waddlee-ah-chaa » pre-k & kinder

Turtle Activities, FREE Printables and Book of the Week GIVEAWAY

Jeannine — Tue, 28 May 2013 21:16:52 +0000

Week at a Glance:

Book of the Week GIVEAWAY: One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies
FREE choice journal writing
Turtles Make Ten Math Game
Turtle FREE printable books
Turtle FREE printable counters

Book of the Week GIVEAWAY: One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies

Why we love this book:

The book begins with a brief introduction with facts about sea turtles and explains that this book is about the loggerhead turtle. The story begins with a tiny “Loggerhead” baby living in an ocean nursery of weeds and driftwood. The narrative takes us along on the journey of Loggerhead‘s life as she grows and wonders about the sea for thousands of miles. After thirty years, Loggerhead returns to the beach where she was born. She lays her soft Ping-Pong ball, eggs in a deep, safe hole. And before the summer is over the tiny, baby turtles wriggle from their eggs and skitter toward the sea. One day the baby turtles will return to this beach and begin the circle of life once again.

Since our visit to Sea Turtle Inc., Rescue and Education Center, Miss Enigma has been smitten with turtles. They are in fact her favorite animal (well, next to dogs). When I spied the book One Tiny Turtle, I knew I had hit right upon one of her fondest memories. The book is especially nice because along side the narrative of Loggerhead‘s life are facts about sea turtles. The story-telling style of the book makes this very accessible nonfiction for younger children. However, this is not a book strictly for little tikes. It is packed with information making it an excellent research resource for older children.

We invite you to join Miss Enigma as she enjoys a little sea turtle reading, writing and arithmetic . . .

Journal Entry, Miss Enigma, Age 5

Journal Writing

This turtle laying her eggs is one of Miss Enigma’s first journal entries in kindergarten. It reflects her fascination with sea turtles.
Miss Enigma loves this journal entry so much that it is framed and displayed on her art shelf.
My approach to introducing journal writing to children is very simple. I don’t use prompts or story starters.
I begin with very simple directions:
- “This is your new journal. Today you can draw a picture or write letters and words.”
- For the first few writing sessions, I follow: 10 Easy Steps to Introduce Journal Writing
My children know that their journal is all about them. It is a place to write about special memories, specific interest and things they are learning about.
Journal Writing with Kindergarteners

Turtles Make Ten Math Game

While at Sea Turtle Inc. Rescue Center, we purchased a set of plastic sea turtles.
We used these turtles to play a simple math manipulative game. (of course she couldn’t find the entire set, so we had a few stand-ins.)
We put down a sheet of yellow and blue construction paper to represent the sand and the sea.
As each tiny sea turtle swam out to sea we changed our addition sentence. This could also be done as subtraction.
If you don’t have plastic sea turtles you can use the FREE printable counters I’ve included in this post.
Looking for something more advanced? Check-out our advanced version of Make Ten Math Game for older children.

Print this book FREE: 10 Tiny Turtles Illustrated

Book designed for guided reading.
Can be used for basic counting and number recognition or for acting out addition and subtraction operations.
Highlight T words: ten, tiny, turtle
Highlight TH words: the, then, there

Print this book FREE: 10 Tiny Turtles Blank

Blank version for children to read and illustrate.

Children can use FREE printable turtle counters as math manipulatives.

Print these counters FREE: Ten Tiny Turtles

We’re GIVING AWAY one copy of One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies

To enter this contest, use the Rafflecopter to answer the following question. After you leave a comment, you can move ahead with more entries.

Answer the following question in the comments section of this post.

When you were a child, what was your favorite animal? Horses, puppies, pigs, dolphins, turtles . . . (Or just say “Hey.” We’re flexible around here.)

The Rules:

No entries after 11:59 pm Central Time, Sunday, June 2, 2013

The winner must be a resident of The United States.

The winner will be selected at random and announced Monday, June 3, 2013. Check back to claim your prize. It might be you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sharing this week at:

Hip Homeschool Moms

Plant Theme Activities and Resources: Book of the Week GIVEAWAY

Jeannine — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:09:02 +0000

Week at a Glance:

Book of the Week GIVEAWAY: Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
FREE printable Plant Curriculum, grade specific
Math: Plant Collage Shapes and Patterns, Geoboard Plant Shapes, Pattern Block Flowers
Art: Oodles of Shape Flowers Collage
Journal Writing: How to Draw and Label a Plant Diagram
FREE printable Guide: How to Plant and Grow Seeds
FREE printable Book: I Love the Wildflowers

Book of the Week GIVEAWAY: Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert

Why we love this book:

Time to celebrate! The planting season has begun for us here in Texas. Planting a Rainbow is one of our favorite planting books. We use it every year to kick off the spring planting season.The children love Ehlert’s bright, bold and colorful artwork. Her text is simple and yet full of nonfiction learning opportunities. This week we will be sharing an abundance of plant activities and resources. Planting a Rainbow is a must read during a gardening theme!

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Website is an excellent resource for FREE printable Plant Study curriculum.

FREE printable Exploring the Native Plant World curriculum for grades Pre-K through Sixth
Exploring the Native Plant World provides teachers with the tools and activities to teach basic botanical and ecological concepts.
Grade level specific, hands-on explorations.

Patterns and Shapes Scavenger Hunt

The Pre-k–Kinder Curriculum focuses on Patterns and Shapes
One activity leads children on a hunt for shapes and patterns found in the garden.

Yesterday the kiddos filled a vase with bright green clovers.

I asked Miss Enigma to identify the shape of the leaves.
Next, she identified the pattern as three heart leaves on each clover.

Collage: Shapes and Patterns of Leaves and Petals

Miss Enigma created a collage that copied the heart shape and pattern of the clover.
As a follow-up activity, we went on a scavenger hunt in our yard and she identified other shapes and patterns on leaves and petals.
Bliss to be out in the sunshine!

Geoboard Flowers

Read aloud Planting a Rainbow.
I simply challenged Miss Enigma, “What flowers can you make on the geoboard?”
“Remember the shapes and patterns we found in our yard.”

Geo-board Butterfly

Without prompting, Miss Enigma surprised me with a butterfly.
She was very proud of her ingenuity.

Pattern Block Flowers

Math activity inspired by Lois Ehlert’s books: Planting a Rainbow and Oodles of Animals

Oodles of Shape Flowers

Collage Shape Flowers in the style of Lois Ehlert.

How to Plant and Grow Seeds

FREE printable guide for children: How to Plant and Grow Seeds

Drawing and Labeling a Plant Diagram

A Following Directions Journal Entry
Print this FREE: Following Directions Plant Diagram

I Love the Wildflowers FREE printable book and song adaptation.

FREE printable guide reading book: I Like the Wildflowers
Song Adaptation of I Love the Mountains

Square Foot Gardening with Children

Step-by-step directions with photos for creating your own square foot gardens.
Later this week I’ll post hands-on activities for getting your children digging, planting and growing.

Amazon.com Widgets

We’re GIVING AWAY one copy of Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert

To enter this contest, use the Rafflecopter to answer the following question. After you leave a comment, you can move ahead with more entries.

Answer the following question in the comments section of this post.

Are you a dirt digger? Do you have a green thumb? Do you enjoy planting a rainbow? (Or just say “Hey.” We’re flexible around here.)

The Rules:

No entries after 11:59 pm Central Time, Sunday, April 28, 2013

The winner must be a resident of The United States.

The winner will be selected at random and announced Monday, April 29, 2013. Check back to claim your prize. It might be you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

sharing this week at:

Hip Homeschool Moms

Hammock Tracks

Life Cycle of a Frog FREE printable book: Book of the Week GIVEAWAY

Jeannine — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:17:54 +0000

Week at a Glance:

Book of the Week GIVEAWAY: Growing Frogs by Vivian French
word work and sentence writing
FREE printable book: Life Cycle of a Frog Blank
FREE printable book: Life Cycle of a Frog Illustrated
FREE printable cards: Life Cycle of a Frog Illustrated
FREE printable cards: Life Cycle of a Frog Blank

Book of the Week GIVEAWAY with Read-Along CD : Growing Frogs by Vivian French

Why we love this book:

Read along as a little girl and her mother collect frog spawn from a pond. Bright illustrations chronicle their frog adventure. Through the story and facts on each page, children learn about the life cycle of a frog. If your children are lucky enough to collect frog spawn of their own, the book teaches how to care for the developing tadpoles.

The book is narrated by Alan Marriott, best known for the voices on the Bob the Builder T.V. show.

Life Cycle of a Frog

Alrighty, let me try to summarize all of this:

I’ve included the Life Cycles of a Frog blank book Miss Enigma illustrated. Your children can create their own illustrations.
Miss Enigma was so proud of the her illustrated book that she asked me to make her version available for you to print.
If you have little ones, you may want to print the illustrated version of Life Cycles of a Frog.
In addition, MacGyver illustrated picture cards of each stage of the frog’s life cycle.
Little ones can simply glue the correct picture on the correct page of the blank book.
The cards can also be cut apart and kiddos can put them in the correct order.
I’ve also included a blank template of the picture cards, so children can create their own illustrations.

So here we go . . .

Word Work and Sentence Writing

I have started a little box of word cards with Miss Enigma. It includes family names and a few easy familiar words. I’ve selected the words from our easy reader books and her journal writing.

First, I introduced the new word frog. I always write the word card with Miss Enigma. I do not do it before class.
Next, I dictated the sentence, “I see a frog.”
Miss Enigma selected the correct word cards from her known words.
Miss Enigma used the cards to build the sentence, “I see a frog.” She always leaves a finger space between the words.
Last she wrote the sentence, with spaces between each word and a period at the end of the sentence.

Life Cycle of a Frog Book

FREE printable book

Life Cycle of a Frog Picture Cards

Print this book FREE: Life Cycle of a Frog Blank

Print this book FREE: Life Cycle of a Frog Illustrated

Print these picture cards FREE: Life Cycle of a Frog (blank & illustrated)

We’re GIVING AWAY one copy of Growing Frogs by Vivian French Read-Along CD

To enter this contest, use the Rafflecopter to answer the following question. After you leave a comment, you can move ahead with more entries.

Answer the following question in the comments section of this post.

Have you ever grown frogs, chicks, seeds, crystals, triops . . .? How did it go? (Or just say “Hey.” We’re flexible around here.)

The Rules:

No entries after 11:59 pm Central Time, Thursday, April 11, 2013

The winner must be a resident of The United States.

The winner will be selected at random and announced Friday, April 12, 2013. Check back to claim your prize. It might be you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Amazon.com Widgets

Sharing this week at:

Hip Homeschool Moms

3 Boys and a Dog

10 Little Ducks FREE printable book: Book of the Week GIVEAWAY

Jeannine — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 21:40:53 +0000

Week at a Glance:

Book of the Week GIVEAWAY: 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle
FREE printable books: 10 Little Ducks (3 versions)
FREE printable duck counters
FREE printable book: I See a Nest
Puppet Show: 5 Little Ducks

Book of the Week GIVEAWAY: 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle

Why we love this book:

I first introduced the 10 Little Rubber Ducks last year. Thanks to Miss Enigma we are revisiting today. At the beginning of the book is the news article that inspired Eric Carle to write the story of the 10 Little Rubber Ducks, ” . . . a shipment of 29,000 rubber bathtub toys, including ducks . . . fell overboard from a container ship.” What an excellent example of the writing process for children to learn how ideas for stories begin. This would even be a good lesson for teenage students. They can clip a news article and write a fictional story inspired by the article.

As always, Eric Carle fills the pages of the book with nonfiction concepts. This time around, the 10 Little Rubber Ducks teach us ordinal numbers: first, second, third . . . . Spacial vocabulary is also introduced: west, east, north, south, left, right, up, down . . . . The story gives the children the opportunity to get-up and act-out the story. This makes an easy little Reader’s Theater with rubber ducks and ocean animals moving left, right, up, down . . . .

Sunday night Miss Enigma presented me with a gift. A little yellow duck she had drawn, colored and cut-out.

Monday morning she announced that for homeschool she was going to preform a puppet show about The Five Little Ducks.

Next thing I knew, she was in our homeschool closet digging through her board books.

“I found it! I found the Five Little Ducks.”
On the spot, I decided this would be a homeschool day where I followed Miss Enigma’s lead.
After calendar time, I read aloud The Five Little Ducks and The 10 Little Rubber Ducks.
With spring and Easter right around the corner, I thought I would share Miss Enigma’s duck day.

About this time last year I was preparing for my teacher training trip to Cambodia. The 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle was one of the books I purchased for the teachers. I also made a simple printable book for the Cambodian teachers.

Today was the day! I incorporated 10 Little Rubber Ducks and the printable counting book into Miss Enigma’s school day.

I created several versions of the printable 10 Little Ducks book. Some easier than others. Some more focused on reading and some more focused on counting.

Print this book FREE: 10 Little Ducks blank

Print this book FREE: 10 Little Ducks illustrated

Print this book FREE: 10 Little Ducks Drifting Away expanded text

Print these counters FREE: 10 Little Duck Counters

Miss Enigma used the Little Duck counters to illustrate her 10 Little Ducks book. Much easier than drawing all of those ducks on each page!
These Little Duck counters can also be used to act out the 10 Little Rubber Ducks or The Five Little Ducks, subtracting one duck each time.
These Little Duck counters can also be used to make a Five Little Ducks book.
The Little Ducks can also be turned into quick finger puppets.

Wonderful! Lovely! Adorable teachers in Cambodia.

The teachers in Cambodia made simple little ducks out of paper plates.
They made the feathers by tearing scrapes of yellow paper and the beaks by cutting out orange triangles.
They had fun acting out the story 10 Little Rubber Ducks.
I miss these sweet teachers.

Meanwhile, back in the States . . .

“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the duck recital. It is called The Five Little Ducks.”

This was Miss Enigma’s introduction to her puppet show.
She invited her brother to join in on the making of the puppets and the presentation.

The two worked together to create a puppet theater using Miss Enigma’s Build and Play Construction pieces and an old sheet.

Later this week I’ll tell you more about the Build and Play Construction pieces.

This puppet show was all them! Mommy did not oversee the show.

For guided reading instruction, I printed our FREE printable book I See a Nest.

Print this book FREE: I See a Nest

I always say teaching and especially homeschooling is about being flexible. I have to admit, some days I’m more flexible than others. I try to strike a balance between following our daily schedule, building a strong foundation and letting the children follow their own interests. I’m happy I took the time to let Miss Enigma plan her duck day!

Amazon.com Widgets

We’re GIVING AWAY one hardcover copy of 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle

To enter this contest, use the Rafflecopter to answer the following question. After you leave a comment, you can move ahead with more entries.

To enter this contest, just answer the following question in the comments section of this post.

Are you an organized planner or do you like to go with the flow? How do you strike a balance? (Or just say “Hey.” We’re flexible around here.)

The Rules:

No entries after midnight Sunday, February 24, 2013

The winner must be a resident of The United States.

The winner will be selected at random and announced Monday, February 25, 2013. Check back to claim your prize. It might be you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sharing this week at:

Hip Homeschool Moms

Hands-On Number Concept Activities: Book of the Week GIVEAWAY

Jeannine — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 00:29:30 +0000

Week at a Glance:

Book of the Week GIVEAWAY: The Cheerios Play Book by Lee Wade
Hands-on Number Activities for Children
Developing Number Concepts
Developing Number Recognition
Developing Number Formation
FREE printable number books, counters and number formation guide

Book of the Week GIVEAWAY: The Cheerios Play Book by Lee Wade

Why we love this book:

Children love when you combine food and learning! I’m sure many of you are familiar with the Cheerios book series. This week we are developing number concepts. We like the Cheerios book series because it encourages hands-on learning experiences. We begin all mathematics learning with manipulatives. Children must experience math before they move into the abstract memorization of mathematics concepts. While The Cheerios Play Book does not include numbers it is perfect for beginning conversations about numbers and one to one counting of numbers. Older children can skip count by 2′s, 3′s, 4′s and do simple addition and multiplication. And then the kiddos can eat all of the Cheerios! What child wouldn’t like that?