Banana Split Menu

Hello Everyone!
Just a quick post today. We continued our ice cream fun with a math activity involving a Banana Split Menu!  The kids had to build their own banana splits based on a menu with each item costing a certain amount.  They had to draw and color it and then figure out how much their banana split would cost. A great way to review money as well as checking their thinking when it comes to adding several numbers together.  I kept hearing, "I've never added this many numbers together before!" They did it!! Great job, kiddos!! We are going to be sooooo ready for an ice cream party on Tuesday!! :)

for a copy of our banana split menu click here:)

Or click here! :)

Have a sweet evening!
Joyfully! Nancy

Scrumptious Similes

Hello Everyone!
Welcome back for another post about ice cream! Yum!! Today we worked on similes again as we review some of our favorite things from the year.  We read a couple more ice cream books and then set out to brainstorm some similes using ice cream as our subject. I love some of the similes the kids came up with!! Then the kids had to pick out their favs or think of some more and record them on their own sheets. I then showed them how to make a great little ice cream cone book starting with a circle. I tried to take pics along the way to show you all, but you will probably have to do some experimenting if you want to make some!  On each page of the book, the kids had to write their six similes. I think they turned out great!!

fold a large circle in half three times.

gather opposite sides together

this printable is included in our free ice cream unit...click here

Or click here! :)

Have a "cool as a cucumber" evening!
Joyfully,
Nancy

Let's Dream of Ice Cream!

Hello Everyone!
I know, I know! School is almost out, but I still have some fun things I want to do with my kids!!  Today we began a little mini unit about ice cream!  We atarted with a fun little book "Curios George Goes to an Ice Cream Shop."  We brainstormed some fun words about ice cream, some were attributes, some were just fun words!  We read a fun little poem about having 5 scoops of ice cream on a cone! You already know what happened, don't you!!
Then we put together this cute little craft connection.  We had done a little cupcake activity similar to this idea, so I hardly had to give any directions!  Such little smarties!!  We will be doing a few other ice cream activities this week and finishing with an ice cream party next week with parents invited!  Thanks, moms and dads for helping with that!!
Enjoy the pictures.  I've got to run!  Yes, I still have those house guests! :)  Love them!! 2 more weeks!

For a free 13 page copy of our ice cream unit click here!

Or click here! :)

Enjoy the last few days of school!!  Stay cool!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Speller Tellers

Hello Everyone
Thanks for stopping by!! A quick peek into our word work one day this past week will bring back the memory for many of you of making fortune tellers, those folded paper games where the maker hides little fortunes under flaps for the player to find. Well, we took that same idea and created Speller Tellers. We were reviewing some of our chunk words from the second semester. I first showed the kids how to fold the teller and then had them write some of their words on each section of the game. When it came time to write the "fortunes," the kids had to write compliments for their friend about their reading or writing. I love projects like this that take no prep work, and are kid generated (and the kids didn't realize they were practicing their words!!) There was no printing, copying, etc. The kids had a ball making them and wanted to make more with maybe math facts on them! Great idea guys!!

Fold a piece of copy paper to find the square

Cut off the extra

Fold corners to the center of the square

Flip paper over and fold new corners to the center

Bring opposite endges together to make pockets for your fingers

Holding underneath, you now have sections of paper to begin writing

Write one word on each section on top and then eight words on the triangles on the inside. There will be triangular flaps to write the messages!

What a fun way to practice words!!! Speller Tellers!
We will definitely find a way to use this same idea again!! Good job guys!!
Happy Spelling!!
Joyfully!
Nancy

Secret Mud Pie Recipe! YUM!

Hello Everyone!
Thanks for stopping by to take a peek!!  We are finishing our study of soil and working on the important comprehension skill called Synthesis.  Synthesis for our young readers and writers is understanding that we come to books with our own schema.  Through new reading, our thinking gets bigger and bigger, just like the ripples in water when you toss in a rock.  We have been talking a lot about the big S word and I decided the kids needed a visual, so another anchor chart came to be!  Showing the kids that our thinking changes and gets bigger with each new page of a book using the visual (I wish I would have shown them some actual ripples) really helped.  We then talked about how your schema plus new reading equals new thinking!
I then modeled for the kids how my thinking changed as we read "The Best Mud Pie." My stopping to explain how my synthesis was changing throughout the book also lit some lightbulbs in some kids! I finally finished the book and gave my final synthesis of the story.  My thinking had grown and changed! Talk Talk Talk Model Model Model--That's what it's about!

Well, then we needed to create a way to respond to our reading, and show our own synthesis.  The kids had the opportunity to make a mud pie! (Not real mud, of course!) They had fun writing their own secret recipes and creating a paper pie in a real pie pan!  We also had to pull out our "Smart Cookie Bakery" aprons one more time!!
Pie anyone??? :)

For a printable of our Synthesis Anchor chart mini poster click here

Or click here! :)

Stop by again sometime!!!  We love visitors!

Joyfully!

Nancy