The Dairy Princess & National Nutrition Month

Nutrition is definitely an important subject to teach.  It’s also a subject that is talked about a lot, but realistically, teachers have no time to focus on it when faced with core subject testing.

 By March, however, I found that the kids needed a little something extra to keep them engaged and excited about learning.

I would recommend that you contact your local state Dairy Council and invite them into your classroom for a FREE presentation. Free is great price!!  They have great resources and are often overlooked!  But don’t stop there.

If at all possible, and if you have planned ahead far enough in advance, the best treat for the kids is THE DAIRY PRINCESS!!! She is trained to educate children, her presentation is loaded with great information, she is also free the last time I checked, and her tiara makes it extra special for kids!

The Dairy Princess Program is not new, it’s been around since the late 1950′s! You will need to contact the State Director of the Dairy Princess Ambassador Program in order to coordinate a visit.

 

The websites listed below are great resources.     http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/childnutrition/Pages/ChildNutritionHome.aspx

http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/ChildNutrition/Pages/ChildNutritionHealthEducationKit.aspx

http://www.adadc.com/html/educators.html

That is “Just the Gist” of National Nutrition Month with the Dairy Princess!

 

 

Math: Chocolate Chip Cookie Estimation

Getting kids excited about math can be a challenge. Over the years, I have found that food is often a motivator, particularly when it involves sugar. This is a great activity to meet those math standards and have fun doing it at the same time.  If you’re buying the cookies, which is the case in most public schools, check to make sure they are “nut free.”  I created and have used the template myself, so if you have any suggestions to make it better, please let me know. This activity could be used from preschool on up into upper elementary grade levels, it just needs to be modified for the ability level that is taught. The worksheet is specific to students who are capable of reading and writing. Have fun with this activity! Hopefully it will be just as enjoyable for your students as it was for mine! So, that is “Just the Gist” of Chocolate Chip Cookie Estimation!

Cookie Estimation TEMPLATE

Lucky Charm Math

This is a fun St. Patrick’s Day themed math assignment.  It is great for kids in elementary school and it provides a different kind of manipulative for sorting and graphing in math. Using the cereal to have preschoolers practice fine motor skills and color sorting would definitely work, but I would skip the graphing. This lesson could be applied to any time of the year, but is especially fun during the month of March!  The kids love it! That is just the gist of Lucky Charm Math!

Lucky Charms Graphing TEMPLATE!

Blank Lucky Charms Graphing-2-TEMPLATE!

St. Patrick’s Day Book List

A few great St. Patrick’s Day books to help children celebrate and have fun through literature. Enjoy!

• A Fine St. Patrick’s Day, By Susan Wojciechowski
• St. Patrick’s Day, by Gail Gibbons
• Lets Celebrate St Patricks Day, by Peter Roop
• O’Sullivan Stew, by Hudson Talbott
• The St. Patrick’s Day Shillelagh, by Janett Nolan
• Tim O’Toole and the Wee Folk, by Gerald McDermott
• Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland, by Tomie dePaola
• The Luckiest St. Patrick’s Day Ever, by Teddy Slater
• The Night Before St. Patrick’s Day, by Natasha Wing
• The Story of Saint Patrick’s Day, by Patricia A. Pingry (great for preschool)
• Fin M’Coul: The Giant of Knockmany Hill, by Tomie dePaola
• Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato, by Tomie dePaola
• Shamrocks, Harps, and Shillelaghs: The Story of the St. Patrick’s Day Symbols, by Edna Barth (A great Teacher’s Resource)

Alphabet Recognition with Salt

Letter recognition for preschoolers and kindergarteners can be a challenge. Early on, I wanted to have the kids use more of their five senses to help them with retaining letters.  After noticing that saying the letter and tracing it with a pencil was just not cutting it, I went in search of a new technique.  Now, I’m not saying that having a child trace a letter with their finger or pencil and saying its sound is bad, as a matter of fact, I still have my students do this from time to time.  As a matter of fact, it’s great for fine motor skill practice.

What I am saying is that there are a lot of other ways to get children to make a connection between the letter and the sound(and even numbers if you so choose).  Using a variety of fine motor and gross motor skills can be very beneficial.  For this post, however, I am going to stick to my “salt option” and add more over the next few weeks.  To simplify, the steps are below:

You will need a marker, card stock or thicker paper, Elmer’s glue, and iodized salt.

• 1.) Divide/Cut the card stock(if you’re working with an 8 1/2 X 11 piece of card stock, divide into four equal parts)
• 2.)Write one letter on each piece of card stock
• 3.)Trace the letter with glue
• 4.)Over a paper plate, cover the glue with salt,  lightly shake off the excess salt onto the paper plate and let it dry.(repeat for each letter of the alphabet(A set of uppercase and lowercase letters are best)
•  5.)After they are completely dry, shake off excess salt and they are ready for the students to use! Have the students use one finger to trace the letter as they say the name of the letter and its sound.  Some salt will rub off with each finger trace, and that is okay.  The texture can be helpful in making the connection between the letter, the sound of it, and how it feels on the tip of their finger. Great for those tactile leaners!

It’s cheap and easy and can be used with numbers, shapes, and names!  A great “centers” project!

That is just the gist of alphabet recognition with salt!

Stomp Rockets!

I’ve never seen kids get as excited about science until I found Stomp Rockets.  Great for upper elementary students, outdoor school, and even summer fun at home.

Stomp Rockets provide a wonderful avenue to teach force, speed, acceleration, gravity, velocity, and friction.  Great for meeting those science standards and fun for adults as well.

Definitely an activity that needs lots of outdoor space, so make sure you have enough when attempting to teach it-depending on the angle of the Stomp Rocket launcher, it can go extremely high and far.

A small price to pay for all the fun that you get out of it! They range in price from about $15.00-$18.00 for a set. Another GREAT activity I would suggest! That is just the gist of Stomp Rockets!!

Presidents’ Day Picture Books

After posting the list of picture book/read aloud books for black history month, I couldn’t stop thinking about more great books for Presidents’ Day, which is right around the corner.  This list contains books for early childhood and elementary students.  Hopefully this list will be helpful and useful.  There are many more books that have not been mentioned, but I wanted to suggest books that I have actually read and used.

One of my personal favorites for elementary students is “So You Want to be President?” by Judith St. George.  The kids like it because it adds a few extra fun facts about presidents, it definitely keeps them engaged, and the art is creative and different.  So, that is “just the gist” of this list.

• Presidents’ Day (Rookie Read-About Holidays), by David F. Marx
• Presidents’ Day (Our Country’s Holidays), by Sheri Dean
• Celebrating President’s Day: What Is a President? (Learn to Read Read to Learn Holiday Series), by Kimberly Jordano and Trisha Callella-Jones
• So You Want to be President? By Judith St. George
• The Story of Abraham Lincoln, by Patricia A. Pingry (Board Book)
• If I Were President, by Catherine Stier
• I Grew Up to Be President, by Laurie Calkhoven
• Duck for President, by Doreen Cronin
• What Presidents Are Made Of, by Hanoch Piven
• My Teacher for President, by Kay Winters
• President’s Day, by Robin Nelson (First Step Nonfiction-primary)
• The Buck Stops Here: The Presidents of the United States, by Alice Provensen
• Smart About the Presidents, by Jon Buller, Susan Schade, and Jill WeberMr. President: A Book of U.S. Presidents, by George Sullivan (Teacher Resource)

 

Black History Month Picture Books

Picture books are a great way to teach social studies! Here is just a list of picture books for Black History Month that students love and as a teacher, I would recommend. Have fun!

• Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine  and Kadir Nelson (2007)
• My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Christine King Ferris and Chris Soentpiet (2005)
• Rosa (Caldecott Honor Book) by Nikki Giovanni and Bryan Collier (2005)
• A Picture Book of Thurgood Marshall,  by David A. Adler
• Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom (Caldecott Honor Book) by Carole Boston Weatherford and Kadir Nelson
• Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by Doreen Rappaport
• Yours for Justice, Ida B. Wells: The daring Life of a Crusading Journalist, by Philip Dray
• Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch 1991
• I’ve Seen the Promised Land: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Walter Dean Myers and Leonard Jenkins (2003)
• Mary McLeod Bethune By Eloise Greenfield
• Vision of Beauty: The Story of Sarah Breedlove Walker,  By Kathryn Lasky

“Miss Rumphius,” by Barbara Cooney

One of my all time favorite books, “Miss Rumphius,” by Barbara Cooney,  is a simple and wonderful story that  no classroom should be without.  The illustrations are beautiful and detailed and children of all ages enjoy it.

Truly an inspirational story about a young girl who desires to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps by traveling the world and then settling down in a home by the sea.  After her travels, there is one thing she must do before she can settle down and live by the sea.

This book is well written, great for teaching literacy, a lovely read aloud, and worth every penny!

……….And that is just the gist of “Miss Rumphius.”

Peg Boards for Fine Motor Skills

Peg Boards are a great way to get your young child to practice their fine motor skills.  The particular set in the picture is great because of the various colors and various shapes and designs they can make with it.  Preferably for ages 3+, it’s a fun way to get them to learn skills without them even realizing that they’re working!  Great for math(color sorting, counting, adding, subtracting, and shapes), art(color recognition and abstract art), and literacy(letter recognition).

You can use them however you please, but they present several options for centers and play time.  You may have to model how to use them at first, but once they understand how and what to do, they will be off and running!  As far as price is concerned, they can be very reasonably priced, about $12.00 for the set, or much more expensive, it just depends how much you’re willing to spend.  I would highly suggest peg boards be an essential for any preschool-  or kindergarten classroom.