Who Took the Cookie?

I had another ideal in the middle of the night, so I had to get it out of my head and on to paper! In September I am introducing the letters A, C, M, T and focusing on these letters the entire month. One of the books I am using is If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. I thought why not tie the "cookie" theme together with a whole/small group activity reinforcing name recognition in print. I took an adaptation to the chant, "Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?" Below is the information about the printable which can be purchased from my Teacher Pay Teachers Store.

Who Took the Cookie? Activity Packet

Who Took the Cookie? Is based on the game, who took the cookies from the cookie jar. I am using the activity in both large group and small group for name recognition and print concepts.

You could also use the activity for the following:

• Sight Word recognition
  
• Letter recognition
• Reading directionality
• Counting words in a sentence
• Counting letters in a word
• Listening and following spoken directions to name a few.

The packet contains the following:

• Cookie Jar Chart with the words to, who took the cookie? Finished size: 17” x 33”
• Editable Individual Cookies for students’ names.

Directions:

• It is suggested to print all pieces on card stock and laminate for durability. To attach the cookie names to the chart use the Velcro dots. 
• The Cookie Jar chart is tiled over (8) pages with a 1/8” overlap. To assemble cut, along image’s black line. When all pieces have been cut out, simply lay the corresponding piece a 1/4” over until print edges match. Finished size: 17” x 33”
• I also have included The Cookie Jar chart as one piece measuring 17” x 33” on page 12 for those of you who would like to take it to a print shop or Sams Club also offers large format printing at a reasonable price.
•  The individual cookies for students’ names are (6) to a page and can be printed (2) ways. I created an Adobe Form for the individual cookies where you can type the name of your student directly on the cookie. The form is set up to AUTO so it will shrink large names to fit on the cookie. The second way is to simply print the individual cookie names onto card stock, write individual students’ names, and then laminate for durability.

DOWNLOAD>> Who Took the Cookie? Activity Packet

Let me know what you think! Is it good, can it be approved upon? Comments, suggestions, likes and dislikes are always welcomed.

Blog Overhaul

I have worked pretty much the entire day and into the wee hours of the morning giving my blog a much needed overhaul. My son has come in the room several times to say enough is enough. Yet, I'm the type that has to get the creative idea out of my head and in to production. If not, then I lay awake tossing and turning.

I decided to take on the challenge of overhauling my entire blog because, I wanted a more polished theme that went with both my personality and my blog topic. So, like everyone else I ‘Googled it’ to find a FREE blogger template that was just right. A blogger template that was not too small, nor too big, but the perfect one. I found one that I like as you can see. With some minor tweaking I am pleasantly pleased with the outcome. The only thing I wish I could change is the columns’ width. I have so much information that I needed three columns, but the drawback is the width of the actual "post" column. I'll keep tweaking with the code until I find the perfect match.

Take a look at the changes and use the comment box to let me know how you feel, good or bad!

Summer Ideas

Fix an area outside to let you child enjoy painting. Some ideas include inexpensive watercolors, white construction paper, and of course water. If painting is not something you’re interested in than choose markers, colored pencils, crayons, etc. Before your little one begins their “plein air” (outside) master piece, go on a nature walk through your yard, neighborhood, or local park and talk about all the different colors and textures you see along the way. To promote language skills use as many describing words when talking with your young child. Words such as enormous, tiny, hairy, smooth, bumpy, bright, dull, shiny etc. Describe the shape of the object, its dimensions anything to expand your child’s vocabulary. When you return from your adventure encourage your child to remember details from the walk and paint them or draw them. Remember it is about the creative process and not the end product. Talk with your child about their painting. Ask, “Tell me about your painting,” leaves an opened conversation as opposed to “what are you drawing?” For a science experiment, encourage your child to observe how fast the watercolors dry. Most of all have fun!

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