Chit Chat, Penguins, and 100th Day Freebie!

Happy Monday everyone! So we were crazy busy today and I've been trying to drag this sorry thing I call a leg around with me all day. Sheesh. My kids put me through the ringer today also. Gone are the days of "Let's be sweet to help Ms. Bosland out". Today it was more like "Let's do completely ridiculous things to stress Ms. Bosland out and make her feel like crap!" The good thing about kindergarten is that the class mood can change drastically from one day to another so here's hoping that tomorrow is filled with love and kindness (and some good choices thrown in there wouldn't hurt either).

I have to share this conversation with you:
ME: It turns out that I am going to have to have surgery on my leg, everything will be just fine and they will make me all better!
STUDENT 1: What is surgery?
ME: Surgery is when the doctors do an operation to fix something that is wrong with you.
STUDENT 2: Like the game operation? Are they going to use tweezers to take a frog out of your leg?

HA! Those kids do crack me up!

Chit Chat is something that we do daily at the beginning of each day. Chit Chat was originally created by the absolutely amazing Deanna Jump! Please check out her always inspiring blog here: http://mrsjumpsclass.blogspot.com. We use this time to focus on skills that we will be using that day and week. Here are some examples of our Chit Chat's that we have done this year:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week I have decided to change up my Chit Chat routine! I tried to write it as usual but it was super annoying with my leg. Usually I just kneel down to write and draw but I was having to stand too long. This may sound lazy, I realize this, but I was in pain and decided I needed to do something different. Our Chit Chat is going digital! Though we don't have a SmartBoard in our room just yet (we will be getting them soon - woo!), I can use my projector on the white board and then students can write on the regular white board to fill in the missing words. Here is what our Chit Chat looks like this week (click on the first picture to download this freebie in PDF form with the completed poems as well):

  

 

 

I'm sure you figured out by now that this week we are learning all about penguins! My kids are loving it so far. They are especially enjoying all the amazing fun from Caitlin Clabby's Penguin Unit. We started today by creating a Penguin KWL Chart and Penguin Word Splash, both included and inspired by the wonderful Caitlin. I was so surprised by the awesome things my littles already knew and wondered about. I will keep that chart posted in our room throughout the week so we can go back to it each day and add the things we have learned. I introduced the Penguin vocabulary through the use of a Word Splash. I printed the words on pink cardstock and glued them to these little penguin cut outs that I found at the Dollar Tree. Then I drew and cut out an igloo from white butcher paper and glued it onto blue paper. Voila! The kids came up one at a time to "splash" the words onto the igloo. They had to say the word aloud and the class repeated it. Then they splashed it! I did not write the definitions on the penguins. As we read different stories throughout the week, it is my kids job to listen for our word splash words. When they find one, we will discuss it's meaning and write the definition under the vocab word on the penguins belly!

 

 

Isn't the Word Splash so cute?! I can't wait for the other penguin activities we are doing this week! We will be reading some adorable stories as well. I love books. The kids were completely quiet (for the first time all day) while I was reading National Geographic Kids "Penguins!".

I also have to share our New Year's resolution books that we finished last week. I totally forgot to take pictures last week so I decided to post them now! They did such an amazing job. They did them completely independently and I was so impressed by their writing skills.

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to grab the New Year's resolution book to use next year, you can check it out in my TPT store by clicking HERE.

And FINALLY (I hope you're still with me - sorry for the long post) here is a freebie for the 100th day of school! I use this as morning work on the 100th day. If the kids don't finish by the time we begin for the day, they keep it in their chair pocket. At any point during the day when we have extra time or they finish an assignment early, they can take it out and continue writing until they finish. When they are done, I give them a special 100th day treat (a smartie for being such a smartie). Click on the picture below to grab your free copy!

Last, but not least, I have just added a new center activity to my TPT store. My students absolutely LOVE it, so I figured maybe someone out there would be able to use it as well. The "Sound it Out" mats have 4 pictures on each.  Students will sound out and write the word in the box. In our room, I like to print them on cardstock and laminate them. During centers, my students write the words using dry erase markers. Click on the pictures below to check it out!

If you didn't make it this far, I don't blame you. That was a long one, especially for a Monday! Love you all! Hope you have a productive and exciting week!