February Week 2 Lessons - Valentine's Day FREEBIES!
Like usual, the days are flying by in February!
We have a lot of fun things to cover this week and we are getting ready for Valentine’s Day and President’s Day.
I really love teaching in February.
My days flow so easy now. My children know the routines and expectations so I rarely have to give brand new directions anymore.
I specifically designed my curriculum so that by now, I spend very little time explaining directions. My students know the format of my activities and lessons and we focus all our energy on learning the content.
Have you printed my free February lesson plans yet?
Print them HERE, and then I walk you through the plans with ideas and tips right here on this blog post.
“This resource has literally given me my life back! I am no longer searching everywhere trying to gather GOOD, STRONG educational resources to help me teach my kinders.”
Have you grabbed this President Day freebie yet?
I share my FREE 100 Days smarter activities and certificates on this blog post too!
Let’s get started!
What are we learning this week?
Independent morning work: sorting objects that belong together, tracing, writing and spelling sight words, last sounds in CVC words (generating and matching), teen numbers using ten and extra ones, counting on not starting at 1 and sums of 5.
Phonics: we are tackling Unit 4 CVC words and word families and it is so exciting! We have been working so hard on learning how to isolate, identify, segment and blend the three sounds in CVC words all year, and now we are becoming fluent with them this month.
Math: this week we are diving deep into teen numbers and place value - ordering teen numbers, showing teen numbers with base ten blocks, ten frames and number lines.
Guided reading: our theme this week is Valentine’s Card - fluency passage with comprehension questions, mini reader with traceable words and cut/paste sentence builder
Enrichment - our unit this month is all about friendship and social skills. This week we read Peanut Butter and Cupcake and discuss what it means to be a good friend, how to make new friends and how to keep/treat the friends we have.
No prep centers this week includes president teen numbers, Valentine reading comprehension, I heart CVC words, teen number hearts and Valentine first/last sound matching.
This blog post will show you how I teach the kindergarten standards using these resources.
Whether you’re teaching via virtual learning, homeschooling or you are in the regular classroom, my lessons and resources will help you and your students.
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Before we dive into this week’s lessons, Valentine’s Day is almost here!
I put together free printable cards and ideas to save you time looking through Pinterest.
These are some of our favorites… can you tell I stay away from all the candy? You’re welcome, teachers and parents! :)
Thanks a Latte - perfect for a coworker, friend, teacher, etc. - pair with a gift card to Starbucks (even if they don’t drink coffee, people love their cookies, hot cocoa and tea)
You Make My World Colorful Valentine - stackable crayons are always a huge hit, and I put a space on the card you can hot glue it right in the middle.
I’m Glad We Are in the Same School - everyone loves goldfish crackers!
I Adore You to Pieces - my personal favorite to do for my girls’ Valentines because the kids love them and they are so unique!
I fold the card over a plastic baggie with an individual puzzle that the kids can color.
You Make My Heart Pop - pair this card with these individual popcorn bags
FEBRUARY WEEK TWO LESSONS
ALL ABOUT FRIENDSHIP Thematic Unit for February
I absolutely love using thematic teaching to incorporate reading, writing, favorite read aloud books, science, social studies, art and more! CLICK HERE to visit my thematic teaching homepage and see all the units I use throughout the year.
In February, we learn All About Friendship and Social Skills and it is so much fun. We use four favorite read aloud books with coordinating themes and activities. It is packed FULL of activities, so don’t worry if you can’t get to every activity that is included in the unit.
WEEK 2: Peanut Butter & Cupcake
Have you read this book? Oh my goodness… you are in for a treat! This book is absolutely adorable and totally hilarious.
Peanut Butter is talking to egg, and egg laughs and says, “You’re cracking me up!”
Hamburger is walking the dog ( a hot dog.) Some of the humor I have to stop and explain/discuss with my kiddos, and then when they get it they are just laughing and laughing right along with me.
Seriously.. its so much fun!
Peanut Butter is new in town and wants to make new friends. He tries to become friends with Hamburger, Cupcake, Egg, Meatball and French Fries before he finally meets JELLY. And… well you can guess what happens!
I love this story because after we are done reading and giggling, we really dive deep into talking about how to make people feel welcome, how to make a new friend, qualities of a good friend and even how we could make a new student feel welcome in our classroom.
I have so many fun activities planned out to get along with this read aloud (and an EXCLUSIVE freebie for you too!)
Students absolutely love the activity where they have to figure out which foods/objects would make good friends. I use this activity to talk about how friends can be so different from each other, but that’s okay because friends help each other and make each other better.
After we match the picture cards, they can complete the cut and paste activity.
Anytime I talk about my own personal life my kids don’t move a muscle and listen to every word I say, so I take this opportunity to explain that my husband is my best friend but we are so different (their eyes are wide and staring at this point!) I tell them that is why we work so well together. He is really good at fixing repairs on the house and cooking. I, on the other hand, am not very good at cooking, but I am good at cleaning. So I wash his clothes and clean the house, and he cooks me dinner! Friends help each other and work together, even if they are different.
I ask them to brainstorm how they help their friends, and if their friends ever help or teach them something.
Next we talk about Cupcake in the story. Was Cupcake acting friendly towards Peanut Butter?
I tell them they get to be Cupcake, and we are adding friendly sprinkles! We talk about the vocabulary words on each sprinkle and what they mean.
What does it mean to be a helpful friend? A kind friend? An honest friend? A thoughtful friend? A caring friend? A fun friend?
Then students color their cupcake, cut out the sprinkles and glue them. They finish the sentence starter, “I am a good friend because I’m…”
They turn out so cute!
Now that we know characteristics of how to be a good friend, what are some ways to make new friends? We discuss what Peanut Butter did in the story, and brainstorm our own list. Then students can write and illustrate two ways they could make a new friend.
How cute is the Let’s Be Friends activity?
I tell students friends don’t have to look the same or act the same as them. They cut out and match the little food friends (checkout how adorable little hamburger and ketchup are!) and color the pictures.
We then complete the activity about celebrating differences with our friends. They write what they are good at, and then they write something that their friend is good at.
Here are a few fun filler activities for the week!
Students color the friendly behaviors on the peanut butter slices, and I have my kiddos trained on the Count, Compare and Write activities.
Peanut Butter and Cupcake will be a favorite in your classroom library from now on.
We continue with our friendship social stories from last week.
This finishes what I teach the second week of February for our thematic unit, and you can read more about the entire friendship unit on the blog HERE
Next week in our friendship unit, we use one of my favorite books, Enemy Pie to talk about how friends can be different than each other, and how we can celebrate those differences!
MORNINGS IN KINDERGARTEN
How is your morning work going? You’ll love this morning work because students can actually be independent with these daily worksheets and they are aligned to the math and reading standards in almost every state.
What skills are we practicing this week?
Grouping objects that belong together
Sight words - tracing, writing and spelling
Matching and generating last sounds in CVC words
Writing teen numbers
Adding ten plus extra ones using a ten frame
Counting on (not starting at 1)
Sums of 5
TEACHERS AND PARENTS LOVE MY FEBRUARY MORNING WORK!
“Hands down best morning work I have found for kindergarten! I wish I would have found it sooner. Thank you!”
“LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!”
“I am going to go back and buy the bundle!”
I choose very specific skills each week for students to practice on their morning work. We practice the skills in a specific sequence, and this builds their confidence because they truly can be independent with the standards! Repetitive practice is so important.
Since the format stays the exact same, students understand how to complete the problems (one or two days of your help) then they are set! The worksheets get progressively harder each month to target the exact skills they are learning and can be independent with.
FAST FINISHERS:
I get asked a lot what I do for my higher students, or the ones who finish their work throughout the day quickly?
Copy activities from my February No Prep on to the back of your mourning work or other activities each day!
This week, our activities from my February No Prep Pack include:
Presidents base ten blocks
Heart cut and paste teen numbers
Valentine first/last sound matching
I heart CVC words
Valentine comprehension
Sometimes I copy these activities (not the cut/paste ones) to the back of morning work so they stay engaged and busy while you complete your morning tasks.
If not, I use these for centers, fast finishers and sub tubs. I love having standards based, themed activities every month to “fill in” time gaps, for seat work and sub tubs.
Here is a quick video that shows activities included in the entire pack.
I use a few math and language arts activities each week.
Another option for fast finishers and centers are February Boom Cards
If students take their time with their morning work, you can have an option for them to move to monthly Boom Cards to practice the exact skills we are working on each month. The video above shows one of the decks we play this month practicing addition.
My February Boom Bundle also targets these skills:
This works well in the sense that it is a reward for getting their work completed, but my warning is to be careful with this as some students might rush through their work just so they can use the Boom Cards. I think if they prove to you they do their morning work well, then Boom Cards is something they can earn in the mornings.
Learn more and visit my Boom Card monthly homepage HERE
PHONICS
I am so excited we are jumping right into Phonics Unit 4 - CVC words and word families.
We have spent so much time this year laying a strong foundation for first, middle and last sounds in CVC words. It has definitely been worth the work, because they are so good at reading CVC words.
The goal for this unit is for students to become confident and fluent with CVC words and word families. I want them to recognizing the patterns within CVC words and quickly reading words within word families.
Fluency leads to better comprehension, so it is worth the work to get children reading fluently.
This Boom Deck (included in my February Boom Bundle) is such a helpful tool for helping students segment sounds, as well as read and spell CVC words.
Each day this week we go over an anchor chart, students get their own to color, and then I give them the coordinating mini book to fill out and we read it together.
When they are done writing and coloring their mini book, they can read it to a buddy.
I love this routine for the entire week, and after the first day they know the routine so you don’t have to explain directions again.
Because the books are targeted by short vowel, it makes it easy to coordinate with the worksheets and anchor charts.
This really builds student confidence and they are excited that they can recognize and spell the words.
You will love Phonics Unit 4 - CVC words and Word Families
The unit comes complete with anchor charts, reading fluency/comprehension passages, mini books, worksheets, phonics centers and so much more.
Read the blog to learn all about this unit, plus print the two activities shown above for FREE CLICK HERE
Need a little review and practice with stretching out the sounds in words?
The video below is perfect when kids need to stand up and get a little brain break.
MATH
Last week was a busy week of post tests and pretests.
We finished our measurement and data math unit and now we are in one of my favorite units - teen numbers and place value!
We call them tricky teens, but I have a ton of tips to help you teach numbers 11-20 so they are not confusing for your kiddos.
When we start the unit, I show this video every day.
This helps students remember to write “13” instead of “31” - I’ll say… “Does that START with a one?”
Then using white boards, we practice writing teen numbers. We have been working on 0-10 all year, so we have correct directionality with those numbers. Now it is a matter of having them write a “1” before each number.
I suggest breaking it down into chunks - I only tackle 11, 12, 13 for the first few days. Oddly enough, this is the hardest for them to write/remember! They mix up 12/20 and since 11 and 12 don’t say “teen” it just confuses them.
But we use white boards and just write them over and over again until they get the hang of it.
Remember: short bursts of practice multiple times of a day all always yield better results than one long chunk of practice.
Here are our printable activities for the week:
CLICK HERE to read my blog post about this math unit and print the freebie shown above.
They are not ready for the hands-on centers yet, but I model them for them a little each day so they can see how they work.
We do these whole group and they “help me”. Using both ten frames and bas ten blocks are a wonderful way for students to see that teen numbers are simply a group of ten plus extra ones.
I model these activities whole group for students so they will be ready to do them on their own soon.
ADDITIONAL FEBRUARY THEMED MATH ACTIVITIES
If I want to work 1:1 with a child or small groups, my math activities in my February Pack that I mentioned earlier really come in handy.
For example, I like to have activities ready to go so when students finish their work so they have standards-based activities to continue working on instead of wasting time. I call these fast finisher activities.
These math activities are part of THIS bundle
(I mentioned this earlier in the blog post with morning work.)
You’ll love how versatile this pack is and you’ll never have to search for “fillers’ again.
The theme the week is Valentine’s Card
Teaching reading is all about building confidence, teaching new vocabulary and sight words explicitly and exposing them to familiar resources repeatedly to build their fluency.
This program does all of that! We use the same three resources every week (shown here) - a reading fluency/comprehension page, a sentence builder and a mini reader.
“I love all of these sets! I have been buying them month to month and I like the consistency of them. The students are able to do them on their own now.”
Once you use this program for a few weeks, you’ll see so much growth and you’ll love that you don’t have to give directions each time. The children know exactly how to get right to work and love to make guesses about what the new theme will be each week.
Each day of the week is designated for one of the activities. To see my routine for guided reading, please CLICK HERE
These work so well for many settings including small guided reading groups, whole group, online and homeschooling.
The key is that all three resources are tied together with the exact same pictures, sight words and vocabulary - so all week students are building their confidence and fluency.
Personally, I like to use these in my small group literacy time.
WATCH THIS QUICK VIDEO TO SEE HOW THE FEBRUARY READING PROGRAM WORKS!
Read more about February guided reading HERE and try a freebie!
WRITING
We are having so much fun writing about our opinions. Writing doesn’t have to be scary or overwhelming, and it is actually one of my favorite things to teach.
“MY KIDS LOVE THIS!!!!! They loved it so much we did opinion writing for 3 weeks straight! Can't wait to purchase more! Thanks so much!!!”
“This is a fantastic resource. I love all the Primary Writing units I've purchased, and this is one of the best! I love the gentle introduction to the idea of an opinion and way the unit gradually moves toward independence. I also LOVE the picture word banks that are all over this unit. So helpful for my students!!”
We started last week by learning what an opinion means. They love getting to circle which one is better, and then we discuss with the class which one they circled and they always get super excited to see which one “won” in the class.
Students decide which activity they like more than the other.
They fill in the sentence frame using the activities shown. It is so neat to watch their confidence grow as they complete these activities. Students just love to give their opinion!
We do one each day and take turn sharing our opinions. I like to have them verbally read their sentences to get used to the vocabulary more than.
“I love this resource. I am a teacher but I am staying home this year to homeschool my 2nd grader and Kindergartner and I was able to use this for both of them! I like the visual word banks and the differentiation provided.”
For more information about this writing unit, and try a FREE lesson CLICK HERE
DAILY KINDERGARTEN REVIEW
I originally created this print and teach program last spring when we were all thrown into distance learning.
The key to a successful distance learning curriculum is consistency and simplicity. Parents are busy and stressed right now, and they simply cannot sit down every day and teach their child a new lesson.
With this curriculum, they do not have to! I designed every single day to promote confidence and fluency with the exact standards we are learning each month.
The standards stay the same for at least a week in a row (sometimes longer), so students recognize the format and know exactly what is expected.
Here is a peek at what this week looks like:
Standards this week:
Generating missing middle sounds in CVC words
Reading comprehension (color the picture that matches the sentence)
Color the sight words
Sums of 5 hearts
Teen numbers as a ten stick and extra ones
More or less using heart ten frames
Counting on (teen numbers)
Reading response journal
Our emotions
Writing about our emotions (with a sentence starter and adorable heart emojis.)
“I love everything from "Keeping my kinders busy"!! My class looks forward to their afternoon review language arts and math worksheets each day and feel confident being able to compete them with little to no adult help!”
I am currently homeschooling my daughter for kindergarten, so I am using these as a daily review.
See how students can quickly become mostly independent with these daily activities throughout the school year.
Please note: if you’re using these in the classroom or homeschool, you don’t need to use the My Tasks Today page.
Just copy the math and language printables front to back each day and you’re set!
NEW! FEBRUARY BUNDLE
You asked, so I listened!
I now offer money saving monthly bundles.
I bundled all of the resources together that I use to teach the standards this month. I include the resources shown on my free FEBRUARY LESSON PLANS
100 DAYS SMARTER!
How have we been in school for 100 days already?!
Let’s celebrate!
Return to my February lesson planning homepage HERE
Did you miss last week’s lesson planning blog post? CLICK HERE
I hope these teaching tips make your week go smoother! My goal is to share ideas and tips every week on a blog post for the week coming up. This will hopefully take some stress off of you.
See you next week ❤️
Blessings, Michala