Pre-K Tweets: Ocean unit coming soon!

It's spring break! Hooray!!!! ...and I am in beach weather mood..despite the rainy/cloudy/40 degree weather outside! As I was planning for our upcoming units, I came across these photos from last year of our ocean unit... I am so EXCITED for our upcoming units and I am so happy to have time off to prepare! I teach at a school that is on a continuous learning calendar. We have a shorter summer break, two weeks off in winter, fall/spring breaks, and intersession weeks. SO..since I am not teaching intersession AND it's spring break..I have three full weeks ahead of me and so much I want to do! Here is my spring break bucket list:

-Prepare for hungry caterpillar/gardening unit and hungry caterpillar party

-Prepare for ocean/zoo units, buy more plastic tubs/totes!!

-Dig out the millions of mason jars left over from my wedding for students to create these ADORABLE Mother's Day vases

-hit the thrift stores and garage sales for more abc center activities dress up clothes, and need 2 more arms for mr.potato head set!

-figure out if adding "Duncan Hines Frosting Creations" to play dough really works to make it smell good

-start collecting items for next year sensory and fine motor tubs

-finish drilling in the locks and hooks on my fine motor construction wooden board (goes with our construction unit)

...and things other than school..

-VACUUM MY HOUSE!! long overdue

-clean out my car and make it smell new again!

-open up my kitchen aid ice cream maker (2 yrs.still in the box) and USE it!

-try my pinned pinterest recipes and delete the ones that flop :)

-rotate the winter/spring clothes in my closet..that could take all day!

-go see Oliver! at the performing arts center

-go see the new Sandra Bullock movie

..and last but not least..

-ZUMBA!!!

This very cool table was in our science center last year..it held informational books about shells..and books about crazy ocean animals/creatures... shark jaws and teeth...our playground nature collecting jars..driftwood...and shells with sorting baskets

I used a beach ball for questioning in group times.. I plan on using the beach ball also for sight words this year!

I grabbed the sound spa off my night stand and it instantly became an activity in and with itself! I posted a mini ocean word wall above it.. this sound spa also had the rain forest/rain/jungle sounds on it so I used it in the zoo pretend center later on.. Now it permanently sits in our science center..the heart beat sound is also awesome for when we are learning about doctors within our community helper unit!

How I do not miss my old pretend center furniture! (I was able to order new furniture this year!) For our pretend center students had beach picnics, served ice cream, and wore sunglasses/visors/pretend sunscreen/hawaiian shirts! During one of our whole group math activities we counted coconuts/added coconuts on our Chicka Chicka tree...and read Chicka Chicka 123 story. We also compared our favorite ice creams and completed a cute graph pictured on the left.

This was an ABC go fish center activity...the letters are mini ocean wave stickers!

These poem posters ideas are from http://mrswilliamsonskinders.blogspot.com/search/label/ocean

Students went on a "Red Fish, Blue Fish" hunt after reading the Dr. Suess book... we did a counting activity with swedish fish! ..and we did a chicka chicka abc/counting page!