E-"U"-phoria and e-X-ercise!

Along with my new larger classroom (that contains a window!!) I am getting some new furniture!  My ESL coordinator and facilitator put their heads together and surprised me with a new desk AND a U shaped table!   Thanks, ladies!

I know....why am I getting excited about a U shaped table???  Because they are great!  Unlike the usual school issue kidney table,  a U or horseshoe table has a deeper part for the teacher.  It's easier for the teacher to reach the students who are seated around the table.  I had one a couple of years ago at another school and missed it.   I had to look through some specialty catalogs for schools to find it, but I did.
 

Supposedly, my new table will be delivered by Tuesday at the latest!   Oh, "U" table...I love "U"!!

Now, if I could convince them to get a "flower" shaped table for Mrs. Pokey....

Or the really cool "amoeba" shaped tables she saw recently as a STEM school she visited!   When she came back from the STEM school visit, she kept talking about the "amoeba" tables they used with students sitting on exercise balls!  ( Boing, boing, boing!!!   I'm afraid my students would never stay in one place with exercise balls to sit on.  They would have great core strength and ab muscles, but it would drive me crazy!) 

Here's a link to an article about exercise balls as seats in elementary classrooms.  

Exercise balls in the classroom in the Chicago Tribune.

Hmmmmm.   I have some "squirrel-ly" students who might benefit from exercise balls, though. Perhaps Mrs. Pokey and I may have to look into writing a grant proposal this year for exercise balls so we can try them out.   Boing, boing, boing.... 

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

I really like the songs and videos available from Super Simple Songs!

They have two new videos available on You Tube for the song, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes".  The first one is the Learn It version that introduces the body parts slowly and clearly.  (It's easy for English Language Learners to think that "knees and toes" are all one word!  KNEESANDTOES! KNEESANDTOES!)   The second video is a little faster but still clearly sung.

 

The Learn It version is at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMQcwNZVUO8

The slightly faster Sing It version is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZanHgPprl-0&feature=youtu.be

And...for a bonus...colorful flashcards of the song are available FREE at Super Simple Songs' website.

Here's a link to the Super Simple Learning website and Super Simple's free flashcards.

Enjoy!  I can't wait to use these with my Kindergarteners and emergent English Language Learners.

Expanding Expression Tool (EET)

Continuing on the theme of teaching writing to children, I'd like to tell you about a great tool I love to use with my students!  It's called the Expanding Expression Tool or EET, for short.

The Expanding Expression Tool is a hands-on way for students to think about things they want to write about and how to describe them.  Each bead on the strand stands for a different way of looking at the item.  For example, the Green bead (with the smiling face) represents "Green - Group" or what group the item belongs to.  The Blue bead is for "Blue - Do."  It stands for "what does this item do OR what would you do with the item".  The White bead with the eyeball on it represents "what does it look like" while the brown wooden bead means "what is made of".  The Pink bead is for "Pink - Parts" (what it is a part of OR what are its parts).  The plain White bead represents "White - Where" for where would you find it or where does it reside.  Finally, the Orange bead with the question mark stands for "What else do I know".

Here is an example of two descriptions of a football.  One is written by a group before using the EET and the other description is by the same group after they used the tool.

Mrs. Pokey and I have had success using the Expanding Expression Tool.  In fact, we're going to be working with a fifth grade class tomorrow.  We have four English Language Learners in the class, so Mrs. Pokey and I will be pushing-in to the classroom tomorrow and working with the whole class along with their teacher, Mrs. Cookie.  (Yes, she makes marvelous cookies!)   Mrs. Cookie has a whole bag full of Mexican   jumping beans.  I can't wait to work with the students tomorrow afternoon on how to describe their jumping beans!  (I was in the classroom this morning talking with Mrs. Cookie.  The whole time I was in there, the beans were jumping in their little clear plastic boxes.  Click, click, click, click, click, click, click!)

To find out more about the Expanding Expression Tool, please go to their website at www.expandingexpression.com.   I also found few good YouTube links to share with you.  

The first one is from a school district in Ohio:

Expanding Expression Tool

The second is from Expanding Expression: 

Expanding Expression Tool, 2

I also found some good PDF's about EET online.  They're worth downloading and reading.  I hope you'll give EET a try with your students, too.  

PDF from the 2012 Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Convention

PDF from the 2011 Ohio Speech-Language-Hearing Convention

Play Dough

Another kinesthetic learning activity I enjoy using with students is working with play dough.  Sometimes I buy the premade commercial version. (I admit it.  I like the smell!  It takes me back to my own childhood.)  Other times, I make my own.  Here are a some great recipes from a blog called Pre Kinders. 

I've taught students to roll the dough into "snakes"and then make letters, numbers and shapes.  They've made their names in dough and let them dry.  I have a set of alphabet "stampers" students can use to write words in slabs of play dough.  Other times, we've done life cycle representations, rock layers and other science concepts.  The possibilities are endless AND lots of fun, too!!

Finally, I wanted to share a great website with a wonderful play dough theme section.  I've used the emergent reader book and many of the activities with my kindergarten students with great success.  The website is Making Learning Fun. 

Oh...Wikki Sticks!

As you may know, I work with elementary age English Language Learners.  One very cool product I enjoy using with my students are Wikki Stix!  Wikki Stixs are colorful pieces of yarn dipped in paraffin wax.  They are sticky, bendable, flexible and lots of fun to use! 


I bought a set of alphabet cards that use Wikki Stix to form the letters.  My kindergarten students especially enjoy making upper and lower case letters with them.  And, once the yarn is pressed firmly to the pattern, the letters stick to the tagboard!  I can hang them up on my white board or tuck them into a sentence strip chart to display the completed letters.

According to their web site,

 

 

Wikki Stix are made of hand-knitting yarn enhanced with a microcrystalline food-grade, non-toxic wax, the kind used in bubble gum and lipstick. They do not contain latex, gluten, nor peanut or other nut oils or byproducts which makes them an ideal creative activity toy for children with allergies.

How do they work?

Simply stated…they stick! No glue, no paste, no mess. Just press them down with light fingertip pressure and they will adhere to almost any smooth surface. They are also easy to peel up and reposition so“mistakes” virtually disappear, which helps build self-confidence. There is no preparation, no clean-up, no mess. Press ‘em down, peel ‘em off… it’s that simple!



I use Wikki Stix to form alphabet letters, but after looking at the website, I can see lots of other uses for these incredibly addictive kinesthetic waxy sticks of fun!!