Crazy Summer!

I have to say this has been the craziest summer I have experienced ever! Unfortunately, it started with the death of my sweet mother-in-law and an extended stay in CA. Since that trip, I have not been motivated to do ANYTHING school. However, that has to change. I need to be setting up my classroom in less than a month and that means, I need all of my centers, stations, and planning done before I step foot in my room.

Before the crazy started, I decided to change my theme for next year. I wanted to do something fun and whimsical.. So I decided to do Enchanted Garden. Well, there is not much out there using that theme. So, I have added a dash of Once Upon A Time, Magical Kingdom, Fairyland, and anything else that I think works.  I have made a couple of things.works.  I have managed to get a few things down. Here are a couple of them. 

Last year I introduced a version of Hide and Seek to my students. It was a simple rhyming game and my Cubs LOVED it! Rules are simple they had to chose two pictures that rhymed. When the pictures were turned over to show they were already matched up, they would check for a bee. If they found the bee, the game was over and whoever found the bee would get to hide the bee during the next round. 

So, with that in mind. I designed a new game. Just like the other hide and seek game you hide a picture under the another picture in the pocket chart. This is the twist, instead of one hidden picture, I made 3; a king, a queen, and a frog. If students find the frog, they remove it and keep it until their next turn. IF the king or queen is found before their next turn, the game is over and they are "Stuck with the Frog!" If the king or queen is not found, they get to hide it behind a picture that has not been called. Once the king or queen is found whoever finds it gets to hide ALL the pictures for the next round. 

My Cubs love playing hide and seek. They are totally engaged and whenever they were able to pick a center, that was always the first center they picked. With that in mind, I want to make this a semi-permanent station/center and change the skill by changing the picture cards. The first skill I am focusing on in math is K.CC.A.3 Know number names and the count sequence. So, the outside picture cards all have a number from 0-10 in three different colors. If after I assess my Cubs and if I have any that already know their numbers to 10, I will add numbers to 20.  

Here is my Behavior Chart. My Cubs love the idea of being a Mega Star and likewise, hate it when they are a Rock Star. I would be happy to share either of these creations with any of you. I will send them to you all I need is your email address and they are yours. You can either leave me your email in comments (they are private until I publish and you can ask my not to publish your email) or you can send me a private message on Facebook.