100 DAYS AND COUNTING

100 Days

(Tune:  “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”)

We’ve been inschool 100 days.      (Childrenstand and march.)

Hoorah!  Hoorah!                           (Fistin air as if cheering.)

We’ve worked andplayed 100 days. 

Hoorah!  Hoorah!

Zero is our Herotoday.

Now let’s allcount to celebrate!

We’ve been inschool 100 days,

And it’s beengreat!

1, 2,3,…..100!                             (Holdup fingers as you count.)

Hoorah!

100 Snack –Children count out ten each of snack foods (such as Cheerios, pretzels, GoldFish, raisins, m&m’s, miniature marshmallows, cheese crackers, wheatsquares, Rice Chex, peanuts, etc.) and put them in a zip bag.  Shake and eat.  *Adapt to the dietary needs of yourclass

Cover Up –Make 2 copies of a 100 grid.  Cutup one set and put the numbers in a zip bag.  Children can play this game by themselves or with apartner.  Give them a 3 minutetimer and challenge them to cover up as many spaces as they can in the timelimit.  Have them record the amountand try to beat their score each time they play.

Hint!  Adapt this game for younger children bygiving them a grid with 10 or 25 spaces.
*You can download the grid at drjean.org - January, 2007, monthly activities.

When I’m 100– You’ll have to have a sense of humor to do this art project.  Give each child a brown paper towel andtell them to wad it up so it’s all wrinkled.  Now, ask them to draw what they think they’ll look like whenthey are 100.

100 Bottles– Have each child take an empty plastic water bottle and fill it with 100items.

ZERO THE HERO

Some of you willbe celebrating 100 days of school very soon.  Many of you won’t get there until next month, so you canjust tuck these ideas away until then.

Zero the HeroNumber Stomp (Just for FUN CD)

I am Zero the Heroand I’m here to say,

I love to donumbers every 10^th day.

When we make setsof ten we’ll stomp the ground.

And when we reach100, we’ll sit back down!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7, 8, 9, 10 (Stomp!).

Let’s countanother ten.

11, 12, 13, 14,15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 (Stomp!)

Two tens, let’s gosome more…

Three tens, you’recatching on.

Four tens, you’redoing fine.

Five tens, you’rehalf way there.

Six tens, you’reon a roll.

Seven tens, what acool game.

Eight tens, you’redoing great.

Nine tens, we’renear the end.

Ten tens is 100,now it’s time to sit down!

Activities:  Stand like a super hero with feet outand hands on hips.  Point tonumbers on a chart or hold up fingers as you sing.

Here’s the link todownload this book:

www.drjean.org/html/monthly_act/act_2006/01_Jan/pg03dd.html

Children can maketheir own Zero the Hero with a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil.  (They’ll need some assistance so workwith a small group at a time.) Make two tears from the top about 1/3 of the way down.  Make one tear from the bottom asshown.   Squeeze the top sidesections to create arms.  Thecenter section can be molded into a head. The bottom strips can be molded into legs.  Make a cape for your hero from paper or fabric. 

*Let childrenwrite or tell stories about what they would do if they were Zero the Hero.

NEVER, EVER, EVER GIVE UP!

Oh, happyday!  Oh, happy day!  Oh, happy day…. I can’t quitsinging!  This blog has nothing todo with education…well, maybe a little...but I just had to share our good newswith my blog buddies.

We LOVE dogs!  Our son has three rescue dogs who arelike his children.  On New Year’sEve he took them to a school playground to run around.  It was fenced, but his 11 year oldBlossom found a hole in the fence and disappeared before he could put the othertwo in the car to go and look for her in the woods behind the school.  After looking for half an hour hecalled friends to join the search. They went from house to house, quickly made flyers and put them up, etc.  Where could she have gone?  Did coyotes get her?  Was someone abusing her?  Last Monday my husband and I drove fourhours to his house, looked in fields and woods for signs of her little redChristmas sweater that she was wearing, and then drove back home.  Our son ran off more posters, extendedhis search in newspapers within 100 miles, went to shelters…no Blossom!  He kept up his search for over a weekand spent every extra minute looking for her.  We didn’t want to discourage him, but we didn’t think therewas any way that she could be alive. No way! 

Well, guesswhat?  Last night around 6 a ladycalled and said Blossom was barking on her porch when she got home.  The lady said, “I wanted to be the oneto find your dog because I knew anybody who would do what you did really lovedhis dog!”  Blossom’s back home now…alittle thinner…but she seems healthy and well.  I wish she could talk so we could find out what happened,but I think it’s a miracle!

Oh, happyday!  People were so GOOD to ourson as he searched.  One lady evenhad her church praying for the dog’s return.  We hear only bad news on TV and in the papers.  You never hear the good news.  So here is GOOD news and a reminder tonever, ever, ever give up!   Some of those little children in yourclassroom might surprise you one day!

LETTER BEARS

You will be ableto get a lot of “mileage” out of these little bears.  Cut 26 bears out of construction paper.  Write upper and lowercase letters onall the bears.  Mix up the bearsand then sing this song to the tune of “Twinkle Little Star” as the letters arerevealed:

         Ddbear, Dd bear, what do you see?

         Isee Kk bear looking at me.

         Kkbear, Kk  bear, what do yousee…

*Focus children’sattention while they settle down for a story or lesson with the letterbears.  You could also use thebears as a transition activity. Dismiss children to line up, wash their hands, etc. when the letter thattheir name starts with appears.

*For youngerchildren, make the bears out of different colors.

*Use the bears toreinforce other skills, such as the numerals 10-20 or sight words.

*When I was at the GA KindergartenConference, Jan Atherton of Gwinnett County added a super adaptation to my“letter bears.”  She suggestedusing season cutouts and making a different set each month to reinforce skills you are working on.


SONG CARDS - Tim Rasinski would be so proud of this teacher!  As a consultant, you wonder if what you are doing really makes a difference.  Well, his seminar certainly made a difference in this teacher's life.  Kerri obviously was excited and motivated to implement what she learned in her classroom.  And, if the teacher is happy and excited, then the children will pick up on her enthusiasm and want to learn.  Check out this blog and I'll bet you'll get some ideas to put some sparkle in your classroom:


http://mskerriandherkrazykindergarten.blogspot.com/2012/01/kiss-your-brain.html

WHAT IS YOUR JOB TODAY?

Several years ago a teacher shared a "morning mantra" that he used to start his day.  I thought it was very positive and also focused on what we should all be about.

Teacher says:       What is your jobtoday?

Children respond:  Our job is tolearn and to love each other.

Teacher says:       And what is myjob today?

Children respond:  Your job is toteach us and to love us.

Why don't you try starting your day this way?  It certainly won't hurt.  And if a child is behaving inappropriately, try this gentle reminder, "Are you doing your job?"

So, what is my job today?

My job is to sharenew ideas with you and to love you!

STAND UP FOR DR. KING

Our daughter,Holly, wrote the lyrics for this song, and I think they are beautiful!  This book would provide a perfect opportunity to teach some new vocabulary words.  You can download it on myJanuary, 2007, website.

Stand Up ForMartin Luther King – 3^rd Monday in January

(Tune:  “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean”)

Dr. King stood upfor justice.                  (Standand sway back and forth.)

He stood up forequality, too.                  

Dr. King stood upfor children.

He stood up for meand for you.              (Pointto self and then others.)

So now we…

Stand up, standup,                                (Marchin place to the beat.)

Stand up forMartin Luther King.

Stand up, standup,

Stand up for Dr.King.

Dr. King wantedall of America                (Swayback and forth.)

To be tolerant,fair, and free.

He stood up forwhat he believed in.

He stood up foryou and for me.              (Pointto self and the others.)

So now we…

Stand up, standup,                                 (Marchin place.)

Stand up forMartin Luther King.

Stand up, standup,

Stand  up for Dr. King.

Dr King taught usall to be dreamers       (Swayback and forth.)

So one day theworld could begin

To judge peoplebased on their character

And not on thecolor of their skin.

So now we…                                             (Marchin place.)

Stand up, standup,

Stand up forMartin Luther King.

Stand up, standup,

Stand  up for Dr. King.

MLK and KWL- Check out books from your school library on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.   Put them in your class library andask the children to see what they can find out about Dr. King.  Use a KWL chart to begin yourdiscussion.  K – What do theyalready know about Dr. King?  W –What do they want to learn about him? L – After reading books about Dr. King, add the new information thechildren have learned.

Heroes –Martin Luther King was ahero.  Make a list of other peoplethat the children consider to be heroes. What character traits does a hero have?  Ask children to write stories about what kind of hero theywould like be when they grow up.

Acts ofKindness – Get aspiral notebook and write “Acts of Kindness” on it.  Encourage the children to record kind deeds their classmatesdo for them.  Read over the book atthe end of each day to encourage more positive behavior.

Henry Box Brown– Henry Box Brown was born a slave and escaped in a box.  He’s such an interesting person that Iknow your children will enjoy learning more about him.  Brainstorm with your children how theycould find out more about Henry Box Brown.  For example, you could look on the internet, go to thelibrary, look in an encyclopedia, ask parents. etc. 

HOT, HOT CHOCOLATE!

One of my favoritescenes in THE POLAR EXPRESS is when they are serving hot chocolate on thetrain!  Ahhh!  The smell and simple pleasure from acup of hot chocolate!

Well, here’s a wayto stir a lasting memory and love of poetry in children with a cup of hotchocolate.  Ask each parent to sendin a box of instant hot chocolate and an old coffee mug.  End each Friday with a “Hot ChocolatePoetry Café.”  The children canempty a packet in their cup and then the teacher can add hot water.  Mix it up and get ready to enjoy somepoems, a story, and perhaps a song as you sip and smile!


Talk about multi-sensory learning!