Victoria's  Classroom  Pictures

March 11, 2001

This page is filled with wonderful classroom photos, so it may take a few extra moments to load ... thanks for your patience :o)


 

March Calendar Art
By Yoselin, Age 5

An Important Note From Victoria:

Because it has taken SO long to get this page together -- and because I want to get it online even though I still have a lot of things I want to add ~ I'm putting it online as a "page in progress."  The additional photos and materials will hopefully go online on March 14th.  Have a wonderful Tuesday, thanks for your support and understanding, and don't forget to stop by again in a day or two.

The first two weeks of March flew by so fast that they were over long before we were ready.  We started the month by celebrating Dr. Seuss' Birthday.  We made a special Cat In The Hat quilt, read our favorite Dr. Seuss stories in our classroom, and visited Mrs. Snow in the school library for more Dr. Seuss fun.  Mrs. Snow wore her special Dr. Seuss hat, and she loaned it to me long enough for a photo.  We both wore the Cat In The Hat pins I bought at this year's CKA conference, and we had a great day.
 


 
 

During the first week of March, we finished our Mrs. Wishy Washy Big Book, read a big bunch of wonderful farm stories for our Down On The Farm unit, and did lots of terrific activities on the mini-theme of Pigs, as March 1st was National Pig Day.

I have no idea WHY it was National Pig Day -- or who proclaimed it -- but I received an email from a KinderKorner subscriber telling me it was National Pig Day, so we celebrated it in good faith :o)  We read more than a dozen different pig stories, wrote MUD poems as a tribute to pigs and Mrs. Wishy Washy, and even got to play with real pigs' feet, fresh from the butcher.  It was definitely a week to remember!
 


The Mrs. Wishy Washy / Down On The Farm Wall

I'm excited about the new activities and books I'm adding to my online Down on the Farm unit, including fun follow up activities for Mrs. Wishy-washy.  I'm still revising the unit, so be sure to stop by often to see what's new and to check out the new, easier-to-use, look ... it's all coming soon!

Last week we moved our Farm focus from pigs to cows, and I have some new books to share with you that the KinderKids especially enjoyed.

This week we're reading lots of books about Tractors, and I've added a special section on Tractor Books to this week's page.  These books are extremely popular with the boys in my class -- they love the photos and finding out how those big machines work.  My collection of tractor books makes a terrific Literacy Center that includes fiction as well as non-fiction books and a few toy tractors.


 

We're also enjoying activities from my Kites Are Flying thematic unit, and I designed a new Kite Quilt Patch for our March quilt, with the help of my teacher friend Mrs. Landucci.

There are several other March quilt patches to choose from, as you'll see in the quilt photos below.  Miss B's English Immersion K class made a quilt with shamrocks and rainbows, and it's adorable.  Mrs. Landucci's class used the Springtime Pinwheel Patch along with the new Kite Patch, and my class decided that our Kite Patches looked best all by themselves, so I'm saving the Pinwheel Patch for another time.

In the midst of all these great Down on the Farm activities, we're getting ready to begin our Going Buggy unit as soon as the rain stops.  That unit lasts about six weeks, and overlaps my Come Into The Garden unit and is also integrated with a unit on Oviparous Animals.

This year I'll be enhancing our Going Buggy study by adding a couple of terrific new activities from Insect Lore -- we'll be growing earthworms with the Worm Acres Composting Kit and we'll be using the Silkworm City kit I bought last Spring.  The Silkworms are VERY cool, because they spin actual silk cocoons that are quite large.

We ended our week with a field trip to see Greg & Steve in concert at the Fox Theatre here in Bakersfield.  They come to town for a full week of concerts every year, and every performance is sold out in advance.  The Fox is a wonderful OLD theatre, and the kids had never been inside one like it before -- ornate walls and ceiling, a REAL stage, and a huge balcony (which is where we always end up sitting).

I forgot my glasses at school, so Greg & Steve were pretty blurry to me -- somehow, most of the pictures came out OK.  We took 120 KinderKids, teachers, and parent helpers from our school, and the kids will be talking about our trip for a long time.


Spring Has Sprung!
A One Day Workshop
By Victoria Smith
 

The other BIG thing that's going on right now is all the prep work for my March 24th 2001 Spring Has Sprung Workshop here in Bakersfield.  There's still plenty of time to register, and you'll find full info by clicking here.

If you're not able to join us, you can purchase the Workshop Resource Packet of handouts and materials.  I don't have full details yet, as I'm still creating some extra-special activities and materials for the workshop.  As soon as I have everything worked out and ready, I'll post the info on the main KinderKorner website page, on the InMyRoom pages, and to my KinderKorner Listserv.

Happy Teaching!

Victoria
 


 



 

March Homework Calendar

Our March Homework Calendar art project is a beautiful Japanese-style print made in a two step art process that includes using colored tissue paper to transfer color, then rolling paint-coated marbles across the surface.

I saw this idea at the CKA conference two or three years ago, and it's been a favorite Spring art project ever since, as each child's artwork comes out distinctively different.  My class has also used this process to make quilt patches of various types at Easter time, and the quilts are always among the simplest and prettiest ones we make.
For information on purchasing the current year's homework calendar master sets, 
please visit the online
KinderKorner Resource Products Catalog.

 
 
March Quilts

This is the Kite Patch that Mrs. Landucci and I designed for March
There are a LOT of different quilt patches to choose from this month, including my new Kite Patch, the Pinwheel, the colorful Thumbprint Rainbow Patch I designed last week, a Sponge Painted Shamrock, and the fun Cat In The Hat Patch in honor of Dr. Seuss' Birthday

I've used this Pinwheel Patch in many Spring Quilts in the past few years
 

I tried the two patches together -- with a yellow border -- and thought it looked WAY too busy

Paint Speckled Border
Detail
 

...

Our Finished Quilt

 
Other Combinations & Patches We Tried

Mrs. Landucci and I spent an entire afternoon's prep time trying out other patches that might work well with the Kite Patch, but everything we tried looked too busy and detracted from the bright-and-simple Kite Patch.

After a lot of messing around, we came up with this colorful Thumbprint Rainbow Patch
Ms. B's class made Sponge Painted Shamrocks (Ellison diecuts that they sponged over)
They combined the Shamrock patches with the Thumbprint Rainbow Patches, with a slight variation -- boys' patches had one pot of gold and girls' patches had two.

Close Up View of Ms. B's Class Quilt for March
Shamrocks, Rainbows, and Pots of Gold
Ms. B's KinderClass' Completed Quilt

Mrs. Landucci's KinderClass Quilt

Mrs. Landucci stayed with the original plan for the March quilt, combining the Pinwheel Patches with the Kite Patches

Close Up View of Mrs. Landucci's Class Quilt for March
Pinwheels and Kites
The Pinwheels are a bit tricky for small KinderKid hands.

 
TLC Art Project

Late Monday Night ~ March 12th ~ Note:
I'll be adding the updated pages for the Mrs. Wishy Washy Book on Tuesday Evening


Mrs. Wishy-washy
This adorable Mrs. Wishy-washy is made from the lesson called "Woman" in the "More People" book from TLC.  I'd never really noticed that particular lesson, but I was searching for something fun to do and was therefore looking through ALL of my TLC books for something that would tie in with my current themes.

As I looked through the "More People" book -- actually reading the fine print and end notes for each project -- I found a note from Kaye and Virginia that said they make a class Big Book of Mrs. Wishy-washy, using the Woman project from the TLC "More People" book and the pig, cow, and goose (for the duck) from the TLC Farm book.

What a great idea!  And what a wonderful way to get our Down on the Farm unit off to a great start, too.  The class decided to add legs and change Mrs. Wishy-washy's shoes from black ones to fat red slippers.

Next we had to make the pig, cow, and duck for Mrs. Wishy-washy.  We used the patterns in the TLC Farm book:

Here they all look the same size.  In the book pages below, you'll see that they're sized proportionately.

We made two types of ducks, using the same pieces.  The girl's ducks have their heads in the center, and the boy's ducks have their heads on the left, as if they were walking away.

Our pigs turned out various sizes and with distinct personalities.

For more information about TLC Art Books, visit www.tlcart.com

Our Mrs. Wishy-washy
Big Book

A Work-In-Progress

The cover background was sponge painted using purple, turquoise, and green tempera paints.
 Mrs. Wishy-Washy is one of the first books I read at the beginning of the school year, and she's a classroom favorite all year long.

We do many things to act out the story, using animal masks, a hula hoop on the floor for the washtub, and a bucket, apron, and kerchief for Mrs. Wishy-Washy.

Available from Amazon.com
as a child-friendly board book
for under $5
The Wright Group has published several Mrs. Wishy-Washy stories by Joy Cowley, including Wishy-Washy Day and Splishy-Sploshy, which features The Meanies from another Joy Cowley book of the same name. 

The books -- except for the board book on the left -- are available only through The Wright Group. 

Page from original book

The "finished" pages will have colored construction paper borders like this one.

On several pages, I've needed  to cut off Mrs. Wishy-washy's arms and reposition them to make the illustrations look more like the ones in the Cowley book.   It's been fun to see the kids' reactions to this "rearranging" of their creations :o)
Our book is not quite finished.  I need to do the final pages, and then I can laminate and assemble the book.

I'll post the final page photos in my next InMyRoom update.

 

Our Big Book is made on painting paper pages that measure 19 x 24 inches (I've cropped the edges for the most of the photos).

I photocopied the text/words directly from the Mrs. Wishy-washy Big Book -- available only from The Wright Group -- then pasted it to each page.  Our book will contain all the text from the original book, but will have fewer pages, as I've combined two pages worth of text on some of the pages.
The Down On The Farm
With Mrs. Wishy Washy Wall

After I finished making our beautiful Mrs. Wishy-washy book, I used the rest of the children's TLC creations to make a new Down On The Farm bulletin board on my east teaching wall.

It was really great when the KinderKids arrived the next morning ... they had all forgotten that I had covered over our Pumpkin Patch Fence and Leaves Are Falling Down tree right after Thanksgiving, and they were SO excited to see the familiar background adorned with their artwork.

Instead of coming straight to the Story Floor to begin our morning, all the children walked quietly to the "new" wall to point out to each other which items they had made, which was quite a surprise for me.  I hadn't put their names on the front like I usually do, but the children were still able to identify their own creations.

 



 

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss
Mrs. Snow and myself, wearing our Dr. Seuss Cat In The Hat Pins and the magical hat

 

Both classes made wonderful hats

Delicious Looking
Green Eggs and Ham
Our second grade English Immersion classes acted out Green Eggs & Ham

Mrs. Gonzales
Mrs. Smith's KinderKids
Made A
Cat In The Hat Quilt
...

...
Coming March 13th or 14th
A Few Of
Our Favorite
Dr. Seuss
Stories

 



 
 

 

Down on the Farm


 

This Week's
Featured Books

This section will be updated Tuesday Night, March 13th
Please come back to visit again :o)
 

Big Red Barn
Big Book Edition

Also available in a hardcover edition, as a book-and-cassette set, as an easy-to-handle board book, and in Spanish as
El Gran Granero Rojo.

For more information and lots of fun follow-up activities for Big Red Barn, click here to see the February 25th In MyRoom.


Read Aloud Book
And Individual Student Books

Who Lives On a Farm?
By Victoria Smith


"OLD" Cover used in my classroom
see *note* below

Use clip art or Ellison die-cut animals to illustrate this easy-to-read book to share with your class.  You can also make individual books for student book boxes or to send home to show off their reading skills.  First and second graders enjoy drawing the animals or making them from construction paper.


Emergent Reader Blackline Masters
By Victoria Smith
Note:  these books are no longer available for purchase.
A 3 book set that includes:

* Color Bears *

* Who Lives On A Farm? *

* I See Shapes *

Emergent Readers designed to teach CAP (Concepts About Print), Colors and Color Words, Shapes, and High Frequency Words.  Includes  suggestions for extending each book.

*IMPORTANT NOTE*
I've used these books in my classroom for so many years that I didn't give any thought to where I got the clip art on the covers of two of the books.  A couple of very thoughtful KinderKorner subscribers wrote to me about the fact that the cover art I was using is copyrighted, which means I need to change the artwork.    That will happen in the next couple days, and then I'll be sending out orders.  The new cover artwork won't change the books in any other way.

11 Pages

Illustrate with Ellison die cut shapes or cut-and-paste clip art (bear clip art included).

10 Pages

12 Pages

 
Masters are printed on 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock, and can be reproduced for individual student books.

These books are no longer available for purchase.


 
 
 

Pig Stories
 

If You Give A Pig A Pancake
Big Book Edition

Also available in hardcover.

For more information and lots of fun follow-up activities for If You Give A Pig A Pancake -- including an Illustrator Study on Felicia Bond --  click here to see the February 25th In MyRoom.


Follow Up Activities


Favorite Pig Stories
For more of our favorite pig stories -- plus a Mini Author Study on Audrey Wood -- click here to see the February 25th InMyRoom.

Pig Out!

The KinderKids LOVED this silly Rebus story!

I read it on Wednesday, to get us in the mood for making our TLC Pigs for our Mrs. Wishy-washy Big Book.

Five Little Piggies

This is a roll-on-the-floor and giggle book that my class adores.  I save it to read at special times, like the end of the day or right before recess, because the kids literally roll around laughing at these short-and-silly stories based on the familiar "This Little Piggy Went to Market" rhyme.  Highly recommended.
Also available in a hardcover edition.

 

More Farm Stories

Coming March 18th


Farm Animal Board Books
By Sandra Boynton

Moo, Baa, LaLaLa!

Delightful silliness the KinderKids love!  Publisher Simon Schuster says:  "Artist Sandra Boynton is back and better than ever with completely redrawn versions of her multi-million selling board books. These whimsical and hilarious books, featuring nontraditional texts and her famous animal characters ...  are sure to educate and entertain children of all ages."

Barnyard Dance

Another farm favorite board book from Sandra Boynton!  Publisher's Weekly says:  "Farm animals dance a boisterous, breathless, knee-slapping reel called, with great panache, by a fiddle-playing cow: ``Bow to the horse. / Bow to the cow. / Twirl with the pig if you know how.''  These are billed as "baby books" but my KinderKids have practicaly worn the print off the pages.  Highly recommeded!


 
 

Featured Professional Book


Mosaic of Thought:
Teaching Comprehension In A Reader's Workshop

By Ellin Keene & Susan Zimmermann

I've said it dozens -- if not hundreds -- of times in the past two years ... this book has changed the way I teach as well as the way I think about teaching and planning lessons and units.

Mosaic of Thought reads like a good novel, and you're always waiting to see what happens next.  Keene and Zimmermann present well-rounded ideas and actual classroom scripts and scenarios that teach you to model the "think aloud" process that will help your students grow as readers, writers, and thinkers.

Their explanations of current research are easy to understand and show how to build background knowledge in your students and create the bridges and learning environment necessary for all students to succeed.  Mosaic of Thought  is always on my Top 10 Must-Have Books for Teachers list.  Highly recommended.

 

 

More Fun Farm Books

Yep, coming soon ... I promise :o)

I'm in the process of updating my online Down On The Farm Unit
click here
To Visit the Pages and See What's There
 


Greg & Steve
In Concert

 

Me with Amalia & Yoselin
This is our annual Kindergarten Field Trip and we always have a terrific time!  Most of the KinderKids have never been inside the historic Fox Theatre in downtown Bakersfield, and many have never been to a concert of any sort, except for school assemblies.

The line went all the way down the block and around the corner.

Can you tell this is two pictures, smooshed together?
Singing the Blues
about
The Big Bad Wolf
Doing
"The Freeze"

Big Fun
Includes Silly Willies, Chicken Dance, The Magic of Reading, Movement Medley

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Kids In Motion
Includes The Freeze, Animal Action, Body Rock, Count Bounce and more!

Holidays & Special Times
Includes Peter Cottontail, Somebody's Birthday, This Land Is Your Land, Jingle Bell Rock, Love Is ...

Rockin' Down The Road
Includes Yellow Submarine, Three Billy Goats Gruff, Rockin' The USA, Can't Sit Still, Dancin' Machine

We All Live Together 2
Includes Good Morning, Number Rock, The World Is A Rainbow, Boogie Walk, Listen and Move
Concert Schedule

Greg & Steve will be in Fresno, California
March 19 - 23, 2001

On The Move
Includes Rock To The Music, Friends, Adventure In Space, Warming Up


Happy  Birthday  Christopher!
We celebrated Christopher's 7th birthday after we got back from the Greg & Steve Concert.

He's very proud of his new Hawaiian shirt!

 


 


 

Happy Teaching!

Victoria :o)
 


 

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Victoria's Thematic Units Index

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Graphics on this page are from

This page went online very early on March 13, 2001
 

Copyright by Victoria Smith, 2001
All Rights Reserved