100 Eyed Monster!

Have you made it to 100s Day? Snow Days have certainly put many of us behind on our celebration! Last year we had way too many Snow Days, but this year we've had just the right amount...two! You won't hear me complain if we happen to get one more. Three is just such a perfect number!

I wish our tee-pee had held all 100 balloons! Alas, I was only able to squeeze in 80 !

I numbered each balloon from 1 to 100 on random colors. We used markers to fill in our 100 chart by matching the color of the balloon to its number. It really helped kids see patterns and relationships between numbers. Some of my Owlets would start at the beginning of the chart and count all the way up to the right number every time. Others figured out quickly that they could use the chart to see ten more or start at a number close to the one they were looking for and count on. I wasn't sure I'd ever want to blow up and tie one hundred balloons again, but I would definitely repeat this activity. Next year I think we'll do it for the 50th day of school!!

Have you seen those cute T-shirts with monsters with 100 eyes? Kids are wearing them to school all over the place. I wish I'd had time to make one for myself. I did have time to be inspired by them! Here is my 100 eyed monster!

Of course I had my own little "monsters" help me finish this guy up. When they arrived at school there was only one eye! I wrote a poem to go along with the Put-an-Eye-on-the-Monster activity and we traveled around the school to read it to our friends.(friends:  preschoolers, and kindergartners!) HERE is a copy of the poem to use for your own celebration. I'd love to see your 100 eyed monster too!

Hundred's Day Freebie!

Hundred's Day has come and gone again! For weeks I was trying to think of things that would make this 100's Day different, special and unique. I wanted to really wow my students. I was trying to plan THE BEST DAY EVER!! I'm so glad I realized that it is all new to my owlets. I feel like we did "the same old thing," but realized after hearing many, "This is the best day ever!"s that the same old thing to me is exciting for my class.  The smiles, the hugs and the excitement will never be the same old thing to me. They will forever be precious and meaningful! One of the things I love about six year olds is their enthusiasm... They love everything.

I did do one thing different this year. It got a little bit long, but they hung in there and finished! They had to follow the directions in a PowerPoint presentation to find a picture hidden in a hundred's chart.  We got up and moved around for a while half way through. I think I'll try doing some more of these for different occasions. Feel free to use this if you'd like! You'll need THIS and THIS!

We put the finished products on the back of our 100's Day vests which we covered with 100 little pictures 

100's Day wouldn't be complete without a visit from our friend Zero...

or 100 snacks!

My backyard tonight looks like this...

All this snow fell today! I'm wondering if I'll be awoken by an early
morning phone call!!

Our collections of 100 spread across the floor. 

Monsters...Groundhogs and others!

Felt groundhogs were a big hit!

I've seen Hundred's Day and Groundhogs Day and I'm alive to tell about it. I feel as though I could hibernate for six weeks along with the groundhog!  All twelve of my groundhogs sang:
"I'm a little groundhog,
furry and round
You may see me pop out of the ground
When I see my shadow
Down I'll stay
Six more weeks of winter's on the way!
Can you guess what tune we sang this little ditty to?  If you said or thought "I'm a Little Teacup" Kiss your brain your 100 days smarter.  Wait I mean 101 days smarter!

Our friend Zero the Hero brought two zero
shaped treats because 100 has two zeros!

We jumped up in front of the white board with the overhead projector on and if we saw our shadow we sat on one side of the room and if we didn't we sat on the other.  Yes, I said "we".   I mean "we" quite seriously.  Someone had to demonstrate and I was the one that volunteered.  Only two out of twelve didn't see their shadows.  It looks like we are in for another six weeks!

We did have some sweet reminders of 100s Day left over.  After putting together our trail-mix of 100 snacks, 10 from 10 different bowls, I decided to save the kisses we found hidden by our friend Zero the Hero in the gym.  We attached them with tape to our Hundreds chart and I used it today to reward finishing assignments, giving compliments, or for being a good friend.  I would have them take a kiss off of a number that is ten more or less than another number. Some got to take a kiss from between  two numbers or one more or less than a given number.  It was quite interesting to see how easy or difficult this was for different children.  I think we'll be kissing again for Valentines Day!


I hope you are finding ways to celebrate big moments in your life.  Whatever you do find ways to bring joy to those around you....It's contagious!  If you have any monsters in your closet try putting 100 spots on them...They aren't as scary that way!

We added a spot for great behavior or finished work and said a cheer
each time we made it one ten closer to 100.  Students changed the number
on the white board each time they added a spot.

Granddaddy of all Weeks!

   Here it is the Granddaddy of all weeks if you are a primary grade teacher.  All in one week we celebrate 100s Day, hope that the groundhog doesn't see his shadow and say hello to February; the month that is jam packed with awesome opportunities for learning.  I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight my head is so full of ideas and excitement for the coming week.
   The internet has opened the world up for me!  When I left my first grade job twenty years ago on a very long maternity leave, I had a computer in my classroom but rarely used it myself.  Early finishers might play an educational game, and I might have done some word processing, but that's it.  Being able to share ideas with other teachers...okay the sharing has been pretty one way... is amazing to me.  I wish I could start all over again, but than again I might not have the appreciation I have now for the limitless ability to surf the web for one great idea after another.

Synonyms for volunteered:  coerced, begged,
bribed!

   Thank you bloggers, pinners and sharers.  I appreciate and am inspired by your talent and desire to make learning fun and meaningful. Here's my first picture of our 100's Day celebration!  My son "volunteered" to dress up as Zero the Hero and bring his zero treat in person!  I'm not allowed to put this on facebook for fear of being tagged!  What a trooper he is for putting up with my silly antics!