Seuss Week 3 & Leprechaun Madness!

 Letter Nn

Last week, we learned the letter Nn.  We started our week off with a nice breath of fresh air outdoors.  On our nature walk, we collected materials to make our own nests.  We read the story The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman, which taught us how birds build their nests.  The kids really enjoyed the story.  It's comical and very sweet.

 

Not pictured is our alphabet book page.  This week we did, "Nn is for newspaper".  The children tore small pieces of newspaper.  Next, they traced the letter Nn with their finger.  Then, they traced it with their liquid glue and placed the pieces of paper on the glue.  We also used or Heidi Butkus CD to learn how to write Nn.

Word Families: AT

Also not pictured is our AT family poster.  Our visual for the poster is a large cat.  Together, we created a list of at words to add to our poster.  Next, we practiced building at family words at centers.  Throughout the week, we reviewed words at the rug.

 St. Patrick's Day Fun

 All week, we prepared for leprechaun mischief and green goodies.  We prepared "Leprechaun Disguises" and played in the "Leprechaun Table".  Together, we planned our leprechaun trapped and created illustrations in our journals.  The children brainstormed ideas for their own leprechaun traps at the block center.

 

We read a terrific story about the colors of the rainbow.  The Leprechaun who Lost his Rainbow was an adorable story of Colleen and her St. Patrick's Day parade dilemma.  As her grandfather prepared to play his bagpipes in the big parade, a rainstorm was approaching.  Suddenly, a little green leprechaun named ROY G BIV appeared on Colleen's front steps with a solution.  He told her that if she were to give him seven belongings (each being a color of the rainbow), that he would create a rainbow to shine over her Grandpa's parade.  Colleen wondered if she could trust the tricky leprechaun, especially when she had to give up her beloved green penny whistle.  However, after she gave ROY something of each color, a beautiful rainbow appeared and Grandpa marched on.  She even found a pot of gold with a brand new silver flute from ROY.  This story was a great way to review colors and the children's answers to our story comprehension questions were excellent!

After learning about rainbows, we created our own colorful rainbows using markers and fruit ring cereal.  They also counted and glued gold coins and a cloud using a coffee filter.

In preparation for the party, we cooked two different kinds of green Jell-O: melon and lime.  The kids loved helping and smelling each kind.  

Friday was, as one child put it, "the best day ever".  When the kids came into the classroom, they noticed two little green handprints on the classroom door.  Very carefully, we tiptoed into the dark classroom and found a big mess.  There was a long trail of little green footprints.  They led to a gross "green potty" that the leprechaun forgot to flush!  They also led to the refrigerator where we discovered that the tricky guy stole a spoonful of Jell-O.  The trap we set by the window was down and the pot of gold and cereal we left was everywhere!  Very carefully, we lifted the trap, only to find a tiny green shoe.  The kids were amazed and wondered how he got away.  Their ideas were priceless.  I told them all that I had a strange message on my cell phone that we could listen to after we did our morning routine.  The energy in the room was ridiculous.  After listening, we heard from "Lucky the Leprechaun" that there were several clues hidden around the school that led us to a big pot of treasure!  Awaiting us outside at the end of the rainbow were goodie bags full of Smarties, gold coins, necklaces, pencils, erasers, and "Leprechaun Slime". Here are a mix of photos from both the AM and PM kids:

 

 

After our exciting treasure hunt, we had some party fun.  We played a game of "Pass the Shoe" (basically the same rules as Hot Potato) by passing around Lucky's shoe to some Irish music.  Then, we had some free play fun.  We created "Shamrock and Rainbow" paintings using combs and peppers.  We also played "End of the Rainbow", a color and counting practice game.  They also enjoyed green play-doh and Leprechaun slime!