Monday, January 21, 2013

Fun with The Mitten

Two weeks ago we read The Mitten. The class seemed to really enjoy the book!  By Wednesday we compared Jan Brett's version with another version that came with the old Waterford computer program our school used to have.  This book made them laugh and probably because it was a little more cartoonish.  It favored the behaviors and cartoon style of Bugs Bunny.

To finish up the week we reenacted the book!  This proved to be so much fun I had to YELL to give the commands.  It was a madhouse!  But from the smile you see they were having loads of fun.  I took 2 long sheets of butcher paper and taped them together.  Then I passed out enlarged copies of the animals from Jan Brett's book. Those who didn't get an animal "held" the mitten in place and made it easier for the kids to crawl in.  (The mitten actually looked more like a tube but they didn't care!)


After all the animals were in I asked the bear to sneeze...and hello!




All the animals (kids) broke through the paper.  Shortly thereafter they all danced away on top of the mitten because of the sound it made.  Such fun!


UPDATE on science website

As I've had more opportunity to browse Turtle Diary I've noticed that not all of their content is free.  Which is a bummer!  It looks like you can sign up for the full content at $19.99 a month or $199 a year...both of which I'm not willing to pay at the moment.  Too bad!  However, I say use what's free for as long as you can!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Fun Science Website

I'm working on my national board entries at the moment (one of the reasons I just can't seem to keep up with the blog, sorry!) and came across a fun website that has videos and games for math and science. It is called Turtle Diary.

The addition games seen a bit more geared towards first grade so I assume the subtraction games will be as well.  However the life cycle video was perfect for my kinders.  Head over to the website and check it out!