MOVE IT MONDAYS VOL II - CLASSROOM MOVEMENT SERIES

Okay, okay!!  So, I know it's Tuesday and I am flyin' with a Monday piece today (I swear I haven't gotten that far into summer mode yet).  However, in my defense, if you came for a little look-see yesterday, you may have noticed that I was guest bloggin' for my palsy-walsy, Katie King, over at Queen of the First Grade Jungle.  I thought about just skipping MOVE IT this week (I really like orderly things - except for my home office it seems), but I just started this series and couldn't pass it up.  So without getting us too much further away from Monday . . . here she be . . . in all her glory :)

Last week I highlighted a crazy game called, "She Just Ate An Eight."  Sticking with the whole number/math theme, I figured I would showcase another couple of number sense games that I played with my kinder kids during those first few weeks of school.

THREE'S A CROWD

All of my kiddos knew what a three was coming in the door (except for one . . . poor baby), but this silly little game helped generate some excitement around counting and the follow-up handwriting practice that came with it.  It's all about "sellin' that sizzle" and gettin' those wiggles OUT!  And, I always heart it when everything fits with a theme :)

All you need for this ditty is a set of hula hoops, a grassy area, and a whistle.  **NOTE: Start with just enough hula hoops so that your entire class can fit three in each.  I don't know if that makes sense.  In other words, I started with 7 hoops because I had 20 kids . . . 7 hoops x 3 to a hoop = 21 total spots).**

Now you are ready to play.

1. Scatter the hula hoops in your grassy playing area.
2. Place your kiddos on a "starting line."
3. On your whistle, the kids take off running towards the hoops.  The goal is to make your way into a hoop before they are full.  What makes it "full" you ask?  Well, three's a crowd!  So, once there are three kiddos in a hoop, no more students can join the group.  
4. I started with enough hoops so everyone could make it into a circle "without missing the boat" during that first run.  However, after each "round" I took a hoop away.  I really front-loaded this with my babes before and during the activity.  It was the perfect time to talk about good sportsmanship, teamwork, and that "it's just a game." 
5. I ended it with only two hoops left.  I didn't want them killing themselves trying to all cram into only one circle.  It was week two in KINDER for goodness sakes . . . I knew better :)

The grass/sidewalk served as the perfect "starting line."

And . . . they're off!

Notice that the girl in the purple is the 4th person in that front hoop.
The kids who made it into that hoop first actually pointed out another circle that she could make her way to.
 It was a win-win for everyone!

After we finished our game and got our drinks, the kids were able to sit still long enough to hammer out the three handwriting page that you see below.  I made it downloadable for you . . . just in case you wanted to snatch up a copy.

CLICK HERE to get a copy!
Thank you KPM Doodles and Hello Literacy for the design inspiration.

FOUR OUT THE DOOR  

This game was rather dippy, but the kids loved it and I LOVED watching them do it.  Again, my goal is to ease that transition into paper-pencil work and knock some of those wiggles out of 'em in the process.  This one also helped the kids learn their classmates' names and faces!

To play this movement activity, you need boom-box (datin' myself a bit here) and an upbeat little tune (check back later this evening - I will have a free tune up for grabs).

When you are ready to roll with this one, here's how it works . . .

1. Have everyone stand up behind their chairs and push them in.  When you start the music everyone moves safely around the room.  
2. When you stop the music, everyone is to find a chair, sit, and put their heads down.  (The goal here is to switch up seats so that the kids cannot tell who is missing right away).
3. While their heads are down, you go around and tap FOUR people to sneak out of the door and hide from the rest of the crew.  
4. When everyone is tucked away outside, your class brings their heads up and tries to guess who is missing.  Each and every time I sold this like crazy . . . a big reveal as they guessed correctly and such.  They ate it up.  
5. I played long enough so that everyone had a chance to be "out the door." They didn't realize that the last round should have been super easy . . . awwwww . . . how I heart kinders! 

They were giggling the whole time. 

They wanted so badly to be selected to go out the door.
Therefore, they were WAY on task during the "selection process."
You can bet I milked this one for all it was worth :)

Here's one of my sneaky foursomes!
I should have provided sunglasses . . . it was a bright one :)

When the game was over and they had wiggled enough to tap into that "focus" again, I followed up with the handwriting sheet below.    

CLICK HERE for a copy of this one!
Thank you KPM Doodles and Hello Literacy for the design inspiration.

I hope you enjoyed the second installment of Move-It Mondays. Next week I will be back with something for 1st-2nd graders.  On a final note today, I have a MEGA giveaway coming your way tomorrow or the next day in honor of hitting that 500 mark (I am so close).  A bunch of the "BIG DOGS" are teaming up with me to offer up a mind-blowing prize.  It's going to be UH-MAY-ZING, so stay tuned!  Thanks again for visiting and I'll see you tomorrow.