Procedure: Bubble Gum

Bubble Gum Day

This activity was so much fun! I adapted the activity from this blog after seeing it on Pinterest.

We started the activity by all chewing on bubble gum and practising blowing bubbles with it. This proved harder for some than others who just ended up spitting in on the floor!

Afterwards, the students wrote a brief procedure detailing how to blow a bubble before completing their artwork. I made some basic templates which we pasted onto A3 coloured paper:

I encouraged the students to use only coloured paper to complete their portraits and to include detail creativity in their pictures. We then cut a hole where the mouth would be and poked a balloon through it to create the "bubble". 

Here are some of the results:

 

The activity strengthened student's writing skills and creativity. Further activities could involve graphing the number of those who could/could not blow a bubble, or write another procedure on how to create their portrait.

Vowels Display

This is a cute VOWELS display idea I poached from a friend. I made large vowel letters, laminated and added shoes to the ends of the legs.


The kids love them and they are a great reference during grammar lessons.

Visual Arts: Cherry Blossom Lanterns

My first graders made these beautiful cherry blossom lanterns, as part of our Japanese unit.

Using a lantern template, straws were dipped into watered-down black paint and blown to make the trees. The flowers were made from cotton tips dipped in pink paint.

Ikebana floral arrangements can also be made using the same technique, but using a variety of different colours for the flower stems.

Sport Station Cards

Gross Motor Activities

The following is a series of gross motor activities I created for an Infants Sports Gala Day. 

These can be printed and laminated for your use.

Mathematics: Area

 

This was a fun, interesting and engaging way to introduce the concept of 'Area'. 

My students had to first estimate how many Fruit Loops it would take to cover the area of the hand, and the find out the actual number by gluing them onto a worksheet.

I made this very basic template which can be easily modified dependeing on grade/age/abilities of different students.

Visual Arts: Octopus

This octopus display was relatively easy for my Kindergarten students to make several years ago (note the blackboard in the background!)

We were completing a unit of work "Under the Sea" and adding to our class display of ocean animals.

To make the template, I ruled a line across the an A4 piece of paper, in landscape view. On the bottom half of the page I ruled lines (the legs) from the first line to the bottom of the page with 2cm gaps:

Students snipped up the legs and rolled them, then pasted sticky dots on top for eyes and patterns.

The activity not only helped strengthen young student’s fine motor skills, but also their creative skills.

Technology: Bee Bots

 

 

Bee Bots are programmable floor robots that can be integrated into most key learning areas.

In my Robotics Club, students program their robots to follow a specific route on floor maps.
We incorporate text types, HSIE and scientific concepts and maths into lessons.

These are some intruction cards I have put together for groups of students when using the Alphabet and City Bee Bot mats:

 

Bee Bots offer a fun and different approach to problem solving and critical thinking. They are able to perform up to 40 commands, move in 90 degree increments, and have light and sound capabilities.

The use and potential of Bee Bots in the classroom is limitless, and the students just LOVE using them!

I found and made heaps of Bee Bot mats at Sparkle Box.
I love Sparkle Box - there are thousands of resources for every KLA, and the best part? They’re free!


Click here to print off Sparklebox robot mats.




Apple has a Bee Bot App for iPhones and iPads in the classroom, click here to download. 

Below is a sample evaluation sheet I had my students fill out on completion of their time in a cocurricular lunchtime Bee Bot Club:

 

Visual Arts: The Rainbow Fish

 

After reading Macus Pfister’s “The Rainbow Fish”, my Kindergarten class made these beautiful fish collages.

I printed off a fish template on A3 paper, and the students coloured the background using oil pastels.

They then strengthened their fine motor skills by cutting out the fish, and creatively pasted on metallic carboard squares and sequins for the fish scales.

Streamers were added to the tail and the fish hung from string for classroom display.

 

Literacy Display: The 5 "er" Sounds

Knowing which "er" to use when spelling can be quite tricky for learners! I use this chart as an introduction to the 5 "er"s.

Over the course of a week, students make multiple suggestions on words containing an ‘er’ sound.
I laminated these suggestions and the students selected the correct poster on which they were to be displayed. It also makes a great reference point during independent writing lessons.

To make the coloured posters, I set different coloured backgrounds on Microsoft Word and printed them on A3 paper before laminating.

The "Her First Nurse Works Early" is a spalding quote I picked up when I worked at a Spalding school.