L is for Leprechaun: A Magical Week in Kindergarten!

March 28, 2025March 28, 2025 NicoleLeave a comment

This past week, our classroom was filled with leprechaun magic, rainbow adventures, and playful learning as we celebrated L is for Leprechaun Week! The excitement was palpable as students engaged in hands-on, play-based activities that incorporated literacy, math, science, and creative storytelling. Here’s a peek into the golden moments that made this week so special!

Storytelling & Literacy Fun

Each morning, we kicked off our day with a themed read-aloud. From How to Catch a Leprechaun by Adam Wallace to Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie dePaola, our books sparked lively discussions and imaginative storytelling.

Letter L Writing: Students practiced forming the letter L using rainbow-colored chalk on black paper, making their letters pop just like a vibrant rainbow after a spring rain.

If I Found a Pot of Gold… This creative storytelling activity had students imagining what they would do if they stumbled upon a leprechaun’s treasure. Their ideas ranged from buying unlimited candy to sharing gold with their family—pure kindergarten magic!
A Letter to a Leprechaun: Students wrote letters asking leprechauns their most pressing questions. “Do you ever get tired of running away?” and “How do you make rainbows?” were some of our favorites!

Leprechaun Math Adventures

Math took on a lucky twist this week as we explored numbers, patterns, and measurement through our St. Patrick’s Day-inspired centers.

Counting Gold Coins – Students used gold coins for counting, addition, and even some sneaky subtraction where the “leprechaun” stole some away!
Graphing Lucky Charms – A tasty math activity where we sorted and graphed the different shapes found in Lucky Charms cereal. Who knew math could be so delicious?
Measuring Leprechaun Footprints – Using rulers, students estimated and measured tiny (and some not-so-tiny) footprints left behind by mischievous leprechauns.

Patterning with Rainbows – Beads and pom-poms helped students create colorful patterns, reinforcing early math skills in a hands-on way.

Leprechaun Traps & Engineering Fun

One of the biggest highlights of the week was our Leprechaun Trap STEM challenge! Using craft sticks, pipe cleaners, gold coins, and glue, students designed their own traps in hopes of catching a sneaky leprechaun. Their creativity was through the roof—some even designed elaborate pulley systems and hidden doors! While no leprechauns were caught, a few mysterious footprints were discovered the next morning… 👀🍀

Sensory & Small World Play

Our exploration stations brought even more magic into the classroom!

Sensory Bin: A mix of colored rice, shamrocks, and hidden gold coins provided a fun way for students to dig and discover.

Rainbow Science Experiment: Using Skittles and water, we watched as the colors swirled together, creating a mesmerizing rainbow effect.
Dramatic Play: Students created their own Shamrock Shake Cafe

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Small World Play: Our tiny Leprechaun Village let students build and imagine what life might be like in a leprechaun’s world.

Leprechaun Celebration Day!

Friday was the grand finale—a Leprechaun Celebration Day! Students were greeted at the door by the mischevious leprechauns who left a big mess for them to clean up that morning. We then checked our leprechaun traps to see if we caught anything overnight. No leprechauns were caught but they did leave some chocolate coins for us. We wrapped up the week with our Leprechaun Bridge Challenge, where students worked together to construct bridges strong enough to hold a pot of gold!

As the day ended, we were left with glitter-covered tables, laughter-filled memories, and a classroom full of budding writers, mathematicians, and engineers. We took this opportunity to say goodbye to the leprechauns in the hopes that they would leave more messes for us to clean up

This week was a perfect example of how play-based, hands-on learning keeps students engaged and excited about exploring new concepts. L is for Leprechaun, but it’s also for Learning, Laughter, and Lots of Fun! 🍀🌈✨

Stay tuned for our next adventure—there’s always more magic to come in kindergarten!

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W is for Water Week: A Splash of Learning in Kindergarten!

March 28, 2025 NicoleLeave a comment

This week in our kindergarten classroom, we dove into an exciting and interactive W is for Water Week! Water is such an essential part of our world, and we explored its many wonders through hands-on activities, storytelling, science experiments, and math investigations. The students were fully engaged in learning about water’s journey, its importance, and the ways we can use it wisely. Here’s a glimpse into our week of discovery!

Storytelling & Literacy Adventures

Each day, we started with a water-themed story that helped us think more deeply about how water moves and why it matters.

Monday: Water is Water by Miranda Paul helped us see the water cycle in action, setting the stage for the week.
Tuesday: The Water Princess by Susan Verde opened up discussions on access to clean water and why we should appreciate it.
Wednesday: All the Water in the World by George Ella Lyon taught us about water’s journey across the globe.
Thursday: Hey, Water! by Antoinette Portis helped us identify different forms of water all around us.
Friday: We celebrated W is for worm with a Letter W craft and storytelling about water’s adventures.
Our Water Superhero Storytelling Lesson was a huge hit! Students acted out all the different ways that they could save more water using story workshop materials.

Students also practiced their Letter W Writing by painting with water and brainstorming words that start with W, such as waves, waterfalls, and wetlands. We also wrote creative stories imagining, If I Were a Raindrop…, taking on the perspective of water itself!

Hands-On Math & Science Fun

Our math and science centers flowed seamlessly into our water theme!

Counting Water Drops – Using pipettes, we carefully counted how many water droplets we could put onto a water counting page after carefully rolling a dice to see the

Estimating Water Amounts – Comparing how much water different containers could hold.

Building 3D Shapes with Ice Cubes – A frosty math challenge that reinforced geometric concepts.

Creative Exploration & Play-Based Learning

Throughout the week, students explored water in different ways through our provocations and exploration stations:

Water sensory tub – involved tropical fish, blue kinetic sand, and water rocks.

Quantity explorations – students investigated different quantities of different sized containers and how much water they could hold.

W is for Water Celebration!

On Friday, we wrapped up the week with a Water Celebration Day!

Math Tubs: Measuring Water Volume – Students experimented with different containers to see which held more or less water.
ADST: Building a Boat – Using popsicle sticks, tape, pipe cleaners, and some recycled fruit cup containers we explored makings boats and then tested them to see how many elephants they could hold before they sank.

As the week came to an end, our classroom was filled with excitement, discovery, and appreciation for water’s role in our world. Through play, storytelling, science, and creativity, students developed a deep understanding of why water is essential to life!

Next week, we dive into a new adventure, but for now, we’ll remember that every drop counts! 💦🌍

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Burrowing into Knowledge: Kindergarten’s Groundhog Inquiry Week Excitement!

February 4, 2024February 4, 2024 NicoleLeave a comment

Introduction: Welcome to Groundhog Week in our kindergarten classroom! This week is all about engaging our little learners in exciting activities centered around the theme of groundhogs. With a combination of Reggio-inspired practices and teacher-friendly setups, I’ve created a stimulating environment to foster exploration and learning.

Setting the Scene: To kick off the week, our classroom was transformed into a haven for exploration. Each table was thoughtfully designed around a specific theme, blending Reggio practices with quick and easy setups perfect for our busy teachers.

Literacy Table: Our week commenced with an exciting setup – Groundhog Bump with a twist! We replaced the regular dice with our triangular alphabet letters, adding an extra layer of excitement and focusing on letter recognition. The little ones reveled in the challenge of matching letters while playing this familiar game..

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Sensory Exploration: Our sensory bin became a hub of excitement with a bed of grain and adorable printable groundhogs. When materials were scarce, laminated graphics were a quick fix, instantly transforming the bin into a captivating sensory experience. The tactile exploration of grain and the adorable groundhog cutouts engaged our students in sensory-rich learning.

Math Adventures: The math table became a hub for Groundhog Bump games, featuring a switch from regular dice to 10-sided dice for added mathematical fun. Alongside traditional math spinners, we introduced an innovative “Escape the Shadow” Groundhog Bump game. These activities not only strengthened math skills but also encouraged strategic thinking and problem-solving.

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Provocation of Prediction: Shadows and Reflections: The heartbeat of our week was the provocation center, where our students made predictions about whether the groundhog would see its shadow. Equipped with mirrors and glass rocks, they explored reflections and engaged in thoughtful discussions about the whims of weather and shadows.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Groundhog-Predictions-11021148

Creative Alphabet Explorations: Monday marked our usual exploration into the letter of the week – G! Brainstorming sessions led to the creation of uppercase and lowercase G’s, alongside delightful playdough sculptures representing items that start with the letter G. Our directed drawing session brought Groundhogs to life on paper, a collaborative venture where each artist brought their unique touch to their creations.

Counting On in Math Adventures: Tuesday’s math exploration revolved around counting on. The little mathematicians engaged in building towers with 5 blocks, using a spinner to determine whether to add 1 or 2 blocks to their towers. This playful approach to counting not only reinforced numerical skills but also introduced a strategy for counting on without starting from scratch. Spinner and idea taken from Carole Fullerton’s new “Good Questions Lessons and Tasks for Building Number Sense in Kindergarten and Grade One.”

https://mindfull.ecwid.com/Good-Questions-for-Kindergarten-and-Grade-1-Lessons-for-Building-Number-Sense-p453547417

Halfway to Grade 1 Celebration: Midweek Joy! On Wednesday, we took a brief pause from our groundhog adventures to revel in a special moment – our “Halfway to Grade 1” celebration! The classroom buzzed with excitement as we reflected on our favorite memories and experiences in Kindergarten so far.

Math Marvels: Exploring the Concept of Half: Our math lesson became an interactive journey into the concept of “half.” Fraction circles made their debut, and the air was filled with joy as we played and explored with these colorful tools. The pizza shop activity captured our imagination as we worked with table mates to figure out how many pieces it took to create a whole pizza using different-sized fraction pieces.

The hands-on exploration not only enhanced our understanding of fractions but also turned learning into a delightful, collaborative adventure. It was heartening to witness the budding mathematicians in action!

Celebrating Together: Outdoor Delights and Treats: To cap off our special day, we ventured outdoors with our fellow Kindergarten friends for a celebration filled with treats and snacks. Laughter echoed through the air as we enjoyed the simple pleasures of being together, fostering a sense of community and shared joy.

The midpoint to Grade 1 was marked not only by academic growth but by the bonds and friendships that have blossomed in our kindergarten community.

Crafty Thursday: G is for Goose! 🦢 Thursday unfolded with our customary letter craft session, and this time, we delved into the letter ‘G’ by crafting adorable geese. The room was buzzing with creativity as little hands eagerly molded playdough into uppercase and lowercase G’s, along with imaginative representations of items starting with this letter.

The artistic expressions were as varied as the personalities in our classroom, showcasing the unique flair each child brings to their creations.

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Friday’s Prediction Excitement: Early Spring or More Winter? 🤔🌷 Friday brought a sense of anticipation as we gathered to make our predictions about whether the groundhog would see his shadow, foretelling an early spring, or if we were in for more winter days. The votes were split down the middle, creating an air of suspense.

After casting our predictions, we decided to investigate the groundhog’s official proclamation. Drumroll, please… The groundhog did not see his shadow! Cheers erupted in our classroom as we celebrated the prospect of an early spring.

Crafting Groundhog Puppets: Pop-up Fun and Shadow Play! 🌈🐾 To cap off our week, we engaged in a hands-on craft activity, creating charming groundhog puppets that playfully popped out of burrows. These puppets became our companions as we explored the magic of shadows using a projector.

The giggles and gasps of amazement filled the room as the children manipulated their puppets to create different shadows on the screen. This activity not only fostered creativity but also provided a tangible way for them to understand the concept of shadows.

Reflecting on a Week of Wonder: As we wrap up Groundhog Week, we reflect on the laughter, learning, and shared moments that have made this week truly special. Each day brought new discoveries and opportunities for our young minds to grow.

Stay tuned for more adventures in the coming weeks, as we continue our journey of exploration and learning together.