One of my back-to-school lessons for Pre-K, Kinder and 1st graders is a circle game+name game that corresponds with “Pete the Cat-I Love My White Shoes.”
Please note: Many of you are requesting access to these documents. The sharing settings are open and always have been. I have figured out that your district or network has blocked your access. When I try to reply to you in anyway, my message is sent back to me, and marked as blocked. I am not ignoring you!! Please try your personal account so I can help you. Thank you. My muses and I have been working on this for a month now, creating at home and trying these in the classroom. Hopefully you can squish this in before you jump into fall themed activities. But you will need the Pete the Cat: The Wheels on the Bus book before you begin!! Back to the beginning... First, I simply read book to my class so they could enjoy it. We watched the accompanying video available on Teacher Tube: Pete the Cat Wheels on the Bus (Others are available on YouTube, if you can access those from your school server.) Next, I used the illustrations in the book to discuss positional words. Click on the image below to download the list of questions I used. Then we made this anchor chart of the terms! ******I explained that the bus is turned so that we were looking at its side and therefore the front and back area would look a little differently.************ After this I gave students a copy of a Pete and bus to color. We brought these to the carpet work with them demonstrating each positional term. Pete Manipulatives Bus Manipulatives Then we followed up on a different day with this cut and paste activity. Cut and Paste Positional Pete Finally, I gave students a reader using these terms as a culminating activity. It was perfect!! We are studying the word "is" and students could find it and highlight it in yellow. Pete's Bus I hope you can use and enjoy these. I am sharing because I was not able to find any positional word materials that were appropriate for the beginning of school.
Kids will have fun practicing math with this super cute, FREE Pete The Cat Math Game for Kindergarten age kids.
One of my back-to-school lessons for Pre-K, Kinder and 1st graders is a circle game+name game that corresponds with “Pete the Cat-I Love My White Shoes.”
Where is Pete the Cat Activity. A fun beginning of the year activity for your preschool, pre-k, or kindergarten.
It's all good.
Our preschool program adopted the Zones of Regulation this year. Our teachers have embedded content similar to the zones for a while but this year it’s being explicitly taught building-wide. Amber, one of the SLPs
I am amazed at how Pete the Cat has taken off. I know why I think he's cool (he promotes colors, counting, & other early childhood concepts), but I never expected the circulation explosion that has happened. That being said, this month's Play to Learn program is about Pete the Cat. If you haven't checked out one of my Play to Learn programs before, they are station-based activities that promote early literacy based on a children's book. While I set them up, each activity is for the caregiver and the child to work on together. What makes it different than a normal craft program is that each station promotes a specific skill. We also add signage showing what to do and why we are doing it. I started them in Fall 2011 and they have now expanded across our library system as one of our early literacy initiatives. It's kind of cool. Station 1: Nametags I had precut shoe shapes in 5 different colors (red, blue, yellow, green, and white) with our AccuCut machine. The kids could pick out their shapes, write their name on them, and attach them to their shirts with tape. To assist the kids in writing their names, I typed out all of their first names on a piece of paper and ran a couple of copies to put at this station. This way they could also recognize their name from the list and try to duplicate the letters if they aren't quite ready to spell their name on their own. As librarians, we know that learning to read and learning to write go together. At this station, the children are learning to recognize letters and how they are formed. They are also strengthening their hand muscles as they write (kind of like exercise) so they can eventually write smaller letters and longer sentences. Station 2: Pete the Cat's Colors I took the basic idea of colored shoes from Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes to make this coloring book. We had all of the pages printed and preassembled. The kids just had to color and write their names. We have two big skills we are working on at this station. The first is comprehension. As you can see on the page above, I wrote the word "strawberries" in red. This is to give the child a clue that the shoe should be colored red. With comprehension, we are teaching children that words and letters have meaning. Colors are a great example to use with comprehension, because they can see the color and know what the word means. The other skill is coloring (or the writing skill). Coloring is exercise for little hands, which helps to make them strong enough to write their letters. Station 3: Making Pete the Cat Out of Shapes You have to love Pinterest when you can find all kinds of great ideas to fit with almost any theme! This idea came from a picture that I saw on Pinterest. I just had to create a pattern and tie it back to early literacy. In addition to the gluing component, which strengthens hands just like crayons, we asked kids what color shoes Pete is wearing. Each child had a sticker to add to their picture, then were encouraged to write the color name next to it. As an added bonus, we worked on shape recognition (not an early literacy skill, but an important early childhood skill). Station 4: Color Matching with Pete's Shoes This idea came from a Flannel Friday post by LibrErin. I really liked that you have the color shoe and have to match it to something that is that color. I used Microsoft clip art to create all of the images except the shoes. Those I had to draw because I couldn't find a good shoe picture. Feel free to steal it. This station also promotes the comprehension skill. Station 5: What Sounds Like Cat? To create this station I drew a large blue cat, kind of like Pete. Then I made cards using clip art. Some were -at words and some were other words. The goal is to add the cards that rhyme with cat to the giant blue cat. As you can see, mat sounds like cat so it is added to the cat. Chair does not so it is put off to the side. This station works on the decoding skill. This means that words are made up of sounds. Here we are looking for words with the -at sound. Station 6: Button Sorting Station I had originally seen this post about button sorting based on Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any buttons that weren't an obvious choking hazard so I needed a plan B. We purchased two activities from Lakeshore Learning which work well here. The one that the kids liked the best was a button sorting station. The set includes a large number of laminated mats and large buttons. 8 kids can easily work from this set at one time. The second item we purchased was a shape sorting tray that also included buttons. The shape sorting tray had a sensory aspect to it that in addition to large plastic buttons, there was bumpy foam shapes, and shiny metallic shapes. How does button sorting promote early literacy? With our button sorting station, the mats each had a characteristic printed across the top, such as triangles or purple. The goal of the station is to add buttons with that characteristic to the mat. This reinforces the comprehension skill. The child is seeing the word and learning that it has meaning. Then they are using that meaning as they work at the station. A secondary skill here is the sorting skill that promotes early childhood math. Station 7: Reading the Books and Playing with the Flannelboard We pulled out all of our copies of all of the Pete the Cat books and put them out on our story time carpet for parents and children to read together. Then I pulled out a large Pete the Cat flannelboard and 2 pizza box flannelboards that I had made for kids to play with as they retell the story. This station works on 2 skills-reading and talking. Reading is important because it promotes a love of reading while teaching kids new vocabulary. A love of reading is one of the most important factors in teaching children to read-if they want to do it, they will be excited to learn. The flannelboards promote talking. As children pull out the parts, they are telling the story (even if it isn't the same as in the book). As an added bonus, my new Pete the Cat puppet came last week. He fit right into this station. My favorite part about him is that the kids weren't using him as an actual puppet. He tended to play a lot of Ring Around the Rosie today (who knew?). How it went? Honestly, this was my favorite Play to Learn program that I have put together (and not just because it was about Pete the Cat). There was a great balance between crafts and activities and the room wasn't overcrowded. I got a lot of complements from the parents about how much they love this type of program. Complements like that are fun, because they make you excited to keep doing this. The kids liked it too, although when I asked one boy what his favorite activity was, he told me "red". Well, at least we were covering colors today too.
After going over our Whole Brain Teaching Classroom Rules Rap, we talked about Whole Brain Listening...with Pete the Cat. He is so groovy! Then, I read The Kissing Hand. We compared our school to Chester's School using a T-Chart... We talked about our first day feelings. This was a great way to validate everyone's attitude about a brand-new school year. They loved making Anchor charts! That is fantastic! I made new clothespins for my Behavior Log and new magnets for my lunch board. I love these new magnets...I made them with bottle caps from Hobby Lobby. Fun! I also love the little clear round stickers that fit inside the cap over their names which make them look even fancier! It is going to be a fun, new year in First Grade!!!
Are your children or students big fans of Pete the Cat books like we are? If so, you’ll love this math game for kids based on the book, Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons! It’s super easy to make and even comes with a free template to get you started! Follow our Children’s Book …
FREE Pete the Cat worksheets for preschool activities! Are you reading the Pete the Cat books? Definitely download these FREE activities.
Preschoolers make guitars out of recycled boxes in this musical and book-based STEAM activity.
Your kids will love this Pete the Cat inspired activity! We have been reading many of the "Pete the Cat" books by Eric Litwin and the latest book we read was "Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes." ... In this book, Pete the Cat takes a walk
What is the first week of school without Pete The Cat ? I know right?! We started using this fabulous character by James Dean and ...
Pete the Cat is the go-to book for many classrooms. Here are free Pete the Cat activities, videos and books - perfect for kindergarten and first grade.
One of my back-to-school lessons for Pre-K, Kinder and 1st graders is a circle game+name game that corresponds with “Pete the Cat-I Love My White Shoes.”
Step into the vibrant world of Pete the Cat with VIP Kinder College's exciting lesson plan tailored just for your preschooler! Spanning 25 pages of dynamic and developmentally appropriate activities, this immersive journey celebrates the beloved character while igniting a passion for learning.From g...
Pete the Cat "fever" has swept through my classroom and indeed, my school! All of the Kindergarten classes at my school are ...
Practice sorting, counting, and subtraction using buttons to go along with Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons.
I am amazed at how Pete the Cat has taken off. I know why I think he's cool (he promotes colors, counting, & other early childhood concepts), but I never expected the circulation explosion that has happened. That being said, this month's Play to Learn program is about Pete the Cat. If you haven't checked out one of my Play to Learn programs before, they are station-based activities that promote early literacy based on a children's book. While I set them up, each activity is for the caregiver and the child to work on together. What makes it different than a normal craft program is that each station promotes a specific skill. We also add signage showing what to do and why we are doing it. I started them in Fall 2011 and they have now expanded across our library system as one of our early literacy initiatives. It's kind of cool. Station 1: Nametags I had precut shoe shapes in 5 different colors (red, blue, yellow, green, and white) with our AccuCut machine. The kids could pick out their shapes, write their name on them, and attach them to their shirts with tape. To assist the kids in writing their names, I typed out all of their first names on a piece of paper and ran a couple of copies to put at this station. This way they could also recognize their name from the list and try to duplicate the letters if they aren't quite ready to spell their name on their own. As librarians, we know that learning to read and learning to write go together. At this station, the children are learning to recognize letters and how they are formed. They are also strengthening their hand muscles as they write (kind of like exercise) so they can eventually write smaller letters and longer sentences. Station 2: Pete the Cat's Colors I took the basic idea of colored shoes from Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes to make this coloring book. We had all of the pages printed and preassembled. The kids just had to color and write their names. We have two big skills we are working on at this station. The first is comprehension. As you can see on the page above, I wrote the word "strawberries" in red. This is to give the child a clue that the shoe should be colored red. With comprehension, we are teaching children that words and letters have meaning. Colors are a great example to use with comprehension, because they can see the color and know what the word means. The other skill is coloring (or the writing skill). Coloring is exercise for little hands, which helps to make them strong enough to write their letters. Station 3: Making Pete the Cat Out of Shapes You have to love Pinterest when you can find all kinds of great ideas to fit with almost any theme! This idea came from a picture that I saw on Pinterest. I just had to create a pattern and tie it back to early literacy. In addition to the gluing component, which strengthens hands just like crayons, we asked kids what color shoes Pete is wearing. Each child had a sticker to add to their picture, then were encouraged to write the color name next to it. As an added bonus, we worked on shape recognition (not an early literacy skill, but an important early childhood skill). Station 4: Color Matching with Pete's Shoes This idea came from a Flannel Friday post by LibrErin. I really liked that you have the color shoe and have to match it to something that is that color. I used Microsoft clip art to create all of the images except the shoes. Those I had to draw because I couldn't find a good shoe picture. Feel free to steal it. This station also promotes the comprehension skill. Station 5: What Sounds Like Cat? To create this station I drew a large blue cat, kind of like Pete. Then I made cards using clip art. Some were -at words and some were other words. The goal is to add the cards that rhyme with cat to the giant blue cat. As you can see, mat sounds like cat so it is added to the cat. Chair does not so it is put off to the side. This station works on the decoding skill. This means that words are made up of sounds. Here we are looking for words with the -at sound. Station 6: Button Sorting Station I had originally seen this post about button sorting based on Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any buttons that weren't an obvious choking hazard so I needed a plan B. We purchased two activities from Lakeshore Learning which work well here. The one that the kids liked the best was a button sorting station. The set includes a large number of laminated mats and large buttons. 8 kids can easily work from this set at one time. The second item we purchased was a shape sorting tray that also included buttons. The shape sorting tray had a sensory aspect to it that in addition to large plastic buttons, there was bumpy foam shapes, and shiny metallic shapes. How does button sorting promote early literacy? With our button sorting station, the mats each had a characteristic printed across the top, such as triangles or purple. The goal of the station is to add buttons with that characteristic to the mat. This reinforces the comprehension skill. The child is seeing the word and learning that it has meaning. Then they are using that meaning as they work at the station. A secondary skill here is the sorting skill that promotes early childhood math. Station 7: Reading the Books and Playing with the Flannelboard We pulled out all of our copies of all of the Pete the Cat books and put them out on our story time carpet for parents and children to read together. Then I pulled out a large Pete the Cat flannelboard and 2 pizza box flannelboards that I had made for kids to play with as they retell the story. This station works on 2 skills-reading and talking. Reading is important because it promotes a love of reading while teaching kids new vocabulary. A love of reading is one of the most important factors in teaching children to read-if they want to do it, they will be excited to learn. The flannelboards promote talking. As children pull out the parts, they are telling the story (even if it isn't the same as in the book). As an added bonus, my new Pete the Cat puppet came last week. He fit right into this station. My favorite part about him is that the kids weren't using him as an actual puppet. He tended to play a lot of Ring Around the Rosie today (who knew?). How it went? Honestly, this was my favorite Play to Learn program that I have put together (and not just because it was about Pete the Cat). There was a great balance between crafts and activities and the room wasn't overcrowded. I got a lot of complements from the parents about how much they love this type of program. Complements like that are fun, because they make you excited to keep doing this. The kids liked it too, although when I asked one boy what his favorite activity was, he told me "red". Well, at least we were covering colors today too.
Printables are a popular and convenient way to bring creativity and organization into our lives, and for cat lovers, there is one printable that stands out: I Love My Cat. This printable is perfect for anyone who adores their feline companion and wants to showcase their love for them in a fun and stylish way. Whether youre a cat owner or simply a cat enthusiast, this printable is sure to bring a smile to your face and celebrate the special bond between you and your furry friend.
Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School ShoesBuy Now We love Pete the Cat! Second graders have read/sung the book and watched Pete's Wheels on the Bus video. In the book Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes Pete does lots of great things at school like reading, writing, singing, painting, adding, playing and more. We brainstormed several things that we could do at school that had two syllables: learning, helping, walking, thinking, etc... We used these ideas to complete a rhythm song. If students finished early they could draw Pete the Cat. Here are some of my favorites! Useful Links: Teachers get a copy of the worksheet here: School Shoes Composing Worksheet Pete the Cat Rockin' in My School Shoes Video Pete the Cat Wheels on the Bus Video Download FREE Pete the Cat MP3s
Hiya Everyone! First of all, I'm having a gleeful moment of instant nostalgia. The Sound of Music is on and I feel like I'm 8 years old again, getting to stay up late on a school night to watch Maria twirl around and around on the top of a mountain. Love it! Now on to a great little freebie I have for you... If you're anything like me, taking a day off from school ties your stomach in knots. Sub plans to write, materials to prepare, checking the clock every ten minutes and wondering if everything's OK. It's usually easier just to go in, even if you're under the weather. Taking a day off during the first few weeks of school is even worse - how can your little guys can possibly get through the day without you there?!? Well, I faced the unthinkable on Friday. It was the 7th day of school and I needed to take a personal day - YIKES! My Dad was having surgery (which went VERY well - woohoo!) and I wanted to be at the hospital with my family. I debated for a while about whether I should take the day off, because my class is just settling in to routines and procedures and I felt a little bit like I was abandoning them during a really crucial time. To make things even more tricky, it was School Picture Day. After talking with my AP, we decided that picture day was manageable and the kids would be just fine without me for a day (imagine that). So I got to work creating very detailed sub plans that I thought would keep the kids busy, engaged and learning on their first day with a sub. I wanted to give the sub easy to follow plans, knowing that he/she would be not only facing the usual challenges of being a sub, but also tackling them with a class still relatively unfamiliar with each other and the routine. Enter everyone's favorite feline - Pete the Cat! I had just introduced my newest group of kinder kids to the first Pete book on Thursday, and as expected, they were in love. I figured that giving them a day full of Pete was the best way to keep them engaged and help the day moving along. I came up with lessons and follow up activities for reading, writing, word study, math and science and wrote detailed directions for the sub. I prepared all of the materials, left everything labelled and organized, and left school on Thursday feeling OK about abandoning leaving my sweet class in the hands of a well-prepared sub. The day's plans came out so well that I thought I would share them as a little gift from me and Pete to make your life a little easier. If you have a day off coming up or just want to prepare an emergency sub kit, everything you need is in the packet. Just grab a copy of the book, Pete the Cat - I Love My White Shoes, follow the directions for prepping the materials, and enjoy a stress-free day off! Download Your Freebie Here Have a great day off!
Pete the Cat is the go-to book for many classrooms. Here are free Pete the Cat activities, videos and books - perfect for kindergarten and first grade.
Today I am excited to share a brand new Pete the Cat Match Sets freebie, and also to tell you about my newest book in the Wiggles series, “Wiggles’ First Day of School.” We have been working hard all … Continue reading →
Pete loves Halloween and candy but not so much scary surprises. Readers can join Pete as he goes trick-or-treating from house to house and discover what is waiting behind each door in this lift-the-flap adventure. Full color.\nIn this lift-the-flaps book, join Pete the Cat from New York Times bestseller James Dean as he goes trick-or-treating.Pumpkins, candy, and costumes! With flaps that reveal fun Halloween surprises, this Pete the Cat holiday story is sure to be a sweet treat for your little trick-or-treaters.Follow Pete as he goes trick-or-treating from house to house and discover what is waiting behind each door.Life the flaps to reveal fun spooky surprises--this book is spooktacular!
Please note: Many of you are requesting access to these documents. The sharing settings are open and always have been. I have figured out that your district or network has blocked your access. When I try to reply to you in anyway, my message is sent back to me, and marked as blocked. I am not ignoring you!! Please try your personal account so I can help you. Thank you. My muses and I have been working on this for a month now, creating at home and trying these in the classroom. Hopefully you can squish this in before you jump into fall themed activities. But you will need the Pete the Cat: The Wheels on the Bus book before you begin!! Back to the beginning... First, I simply read book to my class so they could enjoy it. We watched the accompanying video available on Teacher Tube: Pete the Cat Wheels on the Bus (Others are available on YouTube, if you can access those from your school server.) Next, I used the illustrations in the book to discuss positional words. Click on the image below to download the list of questions I used. Then we made this anchor chart of the terms! ******I explained that the bus is turned so that we were looking at its side and therefore the front and back area would look a little differently.************ After this I gave students a copy of a Pete and bus to color. We brought these to the carpet work with them demonstrating each positional term. Pete Manipulatives Bus Manipulatives Then we followed up on a different day with this cut and paste activity. Cut and Paste Positional Pete Finally, I gave students a reader using these terms as a culminating activity. It was perfect!! We are studying the word "is" and students could find it and highlight it in yellow. Pete's Bus I hope you can use and enjoy these. I am sharing because I was not able to find any positional word materials that were appropriate for the beginning of school.
Today, I had a super successful lesson. I recently picked up the newest Pete the Cat book and it is so adorable! It's called Pete the Cat: Rocking in my School Shoes. As you can see, this one is really music friendly. I showed them the video of the song. They really got into it, singing and dancing along. I liked showing them the video first so they could sing along when we got to the song in the story. Here's the song: Once we heard the song, I read the book and each time we came to the song in the story, we sang it together. Next, I showed them a Pete the Cat video of The Wheels on the Bus We did all the typical motions for this tune, then we sang a verse without the music. I handed out rhythm sticks and we changed the words to "The sticks on the bus go tap, tap, tap (scrape, drum, pound, hammer and roll). This is an easy way to incorporate instruments in Kindergarten. My students are trained to sit with the sticks in their laps, together, with both hands holding them, one at each end. I tell them to keep them quiet or I'll take them back. It only took once for them to realize I wasn't joking. To end class, they worked on a Pete the Cat coloring page. I paired a reader with a non-reader and had them work together. The worksheet had the students color Pete's shoes different colors. The shoes were labeled with the color. By pairing the students, I wasn't answering a million questions, and it gave the students an opportunity to peer teach, even in Kindergarten. They took it so seriously and it worked like a dream. Here is the coloring sheet and the link that I borrowed from Heidisongs.com http://www.heidisongs.com/Free_Downloads/assets/Pete_the_Cat-Color_Words.pdf
Check out these 25 FREE Pete the Cat Resources! Parents and Teachers Save Time and Money! Resources Include: Online Books, Videos and FREE Printables!
Odds and ends from a First Grade classroom and more...including teacher tips, activities, and downloads!
One of my back-to-school lessons for Pre-K, Kinder and 1st graders is a circle game+name game that corresponds with “Pete the Cat-I Love My White Shoes.”
pete the cat and his four groovy buttons activities
Start with the basics like letters, numbers, feelings, and following directions with these simple but engaging back to school butcher paper activities for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students.
Pete the Cat is the go-to book for many classrooms. Here are free Pete the Cat activities, videos and books - perfect for kindergarten and first grade.
