.  “Whh!  Whh!”  (Blow fromthe left side of mouth.)  But hecouldn’t blow it out.

         “Oh,dear,” said mother.  “Let metry.  Whh!  Whh!”  (Blow from right side of mouth.)  But she couldn’t blow it out either.

         “Oh,dear,” said father.

         “Oh,dear,” said mother.  “What shall wedo?”

         “Let’sgo wake up brother,” said father. So father and mother went to brother’s room.

         “Wakeup, brother,” said mother.  “Fatherlit a candle and we can’t blow it out.”

         Sobrother took the candle and he tried to blow it out.  “Whh! Whh!”  (Blow from bottom ofmouth.)  But he couldn’t blow itout either.

         “Oh,dear,” said father.

         “Oh,dear,” said mother.  “What shall wedo?”

         “Let’sgo wake up sister,” said brother. So mother and father and brother went to sister’s room.

         “Wakeup, sister,” said brother.  “Fatherlit a candle and we can’t blow it out.”

         Sosister took the candle and she tried to blow it out.  “Whh! Whh!”  (Blow from the top ofmouth.)  But she couldn’t blow itout either.

         “Oh,dear,” said father.

         “Oh,dear,” said mother.

         “Oh,dear,” said brother.

         “Oh,dear,” said sister.  “What shall wedo?”

         Justthen they heard someone knock on the front door.  (Knock! Knock!)  They wentdownstairs and it was Officer O’Brien.

         “What’sgoing on?” he asked.  “You’veawakened the whole neighborhood with all your commotion.”

         “Well,I lit a candle and I can’t blow it out,” said father.

         “Ican’t blow it out either,” said mother.

         “Ican’t blow it out either,” said brother.

         “Boohoo hoo,” cried sister.

         OfficerO’Brien laughed, took the candle, and blew it out.  Then he told the Crooked Mouths good night and left.

         Mother,father, brother, and sister started back upstairs to get in bed.

         “Oh,dear,” said mother.  “I can’t see athing.”

         “Neithercan I,” said sister.

         “Well,I better light a candle,” said father. (Pretend to light the candle again.

TIDY UP! TIDY UP!

Here are sometunes and tips for clean up time.

Tidy Up  (“Jingle Bells”)

Chorus:

Tidy up, tidy up,put your things away.

Tidy up, tidy up,we’re finished for today.

Oh, tidy up, tidyup, put your things away.

For we’ll get themout again another school day.

We’ve had lots offun as we’ve worked and played.

Now it’s time toall join in and play the clean up game.

Chorus.

I See SomeoneCleaning Up!  (“London Bridge”)

I see child’sname cleaning up,

Cleaning up,cleaning up.

I see child’sname cleaning up,

Just like secondchild’s name.

Continue singingthe name of children who are helpers.

*Get a flashlightand shine it on the child as you sing their name.

Magic Trash

Select one randompiece of trash to be the “magic trash.” Have children

pick up theroom.  As they dump the paper andscraps in the trashcan,

inspect what theyhave in their hands.  The one tofind the “magic trash”

gets a sticker.

Timer

To help prepare children for clean up timeset a timer for three minutes.  Explain, “You have three moreminutes.  When the timer goes offwe will have a whisper clean up.”

Who You Gonna Call?

Send a letter home asking if anyone has anold dust buster to donate to your classroom.  Choose one person each day to be the “dust buster.”  When there’s a mess shout, “Who yougonna call?”  Children respond,“Dust buster!”  The designated“dust buster” of the day GETS to clean up the mess.

PAPER PLATE PADDLES

Yeah!  Another cheap, simple prop that can beused in a variety of ways.

(Actually, someonecame up to me after a workshop one day and said, “Dr. Jean, you get a simpleidea and milk it for all its worth!” That’s what all good teachers do!)

All you’ll needare cheap, white paper plates.  Puttwo plates together and staple about ¾ of the way around.  Leave an opening large enough so youcan stick your hand in and use like a puppet.  Write letters, numerals, shapes, math signs, etc. on theplates and use to really involve your students.

*Write the letters“B-I-N-G-O” on the front of the plates as shown.  Cut out hands and write numerals on the back.  Choose five children to wear theletters as you sing “Bingo.” Explain that “Bingo” is a word that has five letters.  After each verse you will turn over oneletter and they should clap instead of saying the letter.  Children will learn to go from left toright;  they’ll learn that lettersmake words;  they’ll learn numberconcepts.

*Give each child aletter to wear.  Have them come tothe front of the room as you call out their sound.  Put the letters together to make words.  This can reinforce CVC words, wordfamilies, silent “e,” etc.

*Give childrenletters to hold up as you sing alphabet songs like “Happy Birthday Letters” or“Who Let the Letters Out?”

*Write numerals onplates and use for ordinals, number sentences, “Ten in the Bed,” and othernumeral songs and finger plays.

PICNIC BOOK

I told this story last week when I wasin Flint and several teachers asked me to share it on my blog.

Make a picnic book by telling this story:

Let’s go on a picnic.  First we need a picnic basket.

(Fold the paper in half.)

Next, we need hotdogs.

(Fold the paper in fourths.)

We also need hamburgers.

(Fold the paper into eighths.)

We’ll need a picnic bench to sit at.

(Open so it’s folded in half.  Bring

one bottom flap to the fold.  Turn

over and bring the other bottom flap

to the fold.)

A picnic is more fun if we share it

with a friend.  (Tear down middle crease

until you reach the fold.)

Now all we need is a book to write a

story about our adventures on our picnic.

(Hands on top of bench, bend down, and

fold around to make a book.)

Use for:     letterbooks, word families

                  readingthe room, writing the room

                  factfamilies

                  shapeor color books

                  unitor theme

                  spellingwords (picture/sentence)

                  autographbook

                  opposites,story elements

                  originalstories

Hint!  Let children decorate an individualcereal box to store their picnic books.

PRESIDENT'S DAY

President's Day is just around the corner on February 20.

Presidents’ Day– 3^rd Monday in February

(Tune:  "Hail to theChief!")

On Presidents’ Daywe remember all the leaders         (Childrenstand and

In our nation’shistory.                                             marchas you sing.)

Washington, Adams,Jefferson and Lincoln—               

We stand andsalute our Commanders-in-Chief!         (Salute.)

In the great WhiteHouse

In Washington,D.C.,

They have workedto keep our nation strong.

From seventeeneighty nine till today,

We celebrate allour Commanders-in-Chief!

 drjean.org/February, 2007, Monthly Activities

Letters – Have children write letters to thePresident.  Don’t be surprised whenyou get an answer!

whitehouse.gov/kids/– This is a great websiteto learn more about past Presidents, take a tour of the White House, findgames, etc.

If I Were thePresident I Would… Leteach child write a story or draw a picture about what she would do if she werePresident.  Put them together tomake a class book.

The Presidents 

(Tune:  “Ten Little Indians”)

History’s full ofpeople and times.

We can learn themwith this rhyme.

President’s of theUSA

Have made ourcountry great today.

Washington  Adams         Jefferson    Madison

Monroe        Adams       Jackson       Van Buren

Harrison      Tyler         Polk           Taylor

Fillmore       Pierce        and            Buchanan

Lincoln         Johnson      Grant        Hayes

Garfield       Arthur       Cleveland     Harrison

Cleveland     McKinley      Roosevelt     Taft

Wilson         Harding      and           Coolidge

Hoover        Roosevelt    Truman        Eisenhower

Kennedy       Johnson       Nixon          Ford

Carter         Regan         Bush           Clinton

Bush           and            Obama

YOU ARE AMAZING!

“You’re amazing…just theway you are!”  I love thatsong.  It should be our theme songin the classroom.  Mr. Rogers (LOVEDthe man!) was so powerful and positive by reminding every child every day howunique and special they were! 

In our consumer, “My dog’sbetter than your dog,” “I have the most toys,” “I got the highest test score,” “Iscored the most points” world, sometimes we need to take a deep breath andrelax.  We are who we are and that’sgood enough!  

Your students are amazing…justthe way they are!  And YOU are an amazingteacher…just the way you are!  You don’tneed to have the most attractive bulletin board, the best website, or thehighest reading level.  You areamazing and what you do every day to make a child’s life better is a talent anda gift!

So on this Valentine’s DayI send you love and hope all the love you share every day circles around andcomes back to you!


Never forget that Dr. Jean said you were amazing…just the way you are!  And don’t forget to tell your children that I said they were lucky to be in your room.  And they are amazing, too!


P. S. I was loading up my car after doing a workshop in Florida on Saturday and a teacher called out, "Dr. Jean, I'm so glad that God made you!"  That was one of the most beautiful things anyone had ever said to me!  I'm going to tell everyone in my family today that I'm so glad God made them!  And I'm glad He made each of you as well!

VOWEL FAMILY

Children will have aneasier time remembering the short vowel sounds with this song.

TheVowel Family

(Tune:  “BINGO”)

AuntAggie had an allergy

andshe would always sneeze-o  (Pretendto sneeze.)

/a/a/a/a/a/  /a/a/a/a/a/  /a/a/a/a/a/  

Andshe would always sneeze-o.

GrandpaEddie stayed in shape

andhe would exercise-o         (Pretendto lift weights.)

/e/e/e/e/e/  /e/e/e/e/e/   /e/e/e/e/e/

Heliked to exercise-o.

BabyIzzi had chicken pox

andshe would always itch-o.         (Scratchbody.)

/i/i/i/i/i/  /i/i/i/i/i/  /i/i/i/i/i/

Andshe would always itch-o.

CousinOtto’s throat was sore

Andthis is what he’d say-o.         (Puthand on throat.)

/o/o/o/o/o/  /o/o/o/o/o/  /o/o/o/o/o/

Andthis is what he’d say-o.

UncleUnk wore underwear

andit did stink-o.         (Holdnose.)

/u/u/u/u/u/  /u/u/u/u/u/   /u/u/u/u/u/

Andit did stink-o.

Some cuteteachers from Cook Elementary in Grand Blanc, Michigan, dressed up like theVowel Family for Halloween.  

A SWEET STORY

Here is a storythat a kindergarten teacher from NJ sent me.  I love it because it reflects her sensitivity to a scaredlittle boy and shows how love and patience really can change the world…onechild at a time!

Wanted toshare a sweet story with you that happened thanks to your letter vests!

A little boywho lived in a refugee camp from Darfur joined my classroom two weeks ago. Nota word of English - clearly terrified and has never seen anything like what wehave in our classroom (or city, or country!). It must look and sound likeanother planet! Very long story short, I have been allowing him lots of freedomto explore our room. My students have been amazing, as only 5-6 year olds canbe! Since crying silently by the door all of day 1, he has made a little bit ofprogress every day. Sat for snack day 3. Finally went to the cafeteria for lunch(instead of with me) day 6. etc.

Yesterday,day 9, we were doing a lesson with our brand-new, hot off the presses lettervests. The way the kids would get their letter was to pull from a giant"mystery grab bag" (laundry bag) of objects, one for each letter,such as a stuffed elephant, little bottle of milk, penguin, umbrella, quarter,etc. After telling us the name of the object, letter it begins with and sound,the students would go to my aide and get their letter.

Well, don'tya know, our new friend, was watching from afar. Before you know it, hehad quietly made his way over to the carpet and sat down to wait his turn. Hehad never joined us for a group lesson on the carpet. The boy next to himexclaimed excitedly, “Look who’s on the carpet!" We all clapped andcheered!

Thank you,Dr. Jean, for engaging, fun ways to learn - even for a nervous littleguy who has no idea what we are saying!

Phyllis Doerr

K Teacher

TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD...

Sharing GoodNews

This is such anincredible idea from Jessica Williams that I’d sure “borrow” it if I were stillin the classroom!  Jessicadecorates a “Good News” jar that holds popsicle sticks with every child'sname.  She starts every morning bysharing her own “good news.”  Thechildren clap or cheer for her.  Next, she pulls a stick and the classsings, "Tell me something good!"  That child shares their goodnews and then the class does a cheer. The teacher pulls the second stick and they sing, "Tell me somethinggood" and then cheer.  She does three children each day.  She puts those who have had a turn inan envelope and then they start all over again when everyone has had a turn.

Jessica saysthis gives the children a chance to know each other, practice speaking skills,and it helps her be aware of important things in their lives

(new shoes, babyborn, etc.).

Shopping Game

Carol Kellherplaces a box of small items in her lap.  She writes a three letter wordabout one of the objects and the children have to blend the sounds and say theword.  The teacher thenresponds,  "Yes, you bought a HAT"as she pulls the item from the box.  She also lets the children use theshopping box to play with each other at choice time.

A Ram Sam SamSong

Rhondi Kregeradapts this traditional song for children’s names. 

A ram sam sam

A ram sam sam

Goolie gooliegoolie goolie goolie

Ram sam sam 

(Repeat)

A raffi, araffi,

Goolie gooliegoolie goolie goolie

Ram sam sam

(Repeat)

Use children'snames:

John John John

John John John

Lisa Lisa LisaLisa Lisa

John John John

Fiona Fiona

Lisa Lisa LisaLisa

John John John…