Holy Week 2017

It has been a busy few weeks. Last week, was our first week back to school after Easter vacation. The week before Easter vacation was Holy Week and we did a lot of fun activities. Here is are some of the Holy Week activities that we did.

We read the story of Palm Sunday and made this tear and glue palm leaf craft.

The kids made this book which tells what we Jesus went through in his last week of life. On each page, the kids have to cut and paste letters to spell Jesus and then they color a picture to go with the sentence that is on the page.

We talked about the Stations of the Cross and each child made one of these lift the flap Stations of the Cross to take home with them.

Each child made this Holy Week in Fingerprints activity.  It is a wonderful keepsake. I adapted it from this activity by Catholic Icing. It is more manageable for a whole class activity if you use fingerprints instead of handprints.

We read the story of the Last Supper and then we made this washing of the feet craft. To make the footprints we made our hands into a fist and then pressed the fist, pinky side down, onto a stamp pad. We made the toes with fingerprints.

We also made this stained glass looking crucifix craft. It is made with liquid starch and tissue paper pieces.

We talked about the Veil of Veronica and the kids made a drawing of what they thought Jesus' face looked like on a piece of cloth.

Throughout the week we used Resurrection Eggs to talk about Jesus' Holy Week. By the end of the week, the students we able to tell me what the symbols in each egg represented. This year I used a book called Benjamin's Box to go with the Resurrection Eggs. There are a couple differences in the eggs and the book, but we made it work. 

On Holy Thursday, our fourth and fifth grade classes act out the Last Supper. It is wonderful for the students to see a play about the Last Supper. Jesus is played by an eighth grade student.

Yesterday, we finished our learning about Easter with a cooking activity called Resurrection Rolls. First we rolled out a pillsbury crescent roll on a plate. Next, we put a marshmallow on top of the crescent roll. The crescent roll represents the tomb that Jesus was put in after he was taken off the cross and the marshmallow represents Jesus.

Then, we sprinkled a cinnamon and sugar mixture on top of the marshmallow.

We folded the dough around the marshmallow and put the bundle onto a baking sheet.

When the rolls came out of the oven the kids got to eat them. As they were eating them, they realized that the marshmallow was gone; just like on Easter morning when Jesus rose from the dead.

It was a busy few weeks and the kids learned a lot about Jesus' Holy Week and Easter. 

Teacher Show and Tell

Last night, we had our first Teacher Show and Tell night at school.  The parents came to school with their child in the evening and experienced small group and center time. I set up a cute table in front of my classroom with treats for the parents and activities for them to do.

I put a copy of our class book on the table so that the families could look at it. I had an estimation jar filled with bunny mallows. The person who had the closest estimate got a pack of glitter glue. I also had a compliments bag. The parents were encouraged to write a compliment to their child. We are going to read the compliments on Monday. 

  
 I got this cute idea from Pinterest. 

I also made the water bottles for the parents. The label says "Parents Like You Are Refreshing".

I also put this sign outside my classroom so the parents could tell me what about their child's learning they are most proud of (again, thank you Pinterest).

I taped this poster on my whiteboard so that the parents could write down any questions they had and I could respond to them later. 

At this time in the school year, we are running low on some of our supplies so I wrote down items we need on cupcake cutouts and put them on the table. This was an adorable idea I found on Pinterest. However, the cupcakes fell over as soon as the door opened and the wind blew in. Next time, I am going to use larger clips on the bottom.

Here are some parents working in my small group math lesson. We were doing sticker subtraction.

The parents also went to learning centers with their children.

The kids had a lot of fun telling their parents where to go and what to do.  It was a wonderful night. I look forward to our next Teacher Show and Tell.

Small Group LA Activities

We were busy at small groups this week. I thought you might like to see what we do for language arts during small group time.

Monday:
We learned what a contraction is. The kids sorted the words into two groups, contraction and not a contraction.

Tuesday:
We practiced writing. Our prompt was "If I was a Leprechaun I would..." Some kids sounded out their own words and some kids traced the words I wrote for them.

Wednesday:
We practiced categorizing words. Each flower petal had a word on it and the kids had to put the words in the proper category (colors, numbers, places, or animals).

Thursday: 
We practiced our sight words. The kids wrote a sight word on five gold coins. Then the kids read the words they wrote.

Friday:
Cooking: We followed directions and made a tasty treat. Cooking day is one of the most anticipated days of our week. On Monday, the kids start asking me how many more days until cooking day.

Dramatic Play: Nursery Center

We closed our flower shop and opened a Nursery in our dramatic play center. The kids love taking care of the baby dolls at this center.

There are books to read to the babies. There are toys for the babies to play with.

We have a washer/dryer to clean the baby clothes. I got this using my bonus points from the Scholastic Reading Club.

There is a pack 'n play for the babies to sleep in. I got the dolls on sale for $6.59 at Toys R Us!

We have baby food, bottles, and baby care items.

We even have a baby bathtub and diaper changing station.

The boys love playing in this center just as much (if not more) as the girls. 

Small Group Math

Kindergarten math is so fun! Here is what we did in math during small group time this week.

Monday:
Geometry: We made shapes out of play-doh.

Tuesday:

Addition. I told the kids a story problem and they drew symbols to solve the problem. For example, Jane brought five balloons to school. John brought three balloons to school. How many balloons do they have altogether?

Another example: Three kids were playing soccer. Eight more kids joined wanted to play soccer too. How many kids are playing soccer altogether?

This is our small group at work.

One last example: Jane has two cupcakes. John has four cupcakes. How many cupcakes do they have altogether?

Wednesday:
Rainbow Addition: Each band of the rainbow has a number on it. The students took turns tossing cotton balls on to the rainbow. Then the kids write the numbers on their paper to make a number sentence. Finally, we used our fingers to help us solve the problem.

Thursday:

Greater Than /Less Than: We made two groups of rubber ducks in a pond (made out of paper). The kids are pointing to the one that has less. I also asked the students which group had more and they pointed to the group that had more.

Then, we practiced number sentences. In the pictures below, we are practicing subtraction. Nine ducks are floating in a pond. Four ducks flew North for the winter. How many ducks are left in the pond?

 Five ducks are left in the pond.

Friday: 

Normally, we do cooking on Friday, but tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day and we are having a class party. When we do cooking, the kids follow a four or six step recipe and make a tasty treat. Then, they get to eat it. The kids always ask when cooking day is.