Connecting

During the study of Our Families/Ourselves,
we talked about the differences in our days and nights.
I illustrated my morning commute 
(that is a scary car-I really drive a van) and my nightly routine.  
The children thought I looked like a mermaid--ha!

I loved the connections that were made by the students!
The above drawing shows the construction site that he sees on his way to school.  His night picture includes trampoline jumping!

The drawing on top made me smile--notice the "X marks the spot" for our school.  This lil guy drew a computer monitor on his night side.  The bottom illustration is more straightforward: he gets out of bed in the morning and he gets into bed at night!  Sometimes, his brothers hang out in his room, lol!

I brought my boys' train set to our class for Super Center Thursday.
Wow--this has been a huge hit, plus an eye-opener for assessing/correcting social cues.  We also bring out the PetShop critters, kitchen set, and babies/purses/phones for Super Centers.  There is a three hour stretch on Thursday afternoons....we all need a half hour to let our imaginations roam.  Because most of my students have gone to preschool, I don't bemoan the lack of playtime in my schedule.  But I try to include physical, visual, and auditory learning in my stations during literacy and math.  When we explore topics and themes in social sciences, we have time to cook, role-play, research, create.  At this time of the year, especially, I am mindful that I am teaching kindergarten, not first grade.  Honestly, it's always good to keep that fact in mind.

Do you have time for play?  
(The worksheet was from Ingles360...I don't see it on her freebie page, but there are a bunch of goodies there!)