Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!

Last week we celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday!  Each day we focused on a different book and had a blast ... we created little "ocket" creatures to hang out in our pockets, had some great fun graphing goldfish, and used our hand prints to make adorable Things 1 and 2!

 One special project I'd like to share was inspired by the discovery of this AWESOME website: Switchzoo.com

This website has a TON of fun, interactive features.  You can read fun facts about a variety of animals and their habitats, and actually create new species and places for them to live.  It would be a great addition to any animal unit.  Unfortunately, we are not currently studying animals and their habitats sooo ... I had to be creative in figuring out a way to get my kids on this website!  I decided to work it into our Dr. Seuss unit.  We read "Oh, The Thinks You Can Think" and discussed what a wonderful imagination Dr. Seuss had to create so many words and creatures.  I told the kids that they would need to get their own imaginations turning, because they were going to be creating a new animal of their own!  I took the kids to our schools' computer labs and had them use the website to create their creature.  After creating their animal, they had to think of a fun name and use the organizer below to describe their animal:

click on the picture for your copy 

(Graphics courtesy of From the Pond and Sweet Times in First)

Later in the week they used their organizer to write a paragraph describing their new species.  I plan to put their work together in a class book. 

I would highly suggest checking out this fun website ... the possibilities are endless!

And last ... with St. Patrick's Day right around the corner, I'd like to share this fun freebie I created for my take home math games.  A simple game to practice those all important doubles (and doubles +1) facts ... Enjoy!