Pajama Day Success!

We had such a great time on Friday!  It was our last day of school before our winter break and we celebrated with a pajama day and a stuffed animal day!  The kids and teachers had a blast and below are some pictures that captured our day.  Enjoy!

Stuffed Animal Day!

Every time our class gets a compliment we get to add a piece to our Mr. Potato Head.  We get vote on which piece we want to add.  Today we completed our Mr. Potato Head by a compliment from Mrs. Sitsch!  Since we added the final piece we got to decide what we wanted to do to celebrate.  The class unanimously decided that they wanted to have a Stuffed Animal Day!  During Stuffed Animal Day the students get to bring in one stuffed animal from home.  They can bring in any stuffed animal as long as it can fit in their book bags.  The stuffed animals will be our buddies that day!  We will read to them, play with them during centers and even play a fun math game with them!  Our Stuffed Animal Day will be the same day that we have our Pajama Day, next Friday, December 18th.  Now it is time to work on completing our next Mr. Potato Head!

Calling all volunteers!

Winter break is quickly approaching and we need to start planning for the new year!  I am going to be sending home a volunteer sign up sheet on Friday.  Please fill this form out if you are interested in volunteering in our classroom starting in January until the end of the year.  We will need volunteers Monday-Friday from 9:00-10:00 in the morning (center time).  You will be helping in the art center.  I am asking that you send the form back by Wednesday, December 9th so that I have enough time to put together a schedule and can send it home before break.  This will allow us to be ready for the first week in January!

Lake Murray Long Ago- 2015

We all had a great time at our Lake Murray Long Ago Thanksgiving celebration last Friday!  We got to enjoy the buffalo dance, the turkey shoot, making thanksgiving story bracelets, participating in sack races and so much more!  It all ended with a perfect picnic outside!  Here is a Smilebox of some of the pictures that were taken.

Tomorrow- Thanksgiving Celebration Reminders

Here are some reminders about our Lake Murray Long Ago Thanksgiving celebration tomorrow!!  We hope that you will be able to join us!

-Starts at 8:00 (enter through the side doors-by the cafeteria- to get a visitor sticker)

-come to the classroom after you get your sticker

-Ends around 11:00 and then we will have a picnic lunch until 11:30ish  

-make sure your child brings a bag lunch (we will not be eating in the cafeteria)

-bring your lunch and a towel if you are planning to eat with us

-if your child will be going out to lunch with you after please send in a note stating this so we do not order them a lunch from the cafeteria

-we will have a few stations outside so please have your child dress for the weather

-we will put on the child's Native American shirt and necklace when they get to school (this will go OVER their clothes)

-if you take your child home after the celebration please make sure you find Mrs. Miller or myself to sign your child out before you leave (we have a class sign out sheet)

Past and Present

These past few weeks we have been learning about the differences and similarities between the past (then) and the present (now).  One of the activities that we participated in was creating a Venn Diagram with pictures that represented the past, the present, and both of them.

Bubble Breathing

We were so excited that Mrs. Sitsch (our guidance counselor) and Ruthie Bell (our new friend) came to visit us today!  Mrs. Sitsch taught us all about "bug feelings" and "bug feeling strategies" through one of our favorite books Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems.  We now know that it is important to share our feelings with a trusted adult.  Ask us about the "bug feeling strategies" that we learned today (bubble breathing)!

50's Day!

We had such an amazing time celebrating the 50th day of school today!  Not only did we have fun dressing up like we were from the 1950's, but we had so much fun singing and dancing with our families! I hope that you enjoy looking at our pictures!

Dr. Doug- Mystery Boxes!

We had a blast with Dr. Doug on Monday!  This is one of our favorite in-school field trips.  Dr. Doug came to visit us and he taught us how to be scientists.  We used our senses to help make predictions and learn about creatures and interesting things from the ocean.  Here are some pictures of some of the things we got to hold and look at from the mystery boxes!  We learned so much and had a great time!  We can't wait for him to come back!

Fall

We have had so much fun studying and exploring seasonal changes this week.  In class we have talked about all of the signs of fall that we are starting to notice.  Some of these changes include leaves changing colors, leaves falling off of trees, the weather becoming cooler (especially in the mornings), people wearing long pants and jackets, and so much more!  Below is a picture from our fall leaf walk this week.  On Tuesday, we took a walk outside to see if we saw any signs of fall (we specifically looked at the trees).  We were so excited to see that some of the leaves were falling off of the trees in front of our own eyes!  We looked at many different kinds of leaves.  The kids were allowed to pick up one leaf to share with their friends.  At the end of the day the students had the option of taking their leaf home to share with their families.  What seasonal changes are you noticing?

Apples

We are finishing up a two week unit on apples.  We have learned about the life cycle of an apple, parts of an apple, and so much more!  One of our favorite days during this study was when we all brought in our favorite apples.  We were able to try many different kinds of apples and then graphed which apple was our favorite.  Here are some pictures from this fun learning activity!

Color Weeks

Today is the last day of our two week long study into learning about and having fun with colors!  Each day the kids had a great time dressing up for that days color!  We got to sing songs, dance, write about and learn a ton about colors.  Ask your child which color day was their favorite!  Thank you for your involvement in encouraging your child to dress for the occasion!!

A few of the kids for rainbow day!!

Grandparent's Day!!

We had such a wonderful time celebrating Grandparent's Day this morning.  We put on a performance by singing our Grandparent's poem- "You Are Special" to all of our guests!  After we finished our performance we got to show our grandparents what we do during center time.  We had the best time reading together, playing together and visiting together!  We love our grandparents!!

Ant Hunt!

We had the best time during science today!  Since we have been learning about ants we decided to go on an ant hunt.  We all learned how to use magnifying glasses!  Before we went outside we went over some rules to make sure we were safe on our ant hunt (this included no touching the ants).  We also made some predictions about where we would find ants.  Most of our predictions were correct!  We found them in the grass, by the trees and even near food!  Being a scientist is pretty awesome!!

Curriculum Night

I just wanted to send out another reminder that Curriculum Night is next Tuesday, September 8th at 6:00.  I am so excited to see everyone and to get to talk to you about what we are going to be doing in kindergarten this year!  Please make sure that you come prepared to sign up for a conference time.  I will email out the available dates that morning so that you can check your schedules.  Have a wonderful long weekend!!

Learning Lambs 2015-2016

Meet the new Learning Lambs!!

Slideshow generated with Smilebox

Fun Days Ahead!

We are winding down our school year, but we still have a lot going on these last few weeks!!  Next Tuesday, May 26th will be field day.  Here are a few reminders...

-no parents are supposed to walk around with the class this year (only parents who volunteer at the stations)
-wear neon yellow and tennis shoes
-come to school with sunscreen on
-bring a bag lunch or if you buy a lunch it will be a bag lunch from the cafeteria (corn dog or PB&J)
-bring a water bottle with your child's name on it

We are also going to be having our "Kindergarten Fun Day" next week.  That will take place on Friday, May 29th.  Here are a few reminders...

-this will only be for the kids (no parents)
-we will be outside so put sunscreen on them
-wear tennis shoes
-BRING A BAG LUNCH (we will not be eating in the cafeteria this day)

ELA Extravaganza

I just wanted to give a final reminder that our ELA Extravaganza will be tomorrow morning (5-15-2015) at 9:30!!  Please make sure that your child brings a bag lunch for our picnic (or if they will eat at home send in a note letting me know) and please have them wear white shirts and blue jeans (skirt, shorts, pants, etc.). We will start in Dockside with our Three Piggy Opera and then we will come back to our classroom for our author's celebration!!  All of the kids have grown so much in kindergarten this year and we would love the opportunity to share what we have learned with you!!  Our picnic lunch will follow the author's celebration.  If you would like to take your child home after please make sure that you sign out on the form in the classroom!!  Please join us for this special day!

Thank you!!

Thank you all for your continued support throughout this year!  I cannot believe that it is almost the end of the school year; time sure has flown by.  I just wanted to take a minute and tell you all how much I appreciate all of the cards and sweet treats for teacher appreciation week!  I truly love my job and all of my sweet babies!  I am blessed to be in such a wonderful school with supportive teachers, parents and of course the amazing children!  

Animal Research

These past two weeks we have been researchers!  We have learned all about how to research and how to figure out the most important details in texts.  Next week we will share all about our animals through an app called ChatterPix!  Here are some examples of what we have been doing so far...

Mrs. Ulmer

We are all missing Mrs. Ulmer after she has had her back surgery!  Everything seemed to go well and she is at home recovering.  We are hopeful that she will be able to come back before the end of the school year!  I am planning on going over to visit Mrs. Ulmer next Monday after school.  If your child would like to make a card or send anything to her, please have them bring it to school on or before next Monday.

 

Fun at the zoo!

We had such a great time on our field trip to the zoo last Friday!!  The weather was perfect and the animals were out.  Thank you to all of the chaperones that made this field trip possible!  Enjoy the Smilebox!!

Make your own picture slideshow

Chicks!

We are SO excited that we finally have eggs with baby chicks inside!  We have been learning about oviparous animals and baby chicks for the past two weeks and the time has finally come that we have our own chick eggs!  The chicks have not started hatching yet, but we are hopeful that they will hatch very soon!  Each day this week we have been writing in our chick observation books.  We have been scientists and have taken good notes so that we can look back and see the changes from day to day.  Here are some pictures that we have taken so far!

Short a

These past two weeks we have been working on hearing, finding and saying the short a sound.  Last Friday we had our first "test" to see what we have learned so far.  We wrote down short a words, wrote a sentence that was dictated to us, and then wrote down the three high frequency words that we were focusing on writing that week.  To prepare us for our Friday "tests", we have been working with a lot of poems and highlighting the short a words, playing games and doing other activities on the Smartboard.  Please help your child feel confident and ready for each Friday by helping them practice throughout the week.  The first day of each week we write down all of the words that we will need to know how to spell for Friday.  This sheet gets sent home in their communication folders.  Please be on the look out for the sheet each week and just call out the words for your child to write down!   You can make this into a game if you like!

Oviparous Animals

This week we have been learning a lot about oviparous animals (or animals that lay eggs).  We had so much fun finding the eggs that were hidden in the classroom!  Once we found the eggs we opened them up and found different oviparous animals inside!!  We were shocked at some of the animals that were oviparous; such as the ladybug and the lizard.  We now have some of the eggs on our science table so that we can be scientists and learn more about the different animals.  Ask your child what animals they know that are oviparous!

Rock and Read

This week we have been celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday by reading many of his books, his biography and even by watching some short videos.  Today we continued to celebrate by participating in our school wide "rock and read" event.  During this time we got to bring a few of our favorite books to rainbow island and were able to sit in the rocking chairs to read!  We had such a great time celebrating Dr. Seuss and Read Across America!

Snow!!

We were all so excited when we came to school this morning and it started to snow!  In fact, yesterday we started a new poem called Dance Like Snowflakes in hopes of getting some snow this year.  We learned the poem and then put motions to it to help us remember the words.  I think our snowflake dance worked!  After we sang and danced our poem this morning we decided that we should go outside and observe the real snowflakes!  We watched as they danced down from the sky and landed on our playground.  Here are some pictures that we took.

Snow?

This week has been very chilly!  We have been making predictions in class about whether or not we think that it will snow this winter.  Yesterday we came very close with our ice storm.  When our "weather watcher", classroom meteorologist, checked the weather the trees even looked like they had snow on them!  Needless to say, please make sure that your child is bundled up over these next few days!!  Temperatures are going to be especially low on Thursday morning.  Here is a picture of our morning message from this morning.  Each morning the kids help me add or fix anything in the message.

 

Valentine's Day week!

This week has been filled with a lot of excitement for Valentine's Day, which is coming up this Saturday.  We have been working hard on decorating our bags, writing names on Valentine's at home and then delivering all of our cards!  Not only have we participated in Valentine's traditions but we have learned all about what Valentine's Day is.  Please remember that if you have not already sent in your Valentine's cards, they cannot be sent in with any kind of candy, food, or small treat.  This is a District policy.  I hope that you and your families enjoy this special time of year with one another!
 

Jump Rope for Heart!

We had Jump Rope for Heart today!  It was so much fun cheering on our friends and working our hearts.  We have learned so much this week about the heart and cannot wait to start exercising more to keep our hearts healthy!!

Kindness Challenge

We have had so much fun with our "Kindness Challenge" this week!  Throughout the week we have been dressing up, but we have also been learning a lot about what kindness is and how to be kind to everyone.  We have still been recording our "acts of kindness" at school and we are hoping that the kids are participating in the "Kindness Challenge" at home too.  The check off sheet that we sent home on Monday is filled with great activities to help encourage and teach your children about kindness.  Here is a picture from our "superhero day"!  Our superpower is kindness!!

Ice Experiments

Well unlike last week, we are enjoying our time outside in the beautiful, warm sun!  We have started our ice experiments this week and are so excited to learn more!  Here is a picture of our first ice experiment.  We are using our five senses to help us learn about and describe ice!

Cold, Rainy Weather

This week has been a great week!  We have made great choices, continued to give and receive "Gifts of Nothing" and got several compliments from other teachers, other students and even from parents!!  Unfortunately the weather has not been as great.  The cold, rainy weather has kept us from playing outside during recess.  We have had a great time during free centers, but hopefully next week will come with some sunshine and warmer weather!!

Gifts of Nothing

Many of you have probably heard your kids talk about "gifts of nothing" at home. After winter break we decided to read the book The Gift of Nothing by Patrick McDonnell again.  We have had a great time thinking about and giving others "gifts of nothing" this week. Some of the things that we have been doing in class is pushing in chairs for others, letting other people go first and helping our friends clean up their area.  I hope that the excitement of giving "gifts of nothing" have been showing up at home too!  We look forward to giving and receiving even more "gifts of nothing" during the month of January.

2014-2015 Blog

Ok, so I am finally going to try and get our classroom blog back up and running!! Please continue to check back for coverage of some events going on in our classroom!