Kindergarten February Groundhog Day Lesson Plans

It's the 23rd week of Kindergarten and I couldn't be more excited to see a month end. Maybe it's because our winter break ended January 2, maybe it's because we've had 4 snow days and the dreaded NTI has returned, or maybe it's because we are STILL battling the pandemic, but this has to have been the longest-seeming January on record!

3 Big Goals:

Finish the month of January!

Celebrate Groundhog Day with lots of Science and Social Studies Connections

Emphasize Story Sequencing through Jan Brett's The Mitten

Famous Words: 

"Let your light shine. Shine within you so it can shine on someone else. Let your light shine." -Oprah Winfrey

We were finally able to string together 5 days in a row last week and I'm proud to report my class had perfect attendance on Friday to celebrate the 100th day! Boy, it felt good to laugh, dance, sing, and snack our way through the 100th day (it almost felt like 2019 again!)  This week we are wrapping up our winter lessons and using Groundhog Day as a segue into a study on various animals and habitats. In core math we are slowing down to make sure and cover everything since we've missed days here and there since winter break... we will be continuing a focus on 3D shapes and our study of teen numbers. Thankfully, this concept has been a large part of our calendar activities for months and usually comes easily to my kinders as a result. In literacy we are pressing on with Saxon Phonics, Heggerty Phonemic Awareness, and with basic sight words. Our theme is Groundhog Day and Winter Animals.

This week we will read my very favorite winter story, Winter is the Warmest Season by Laura Stringer. We will discuss the contrast between warm and cool colors in the illustrations and the idea that winter really is when we are warmest. And, of course, no winter theme would be complete without Jan Brett's The Mitten. It's great for practicing story retelling and sequencing and a good introduction to animals and their winter adaptations and habitats.

21st Century K Resources for the Week:

 

Kindergarten Winter and 100th Day Lesson Plans

  It's the 22nd week of Kindergarten and we are returning from 2 NTI/Weather days off... 5 days in a row is going to make for some tired Kindergarteners AND with the 100th Day of School being on Friday I will be one tired Kindergarten teacher, too!

3 Big Goals:

Review Winter Weather Concepts

Celebrate the 100th Day of School with Fun and Reflection

Complete Monthly Assessments

Famous Words: 

"Nothing can dim the light that shines from within." -Maya Angelou

Last week we heard those three dreaded letters in education today... NTI. Thankfully, we used the days for inclement weather so that means we have less days to make up in the spring. Unfortunately the work we had our students do was just a review... so my plans for this week include another hodge-podge of lessons and activities.  In core math we are slowing down to make sure and cover everything since we've missed days here and there since winter break... we will be continuing a focus on 3D shapes and beginning our study of teen numbers. Thankfully, this concept has been a large part of our calendar activities for months and usually comes easily to my kinders as a result. In literacy we are pressing on with Saxon Phonics, Heggerty Phonemic Awareness, and with basic sight words. Our theme is Kindness and the life of Dr. King, but in the background we will also continue our study of winter and snow.

This week we will finally get to Ezra Jack Keats's The Snowy Day. We will use this text to review story elements such as character and setting. Friday is the 100th day of school so, of course, we will have a big all-day celebration!

 

21st Century K Resources for the Week:

 

Planning for Play: December - January - February

Making time for play in Kindergarten is important... even in the 21st Century! 

Sign up for newsletters and gain access to my exclusive and FREE Yearlong Plan for Structured Play and follow along as we discuss themes for December, January, and February. 

Overview:

December is a wild and crazy time of year as students anticipate the holiday season. So, why not tap into their imaginations and incorporate engineering and science? With the gingerbread engineering theme students  can collaborate, create, and problem solve while having lots of holiday fun!
My favorite TpT resource for December:

January often brings cold weather and indoor recess. This is a great time to build on the engineering theme from December and incorporate force and motion concepts using marble runs, ramps and balls, and vehicles. Students learn about the effects of force and motion through exploration and experimenting.
My favorite resources for January:

February is a time when we tend to think about relationships and letting our loved ones know how much they are loved. In spite of major advancements in modern technology, written communication remains a skill all students need to develop. With the theme Post Office students are encouraged to write, communication, and nurture relationships.
My favorite TpT resources for February:

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT PLANS FOR EVERY MONTH OF THE YEAR!

August - Learning How to Play

September - Community Helpers: Restaurant

October - 21st Century Learners: The News 1, The News 2

November - Thanksgiving: Travel Agency

December - Engineering: Gingerbread Houses

January - Engineering: Force and Motion

February - Writing: Post Office

March - The Arts: My Talents

April - Animals: Vet's Office

May - Culminating Event: Pizza Parlor

Snow Day Link-Up

The Eastern half of the United States is under a blanket of ice and snow!

How will you combat the "Snow Day Slump?"

Check out my post at The Literacy Ladder for some great resources for Snow Day reading and writing opportunities!

Then come back and link up your own ideas here!

An InLinkz Link-up

FINALLY February Currently

Wow!  I'm a week behind on life in general!  After a state basketball tournament and a case of the flu our family is playing catch up on everything - homework, laundry, studying, Valentine's projects, and more!  It's time to gather my thoughts and get back on track before this short month is over and it's March!  Yikes!

SO, it's about time for my February Currently with Oh' Boy 4th Grade!

Sunday Scoop

Catching up and linking up with "Teaching Trio" to start off my week with The Sunday Scoop!

Wordless Wednesday

Linking up with Miss DeCarbo for Wordless Wednesday this week!

 

Last Thursday we celebrated our 100th Day of School!

These are a few of my students' "100 Collections."  I always love seeing how each family interprets the projects and the kids love sharing their collections with the class!

 

How do you celebrate the 100th Day of School?

It's Time to Celebrate!

Isn't it amazing the transformation our students make in the first 100 days of school?!?!  The 100th day is one of my favorite days of the year.  It provides a time to reflect on student growth, celebrate new learning, and set goals for the last big push of the school year. 

In my Kindergarten classroom on the 100th day we do everything the 100 way!  We count to 100 in many ways, we write about what we would do with $100, and we share "100 Collections" from home.  My favorite is our 100th Day Interactive Calendar for the Smartboard.

I love searching TpT and Pinterest for new ideas each year so I decided to create a place for everyone to share

100th Day products and freebies. 

Link up your 100th Day favorites here for the next week...

Blog Posts,

Paid Products,

Pins,

AND

Freebies

are all welcome!

 

 

An InLinkz Link-up

The Winter Sun

My students and I had lots of fun learning a little about the water cycle and the affect the sun has on the earth's surface this week! 

We used this new unit:

My favorite part of the unit was the writing activity.  It was wonderful to see my students' imagination and ingenuity as they created ways to block the sun so their snowmen wouldn't melt!

We created some very cute, very melted snowmen to end the week of study.  I found this great art idea on Pinterest HERE from First Grade Blue Skies.  They turned out so cute! 

 

You can get this fun handwriting poem for free at 21st Century K!

 

 

 

My 3 Favorite...

Linking up with Teaching Trio for a new linky party!

My favorite time of the school year is now!  Students come back from winter break rested and ready to learn.  My Kinders came back this week more mature, ready for routine, and missing several teeth!  I love incorporating books like these because they lend themselves so easily to great writing activities right at a time when my Kinders' writing skills are set to blossom!