Mrs. Wishy Washy Returns!

After posting about our Mrs. Wishy Washy Unit, I was contacted by Hameray Publishing Group to review a few of Joy Cowley's new Mrs. Wishy Washy books!  Of course, I was completely willing to do so!  

Joy Cowley recently published 5 new Mrs. Wishy-Washy titles through the Hameray Publishing Group. She also has another 15 titles that will be published in the Fall!

So, I was very excited when the package arrived in the mail.  The two titles that I received were:  Mrs. Wishy-Washy and the Big Wash  and Mrs. Wishy-Washy on TV.

In the story, Mrs. Wishy-Washy and the Big Wash, she wants to give the same beloved animals a bath.  However, they have no water!  So she loads them up in the farm truck and takes them to town.   During their trip to town, the animals are distracted by the book store, music store, and the bakery.  Finally, they head to the car wash for their bath!  There is a sweet surprise at the very end as they are given some baked treats!

This book is delightful and my Kinder Kids loved it! The title is great!  Before reading the book, we discussed what this title could mean and what may happen in the story.  After all, the title is a gift and a lot can be told before even opening the book!  The illustrations are adorable and are like the ones we have loved so much Joy Cowley's original Mrs. Wishy-Washy book.  I love the look on the animals' faces when they realize that they are about to enter the car wash for their bath!  I also like how each animal has a quote as they are bathed.  For example, when the cow enters the wash, the book reads:  Swish, swish went the brushes.  "That tickles!"  mooed the cow.    This lead to great conversation of the descriptive words and how we were able to relate to how the cow may have been feeling during his wash.  

For the book, Mrs Wishy-Washy on TV, she is on TV to promote the Amazing Sudsy Soap!  She of course, demonstrates how wonderful the soap is by washing each of the farm animals we have grown to love!  The text continues with wonderful descriptive words.  "Number one is the duck.  She goes in the tub.  Scrub!  Scrub!  Scrub!"

Of course, each book has to end with a surprise!  In this book, Mrs. Wishy-Washy goes on to give the TV woman and the TV man a bath with the Amazing Sudsy Soap!  She ends by saying, "Sudsy Soap will wash anything!"

To no surprise, Joy Cowley does not disappoint with these two new titles!  They are perfect for the emergent and beginning stages of reading.  The text size, sight words, and decodable words offer a delightful read!  Both of these books also offer many opportunities to discuss the story elements and sequencing of events.  These books will definitely be added to my Mrs. Wishy-Washy unit in the future!

Hameray Publishing  has provided this link to download a free sample of Mrs. Wishy-Washy and the Big Car Wash.  You can also listen to the audio file of Joy Cowley narrating this wonderful book! 

I am so honored to have been able to review these lovely titles of an author that I admire and appreciate so much!

Please do not forget that you can check out Joy Cowley's additional titles right here.

Addition with Number Bracelets

Today we continued to work on addition.  We were introduced to Number Bracelets.  

This idea is from the fabulous Tara over at Little Minds at Work!  She has a wonderful freebie pack to use with your bracelets!  

Four Ways to Make 3

Today we used Kinder-Craze's ideas to introduce simple addition.  I had purchased her sets from Teachers Pay Teachers.  As I worked with post-it notes and chart paper, they used linking cubes.  They really enjoyed this!

Tomorrow we will discuss Number Bonds using beaded bracelets.

Dinosaurs and Few More Letter N Activities

Well, today was our first day back and my kiddos have done a wonderful job!  We accomplished a lot!  First off, the excitement began when they walked in and saw this!

I purchased Deanna Jump's Dinosaur Unit and am so excited to put it to use this week and the next!  We began our inferring of what was inside the egg!  Here are some initial inferences:

We then discussed the egg's appearance.  This helped us to make some more inferences.  Then, using Deanna's unit as a guide, I gave them clues and we continued to infer what may be inside!

Below is the chart I used filled out.  I was NOT blessed with nice handwriting, so please bare with me!

After all of these clues, the students made their own inferences again:

When they returned from lunch, this is what they found!  I need to find a more realistic dinosaur to use!  This was borrowed from my son.

Students then completed their papers with what was REALLY inside!  We discussed who inferred correctly.  I cannot wait to continue our dinosaur activities tomorrow!

Here are few Name activities we completed as we wrap letter N!

Sorry for the bare pages.  I am leaving the names off for privacy reasons.

Students cut out the names and placed them according to fewer, same or more letters then their own name.

With a partner, students decided if they both had each letter in their name, only one of them or neither of them.  They had fun stamping the letters on their sheet!

Retelling and Writing with Masks

My daughter came across these while cleaning a craft crate.  She came up with the idea to color them and then write a "puppet show" to perform for us.  While I enjoyed her creativity and interest in writing and performing, I also thought about how this could work in the classroom.

                            

                         

These masks can be found at JoAnn Fabrics.  They have an amazing selection of crafts for kids.  These were $1 and 50% off after the holidays.  Later in the day we came across these.

These would be a great tool in a station.  Students could write a script and perform them.  

                  

So, what do you think?  I would love to hear your ideas!

More Spring Break and Easter

I am sad that our spring break is coming to an end!  We have had such a nice week!  We went horseback riding and to the zoo!

Today we made Easter Nests.  They were Pinterest inspired of course!

You can find the instructions over at Kids Cooking!

As I am preparing for Easter Sunday and our Sunday School group, I came across this on Pinterest.  Another great find!  I will add this to their Egg Hunt goodie bags!

I have also provided the link below in case you would like your own copy!

This is an awesome blog that I just found today!  I will definitely be referring to it in the future! 

The Real Easter Bunny

Over break I have had some time to spend on Pinterest.  If you have not checked out my boards yet, hop on over!

Have a wonderful day!

Spring Break and a Giveaway!

Well, I have been MIA due to being on Spring Break!  It was long due and the kiddos and I have been soaking up the down-time and little fun outings.  So far we went to the movies to see The Lorax.  Such a good movie!  We also went to Chuckie Cheeses.  More to come is lunch with my mom and then horseback riding!  They will be so excited!  We will also be visiting out local zoo.  I love to go when it is still cooler out and the animals are more active.
I have also been preparing for this summer's VBS and Sunday School for Easter Sunday.  My kiddos and I practiced making these Resurrection Rolls.  We will make them with the Sunday School group along with having our Egg Hunt and a craft.

You can find the recipe here!

Also,  Jenn  from Finally in First is having a great 5 Days of 5 Giveaways!  Be sure to hurry  and check it out!  Today, her giveaway is an Easi-Speak USB Recorder from Learning Resources.