Insects Continued and another Freebie!

Hello again friends!
I wanted to share the rest of my insect stuff with you all but first... What do you all think about a mid-year classroom photos linky party?? thumbs up? thumbs down?
So, I was going to go to work today, take some photos of the activities I wanted to blog about and get ahead with some prep stuff BUT I spent the entire day at the stinkin' DMV! UGH! I spent 3 hours waiting and 3 minutes completing my transaction. AND my phone had just 30% battery so I couldn't sit and tweet, pin or read on my nook app. So, I'll have to put the pictures up next week. Sorry.

Anyway, this year we spent our time teaching just 4 insects: ants, ladybugs, bees and butterflies. We started the unit with a KWL chart which the students LOVED because I typed their responses right in front of them. They were so excited to see their words on the interactive whiteboard as I typed it. I always include the name of the person who helped fill out our chart so at the end of each sentence I typed you'd hear the whole class say that student's name. It goes a little like this:
"Boy bees are called drones"
"Great idea Andy! Let me type that, Boy bees are called dron..."
"ANDY!"
"Oh, Andy said that? Thanks friends"

I love it! Carrying on...
We also label the parts of the insects we learn about. I set up a whole Insects bulletin board/station for the students to come back to and for us to add to. Here is a snapshot of it...

At this point, we had not gotten to our L part of the KWL but the K and W are up. After we learn about each insect (we spent about a week on each one), we type up what we know about that particular insect. You can see under each one of the insects is a sheet of facts that the students have helped me create. I use that same type during the lesson approach and it is quite engaging and meaningful. I also like that the students remember who said what fact when we create charts. In the picture, you can also see my Insect Lifecycles which you can download for free here. We also fill in a sheet to describe each of the insects. We give a big talk about being Entomologists during our insect unit and the kids guzzle it up! Does anyone use Kaplan's Icons of Depth and Complexity? We do so you'll see the little glasses icon on the sheets but there is a set without them too.

When we get to bees, we make our own little bee with bee facts on it but you can use this template for any of the insects. I'm so bummed that there are no pictures to go with the activities but I will get them to you asap. Promise.

Here is the activity we do (your freebie!): 

Get it for free at my TpT store here. 

Lastly, my favorite part of the Insect unit... INSECT JEOPARDY! We play teachers versus students and they get so fired up! You can see just how competitive they are when we play! lol. One of the questions asks, 

"What is another word for a butterfly's wings that means the same on both sides?" 

As the teachers, my co-teacher and I thought out loud by saying things like, "hmmm, I wonder what it could be? Maybe equal? no... I just can't remember because it is a long word... hmmmm... I think it starts with a /S? sound..." 

One of the students yells out, "CHICKEN POX!" 

Chicken pox? I couldn't resist laughing. He was really trying to throw me off my game. lol. You can grab Insect Jeopardy at my TpT store here. 

BUT if you are one of the first 3 people to comment, you can get it for free!!! Let me know what you think about starting a Mid-Year Classroom Photos Linky Party... and it's yours !

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

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Insects and a Freebie

Hello friends!
Maybe some of you have noticed but I have made some (not many) adjustments to my blog... what do you think?? Mainly I added a Pinterest and Twitter icon that I made all by myself! AND I got the images to link to the right places AND I got those images to be next to each other! lol. Oh the small achievements that make me happy! Follow me on Pinterest and Twitter with a simple little click now! (I hope) Also, I realized today that my Classroom Pictures link is broken (wonder how long that has been) and I wanted to put up new pictures of my classroom anyway SOO I was thinking about making a linky party about it, what do you think?? I figure that most are like me and have made many changes to our classrooms since the beginning of the year AND it would be pretty cool to see others' bulletin boards with actual work on them, right? I'll do it if someone gives me a thumbs up! =)

Ok, on to Insects! I love Spring because insects are all around us and the students get so excited. We have many caterpillars making their way around our campus and under the breezeways. I popped in to work last Thursday and I saw 4 chrysalises (?) hanging... I hope they are still there on Monday!

We are all done with our insect unit so I wanted to share a few things today and a few more tomorrow...
We start each and every insect unit with Dr. Jean's Insect Song. Do you know it? It goes like this:
(to the tune of Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes)
Head, Thorax, Abdomen, Abdomen,
Head, Thorax, Abdomen, Abdomen,
Eyes, and mouth, antennas, two!
Six legs, and that's an insect for you!

It's the best! I love it, the students love it, anyone who walks in while we are singing loves it! AND, the best part of it all, the parts of an insect are taught with a little tune! hehe.

After we sing the song a million times, we make a generic insect and label it with all of the parts we have just learned. We only put 3 legs on it because we are looking at the insect from the side, of course! We just used pom-poms, pipe cleaners and LOTS of glue. It's hard to stick on those pom poms and it's the only time that I regret teaching my students, "just a dot, not a lot," because I find pom-poms all over the floor and head-less insects on papers! hahaha. Also, the labels are just paper. If you'd like a copy of the labels, just leave a comment below with your email and I'll get them to you.

Next, we teach different kinds of Insects butterflies, ladybugs, ants and bees: (more on that tomorrow). We also teach about the lifecyles of each. Grab a copy of my Lifecycles interactive bulletin board:

Included in the freebie are the lifecycles for ants, bees, butterflies, ladybugs, crickets and dragonflies.

Here you can see the bee lifecycle (the only one in clip art). I printed the pages, glued the blank ones onto a blank poster and laminated everything. Then I placed velcro on everything, taught the different lifecycle stages and put the poster up. The students come over to the board and manipulate the board all on their own! It is super cute to see them acting like teachers while I watch and think, "Do I really sound like that?"

Grab your freebie at my TpT store...

If you download it, please let me know!
Ok, friends, don't forget to enter my giveaway AND come back tomorrow for some more on INSECTS!

Autism Awareness and Let's Get Acquainted!

First of all- Happy Autism Awareness Day!

I work at an amazing inclusive charter school. We strive to meet the needs of all students. In my kindergarten classroom, I have students who are gifted, typical and have special needs. The best part of all of it? Watching the kids learn and grow with and from each other. The empathy and respect that our students learn from being in classrooms with friends who would typically be in a separate classroom is astounding! I cannot even put it into words. I am thankful that there is more awareness for students with autism and I hope for every person- especially teachers- to know that there is nothing wrong with any person with autism, just something different just like you and me. Visit my friend Adie's blog, she is a Special Education teacher at my school and an awesome person! Special Education Meets General Education

Ok, next order of business... Let's Get Acquainted!

I just started following Flying Into First Grade's blog and she has an awesome idea for a new linky each Sunday! This Sunday is about our faves, here are mine...

Favorite Place to Shop
Ummm...well... I have a little bit of a problem with shopping! lol. I can spend some serious time at the mall. But what can I never resist, ever?? TARGET!  Target holds a special place in my heart (and my wallet)

Favorite TV Show
I'm a little embarassed about how much TV I really watch... let's just say my DVR is always full. But here are a few shows that I hate missing... New Girl, The Mindy Project, Any of the Real Housewives series, Grey's Anatomy, Modern Family and The Office

Favorite Sweet Treat
Doughnuts! I LOOOOVE doughnuts! So bad for you but soooo tasty. I like to bake, a LOT, so I usually don't eat too much of what I bake but I do love some doughnuts!

Favorite Food
PIZZA! That's it, I just love pizza. (I'm not really that healthy, am I?)

Favorite Restaurant
Wood Ranch BBQ...yummy! In fact, today's the day my hubby makes his final decision about work, so maybe we will visit Wood Ranch tonight!

Ok, your turn, Link up!

Lastly, are any of you on Twitter??? Follow me! (in the right sidebar) I just followed The 3am Teacher this morning and totally got hooked, there are so many bloggers out there on Twitter! I joined last month and haven't been able to put it down since, I can't wait to start tying in my blog, my job and everything in between!

Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway! 200 followers and counting, yippee!!
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Currently & a Giveaway!

Hello folks!
It's April Fool's Day and I have no pranks, jokes or fools... I'm quite the party pooper but that's okay because I'm joining Farley's fabulous Currently Linky party AND I'm finally having my 200 follower giveaway!!!
Here's mine...

Listening- Spring break couldn't have come soon enough! I needed the break and I totally feel like the kids were ready for a break as well. They were driving me nuts! I had a day to catch up on some work and prep and the rest is relaxation...
Loving- For Easter, I got to spend the day with my husband and our newest niece! She's only 3 months old, doesn't care about Easter but she is super cute to stare at and play with. My husband doesn't understand how my sister-in-law and I can just stare at her but I'm sure the ladies and mommies out there understand me! Maybe when (hopefully) we have our own, he'll understand (no it's not a plan yet)
Thinking- about my husband's great dilemma! After high school, he was in the military for 6 years, traveled overseas, went to war 3 times and moved far away from me and his family. After the military, he took a year off then started school. He finished his BA in three and a half years and was just offered 2 positions at UCLA (where he was interning). I am more proud of him today than I have ever been. Now he has to make a tough choice between 2 completely different jobs.
Wanting- a new phone! I picked up my cousin's phone on Thursday and said, "that's it! I need a new phone!" Her phone was so awesome; it was some sort of Galaxy phone. I want one, but I don't need one (until I throw it on the floor! just kidding).
Needing- a pedicure... badly... enough said...
Advice- JUST LAUGH IT OFF! Come on, what else can you really do sometimes?
Your turn, link up!