Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Nursery Rhymes - Baa Baa Black Sheep

I try to do my posts on Mondays because I want to give a freebie every Monday. I know Friday Freebies are the norm, but if you are like me, I need the pick me up more at the beginning of the week. This week is my Spring Break, and I am in Nashville visiting family. My dad's house has spotty internet service at best, so I wasn't able to get this online until today.

I also said I would do Three Little Kittens Lost Their Mittens, and then happily started working on Baa Baa Black Sheep, so that is what I'll share today. If you need to find some books to go with this unit, check out the books below! All of my units have two mini books and a variety of activities, but I still love going through the internet to see all the creative ideas others have that I can put to good use. I always start with reading, so here are a couple of great options:

http://www.amazon.com/Baa-Black-Sheep-Iza-Trapani/dp/1580890717/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458666885&sr=1-1&keywords=baa+baa+black+sheep     http://www.amazon.com/Baa-Black-Sheep-Little-Learners/dp/1472361881/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458666885&sr=1-2&keywords=baa+baa+black+sheep

This first crafty idea is perfect for little hands!

https://craftulate.com/2013/06/yarn-wrap-sheep.html

Cutting skills are used as well as retelling with this activity.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Make-a-Scene-Baa-Baa-Black-Sheep-freebie--1770430

If your little ones are ready for some writing practice, try this sheet!
http://twistynoodle.com/baa-baa-black-sheep-2-worksheet/

Hungry after all of that work? Look at this cute snack!
http://www.creativekidsnacks.com/2013/06/11/baa-baa-black-sheep/

I had to share this pic. It goes perfectly with the Sheep Colors book in my unit.


Be sure to check out my unit in my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Nursery-Rhyme-Baa-Baa-Black-Sheep-2471751

Now for today's Monday Freebie (doesn't it make Monday a little better?)  I am giving you a page from my unit. This week is the poem Baa Baa Black Sheep. Just click on the picture below for a download!

http://freepdfhosting.com/801ddfe956.pdf










Monday, March 21, 2016

Nursery Rhymes - There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe

As a teacher, I often feel like the Old Woman living in a shoe. So many children, and sometimes I am so overwhelmed I don't know what to do. That is why I love organized units ready to go. This series on nursery rhymes has been so much fun to make. I have a wonderful unit at my Teachers Pay Teachers store, but I also love finding things on the internet to go with the unit. I've done the research for you and found working links of great ideas to use in the classroom.  I hope you enjoy these ideas while you wait for next week's installment -  Three Little Kittens Lost Their Mittens!

To start, I found some great books to go along with this unit. Look for them in your library, or you can find them here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0845436651/ref=s9_simh_gw_g14_i1_r?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=04Z02BPYWX1B558N35KS&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2437869742&pf_rd_i=desktop       http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609542843/ref=s9_simh_gw_g14_i7_r?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=04Z02BPYWX1B558N35KS&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2437869742&pf_rd_i=desktop


And here are some fun sites I found to use as well.  Click on the picture to go to the site.


http://www.sugaraunts.com/2014/09/old-woman-who-lived-in-shoe-craft.html

This is such a cute fine motor craft that has lots of pictures to follow.







This free simple game allows children to hold up the cards at the correct time.







http://www.stampindesign.com/

OK, ok, I know this one is waaaay too crafty for most of us (including me), but it had so many great ideas I had to include it!







And finally, a blog with instructions on how to tie your shoes.

And now for today's freebie! I have a cute unit on There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. One activity from the unit is a mask for children to role play the nursery rhyme. Click on the picture below to get a copy!

http://freepdfhosting.com/91da14eac2.pdf

Be sure to check out my unit and other great ideas by clicking the picture below!
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Nursery-Rhyme-There-Was-an-Old-Woman-Who-Lived-in-a-Shoe-Activities-2443638






Monday, March 14, 2016

Nursery Rhymes - Humpty Dumpty

This one of my favorite Nursery Rhymes to work with! It has soooo many things to teach in language arts, math and science. I have a complete unit in my Teachers Pay Teachers store that includes a full week of lesson plans with books and activities. It's a great resource, but I found a lot of things online that I had to share as well! To start, here are a couple of books you can buy that would add to your classroom library.  Be sure to come back next week when we will cover There Was an Woman Who Lived In a Shoe.

For today, I want to introduce my Humpty Dumpty unit.



https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Nursery-Rhyme-Humpty-Dumpty-Activities-2253788

This unit includes the poem above and a colorful ebook below.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Nursery-Rhyme-Humpty-Dumpty-Activities-2253788

I found some books that could be useful on amazon!


This first activity requires gentle hands, but with enough extra eggs to go around, I think it would be a great skill to practice!


This was another creative idea!


And another...


Are all these eggs making you hungry?  How about a snack idea.


And another snack for all you overachievers out there!


And finally, a great idea for a math center.


Today is Monday, so that means another freebie! I am including a page from my own Humpty Dumpty unit that is for sale on my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Just print and copy this page for each student. Let them color and cut along the dotted lines. Add bandaids to put Humpty back together again. Cute, cute! Click below to download the free page, and be sure to check out my Teachers Pay Teachers store to buy the entire unit for a steal of a deal!







Monday, March 7, 2016

Nursery Rhymes -- Jack Be Nimble

Hello world!

My last lesson post was about 6 months ago. I knew summer would be difficult, but I had no idea how long it would take for me to get back into the swing of things! Long story short, we moved across the country, sent my two children off to college, and moved in my elderly mother in law with dementia. I am still struggling with thyroid cancer, and of course I started a new job as well, which I love. Hopefully I will have some sense of routine.

In the spirit of fresh starts, I am excited to announce a new series...Nursery Rhymes! I work with children of all ages, but I have to admit I am having the most fun right now with a 4 year old hearing impaired student. We are secretly learning so much while she is playing. What can you learn from Nursery Rhymes?

  • Nursery Rhymes often have all the elements of a full story, but perfect for those with shorter attention spans. There are settings, characters, problems, solutions and climaxes.
  • You can ask comprehension questions ("What happened to Humpty Dumpty?"  "Who tried to put him together again?" "Where was Humpty Dumpty sitting?") 
  • Nursery Rhymes are perfect to introduce sequencing. The stories are much shorter and easier to put back in the correct order, a necessary skill for later.
  • Nursery Rhymes often have math in them. "Three Blind Mice" and "Hickory Dickory Dock" are two good examples.
  • Vocabulary is certainly improved when children learn Nursery Rhymes.  Where else are they going to hear "the little dog laughed to see such sport" and " it's fleece was white as snow"?
  • The rhyme, rhythm and repetition give foundational skills to help with reading fluency later.
  • Nursery Rhymes are just plain fun! You can trick your students into learning all day and they will never know how hard they worked!
The first Nursery Rhyme we focused on was Humpty Dumpty. Looking back I do wished I had saved it for the Easter or Spring time to incorporate egg decorating, so that may be something you want to consider.

Each of my personal Nursery Rhyme Units included:
  • Letter to the Parents explaining the importance of Nursery Rhymes
  • A Poster with the Nursery Rhyme
  • A mini book with the Nursery Rhyme for each student
  • Activity Ideas
  • Word Wall Words
  • Sequencing Cards
Next week I will be unveiling tons of ideas for Humpty Dumpty.  Today I am starting with a FREEBIE UNIT, Jack Be Nimble.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Nursery-Rhyme-Jack-Be-Nimble-Activities-2432993

I scoured the internet and found some wonderful ideas to help make this unit even better!


This cute candlestick craft is on a website in another language, but there are many pictures that make it easy to follow. (I am not sure about the clothespin, though, so I am planning on leaving that out!)



What a cute snack idea!

This is a sorting center to order the candlesticks by size!


Drumroll for my personal favorite! This Sesame Street classic has a hippy Jack running under, around, and everywhere except over the candlestick.  Great way to expose kiddos to positions!

Enjoy!