Let's Talk Turkey...and Pie!

This year I have started incorporating morning explore tubs into my classroom.

It gives my students the extra practice they need- hands on practice- that we unfortunately don't have enough time to do during the day.

I have been trying to keep some of them 'seasonally' based because the kids really enjoy the added holiday/seasonal fun!

Here are two we started using this week!

This first one was inspired by a pin I saw where someone used a paint chip to make a slice of pumpkin pie.  I thought it was so cute- but wanted a way to make it more 'educational!'

So I headed to the hardware store and grabbed some paint chips

The pin I saw had you add burlap as the 'crust' but I opted for some of the brown chips!

Making the pie was- well- as easy as pie!

I cut/taped the brown chips to the orange ones.

I found the middle of the chip and drew a line from each side to the middle point and then cut:

I used a sharpie to add words we have been working on.

I also numbered each slice so that I could have different pies out the on table.  The number on the pie matched the number I put on the spinner!

You can grab the spinners for FREE HERE!

(I even included a blank spinner so you can write in the words you are working on- just don't forget a number in the 'dollop' if making different sets of pies/spinners!)

I found some real cute white pom-poms in the Target Dollar Spot (I originally bought them for a fun winter station I have yet to make, but realized they would work great for this too!)

If you don't have white pom-poms, cotton balls will work the same!

Here is how they will play:

They continue to spin, read, cover...

They then clear the pie and can play again, try another slice/spinner and/or record the words on a white board and/or use one of the words in a sentence!

But that wasn't the end of the paint chip fun!

I also found these color chip 'mini books'

I chose the 'pumpkin' colors

And then used a sharpie to write the numbers 0-5 on the squares (we are in our 0-5 unit)

I made these 'count' cards to go with them:

Print/laminate/cut the cards and then place them face down on the table (I like to print on patterned scrap book paper for things like this- you can read about it HERE).

Students draw a card, count the number of objects and then take a dollop of 'whipped cream' and cover that number on the board.

Continue until all the numbers are covered.

You can also use dice in place of the cards.

Give students 2 dice for addition practice!

You can program them with any numbers you are working on!

Grab the Counting Cards FREE HERE!

The next one was inspired by this pin:

I had purchased 'build a turkey' clip art and was itching to use it, so I made these:

Students roll the dice, count out that many beads and drop it into the bottle! 

If you're visual like me, this might help:

I originally thought the tweezers would be great to use for extra fine motor practice BUT they wound up being too hard so I just had the kids use their fingers (thumb/pointer so we were practicing that 'pinch' grip!) to put the beads in.

You could have a whiteboard there for them to practice writing the number and or use for addition and have them write the number sentence for what they added to the turkey!

The kids had SO much fun with this one!

They said to me 'Mrs. Drake can we use these even after Thanksgiving is over?!'

Now my wheels are turning....feed Santa maybe?! 

Must save more bottles!

You can find the turkey bodies/feathers to tape onto your water bottles for FREE HERE!

Here are a few of the other fine motor stations we worked with this week:

Ordering numbers 0-10

Although we have only covered 0-5, I left 6-10 in there and told them to reference the number line if they needed help.  This one was super popular (and quiet)...a lot of concentration to get those links on!

You can download the number cards HERE for FREE!

Number Ordering Puzzles from Melony White:

They really liked these!  You can find them HERE.  She has a fun Thanksgiving set too!

Build and Record A Turkey's Feathers:

I saw a cute FREE idea like this from Mrs. Plemons Kindergarten but I wanted something that had both the building and recording all on one paper, so I made these.

You can grab them for FREE HERE.

'Clothe' the Turkey:

This was super simple...just printed 'naked' turkeys on cardstock and laminated.

Put out a bucket of feathers and they had to 'read' the number, count out that many feathers and put them on the turkey.

They really liked that these were 'real' feathers!

You can grab that mat for FREE HERE!

Build A Turkey Tower:

This is from my Thanksgiving Super Centers Pack

Students look at the number and build a tower with that many blocks.

Then place the tower on the turkey.

Count and Slide Cards:

These are 2-sided...one side has the pumpkin with seeds and the other scarecrow with the number.  

If students can't recognize numbers yet, the pumpkin side supports them so they can count to ID the number of beads needed.

I simply printed both, glued them together, laminated and then put a hold punch in the side to attach a pipe cleaner.

You can grab the cards FREE HERE.

We will bring out this guy next week:

You can read all about him HERE!

I don't have any pictures of us using this fun pasta yet, but I made a few things to go with it for counting, sorting, same/more/less and number ID that I hope to post soon!

And while I was at The Christmas Tree Shoppe I grabbed the Hanukkah and Christmas versions of the pasta too!

Hope some of these ideas help you make your classroom exciting and fun over the next few weeks too!

You can grab each FREEBIE from the links above or find them all HERE!

If you need additional Thanksgiving Resources, be sure to check out what I have in my TpT Store:

Here are a few of my favorite things to do in my classroom this time of year:

Thankful Crown/Hat

We wear these at our Thanksgiving 'feast' on the day before Thanksgiving.

Pilgrim & Native American Readers

A lot of books about Pilgrims and Native Americans are WAY above my students' reading levels, so we make/read these and keep them in our book baggies all month.

Thankful Mat

We make these, I mount them to construction paper, add a handprint turkey to the back and then laminate.  We use them as our placemats for our class party and then they take them home to use as placemats for Thanksgiving dinner.  Parents LOVE them!

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Turkey 

The newest book in the series...I am so excited!  We have already read There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bat and There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves, so I know they are SURE to love this one!  I have always done There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Pie for Thanksgiving, but now get to add this one in too!

And FOLLOW THIS LINK to all my Thanksgiving themed posts on my blog:

There is a Thanksgiving Retelling bracelet 

that the kids LOVE to make for FREE 

and a

Stained glass turkey project that makes windows and doors festive to name a few!

Until next post,

Election Day!

In less than a week our country will elect its newest President!

And this year's election has caught more media attention than ever before...

Children appear to be more aware of who the candidates are than I have ever witnessed in the past.

I feel it is important to teach them about Election Day and what it means to have the right to vote even at an early age.

Every year I conduct an election in my classroom but it is usually to vote on something that has an immediate 'reward'- certain snack, special activity, a privilege, etc.  BUT after the day is over the 'impact' of what was decided upon does not really stick and there is no 'long term' reminder of what our vote got us.

So this year I really tried to think about what I could do in my kindergarten classroom to show students the impact a vote/decision has long term....

...and then it came to me!

We hadn't started our 'take home reading buddy' program yet this year...

THIS would be perfect!

Students will vote on which animal they want to be the 'take home buddy' for the year.

They will be reminded of the outcome of the vote each week...the other 'candidates' will slip away and never be seen, but the winner will be a part of our classroom, and fun at home, for the remainder of the year!

So I rummaged through my cabinets and collected books and such that each 'candidate' had used in the past when the were the take-home buddy.

I made a 'ballot'...

...and thought about what each 'candidate' would 'say' to persuade the 'voters' to pick them!

You have the very famous Pete the Cat...

The classic Clifford the Big Red Dog...

And the oh so adorable Cookie Mouse...

Students will have to really think hard about which 'candidate' is going to make the best 'take home reading buddy' for the year!

Each 'candidate' has some really good points as to why s/he should be picked...

Will students go with the popular favorite?  A fun puppet to play with?  The less popular, yet cutest?

Only time will tell!

In the meantime I am waiting on all these permission slips to come back to me...

I have done take-home reading buddies in the past (you can read about Pete the Cat one HERE) and know that the stuffed animals and books that go into them are doomed destined to take a beating!  Thankfully, Kohl's Cares for Kids program has stuffed animals 4 times a year for only $5 each...as well as books that go with them...so I don't mind using them!

But in any case, I do emphasize that the children need to be responsible and will only send home with kids whose parents have filled out the permission slip.

**If I don't get slips back, I do let those children have a day in the classroom with the special friend so that they don't feel left out!**

And then on Monday we will go into our secret 'voting booth'...

...and will have to make the important decision that will impact who stays around in our classroom ALL YEAR LONG!

They will mark their choice and then fold it and drop it in the SUPER OFFICIAL ballot box...aka...

...last night's dinner box 'up-cycled' into a ballot box!

I will take all the ballots out, we will tally the results and the winner will be announced with fanfare and zest! 

The kids will wear this badge home:

to hopefully spark some discussions about what we did in class and also remind parents to vote!

On Wednesday (our schools are closed to students on Election Day) our new 'take-home reading buddy' will be sworn in and s/he will begin their adventures with families beginning on Thursday!

The take-home buddy will be placed in a special mini backpack filled with his/her special books & a notebook to chart adventures!

Each Monday s/he will return and we will read about what s/he did that weekend!  S/he will come home with me to 'take a bath' and be all prepped and ready for his/her new adventure the following weekend!

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If you think this is something you would like to do with your class, download the FREE template HERE!

The images I used are from Google Images and I do not own them, nor did I purchase them for commercial use, so I am giving you a blank editable template (one or '2' choices, one for '3' choices).

Simply add text boxes or pictures to suit it to fit your needs.

I also included a blank 'Vote For...' poster that you can use to make for your 'candidates!'

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Still need some poems/songs, activities, books or more for Election Day?

Check out this video of 4 of my Election Day Resources:

You can find them ALL by clicking HERE

Stay tuned to find out which 'candidate' won our classroom election!

Until next post,

Pumpkin Pie In A Bag!

***This is a re-post of a blog post I did on The Primary Pack back in 2014.  Since I no longer blog at that site, I thought I would share this post with my readers.***

Happy Fall Y'all!

(I always wanted an excuse to say that!  As a NY gal, we never say 'y'all!')

It's Jenn from Crayons & Cuties In Kindergarten!

Today marks the first FULL day of Fall, so I thought it would be fun to 'serve up' an easy fall 'treat' that you can make with your students!

You may have read about it on my blog last October...if so...sorry for the 'repost!'

If not, grab some pumpkin, graham crackers and pudding...we're about to fill our bellies!

This is a perfect, easy, no-cook way to bring some 'pumpkin pie' into your classroom this fall, that also has your children be active participants in the process!

So here is your ingredient list & recipe:

I doubled this recipe last year because I had 17 kids.  This year I have 21...I guess I am going to have to go for triple...or smaller portions!

Before you get started here are some things to have ready:

*DOUBLE bag and use a good quality bag (freezer style would be best) for the cracker smashing and filling squeezing!  You will THANK me for this tip!

*Don't forget a can opener or open the pumpkin at home and scoop it into another container!  Nothing like 20+ eyes staring at you and a can with no way to open it!

*Have a tray...it will catch any crumbs that escape from a popped bag!

The How-To:

I started by having my kids take turn smashing the crackers!  You could easily do this step at home but denying them the chance to unleash some pent-up kid energy would be mean!

We used a meat tenderizer...a rolling pin would work as well!

Next you will measure out the pudding and milk into bags.  If making a double batch, use 2 bags...believe me...trying to conserve in one winds up making a HUGE mess!

Once the pudding and milk are in the bags, release as much air as you can and seal them tight.

Pass them around to be kneaded:

Once kneaded (it will begin to get thick), add the pumpkin:

 Seal them back up again and pass around for another round of kneading!

Once it looks like this, your filling is ready!

 

If you are a multi-tasker like me, you will appreciate this!

While they are kneading, 'sneak' to the table and put 2T of the crumbs into each cup:

Then snip the end of the bag and use it as a 'pastry bag' to fill up the cups.

(This could get messy!)

Here are all the cups filled with pumpkin pie!

The next part is optional, but no pie is complete without...

WHIPPED CREAM!

(Thank you Reddi-Whip for being so convenient!)

To make it even more 'authentic' and festive, I also like to sprinkle a bit of pumpkin pie spice on top:

And with your extra filling, don't forget to make some 'grown-up' size portions to bribe, butter, sweeten distribute to secretaries, administrators and custodians:

Now if you are going to a fall party this year and wanted to bring a tasty treat, this can also be made as a 'dip'!  Simply make the filling and scoop it into a bowl.  Add some whipped cream and spice on top and then have graham crackers around the side of the bowl for dipping!

If you are looking for some fun pumpkin crafts and activities to do with your class, 

be sure to check out this post:

Wishing you a fall filled with colorful leaves, crisp apples, cozy sweaters, football wins, yummy pies and pumpkin lattes!

Until next post,