spring - Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten

The Curious Garden…and other Books Teachers Love

Jessica — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 11:00:00 +0000

Books, books, books… Hi my name is Jessica and I have a book buying addiction. I think I buy at least 10-15 new children’s books each month… Curse you Amazon Prime and your suggestions for making it so darn easy to fill up my cart!!

This month, I found a great new book for spring so I thought I’d tell you all about it for this month’s Books Teachers Love. You are definitely going to want to add it to your May read alouds!

The Curious Garden is about a little boy named Liam who discovers a struggling garden and decides to take care of it. The garden begins to spread, transforming the city into a much more beautiful and inviting place.

You can find the book on Amazon here (affiliate link).

The illustrations in this book really draw you into the transformation of the sad and lifeless city…

…into a lush and vibrant world.

Since Earth Day is this weekend, this book is absolutely perfect for this week or any time you are talking about how our actions affect the Earth. The first activity I do with this book is identifying cause & effect.

Next I LOVE a good sensory bin, so we played with this “Build a Garden Bin.”

In this bin: split peas and this adorable garden playset

*A few weeks ago in Tot School we did a Plant theme. Check out my post here for more fine motor, gross motor, sensory bin and snack ideas you could try out after reading The Curious Garden.

Finally, after some time for pretend play and discussion about plant needs, we write our own versions of “How to Plant a Garden.”

You can grab the cause & effect and writing activities in my Plant: Read & Respond pack here, along with differentiated reading response sheets, writing activities, and crafts for 5 plant themed read alouds:

The post The Curious Garden…and other Books Teachers Love first appeared on Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten.

All About Spring…and other Books Teachers Love

Jessica — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 11:00:00 +0000

Whether you are trying to hold on to your sanity until spring break or you are in the home stretch of your school year, spring is JUST around the corner. And thank goodness because I need some warmer air and sunshine so bad! My teacher friends and I are here with some great book suggestions to help you get some of your April planning done so you can get out and enjoy that fresh spring air.

Finding good nonfiction books for kindergartners can be tough. I am always on the lookout for books with really great pictures and simple easy to understand text. I know I can always count on Pebble Plus books to be full of great photos and simple text. So this month I chose a set of 4 books about spring.

You can find these books on Amazon here (affiliate links).

One of the ways I use the books in this series is to make comparisons between texts.

First, we read Animals in Spring and People in Spring.

Next we make an anchor chart with the things we’ve learned about both people and animals in the spring.

Then, we use that information and turn it into a Venn Diagram.

Finally, we read the remaining books in the All About Spring series. After reading, students choose one of the topics (plants, animals, people, or weather) to write about.

We start by organizing our thoughts:

Then, students plan out their table of contents:

And finally they write information on each page of their book:

You can grab this writing activity for FREE here:

You can find differentiated Venn Diagram response sheets and more writing activities for your spring read alouds here:

FREE Reading Response Pages!

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Don’t forget, each month, the Books Teachers Love Crew is giving away 4 of the books that we blogged about, and YOU get to choose the books you want! So scope out all 12 blog posts below, pick your favorites, and enter to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An InLinkz Link-up

The post All About Spring…and other Books Teachers Love first appeared on Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten.

Books Teachers Love: T-Rex and the Mother’s Day Hug

Jessica — Fri, 15 Apr 2016 14:25:00 +0000

I’m so excited to share my May book sith you all because it is finally getting warmer and feeling like spring here in Wisconsin. My friends and I are sharing our favorite May Read Alouds to help inspire some great ideas for your lesson plans. Whether it’s life cycles, flowers, Mother’s day or something else, you are sure to find lots of great ideas here!

One of my favorite spring events in Kindergarten is our Muffins for Moms event, which means we spend a few weeks reading mother’s day books and preparing lots of fun gifts, writing and crafts to show moms (and other special women like grandmas, big sisters, aunts, etc.) how much we love and appreciate them. My book this month, T. Rex and the Mother’s Day Hug, by Lois Grambling is just right for discussing gift giving and finding a special meaningful way to show our love.

We start out by making predictions about the gift that T-Rex will give to mom. Then after reading we create this craftivity as a fun gift for mom! Sometimes I have them write about what their mom would be like as a dinosaur, and other years I just have students add the “Rawr!’ page for a sweet message.

I use this book along with other Mother’s Day books to talk about all of the things that moms would find really special to receive as a gift. Most of all I emphasize how telling mom how much you love her and really being thoughtful is the best present of all! At this point in the year, my kinders are becoming really great writers and Mother’s Day is a perfect opportunity for them to practice many different types of writing. We start with writing rebus stories about our favorite memories with mom.

We also review letter writing and write sweet letters to mom to glue inside personalized cards.

Finally my favorite writing of all is our thank you notes. First we brainstorm ideas together to get students thinking about non tangible things. (Giving me hugs when I fall down, watching movies with me when I am sick, playing outside with me and my friends, etc). Students then write 3 things they want to thank their mom for. I try to stress not thanking mom for buying toys/treats for them! They should be thanking mom for these too, but I think it is sweeter and makes students think more about the things they don’t thank their mom for everyday.

You can grab this thank you printable FREE here:

And you can find all of the other Mother’s Day activities above, along with many more here in my Read & Respond: Mother’s Day Pack.

Don’t forget to enter to win 4 awesome May Read Alouds! And you get to choose with 4 you’d like!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And check out the other books and teaching ideas for 11 more perfect May read alouds. Take a peek and check some planning off your to do list!

An InLinkz Link-up

The post Books Teachers Love: T-Rex and the Mother’s Day Hug first appeared on Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten.

Books Teachers Love: The Easter Egg

Jessica — Tue, 15 Mar 2016 14:53:00 +0000

Oh my word, are we really thinking about April already?!?! My friends and I are sharing our favorite April Read Alouds (although Easter is actually in March this year) to help inspire some great ideas for your lesson plans.

Jan Brett is another one of my favorite authors. My students always love reading The Gigerbread Baby, The Mitten, and The Hat but did you know that she wrote a great book for Easter too? Here it is, my April book pick, The Easter Egg.

In this book everyone is making beautiful Easter Eggs, but Hoppi isn’t having much luck. He really wants to make a special egg so he can help the Easter Bunny.

I really like using this book for comparing and contrasting. Hoppi finds a robin’s egg in the woods the he takes care of until Easter, so we compare Hoppi’s egg with the beautifully decorated Easter eggs that everyone else has made.

I also like to use the story as inspiration for writing about what students would do if they were the Easter bunny.

And of course we add in this craftivity just for fun!

Some of my other favorite Easter activities include writing and planning an Easter egg hunt with Last One In is a Rotten Egg by Diane DeGroat.

How to Writing with Rechenka’s Eggs by Patricia Polacco,

And decorating our own eggs with this cute craftivity.

You can find all of these Easter activities, along with many more here in my Read & Respond: Easter Pack.

Don’t forget to enter to win these 4 awesome April Read Alouds!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And don’t forget to check out the other books and teaching ideas for 11 more perfect April read alouds. Take a peek and check some planning off your to do list!

An InLinkz Link-up

The post Books Teachers Love: The Easter Egg first appeared on Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten.

Books Teachers Love: Green Shamrocks

Jessica — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 12:00:00 +0000

I know you may be knee deep in presidents day learning, 100th day celebrations and pink and red hearts right about now, but it’s never too early to start planning ahead for next month! My friends and I are sharing our favorite March Read Alouds to help inspire some great ideas for your lesson plans.

I absolutely love Eve Bunting’s books and my book pick this month does not disappoint.

In this book Rabbit grows shamrocks to wear for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade when they suddenly go missing! He searches everywhere for them and luckily finds them just in time for the parade.

Green Shamrocks is the perfect story for discussing story elements in Kindergarten because the story line is simple and the problem/solution are easy to identify.

I also like to use the story as inspiration for writing about what they would wear to a St Patrick’s Day Parade. You could even have students make their creations and have a classroom or school parade to show off their ideas!

Some of my other favorite St. Patrick’s Day activities include retelling with There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover,

KWL charts and non fiction writing about our learning from St. Patrick’s Day by Anne Rockwell,

And my favorite part? Making a few craftivities to accompany our writing projects.

You can find all of these St Patrick’s Day activities, along with many more here in my Read & Respond: St Patrick’s Day Pack.

If you are feeling lucky then don’t miss out on your chance to win Green Shamrocks and 3 other great March picture books! I have activities for 3 out of the 4 books included in my pack above, so you’ll be all set for March!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And don’t forget to check out the other books and teaching ideas for 11 more perfect March read alouds. Take a peek and check some planning off your to do list!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Mother’s & Father’s Day Celebrations!

Jessica — Sun, 03 May 2015 06:00:00 +0000

Mother’s Day is less than a month away…Do you plan a celebration for your students’ mothers? I always love this time of year with my class because we plan so many fun celebrations it helps to keep us SO busy until the end of the year. We hold a Muffins for Moms and Donuts for Dads event at the end of the year for Mother’s/Father’s Day. I know this can be a sensitive holiday for some students so I try to emphasize that ALL important adults are welcome at either celebration. Having great family relationships and communication all year are key to making these events a success. I created a huge resource for planning and preparing a successful Mother’s Day and Father’s Day event in your school. Here is what is included in both packs:

Muffins for Moms

Donuts for Dads

If you are looking for resources to go with read alouds I also recently finished a Mother’s Day version of my Read & Respond series to go with my favorite Mother’s Day books. Here is what you will find in that resource:

Mother’s Day Read and Respond:

I am pretty much in love with the cute little dinosaur that goes with the T.Rex and the Mother’s Day Hug story

Enjoy, and Happy Mother’s Day to all you mommies out there!

The post Mother’s & Father’s Day Celebrations! first appeared on Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten.

Top Ten Earth Day Freebies!

Jessica — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 06:00:00 +0000

Earth Day is April 22nd, how will you celebrate this year? I already shared my favorite books, products and pinterest finds in a post last week (If you missed it you can check it out here), so this weekend while you are getting your plans ready you might want to check out some of these top 10 Freebies over on Educents that would be an awesome addition to your plans! (Including my Survey and Graph activity listed at number 7!)

Top 10 Earth Day Freebies for Kids

Earth Day Sort – Help kids learn the difference between reducing, reusing, and recycling!
Happy Earth Day Writing Activity – Kids of all ages can reflect on ways their family, school, and themselves can help keep the Earth healthy. Also encourages handwriting practice!
Earth Day Coloring Pages – Creative kiddos can color the Earth with their colors of choice, or follow the color-by-code page to add critical thinking to art hour.
Earth Day Poof! Subtraction to 5 – This Earth Day themed game builds fluency with subtraction facts to 5. It can be played in a small group or as a partner game. It is a fun way to practice those facts!
Earth Day Word Search Freebie – Enjoy this Earth Day themed word search puzzle with 21 eco-friendly terms like atmosphere, compost, and recycle.
Earth Day Bookmarks – The perfect Earth Day treat for your students. Available in full-color and black-and-white.
Earth Day Survey and Graph – A fun and different way to practice graphing in your classroom while encouraging collaboration between students.
Spring Coloring Book – Let your little ones COLOR & SPELL Spring words.
Love the Earth Mystery Picture Graph – Students will love discovering the mystery picture by coloring in the correct squares on the alphanumeric grid using the coordinates given. This is a great addition to an Earth Day or recycling unit!
April 2015 Journal – A month of free journaling for learners age 8 to 100! Read about important historic, artistic, and current events that happened during the month of April – including J. Robert Oppenheimer’s birthday and Earth Day on April 22nd. Then develop vocabulary and critical thinking skills.

Want to turn your Earth Day celebration into an educational experience? Discover new ways to learn about the amazing planet we live on (without breaking the bank!) –> Earth Day learning resources.

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Earth Day Essentials

Jessica — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 18:45:00 +0000

Are you looking for ideas for Earth Day? Well you are in the right place! I am bringing you my favorite books, printables, and Pinterest finds today to help you check those Earth day plans off your to do list!

Here is a quick summary of each of my favorite books for Earth Day:

Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel – Michael Recycle, a Earth conscious superhero, flies into Aberdoo-Rimey just in time to warn the townspeople about the importance of recycling.

The Earth Book by Todd Parr – In this book, Todd Parr uses his signature bright colors and playful illustrations to discuss simple and important ways we can work together to be kind to our Earth.

Energy Island by Allan Drummond – This is an inspriational true story of how the citizens of Samso, Denmark worked together to conserve energy through wind power and help our Earth.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein – This classic story about a tree who loves a little boy is perfect for Earth Day and leads to great discussion about what trees give to us and how important it is to protect them.

The Wump World by Bill Pete – The sweet “wump” creatures in this story love their lush green world, until they are invaded by the Pollutians that are on a mission to take over the land. But the ending gives hope that all is not lost.

The Wartville Wizard by Don Madden – The town of Wartville is covered in litter until one man discovers he can transform his town with his {humorous} magical powers.

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss – The whimsical story of the near extinction of truffula trees and the importance of conservation is a must on my Earth Day reading list.

The Busy Beaver by Nicholas Oldland – This careless beaver doesn’t take care of his forest habitat until some friends teach him the importance of caring for others and the world around us.

Curious George Plants a Tree by Monica Perez – George has great intentions to do all that he can to help the Earth but as usual he gets himself into a bit of trouble along the way.

It’s Earth Day (Little Critter) by Mercer Mayer – After watching a video at school, Little Critter makes it his mission to make a difference and slow down global warming.

Next I wanted to share with you my favorite go to resources for celebrating and learning about Earth Day in the classroom.

Earth Day Read & Respond – I just finished creating this pack with activities for 5 of my favorite picture books above (The Earth Book by Todd Parr, Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, The Wump World by Bill Pete, and Curious George Plants a Tree by Monica Perez) First, it includes comprehension skills practice for each story (activating background knowledge, asking questions, recording new learning, cause & effect, retelling, visualizing, and story elements) Next it includes 5 writing activities, both narrative and informative, and 2 adorable craftivities with printable patterns and easy to follow directions.

Earth Day from A Year of Many Firsts – This fantastic packet includes a True/False Motivator Activity (with real pictures), “Don’t Be a Litter Monster!” story, All About The Three R’s mini-book, “Whole World In Your Hand’ Craft, Vocabulary Cards, and so MANY different Earth Day writing activities and graphic organizers. Check it out!

Earth Day Reader with Writing Activities by A Teachable Teacher – Here is another adorable interactive Earth Day Reader, “We Can Help the Earth” (First, Next, Last) writing prompt, “I Love Nature” Fold & Snip Book, “I Love the Earth” (First, Next, Last) writing prompt, “On Earth (I see, smell, hear, taste, see)” writing prompt, and EARTH acrostic poem

Last up are just a few of my favorite Pinterest finds!

Trash Rainbow Collage from No Time for Flash Cards – Practice reusing and recycling with this adorable spring craft!

Earth Day Cupcakes from Hello Mess – How cute would these little cupcakes be for some Earth Day celebrating?

Anchor Charts from Mrs Tehune – Because seriously, who doesn’t love a good anchor chart? There are even more ideas on her blog if you follow the link!

Oil Spill Experiment from Almost Unschoolers – Love this hands on, visual of how oil spils affect wildlife and how difficult it is to clean up.

Reduce and Recycle Experiment from Little Warriors – Students simulate recycling tires with cereal and turn them into a new road. So much great hands on learning here!

I hope you found some books, resources and new ideas to try! If you are looking for more Earth Day ideas on pinterest check out my entire Earth Day Board here.

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Muffins for Moms

Jessica — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 13:56:00 +0000

Muffins for Moms

A to do list for everything you will need to plan for a successful event.

An EDITABLE letter to families with info about the event and to get an idea of the number of family members to expect.

Writing activities and books to make for mom, aunt, or grandma. 2 Craftivities and invitations.

Several Poems/Songs to practice and recite at your celebration with ideas for presenting them.

And other decorating Ideas with printables.

I would love if you would head over to my TPT store and check it out, there are 80 pages of ideas and printables.

I just got invited to my classes celebration and I can’t wait to attend as a first time mommy!

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