Dr. Seuss

The first week of March is typically dedicated to celebrating Dr. Seuss.  The anniversary of his birthday is March 2nd and every year I debate on what to do in my classroom.  This year, the celebration seemed even more exciting because of the soon to be released movie to the big screens, "The Lorax."  Many of the children had actually already seen the movie when we got around to reading it that week.  It was okay, because it's a book with a BIG message!  And, they seemed to pick up on it quite easily! 

We had a GREAT week reading lots of books, having special snacks, and being engaged in math and literacy related activities. 

We started off the week by reading One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.  If you've been following our blog for a while, you know I love to make anything I can out of a hand print-- so here is another! 

That same day, we did some sorting, graphing, and counting with multi-colored goldfish!

Then, of course, we had to have some of these yummy goldfish for snack! 

The next day that week, we read The Cat in the Hat.  Many of the children were already familiar with this story because they've heard it before or seen the movie that came out a few years ago.  It is always fun to hear what the children in my class would do in the same type of situation. 

Megan and Samuel made hats like the Cat and then we enjoyed a Cat in the Hat snack!

On that Friday, we finally read The Lorax .  Like I mentioned earlier, the children really picked up on the lesson, or message, that Dr. Seuss was trying to convey.  We had fun recreating the Trufulla trees in many different ways--

One way was edible--

All you need is some skewers, large marshmellows, white frosting, paper plates, and various colors of sprinkles. 

 And, voila!  Trufulla Trees!

We also made them on paper using some leftover Easter grass!



"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

Dr. Seuss

Mother Goose Came to School

Last week, Mother Goose made her rounds to each Kindergarten classroom in our school sharing her riddles, rhymes, and stories with all the boys and girls.  They were her captive audience!  She read some aloud to them, and also taught them some actions and movements to go along with her rhymes. 

The boys stood up to help her say what little boys are made of--

Frogs, and snails, and puppy dog tails!



The children are using their arm as a tick tocking clock for

Hickory Dickory Dock!



This Mother Goose, played by a former teacher, travels from school to school sharing her love of literacy.  I think the children would have let her stay all day!

One Book Basket At A Time

There is no question about it--my books are my most prized classroom resource!  I've worked hard in my 8 years of teaching to build a collection of books to supplement my teaching. 

I began my collection during my later years of high school and throughout college.  Yard Sales were the best place to look...and sometimes still are! When I started teaching I used Scholastic as much as I could for multiple copies of picture books and big books.  Then, when I got into grant writing, I was able to purchase multiple sets of books by specific author, genre, and topic.

I have my books organized in several ways.  As you can see, I am NOT a  fancy label making teacher.  Give me an index card and a permanent marker and I am good to go.  I always put a matching label on the back of each book so the children will know exactly where each book lives. 

Some baskets are organized by AUTHOR.

Some baskets are organized by FAMILIAR CHARACTER.

Some books are organized by GENRE.

Some books are organized by SUBJECT/THEME.

Some books are organized by TEXT STRUCTURE.

So my question is, how and when do you introduce these baskets to your students? In the past I have had them all out on shelves when the students start school.  They are off limits and we "open" one basket at a time as we discuss it.  I've never had a problem with this. The children understand very well which baskets they can choose from and which ones they can't. 

This year, I actually have the closet space to store them all away from plain sight.  I can physically bring them out one at a time.  I feel like this would build excitement like a big surprise!  

I think I will "hide" them away for now.  It might make for some empty shelf space in my classroom, but the excitement will be worth it when I bring out a new basket of books for little hands to hold and little eyes to read.