Thursday, May 26, 2016

It's Summer!

Maybe everyone forgets this blog once it's summer, and that's ok you are allowed to just relax this summer! But, I absolutely have grown to love the process of organizing what I've been doing in the classroom onto this blog, so I may still post periodically through the summer. After all, a teacher's job doesn't just stop in the summer! You can get some ideas on what to do with your children this summer, or for upcoming parents, get a sneak peak at what's going on in the classroom preparation!

The last week of school went down in a whirlwind! It was crazy, busy, and just a ton of fun! On Monday we went to a farm with sheep, dogs, and ginnies (kind of reminds me of a quail). The children got to lend a hand on the farm by feeding sheep, filling water buckets, and hauling hay. It was a fun little trip!




Throughout the rest of the week we did very typical last week of school activities; clean out lockers, shaving cream desk clean, and a year review writing project. Of course we kept practicing for the Kindergarten Graduation!

The student's did a great job Thursday night at their graduation. It was so sweet to watch them walk in their graduation hats and sing their songs. They did a great job memorizing their verses and saying them clearing, even though we never practiced with the mic. (EEK!). I was so proud of them when they did their skit. They had worked so hard to get it, and did a wonderful job!



ahh so adorable!

I am truly going to miss having this class! They were such an independent, hardworking class, but were also a lot of fun! While I'll miss them in kindergarten, I know that they are ready to tackle first grade! So to my students, have a super duper summer!


Thursday, May 12, 2016

100 Days Brighter!

Can you believe that there is only one week left of school! I know that lately I've been starting every post like this, but this year has gone crazy fast! I'm going to miss these little kindergartners, but absolutely love the feeling of knowing that they are ready to take on 1st grade!

This week in phonics we have been doing a lot of review of vowels and letter blends. We have also been working on sounding out sounds in writing. I think that this is a fun way to go over handwriting AND phonic sounds. Plus, this class just loves making their own stories!  In reading we have begun reading through some poems.

In math we have been going over very early concepts of fractions (so fun!) and reviewing some major ideas this year. An update for anyone wondering how I like this new math curriculum, I LOVE it! It's so hand on, slowly introduces concepts, yet the children get a really good grasp on a lot of early foundations. Plus it's Bob Jones like my phonics, so the timings correspond!

Thursday was out official 100th day of school! I am so unbelievably proud of my students (can you tell I get sentimental at the end of the year!) so I thought the they enjoys a really fun rewarding day! In the morning we made 100 day crown with 100 items on them. We put 10 different things on ten different strips. They are hilarious!




We then made 100 shaped pretzels. The dough was a mess to deal with! But ,the ending was some cute and tasty pretzels!




 The students really enjoyed a 100's game where they flipped a coin 100 times and kept track if it was heads or tails. We also wrote about what we would buy with $100. A few hopeful items are a dirt bike, Legos, and a Hot Rod! Most of the students agreed that they would save their money first. Good job teaching finance skills parents!



In the afternoon the students showed what set of 100 things they brought in. I was so impressed by their creativity!

100 rocks

99 army men and 1 remote control car to destroy them

100 pieces of candy (yum!)

100 Legos

100 pieces of paper (and creativity!)

May 19th is the Kindergarten graduation at 7:00. Can't wait to see everyone there! As a side note, I am in need to some stick horses for the skit that night! If anyone has any, I would love to borrow them!

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Wilaby Walaby Woo, I Went to the Animal Zoo

If you are confused by the title of this post, ask one of the six kindergartners in my class...but prepared to be sat on by an elephant ;)

So, I school is winding down incredibly fast! Only two more weeks till Kindergarten Graduation! On Monday and Tuesday the students have been making crafts. singing songs, planning a skit all in preparation for the big night! The theme is officially Love Your Neighbor! So I hope to see lots of family there!

The last few weeks of phonics and math is reviewing important concepts. In phonics we are reviewing common grammar rules and practicing recognizing them in reading. We have also been focusing on silently reading to ourselves, and some students are really becoming little book worms! In math we are expanding a bit in fractions, while going over addition and subtraction.

On Thursday was Zoo day! We were blessed with a dry beautiful day! It was a blast!