In One Tidepool ~ PPBF

Title: In One Tidepool ~ Crabs, Snails and Salty Tails

Author: Anthony D. Fredericks

Illustrator: Jennifer DiRubbio

Publisher: Dawn Publications, 2002

Intended Audience: Primary age


Genre / Theme: Non-Fiction Primary, Ocean, Habitat, Tidepool animals

Synopsis: This is a rhyming text with vivid descriptions of life in tidepools, from sea stars, to anemones, to barnacles.

Opening: Here is a coastline with pounding waves, Sea-splashed rocks and hidden caves, With seagulls gliding out of reach And clumps of kelp tossed on the beach. This is where a tidepool lay, Crowded with critters on a summer's day.


Why I Chose This Book: Because my class is just beginning an ocean study and we live on an island on the edge of the Northern Pacific. It's a beautiful book with gorgeous water colours, and the rhymes and poetic language (e.g., shuffle, clusters, surging, splashy, craggy) all make for a fun, informative read. And as a bonus, there are two pages of field notes at the back of the book!

Links to Resources:

The author himself, who used to be an elementary teacher, has put together a list of 50 activities you can do with this book! Click on the pic below for a copy.

The following art projects aren't necessarily all tidepool related, but they're so cool and pretty I thought I'd share them. They can all be found on this pinterest board!

This website has lots of ideas for ocean related art, bulletin boards, songs and poems. She has cornmeal starfish with froot loops for suckers and beautiful jelly fish with ribbons for tentacles.

And look at this gorgeous aquarium you can have your kids to make! Click on the pic for directions.

I could keep going :) cause there is a TON of ocean stuff out there .... but this should get you started.  Have fun!

And don't forget to visit Susanna's blog for more fabulous books!

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Estimation Game Freebie

We played a very simple game today to practice estimating to 20.

Kids were put in groups of 3.

Each group received a number line, a clear cup and 20 counters.

Child A secretly put some counters in the cup and showed his friends for about 5 seconds.

Children B and C estimated how many counters were in the cup.

Child A counted the counters and the person with the closest estimate won that round and got to put the counters in the cup for the next round.

The number line was used to figure out which estimate was closest (it came in handy when one estimate was high and one was low).

My kids LOVED this game, and all but one of them asked me if they could play it again tomorrow.

Here's a copy of the number sheet I used (it's from Seomara Range), but you can click on the image for my edited version.

Tomorrow when we play, I'm going to give each child their own set of number lines, so that they can keep track of the two estimates, the actual count, and the difference between each estimate and the actual count.

For a chance to win one of three Pete the Cat books, follow me, rubber boots and elf shoes, and crazy for kindergarten. 


Leave ONE comment at rubber boots.  


Then "like" me and rubber boots and elf shoes on facebook and leave ONE comment at rubber boots.  


Leave two comments for two chances to win. Good luck!!

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P the C Retelling Freebie

I read Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons THREE times to my class. Then we sat in a circle and retold the story FOUR times! The kids then paired up and retold it TWO more times.  We then wrote a retelling as a class. And finally ... the kids wrote their own retellings. We haven't done much of this ... so I thought they did a pretty good job, considering :)

Click on image for a pdf file

Correction !!  I'm feeling like such a goofball. When I posted about Me and Mr. Mah, I said the story took place in Toronto. Hello! It takes place right here in Victoria, my hometown!  I've read the book several times over the years and when I read it again to my class today I took one look at the Chinese cemetery and realized exactly where we were. I've walked through and run by that cemetery DOZENS of times.  I can't believe I forgot.  Good grief ... that's what you get for rushing a post, I guess.

Before I go ... don't forget :)

For a chance to win one of three Pete the Cat books, follow me, rubber boots and elf shoes, and crazy for kindergarten. 


Leave ONE comment at rubber boots.  


Then "like" me and rubber boots and elf shoes on facebook and leave ONE comment at rubber boots.  


Leave two comments for two chances to win. Good luck!!

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Sparkly Finger Paint

I've been trying to make our lessons more playful. So Friday morning, I decided on a whim to let the kids finger paint.  I couldn't find any in the school, so I squirted a bit of blue and white tempera paint on a finger paint board, then mixed in a dab of dish washing liquid. I thought it might add to the creamy texture AND help a bit with the clean-up.  While the kids were finger painting, I sprinkled silver glitter on their hands.

Needless to say, they LOVED it!

After they finished making swishy swirls and delicious designs, I took a print. When these dried we used the Pete the Cat template from First Grade Blue Skies to cut out Pete faces. Here's the final result!

Don't forget!

For a chance to win one of three Pete the Cat books, follow me, rubber boots and elf shoes, and crazy for kindergarten. 


Leave ONE comment at rubber boots.  


Then "like" me and rubber boots and elf shoes on facebook and leave ONE comment at rubber boots.  


Leave two comments for two chances to win. Good luck!!

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Parachute Games & Giveaway

Last week when I was at a workshop, my TOC and very good friend, Bev, had my kids playing with the parachute. Oddly enough, I have avoided this wonderful activity for years and years. I'm not really sure why. But when I got back to school I asked the kids about it and they said they LOVED it!  So we went outside and they showed me the games Bev taught them. We all had so much fun, me included, that I did a little searching on-line to find even more games.


But first, here are the advantages of playing with a parachute:


1. Builds upper body strength
2. Encourages cooperative play
3. Lots of kids can play at once
4. It's FUN!

Parachute Ripples:  Have children hold onto the edge of the parachute and billow it up and down on the ground.  You may want to pretend that you are creating ocean waves, sand dunes, a pizza bubbling with cheese, bubbles or balloons to pop, etc.


Parachute Popping:  Have children seated around the edge of the parachute, with their legs underneath.  Have everyone pull the parachute toward them so that it is taut.  Throw lightweight balls (beach balls would be best), onto the parachute and watch them pop.

Parachute Colors:  Everyone chooses a colour to hold on to.  Slowly billow the parachute up and down.  Call a color when the parachute is lifted up and have the designated colors run under to cross to the other side before the parachute goes down.


Parachute Mushroom:  Have children billow the parachute up and down.  On the count of three, have them step under, pull the parachute down in back of them, and sit on it to seal off the edges.  You can sing songs once inside.  With imagination, the balloon could also be a tent, house, a fort, the shade of a tree, or a cave.

Parachute Cat and Mouse:  Everyone sits on their knees and billows the parachute up and down.  One child is chosen to be the cat; another child is chosen to be the mouse.  The mouse tries to make it all the way under the parachute by crawling, without getting caught.  Meanwhile, the cat is on top of the parachute, trying to find the mouse. The kids LOVED this game ... we played it with 2 cats and 2 mice!

Parachute Pinwheel:  Have everyone standing on the outside of the parachute and quickly pass it in one direction so that the colors spin.  Repeat in the other direction.

Parachute Keep Off:  Have some children stationed around the edges of the parachute and others in the surrounding area.  Place balls on the chute.  The children holding onto the parachute need to work together to toss the balls off.  The children in the surrounding area work together to throw the balls back on.

Parachute Lean:  Have everyone stand around the edges of the parachute and hold on.  All at the same time, have children lean back while still holding on.  Everyone should be leaning back, fully supported by the parachute and the team.

Parachute Jump:  Have most of the children kneel or stand around the edges, billowing the parachute up and down.  Say, “If your name is ______, _______, or __________, jump into these bubbles!”

Parachute Air Conditioning:  With everyone standing up, simply lift the parachute up and down and enjoy the cool breeze that it gives everyone!  This game is perfect for a hot day!

Parachute Friends:  Partner your students up with another child and have them go to opposing sides of the parachute.  Everyone can billow the parachute up and down.  While it’s going up, yell out, “Friends ________ and ___________!”  Upon hearing their name, the children run under the parachute, give each other a high five as they cross paths, and find their way to the outside again.

For a chance to win one of three Pete the Cat books, follow me, rubber boots and elf shoes, and crazy for kindergarten. Leave ONE comment at rubber boots.  Then "like" me and rubber boots and elf shoes on facebook and leave ONE comment at rubber boots.  Leave two comments for two chances to win. Good luck!!

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Perfect Picture Book Friday

I'm a little late for Perfect Picture Book Friday. I hope you don't mind.

Title: Me and Mr. Mah

Author: Andrea Spalding

Illustrator: Janet Wilson

Publisher: Orca Book Publisher, 1999

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Theme: Intergenerational and interracial relationships, loss, friendship, memories

Synopsis (from School Library Journal): "After his parents' separation, Ian and his mother move far from their farm home on the prairie to a large Canadian city. There, Mr. Mah, a Chinese neighbour, introduces the boy to gardening, and they share memories of earlier times and distant places -- his neighbour's youth in China, and Ian's childhood on the farm. Each one has a memory box filled with tangible items from those places. After Ian's mother relocates them to a new neighbourhood, he comes across his friends' memory box in a secondhand store. He tracks down the old man, who has broken a hip and moved. They renew their friendship, which helps them both cope with life's changes."

Why I Chose This Book: I love that the story is based in Canada and how the author connects the prairies, Victoria and China.  And I love Mr. Mah ~ he's such a sweet, old gentleman. Despite the obvious differences between the two characters, they have much in common and are able to help each other through some tough times. I think it's important for children to know that the most unlikely people can become true friends.

Opening:  I met Mr. Mah the summer we moved. Mom and Dad had split. Dad stayed on the farm and Mom took me to the city, a thousand miles away. We might as well have gone to the moon. The yard was a moonscape -- patch grass and dirt, surrounded by a prison-like fence.  I squinted through a gap in the fence. Next door, a man in a Chinese hat was working in a vegetable garden. There were no kids.

Resources (click on the images for the links):

Sunflower art.

From Deep Space Sparkle

It would be fun to make memory boxes. You could make your own or you could make a team Memory Box, with the emphasis on kindness and how to be a caring member of your community. Crayola has a lesson plan.

Crayola's Team Memory Box

One way to save your school memories is with an autograph book.

This is also from Crayola

This book is a fabulous tie-in with Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge. You can find some great lessons here.

Grand Conversation (remember that term?)  Me and Mr. Mah cries out for a thoughtful class discussion. You could discuss the pain of parents divorcing, what it's like to grow older, the importance of holding onto special memories, and the joy in having an older friend.

I hope you love this beautiful book as much as I do :)  Thank you, Susanna, for hosting Perfect Picture Book Friday!

I've teamed up with some bloggy friends for a Pete the Cat giveaway. Be sure to enter !  If you click on the image below it will take you to my original post.

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A GROOVY Giveaway !!!

It's here!!! Liz, Sandi and I all live on Vancouver Island in beautiful BC and we've teamed up for a groovy group giveaway.

We are giving away a copy of Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons to THREE lucky winners!

And it's super easy to enter. All YOU have to do is leave one comment saying you follow all three of our blogs, and/or one comment saying you like Sandi and me on facebook!

Do you enter here? GOODNESS, NO!  You need to go to rubber boots and elf shoes to leave your comments and officially enter.





It begins later today (Friday, May 18th and runs through until next Friday, May 25th).

And here's Liz's new blog:

 

Good Luck, everyone!

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