Last Week Fun!

The last week of school is always a blast! Everyday, the first grade has been popping a balloon to reveal a new surprise for the day! On Monday, the students made a bubble blowers that create really cool bubble snakes!

On Tuesday we went outside to create some art! The students took to the playground to watch the paint slide!

On Wednesday, the rain held off so we could enjoy a scavenger hunt and picnic outside!

On Thursday, I put the students to work as they cleaned the room! Of course this included shaving cream on desks again! They also built an amazingly tall tower!

Today (Friday) the students created a craft, watched a movie, and are enjoying a field day as I type! I feel so blessed to have been able to work with these students this past year. They are an amazing group of kids, and I can't wait to watch them grow. I pray daily that God will do great things in their life. Have a wonderful summer!

Graduation!!!

Monday and Tuesday this week were filled with last days of school activities for the kindergartners! We made memory pages, cleaned desks with shaving cream, field day games, and practiced for graduation! Tuesday night was the big night! The students did great with walking in,their verses, their skit, and of course throwing their hats! I hope all four of these students have a wonderful summer!!!

In first grade, we have been counting down to the end of the year with special activities everyday. Everyday, the students pop a balloon to reveal the activity of the day!

On Wednesday the students had a balloon day! They played different activities with balloons, made a balloon tower, and brought home balloons filled with kind words. 

 On Thursday, the students had a lemonade day! We made pink and yellow lemonade, and made a chart to show which was out favorite. Pink won! We then made big pitcher of the pink lemonade, and drank it outside while listening to a book.

Friday was Random Acts of Kindness Day. The students all drew and completed different kind activities, and managed to complete them all! As a reward they were able to play human bowling at the end of the day! They also made little surprises to hide around the school for people to find!

Next week is the last week of school! We're all excited to see what fun activities come up these next few days!

Shopping Day!

This was the last full week of school for Kindergarten! Their curriculum is complete, so their time was filled working on science, some supplement math activities, crafts, and work for graduation. They've also been working hard on a writing project that will be displayed at graduation. First grade also completed their phonics curriculum this week! This has allowed us to focus on the books that the students have started to make. I love seeing their stories come together!

In science, the students finished their animal unit by learning about amphibians and birds. Their "Amazing Animal" book is now complete! The students worked on a Mother's Day present the renaming days this week. I better keep it a secret though!

On Tuesday the students has an exciting day! First, they filled their "Good Work Jar", so they were able to have a reward. They didn't have to wear shoes in the classroom all day, and received a treasure from our prize box! Also on Tuesday was the High-school's Econ class fair. Different high-school groups worked together to create different shops for the students to shop at. Each student received $5 (fake money) and were able to choose how to spend it. Their choices included face painting, petting zoo, ice cream, or legos! It was a fun day for the whole school!

I can't believe that next week is the final few days for Kindergarten. I'm so excited for graduation on Tuesday. The student have been working hard to make it special night. I love seeing both grades work together to do something important to them. Have a great weekend, and happy Mother's Day!

Finishing Things Up!

This was a big week in our curriculum! First grade has finished their last Reader Book! We have been working on reading nonfiction about different animals. They also completed their last spelling test. With the extra time, we are excited to start writing our own books! Kindergarten has officially finished all their curriculum! While we may work on a bit of review still, a lot our time next week will be spent preparing for graduation. The students are so excited to show everyone their hard work on May 16th. 

This week, the students have continues to learn about different animals. We learned about mammals and fish this week. It's been exciting to learn fun facts about animals like a polar bear, elephant, gorilla, piranha, and octopus. God definitely made some fascinating animals! The students have been working on taking all that they have learned, and putting it into books. 

Another exciting thing this week was a retirement party on Friday for a well-loved teacher in this school. It was fun to celebrate her with cupcakes and memories. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend. It's hard to believe that Kindergarten only has 5 days left of school, and first grade has 15! Summer will come before we know it!

All God's Creatures

Last Friday, the school took a trip to The Ark Encounter. It was a great day to spend time together, learn more about Noah's Ark, and praising God's work!

In our classroom we're also learning about animals! Erlier this week we talked about different types of animals, habitats, and baby animals. This week we started learning about a wide variety of animals a recording our newly founded facts in our Amazing Animal Book! This week we learned about a king cobra and saltwater crocodile. 

In Kindergarten, the students are finishing up their curriculum! They are learning many different letter blends like "oi", "aw", and "ou". In math we started early fraction work, official first grade work! The students also started working on planning their graduation. They also started practicing their skit for graduation night!

First grade is also working away at the end of their curriculum. They are reviewing a lot of concepts, along with learning some new grammar rules. In math, they are adding hundreds numbers and working on many word problems. 

Next week we will be continuing to work on graduation and learning many new amazing animals. 

A Much Needed Update!

Between Spring Break and preparing for the Ark Trip, I have not done a very good job of updating the blog! So here is a rundown of what has been going on these past few weeks!

The week before Spring Break, we finished off our unit about bugs. Our little chrysalises hadn't became butterflies yet, but I was able to show the students of one emerging after break! Before break, the student received a special end of semester reward of watching a Veggie Tales movie on a projector!

Also before break, the student each wrote a Bible verse on the unfinished flooring in the cafeteria. It's neat to think that our school is not literally built on the Word!

After break, the students took advantage of the warm weather, and released the butterflies. It was beautiful to watch them all fly away, and a few even landed on the students!

Last week, the first graders went to the Health Fair at BHES. They learned about different food groups, how to stay healthy and safe, and how to exercise!

We started a unit after break about plants. Last week, we learned a little about the parts of a plant by dissecting a flower and labeling it's parts. The students also went outside to see what types of plants surround us at school. This week the students learned how plants grow, and planted their own grass to take care of. They learned about different types of seeds, and different reasons God made plants. The students then used Playdough to mold different parts of a plant life-cycle.

(Almost) a Butterfly!

This title is very misleading. Last week we received some caterpillars to watch grow into caterpillars. This week we have....slightly bigger caterpillars. But our hopes are still high that we will at least see a  chrysalis before spring break!

Besides keeping track of our caterpillars, we have been learning about other bugs as well. On Tuesday we we talked about where different bugs live, as we studied a real hornets nest. The students then worked in teams to draw their own insect habitats.

On Wednesday the first graders learned about spiders, which are not actually insects! Using yarn, they learned how spiders make their web and use vibrations to sense when a bug (or beach ball for us) hits it.

The students learned about bees on Thursday. by acting like busy bees, they learned how bees pollinate flowers. They then learned about how bees drink nectar using straws and apple juice, and of course had a taste of honey that the bees produce.

In phonics and reading this week, the Kindergartners have been learning some new ways that vowels say their names. They learned about "sneaky y and w" and how they sometimes act as vowels. They also learned word families like "_o" and "_e". First grade have been learning about homonyms, rhymes, and letter formats. They each wrote a letter to someone they care about this week.

First grade has been learning some new math concepts as well! They began to add double digit numbers, while splitting the place values. The kindergarten has been learning about measuring with centimeters.

Next week is the last week before break! We will be learning about the season spring (and hoping it doesn't snow!).

Creepy Crawlies

This week we started a new science theme....BUGS! While I want nothing to do with any thing that creeps, I do enjoy learning about them! On Monday we learned what exactly makes a bug a bug, and named a few bugs. We then created our own bugs using paper scraps.

Tuesday we learned about ants and how they work together. The students used their fingerprints to make their own ants all over their ant hill. On Thursday some exciting guest came into the classroom, and will be staying for a few weeks. Caterpillars! The students will be observing and writing in journals as the caterpillars go through their life cycle. Hopefully we will be releasing butterflies before spring break...and yes I'm already praying for nice weather!

In phonics the first grade has been reviewing many word families to help assist in fluent reading. They also learned the "ph" sound. We all agree that we speak an odd language. Kindergarten has been learning the "two vowels" rule. My goal is to get this song permanently stuck in their heads, like it is in mine!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fb3Pdt8kxg&t=34s

In math the kindergarten has been focusing on counting money. They all know all four coin names and values. The first grade has started a new unit in math, and are learning some critical thinking and double digit adding and subtraction.

Next week we will continue to study bugs. and will hopefully see the caterpillars weave their chrysalises. Hope everyone has been enjoying the high school play this week, have a nice weekend!

Read Across America

This week was a fun break from the norm with Read Across America Week! We spend the afternoons listening to guest readers, making books, and reading! Here's a few highlights from each day.

Monday: To start off Read Across America, each student brought in their favorite book to share with the class. Three middle school students also came down to share some stories that they had written!

Tuesday: Tuesday was cozy up with a book day! The students enjoyed reading and doing their school work with blankets, pillows, and comfy clothes. In the afternoon, one student's grandmother came in to share one of her favorite books with the class.

Wednesday: We had a lot of guest readers on Wednesday! First, the principal (also a student's parent) came in to share his favorite book with the class. We also had a mom and a grandfather come in to share their stories! The students also worked together to begin creating their own version of the book, A Case of Bad Stripes by David Shannon.

Thursday: We celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday on Thursday. We read many Dr. Seuss books throughout the day, and also did many fun activities with them! We made word family "hats" from Cat and the Hat, made our own creative socks from Fox in Socks, and ate pop corn from Hop on Pop. We also had a guest reader mom and brother come in!

Friday: On Friday the first graders finished up their book, and it is now sitting proudly on our bookshelf. We also had quest reader cousins and moms come in to finish off the week!

Random Acts of Kindness Week

Just warning before the post, I did terrible at taking pictures this week.  We'll blame it on just having too much to worry about my camera, instead of me just being forgetful! The exciting event this week was Random Acts of Kindness. This week was filled with many kind words, caring actions, and thoughtful gifts. It was neat to see the students spend their free time during the day working on things for their RAK person, and then seeing them "sneak" to that person's locker. On Tuesday the students worked hard to make some cookies for their person. Throughout the week, they also made letters sharing their appreciation. The week ended with the whole school circling around and sharing who their special person was that week.

Another special event this week was President's Day on Monday. The students put on their creative hats to share what they would do if they were president. They then dressed them self as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, AND a modern president.

Big news in the Kindergarten phonics! The students are beginning to learn about long vowels and silent "e", They've enjoyed making sneaky "e" creep up on a word, to scare the vowel into saying his name. First grade has just started a new unit in phonics along with a new reader book this week! They have been reading different stories about instruments in a band.

Math has been full of new concepts as well. Kindergarten has been learning about 3D shapes, while first grade has been adding and subtracting double digit numbers. A highlight of the week was an action packed game where the students quickly spotted out the bigger number (and wore out their teacher).

Next week is Read Across America week. We have lots of different guest coming in to share their love for books with them. On Monday all the students should bring in their favorite book to share with the class throughout the week. Tuesday is Cozy Up with a Book Day. All the student can dress comfy and bring a blanket and pillow to cozy up with week. We will be skipping the desk that day! Thursday we will be celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday!

Valentine's Day!

Tuesday was an exciting day for our class! We celebrated Valentine's Day with a little party at the end. With a lot of help from parents, the students enjoyed a fun craft that was a real life angry birds! They also did a water color craft of a heart with a cross in it. A highlight of any Valentine's Day party is giving and receiving cards. The students were each so creative with making their own Valentine's mailbox, and were full energy when receiving cards from students!

Another exciting thing that happened this week was the beginning of our Random Acts of Kindness week (or RAK). Each student received the name of someone they were to give extra kindness to this week. The students have been having fun making cards and earning prizes to give to their RAK person. This will go on until next Thursday.

With Monday being President's Day, we have also started learning about presidents this week. George Washington and Abraham Lincoln have been our focus. The first graders have learned so much about these presidents, that they did their own Trivia Game Show to test their knowledge!

This week has been full of excitement, and I can't wait to see what next week brings!

Celebrating Love

We kicked off our week doing lots of activities with a Valentine's theme. In phonics, the First Graders spent time preparing and writing stories about someone that they love in phonics. They also have been spending time learning and reading words with the "ow" sound. The Kindergartners practiced hearing initial and ending sounds with a Valentine's themed BINGO using candy hearts, As of this week, they've also learned all their "h" blends (sh, ch, th, and wh).

 Both grades also created a Valentine for a family or friend. For the cover of their card, they rolled paper around with beans and paint to make a neat marble effect.

The excitement on her face is priceless!

We've also enjoyed a few science activities centered around Valentine's day. We asked questions, made hypothesis, and took observation notes when we watched candy hearts placed in different liquids. A few observations we made is that hearts sink and then float to the top in Coke, changes water colors, sink in rubbing alcohol, and get a little fizzy in vinegar. On Wednesday the first graders noticed that each liquid actually dissolves the hearts in a different way!

After reading a book about a man trying so hard, but always failing at a getting a card to his Valentine, we discovered ways we could move Valentines using a foam boat. The students tested different ways to move the boat in water using air, water, and magnets. They then planned their own ways to move the boat!

Our week was cut short with a snow day on Thursday and delay on Friday (thanks Punxsutawney Phil!). But I hope everyone enjoyed the day off! Next week is our Valentine's Party on Tuesday, and we will then start our Random Acts of Kindness Week on Thursday.

100 Days of School!

While we did lots of fun things this week, I'm going to focus on Monday. It was the 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL! It's hard to believe that we've already been in school 100 days. Its was neat to look back through the school year and see how much was learned. The Kindergartners were proud to share how much they've grown in reading over the year! To celebrate the day, we did lots of fun activities!

After singing about 100 and counting 100, the students made their own books about 100th day. They answers many 100 themed questions like... If you were a superhero, what would you carry 100 of, what could you eat 100 of, what would you NEVER eat 100 of? It was fun seeing their answers,

For snack, the students each got 10 pieces of 10 different snacks. Making 100 snacks! I'm glad to say there was plenty left over!

Another activity we did was a 100 day scavenger hunt. The students hunted around the classroom to find number 1-100! The most one student got was 84!

The students also made 100 looking glasses. Now they really look ready to learn!

For Bible time, we read the 100th song, and made a joyful noise with lots of Sunday School songs! Also at the end of the day, the student rotated between 100 themed activities. They painted 100 dots on a paper, made towers with 100 cups, and tried to see how many different things they could do in 100 seconds.

Also, our principal joined us for a round of spelling sparkle with the first grade on Friday. And he won! The kids think pretty highly of him!