LEAP Day!

I BIG puffy heart love Dr. Seuss.  It grew even more when I was in high school.  I was a baton twirler.  My high school band didn't really have majorettes, nor did they really want us when they did... but I did twirl for a studio for over 20 years!  I taught little 3 year-olds.   Can you imagine how cute (and how difficult?!?) that might have been?!  Well, in high school I got to twirl during the then Citrus Bowl.  Not once but TWICE!  My second and final time---the theme was Dr. Seuss!  I got to be the Cat in the Hat twirling a baton!  O.M.G it was SO much fun!  (though, looking back at the awful costume....  ugh.  A black, long sleeved unitard!  With a big over-sized bow tie and a tall red and white striped hat.  I still remember the song that we twirled to and it sings in my head often this time of year.... "Cat.  Hat... it really is magnificiant... hum hum hum huuuummmmm...."  Enough with that sidebar...  it's not really a song that had been out anywhere.. possibly made for the 1996 Citrus Bowl halftime show...

So, I've been so consumed with getting things ready for next week with Dr. Seuss that I just kinda realized that we will actually be IN school for a Leap Day!  The last one we had, well.... I don't remember it.  I sat down the past few days and created some fun LEAPing activities that could fill up your day!  It's packed full of Reading, Writing and Math.  You can find the mini-unit here (click on the picture)  ***If you've already purchased it, please go back and download again.  I spotted a few formatting errors and also fixed a few sentences with the Venn Diagram cut and paste activity when I went to copy today!!  Sorry!***

I thought that I would create a freebie for you to enjoy in your room too!  I mean, it's not like an extra day out of the year comes often! ;)  I took this FABULOUS kinesthetic class last year where we learned how to incorporate movement into learning.  The benefits are just amazing, and it gave me new ideas on how to get them moving.  Let's be honest.  I'm not sure that there is a first grade classroom out there that DOESN'T have kids moving, but I was in a rut.  I thought by having them move from their seats to the carpet or from station to station, that it was doing enough!  Well, now that I've added "movement with purpose" into my lessons, I have seen such HUGE gains!

Here's a moving LEAP day freebie!   You'll need to click on the link to my TpT store because of licensing issues (I can't give away freebies here unless I pay MORE money--so I'm directing you to my TpT store to download it for free).  It is a "making words" activity.  You will print out (and laminate) the frogs.  The frogs have the letters for LEAP DAY FEBRUARY TWENTY NINE.  I have 3 recording sheets to match whichever phrase you'd use.  (I just wasn't too sure of how many words and how long kids would last with just LEAP DAY.)  You will spread the letters throughout the room.  Kids will "leap" to letters to spell words and "hop" back to their seats to record what they spelled!  A few tips---you may want to either have additional copies of the letters, especially if you are using just LEAP DAY or you may want to section off the room and have groups stay in specific areas with all the letters there for them.  (And most certainly, they do NOT have to leap and hop if the environment doesn't permit it!) ;)

Click on any of the pictures to grab your copy!

Let me know how it goes with your little leapers!