I'm Grouchy When.......

• I have used The Grouchy Ladybug in connection with the California State Standards for telling time. I am a Kindergarten/first grade teacher and have found the book to be a great source for teaching time. I have the students each make a small clock at the beginning of the year. They are time keepers for the rest of the year, taking note of our assembly or special occasion times. The book lends itself to telling time by the half hour which is perfect for our needs.  
  We also did many ladybug activities and art projects.  The one and am going to share was exploring the concept of "Grouchy" and the different things that make you feel grouchy.  Each student colored their own ladybug.  We sat in a circle on the rug and each student had a turn using the microphone to make a complete sentence about what makes them grouchy.  I took notes and later typed them up to be added to a bulletin board about all the different things that made the children grouchy.  Here are some silly little things that made our class grouchy.  Hope you enjoy!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Grassy Guys

I love to plant the seeds of science in my classroom.  I can't think a better way to do this than to get our hand dirty and learning while doing.  Gardening provides magical opportunities for students to learn hands on science as they explore the outdoors and watch a seed grow to food.

This unit, we having been learning about the parts of the plant and what a plant needs to grow.  We have been learning that a plant needs soil, seeds, water, sun and love to grow strong and healthy.  We have also been learning about the life cycles of seeds and critters, how to respect our environment, the seasons, weather and much more.  

Meet our grassy guys.  I recycled all the milk cartons from breakfast time, brought in some good organic soil, purchased some grass seeds, and let the children decorate the eyes, nose and ears of their grassy guy or gal.  Here is what we came up with.  

Everyday the students are responsible to take their guy out to the sun, give it a little water, lots of love and watch it grow.  We also made hypothesis' about what would happen if we did not give a grassy guys water, love, soil or sun.  Students were able to see first hand that the grass did not grow as well if these important ingredients are left out.

It took about 1 week for the grass to start growing.  The students were so excited to see the grass growing.  At about 2 weeks I let each student give their grassy guy a hair cut.  They loved this activity!

As you can see, some left their hair long, others got a mohawk, and some even got a buzz cut.  We had these displayed for open house and students were able to take them home that night.