Mother's Valentine Tea

Moms are amazing! They are always giving of themselves. Always putting others needs before their own. They are the givers of unconditional love. In kindergarten we throw a mini "Thank-you!" tea for our moms on Valentine's Day.

This is one of my favorite events to host! Not only do mom's deserve a little pampering, but it's a great excuse to baptize our classroom in pink and purple!

Each year on Valentine's day we transform our classroom and invite our moms for a morning tea time.

Right before our moms arrive, we wait outside our classroom to escort them in. Some years I've purchased a bouquet of  flowers so students could hand their mom's a rose or daisy as they arrive.

Earlier in the week we talk about compliments and think of some kind words to bless our moms with when they arrive.

Our glamorized entrance to the tea room

As we wait for all of the moms to arrive, those that have arrived pour themselves a drink and find a seat. 

There is tea, hot cocoa, and pink lemonade to choose from. I also provide apple juice for the students since it looks like real tea. In the invites, each mom was informed to bring a tea cup or mug for them and their child. I always have extras on hand... just in case. :)

The centerpieces are my re-purposed bridesmaid bouquets from my wedding!

At each table spot I have a box of chocolates and a sweet poem for each mom to enjoy. The poem talks about the impact that mothers have in their child's life. You can download the poem for free HERE.

When everyone has arrived (and filled their tea cups), we put on a short little program of a few songs and poems we've practiced in class.

The mom song gets everyone laughing! We just sing the choruses and add actions to some of the verses. (We jazz-bop, head-nod, improve-dance... whatever you want to call it.. to the verses we don't sing along with.)

The very last poem talks about valentines and ends with ...and here is one for YOU! We hold our mom letters for the poem and finish by bringing them to our moms to read.

Each letter has a note and drawing inside. It's so sweet to see all of the students reading them aloud.

We also play a "sweet" getting to know you game. Each mom and child receive a bag of M&Ms and a note that explains the game. For each color M&M they pick out of the bag, they have a question to answer.

 Click on either of the activity directions to download the full game from Over the Big Moon.

(It's much easier to buy individual packs of M&Ms instead of making little bags, but I waited too long and all of the individual bags had transitioned to Valentine colors which wouldn't work for the game. Live and learn!)

After our program, we pass around trays of delicacies to snack on. I usually ask a few weeks before if any moms would be interested in providing treats. Past menus have included mini cheesecakes, fruit and cheese trays, scones, cupcakes, cookies... I let the moms who volunteer have freedom to bring what they wish.

While everyone enjoys their treats, each table takes a turn at mailing their valentines.

I place all of the girl bags on on side of the room and boys on the other to avoid overcrowding.

I usually buy a big pack of paper bags at Hobby Lobby with my 40% off coupon and we decorate them in class. I've never done Valentine boxes. Don't think I ever will. The bags quick, easy to transport home, and I love that they match the rest of the decor. (A little over the top?)

Before the party ends, a school photographer (parent from another classroom) comes to take pictures of each mother/student pair in front of our homemade backdrop. (We painted the hearts during our review lesson on symmetry.) I save the pictures to give families either at conferences or I put them in their end of the year scrapbooks.

As moms leave, they check out our "Hall of Fame".

In the days leading up to our Valentine Tea, I help each student draw a portrait of their mom and fill in an All About Mom questionnaire. It's hilarious to see what some of them will down for their mom's age. 88? (Uhh... I have a few questions.) One year I laughed when a student wrote that the best thing his mom cooks is Ramen Noodles. (Hey! If that's what they like best - don't kill yourself over making a fancy meal!)

The best part is their answer to why their mom is special! *pass the tissues*

I'd love to hear how you celebrate Moms at school each year? Do you stick to Mother's Day or do a whole school event?

I'd also love to hear some of your favorite songs about moms to add to my collection!

Book Study: Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites Chapters 1 & 2

I am stoked about joining this book study to learn how to better engage my students through reading Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites by Marcia L. Tate.

I set the stage... highlighter, coffee, cupcake...check, check, check!

Thanks Elizabeth for Kickin' it off at Kickin' it in Kindergarten!

I've always been a huge advocate for hands-on learning (especially since my first 2 years of teaching were in PreK and worksheets are NOT an option). It's great to be reaffirmed that so much of what I do daily in my classroom is research based! Yet, after reading the first two chapters I have a growing list of other strategy ideas I can start implementing!

At the beginning of the year, I feel like I spend a lot of time setting the ground work for productive discussion. I teach/model when to talk, how to answer a question, what it means to stay on topic, and how to be a good listener when someone else is talking. Routines and expectations are the framework for effective discussion.

Here is my favorite "trick" for giving students wait time...while holding the "blurters" at bay (a difficult balance in Kindergarten)...

I give a question and tell students to "whisper the answer" in their hand. They keep the answer "trapped" until I see that everyone has had time to process the question (their fists are in the air). When I open my fist, they copy me and "let out" the answers by saying them out loud.

A growth area for me is asking questions at various levels on Bloom's Taxonomy. It takes time to develop quality questions that stimulate higher-order thinking. One action step I plan to take is to develop a variety of questions (at various levels) for some of my read-alouds. I will type them up and tape them inside the book's cover so I have them ready!

It's obvious - ART is in SMART! I have always loved integrating art into daily learning.  My love for art is a reason I have an well stocked Art Center in my classroom. This is a FAVORITE center ALL YEAR LONG! During play time, I often have students take supplies to their table spot because all of the seats at the center are full. I rotate supplies and add word walls correlating with our themes. I also add dictionaries, themed vocabulary binders, and bar graph templates to encourage writing.

Here's two recent example of how we've integrated math and art.We created our own stick structures after reading 6 Sticks by Molly Coxe.

Then we counted how many sticks we used in our design and wrote the sentence:

 "____ sticks make a _____."

Volcano!

Symmetrical Hearts: We decorated a backdrop for our Valentine's program. Each child painted one of their hearts with a symmetrical design.

Not going to lie... it takes time to prep art projects! But the active learning that happens as a result is SO worth it!

Tell me, I forget. 

Show me, I rmemeber.

Involve me, I understand!

- Old Chinese Proverb

Five for Friday!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to highlight our happenings this week.

It was tea time in our classroom today! We celebrated our Moms with a special Valentine's Tea Party.
We had drinks and treats following a short program. Each student wrote a valentine note of appreciation for their mom.

Love that my class spent their play time to create a welcome sign!

Basket of Valentine letters to read to our moms

Before the guests arrived!

It's always a good day when you don't need to pack a lunch. Today the 5th grade class took orders and made each teacher/staff member a delicious waffle platter - complete with....bacon!!!
As for the picture.... you'll have to use your imagination. You know how it is on a teacher's lunch break! Take a bite. Pee while you chew. Make a quick copy. Shovel the rest in while writing an email.....Who has time to take a picture?!?

We've been talking a lot about inferring during our literacy lessons. This week I decided to make it Valentine themed.... I had a tote full of items about things I love. As I pulled out each "clue" the students had to infer what it was that I loved. I described inferring as using what you see and what you already know to make a good guess. I then had them draw and label some things they love.

 Addition, addition, addition! We are rockin' it! Thanks Mrs. Ricca for the awesome Ten Frame Toss activity idea and printable! It was a great hands on activity and the kiddos loved it!

I just can't resist an art project with pink and purple hearts! Especially one that integrates addition sentences! We created these after reading The Day it Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond. We showed all the different ways to make 10 with two different colored hearts.

Ever wonder what to do with that junk drawer? You know, the one with random puzzle pieces, confiscated toys from "no sharing" standstills, and trinkets you think you "just might be glad you saved one day"? Well, put them to good use - instead of desk drawer purgatory. Toss them in a two bags labeled "statement" and "question". We take turns pulling out items out of each bag and either make a statement or ask a question about it. I've then been modeling their sentences with proper ending marks on chart paper. Yesterday, I had each student write me a question in their journals. Most popular questions: "Can we have more play time?" "Can we have cookies?" Love it!

Now... to reward myself for a busy week with my valentine stash of candy!! Oh, yeah!
Happy Weekend!

Five for Friday!

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for a weekly recap.

Thursday was our official 100th day of Kindergarten! One of my favorite celebrations! Check out all of the fun 100 themed activities we did here. It's hard to believe our school year is already 1/2 over!

100 Days Welcome Sign

One of our amazing 1st grade teachers wanted to try this idea with all of the Kindergarten and First grade classes - a HUGE 100s chart! Each student got to decorate their own number before we hung it in the hallway.

"My name is Skippito Friskito (clap, clap)..." has been chanting in my head ever since I started reading my favorite kitty books: Skippyjon Jones. I usually read the first book each year to see if my kids take an interest (since the Spanish vocabulary can be confusing for some of them). Well.. this class can't get enough of this imaginative, silly, (sometimes naughty), Chihuahua wanna-be, Siamese cat! I'm going to have to stock up on more books as I only have 5 and I know there are many more.

In Kindergarten, we celebrate ours Moms on Valentine's Day by inviting them to a special Mother's Valentine Tea. We have one last week to put the finishing touches on our Mom Valentines and practice our songs. Each year the students draw a picture of their mom and fill out an All About Mom questionnaire. We put them on display for the Moms to see when the come for tea. Aren't they adorable?

You can find the All About Mom questionnaire here.

More symmetry practice! This was tricky, but my students enjoyed the challenge of finishing the other 1/2 of the picture with pattern blocks.

Another favorite symmetry activity is freeze dancing. Choose a jam and start dancing. When the music stops, shout out "symmetrical!" The student have to freeze and strike a symmetrical pose with their body.

I have been searching for different ways to help some of my students that struggle with pencil grips. Two of my kiddos hold the pencil straight up instead of letting it rest between their thumb and pointer finger. I came across this trick using a rubber band... and... it works great! It holds the pencil down with a gentle amount of resistance to help them get used to holding it that way. The only problem is when they need to erase something...hmmm.... no perfect solution... YET!

I am always impressed at how far their writing comes compared to the beginning of the year! AMAZING!

Happy Friday!