Welcome to Kindergarten

WhErE hAvE wE bEeN?!?!?!??!!

2011-10-14T15:39:00.000-07:00

First of all, let me start by saying that I am terribly sorry about not keeping our blog as updated as I would like. The problem with a to do list is if you keep adding more to it, you can never accomplish everything and it can be quite overwhelming at times. So we will start fresh. Thank you to all the wonderful parents today that so kindly asked, adding no pressure whatsoever, if there would be pictures from the current 2011-2012 school year. I am truly blessed! Here is some information as to what we have been working on and learning the past few weeks:

Classroom routines, procedures and rules.

Chester Racoon from the Kissing Hand played a little trick on us and led us on a scavenger hunt throughout the building.

We have been working on how to correctly hold a pencil/crayon/marker. (Just ask your child. There is a great little song for them to sing to you!)

Writing our name.

Learning about our lesson maps. (More on this amazing learning to come!)

We have met 4 alphafriends and many "heart" words.

Learned how to take care of our FROG folders.

Played apple math games and are now playing Bat/Pumpkin math games counting up to 12.

Found out patterns are fun!

Practiced how our calendar works and the days of the week.

Learned poems about a penny, a nickle and a dime and what each coin looks like and it's value.

Met new friends and how to treat our "classroom family".

Went on two successful field trips to the best pumpkin patch ever, Linder Farms!

Plus so much more! You can't imagine all we have done in the short amount of time we have been together. Thank you so much for having such amazing kids! The year is off to a terrific start and this teacher just couldn't be happier! Take a peek at some of a few pics from our first 17 days.

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A sPeCiAl SnEaK pEeK!!!

2011-07-05T16:42:00.000-07:00

I am so very glad that you will be coming to school ready to work and learn with me! I just can't wait! I hope you are as excited as I am!!
Here are some upcoming important dates for you to remember.

What: Kindergarten Sneak Peek

When: A Group: August 23, 2011

B Group: August 24, 2011

Time: 8:10-9:30 am (Both sessions.)

Who: All kindergarten super stars and their parents.

What to Bring: Please bring your supplies with you to make the first day of school a little bit easier!

I can't wait to meet you! See you soon.

A Wedding? In Kindergarten...............

2011-02-09T14:04:00.001-08:00

ChRiStMaS wIsHeS.....

2010-12-07T18:33:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder what a Kindergarten Kid would like for Christmas? Well, I did! So I took a minute to ask! Enjoy! Hopefully Santa is watching.......

Callie Cat, Christmas, Candy and Cake!

2010-12-01T17:18:00.000-08:00

Bet you couldn't guess what letter/alphafriend we are meeting this week?!?!?! The letter C and Callie Cat is the perfect alphafriend to help us with that!!! Even though Callie is an amazing cat that can cook (Sure wish she could teach me!), the best part about learning the letter C is that our favorite holiday begins with it, CHRISTMAS!! Oh Boy!!!
In Kindergarten, this is the best time of year!
It is so much fun to watch the kids get excited about the holidays! We even have a Christmas tree in our reading center for us to sit by and read! There are even some lights up and we will start Christmas projects to help our room look more festive! Come in sometime and see! Maybe we can talk you into staying a while and helping us out! We would love to have you!!! We will even write letters to Santa himself! Wahoo! Christmas is just the best!

In the meantime, have fun looking for all the words that begin with the letter C. Be careful, as we have been learning.....it is a tricky letter. It can sometimes be confused with the letter K!

M is for Mouse (Mimi Mouse that is!)

2010-09-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

We have met another alphafriend! Mimi Mouse!

Mimi Mouse, Mimi Mouse,
Minds her Manners in the house.
When she sips her Milk
She never Makes a Mess!
Mud pies never stain her dress!

We not only learned the letter M and the sound the letter makes, we got to shove Marshmallows in our Mouths and see if we could sing the song. If that wasn't crazy enough, we had some good old fashion fun playing in the Mud!

Maybe Mrs. Ryan has lost her Marbles!!!

We were not as good as Mimi though. There were a few of us that might have stained our "dress"!

Thanks Moms and Dads for being such great sports! We had a great time!!!

A HuGe SHOUT oUt.......

2010-09-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

Our week has been full of meeting our new alphafriend, learning classroom routines/workshop time and how to be at school, learning our first "Heart" word AND we even had the extra special treat of working with 5th graders AND playing with snakes!

Yes, I said snakes but 1st things first, the 5th graders!

Mrs. Dobson's 5th grade class had an assignment to create a letter book and they were kind enough to come down to our room and share them with us! The alphabet books turned out fabulous and getting the chance to work with brothers, sisters or the "BIG" kids made our afternoon perfect! The best part was finding out that not only did they get to show us their books, they also are going to give them to us to keep in our room! Thank you Mr. Dobson and 5th Graders! You are all amazing and we LOVED having you!!! Hopefully you will get to come and work with us again!!

Now on to those snakes! In our newsletter, I asked you (the parents) to send in old ties that dads might not miss for a project. Well we didn't receive enough for each student but we did have one family donate 25 snakes for our classroom. Thank you Mrs. H!! You are the bestest ever!! Anyways, we didn't have enough for us to make the snakes but my mom so graciously made the 25 ties into "classroom" set of snakes for us to dance and sing with ! Thanks Mom!! We are so appreciative and LOVED playing with them! I couldn't think of a better way to make the /s/ sound with than with an actual little snake that we could hold! Fun, fun times in Kindergarten!

2010-09-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

The kids met our very first alphafriend this week!! The best part of learning to read is meeting our alphafriends throughout the year and the songs that go along with them! As silly as these songs are, the kids LOVE them!!! These catchy little tunes tend to get stuck in your head and will never leave and that is the goal! If you can remember Sammy, you can remember the sound that the letter S makes!! Let's get ready to read Kindergarten! Yipee!!! For all of you parents that would like to sing along....

Sammy Seal will sail the sea
When summer is the season.
Sammy Seal will sail the sea
And never need a reason!
Sammy Seal will sail the sea
In very sunny weather.
Sammy Seal salutes a seagull
As they sail together!!!

...and Kindergarten begins!!!

2010-09-10T16:31:00.000-07:00

....we have been having fun in Kindergarten our first 2 weeks together! Hopefully you all feel the same way too! Take a minute and enjoy some of the pictures of some of the things we did!

Welcome to Kindergarten!

2010-08-28T14:48:00.000-07:00

It was great seeing those of you that came to our Kindergarten Sneak Peek! Thank you for coming! Hopefully, it was a chance for you and your child to see our classroom, meet some friends and/or get some of your questions answered!

I know I enjoyed meeting each and everyone of you! This year is going to be awesome! Thank you for the opportunity to work with your child! I am quite honored and will do whatever I can to help this be one of the best school experiences your child will have!!!

See you on Monday/Tuesday!!! I can't wait!!!

Please check back here often for photos of our school day and other special Kindergarten memories!

AnD wE aLl LiVeD hApPiLy EvEr AfTer......

2010-06-03T15:44:00.001-07:00

Our last final days of school, we had the first ever "Kindergarten Fairy Tale Ball". Can I just say, that it was nothing short of magical? I have never had so much fun and cannot think of a better way to end our year together!
After learning to read, we dived right in and started putting our skills to the test! We started reading the Three Little Pigs. We learned about sequencing, story retelling, characters and setting. After that, we went crazy with as many Fairy Tales as we could, Jack In The Beanstalk, Cinderella, The Little Red Hen, The Three Little Bears and many more.
Not only was sharing old-time favorites with my students fun, seeing them reading and actually becoming independent, creative and owning their own work was amazing for me as a teacher! The whole month was perfect! So to top it all off, we (Kindergarten Teachers) decided the best way to celebrate was to have a ball.
The whole day was centered around Fairy Tales. We played games like "Snow White and the Poisoned Apple" and "Sleeping Beauty and the Musical Mats". We had Fairy Tale Centers: (A HUGE shout out to the parents that came in and helped! You are amazing and worth more than gold!) 1)We wished on a star. 2) A Magical Mystery Drawing. 3) Created Fine China! 4) We made wands!
We also had lunch in our classroom on our Fairy Tale Placemats that we created with us! (Can I say that your children did an awesome job? I do hope you will treasure them as I did!!!) Then we taught the other Kindergarten classes a Little Pig song and they taught us one of theirs. (Thanks Mr. "A"! Your song was perfect!!!
Then the day was topped off by an actual dance, yes, I said dance or "Ball". Here are a few of our pictures from our "magical" day! And yes, I can say that I think we will live happily ever after.
The End

Luck'O The Irish To Ya...... or us!!

2010-03-17T16:37:00.000-07:00

Last week, something started happening in Kindergarten! There were chairs turned over and on tables, coloring on the tables, toys left out and taken everywhere and to be quite honest a HUGE MESS. Math games were strung throughout the room and there was even glue on our "must dos", not to mention rainbow drawings and shamrocks drawn in odd places!
Can you believe it? Rumor has it that some crazy leprechauns came into our school and tried to learn but have not been taught how to behave and/or take care of our things. We did try to leave them a letter (making sure to be specific) telling them that we don't mind them coming but there are rules in our room and they are going to have to make sure and follow them. We didn't like cleaning up after them (Just like Mrs. Ryan keeps telling us about her having to pick up after us!!)
Of course, those tricky leprechauns left all kinds of "clues" for us to analyze and help us learn about the actual holiday (St. Patrick's Day) but not really enough figure it all out and how to make it stop. The best plan that we could come up with was to build traps! So, that is exactly what we did! Take a peek at some of the traps we built! Every student had great stories on how they would lure the leprechaun in and what would have to take place in order to catch them! Take a look and see traps, a glimpse of the messes and some very interesting clues!!!

Introducing Mr. Logan

2010-01-13T16:06:00.000-08:00

I would like to introduce you to our new exciting helper! His name is Mr. Logan Thomas (We like to call him Mr. Logan) and he is a Sophomore from Kuna High School. We are definitely lucky to have him and his enthusiasm and willingness to help out!!! The kids LOVE him already and in a matter of just a few days, I have become quite dependant on him and his help! We are blessed with this wonderful opportunity solely because he chose to volunteer! Mr. Logan finished a Health class early and so he asked if he could come and spend his free period with us! Of course the answer was quickly yes!!! Aren't we lucky?!??! On "b" days, (Sorry, I am of no help here! It is a High School thing!!!It is a crazy schedule like our M-W and T-Th thing. He will be coming every other day.) Logan will join us to help work with small groups, play math games, do testing and whatever else we can think of!
Here are a few things that we have learned about Mr. Logan and thought you would like to know:
**Birthday: August 26, 1994
**Favorite Sport: Baseball
**Favorite Team: LA Dodgers
**Favorite Player: Dustin Pedroia (Red Sox)
**How Long Playing Baseball: 11 years!
**Favorite Baseball Position: Pitcher
**Favorite Subject: Math and PE (In fact, he LOVES PE so much he is currently taking 3 different PE classes! WOW!!!!)
**Career Choice: Become an MLB baseball player (That was an easy one!)
**Dream College: Texas (What!??!?!? No worries, we will sway him to the blue and orange side. However, who could frown upon those Longhorns! Even with their current championship loss!)
**Reasons for Coming to our Classroom: "I enjoy working with kids and thought this would be a good experience!"
**Favorite Teacher: Mrs. Jenkins in 3rd Grade
Welcome Mr. Logan! I am so very excited to have the opportunity to work with you! As are the kids! Thank you for being a positive influence on our Kindergartners and helping them be successful this year! Your help is not unnoticed and/or unappreciated!

HAPPY NEW YEAR and WELCOME BACK!!!!

2010-01-06T16:01:00.000-08:00

Welcome Back!!! Did you have a great break? Did you enjoy your time with your family and friends? I sure did! It actually went by rather quickly but I have to admit right after our New Year festivities....my thoughts returned to our classroom and missing my Kindergartners!!!! It sounds like Santa was VERY kind to many of you from DS's, puppies, new clothes and toys! WOW!!!

We spent some time on Monday/Tuesday talking about the New Year (2010) and learning a HUGE word, resolution. We brainstormed what could be some of their resolutions and I thought it would be fun to share them with you. (No worries, we practiced and the REAL cute ones are only in my teacher's journal!!!)

Happy New Year!!!
(Just a quick little poke...Boise State sure did an amazing job this year and ending the season with winning a BCS bowl game! Oh yea! Great Job Boise State!! We, (Well, most of us!) were cheering loudly for you!!! 14-0...WHAT A SEASON! Go Broncos!!!!

A tRiP oN tHe PoLaR eXpReSs!!!!!

2009-12-13T18:06:00.000-08:00

What an amazing time!!! The trip on the Polar Express was a perfect way to end our week of learning the letter Pp. It was a fun filled day with a train ride (for pretend!), cocoa and marshmallows (Yummy juice for "D" who is allergic to milk!), The Polar Express story, great practice sewing and learning to tie-(keep helping us so we can tie our own shoes!) on a candy cane, then a train ride back to school! Then, guess what?!!?!??! When we were getting our FISH folders and coats and backpacks, we received a package from the Santa Claus!!! Mr. Silzly and Mrs. Biery brought it to us right when it arrived to school! Inside, there were bells that were still cold just like the North Pole! The best part was that everyone single one of us could hear the bells-meaning we believe!!!!
I know I enjoyed the day and LOVED seeing my students faces and their excitement! Once again, I am in awe watching my students learn and enjoy life! What truly wonderful days. I love my job!!! Your children are perfect and so much fun! I hope you enjoy a few of the pictures of our day(s)!

Special Guests!!!

2009-12-13T17:51:00.000-08:00

Last week, we were given a very special treat! A few of my former students, now First Graders, came and read to us a play!! It was a silly play about Santa in a parade with just his underwear on and they did an amazing job!!! We laughed like crazy through the whole thing!! I was so proud of how well they are reading and the Kindergartners were mesmerized by the "big" kids and what they were going to be doing when they move on. (Sniff, sniff!)
Thanks BIG First Graders/Mrs. Brookes! Thank you for thinking of us and coming in to read to us! You made our day! You are nothing short of amazing!!! We can't wait to be just like you!!!

Pajama Day in Kindergarten!

2009-12-08T15:46:00.001-08:00

Just a reminder that tomorrow and Thursday is pajama day in Kindergarten! It is sooo cold, so you will need to make sure that your child has nice warm ones on. They can bring slippers to change into when we are at school.

Our morning will stay the same but we will get on the Polar Express (It is okay. It is just a pretend train but still LOTS of fun!!) to leave for the North Pole around 12:00!!! Yipee!! Oh what fun.......

Oh yea, no worries! We will be back to school around 2:35 so you can pick us up!!!!

OuR cHrIsTmAs WiShEs!!!

2009-12-03T14:47:00.001-08:00

Christmas in Kindergarten is the best time of year! It is an amazing time of excitement and full of wonder and wishes! We hope you will enjoy reading our Christmas wishes for this year!!!

2009-12-02T19:09:00.000-08:00

Hopefully you have heard by now that we had our annual Kindergarten Feast last week before the break! Well, not "just" a feast. A feast with little Pilgrims and Native Americans and LOTS of food! What could be better in a 5 year old's life than to end a unit on the First Thanksgiving with friends,food and fun centerst!!
Thanks to all the wonderful parent support and all of the items that were donated to make our feast a success! We spent the first part of the day practicing our letters, the sounds each letter makes and reading together. Then we kicked off the celebration by combining our classes for the big Feast. We played the part of the Pilgrims this year and I must say that we were the best Pilgrims ever!
After our bellies were full with WAY to much food, we spent the afternoon doing "special" centers like making a sweet little turkey made out of our own little hands, (Enjoy them! They will only stay that small for a little while!) we made bracelets with beads to help us remember the first Thanksgiving story, (Just ask us, we would be more than glad to share!) we played some addition turkey bingo,(Shhh, we know it is First grade math but noone knows! Oh and Yes, Mrs. Ryan is so proud of us!) and we even made a turkey out of an apple to take home for a centerpiece. We were busy!!! A great way to end the week and get ready for our own family feasts at home!

I hope you enjoyed your time with your child over the Thanksgiving Break! I sure enjoy my time with your child!! Once again, I am thankful for all of you! You and your child make my job look easy and are such a special part of my life! Thank you!! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

a PeEk At LaSt WeEk...

2009-11-16T18:47:00.000-08:00

In case you were wondering what we were working on last week, here is a little "peek" from some of our activities. We worked hard on the letter Hh and the alphafriend Hattie Horse. To finish the week, Mrs. Ryan always puts something in the sound box to have us guess what might be in it. (We are also learning to ask questions and what the difference is between a question and a story! But we just like it because if we guess what is in the box, we get to keep it!) Of course it started with the /h/ sound! It was a bunch of Horns for us to blow while we sang our new song! (Parents, I do hope you know that I apologized and smiled as I sent them home for you to listen to! No need to say thanks!! :-))
We also talked about Veterans Day and made flag windsocks to fly and show how much we appreciate the men and women that protect and work for our country! It is an honor to be an American and we wanted to take some time out to think about all of our Moms, Dads, Aunts, Uncles and others that help us! So if you are one of them, please accept our very best, "Thank you"!!!
However, the best part of last week was that we started to read! Really read! We know know our very first vowel and we are blending sounds with it to make words! Please help us practice at home! Practice makes us better and we are VERY excited about our new skill! We should know the letters a,b,h,m,n,r,s and t! This means that we can actually read words like hat, cat, man, ham, and tab! Aren't we amazing? We think so!!!
(A MUST share from your teacher: During our workshop time, the kids work on their Must Do's, Next Do's and then may go to choices. Choices are usually "housekeeping", play table, puzzles, etc. My highlight thus far was when four students got together and decided to play "teacher" and did blending, letter sounds and letter identification together at the carpet in a pretend "meeting". What a wonderful moment for me as a teacher! I am so very blessed! They will never know how much that inspired me as I watched them practice! So, "C", "R", "R" and "K", thanks for making my day!! I have these moments every day and sometimes I just want to share! Your kids are amazing!

A Note of Thanks from your Teacher!

2009-11-06T10:40:00.000-08:00

I would just like to take minute and tell you how very thankful I am to have met with so many of you during parent/teacher conferences! I am so lucky to have such caring and supportive parents! I enjoyed sharing all the wonderful things your children have learned and I am honored that you allow me to work with someone that is so precious to you! It is because of you that my job looks and is easy! I value you and appreciate your support and all the extra hard work you do to make Kindergarten a success! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I love my days with your kids! I have the best profession in the world and am so blessed! Please know that you are the best and that even in the midst of some hard changes, we are excelling because of you!
Take some time to celebrate with your child! They have all come so far and in so many different ways! See you on Monday when we will be ready to get back to work!
(An added bonus for all of you football fans that are trying to convert us...I added the Boise State football schedule in upcoming events, just for you! You know who you are! Cornhuskers...Buckeyes..Vandals...geez!!! GO BIG BLUE!!!!!)

A sPoOkY question....

2009-11-06T10:16:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered what a Kindergartner would say if you asked them what their pumpkin looked like? It is always an adventure to watch them aimlessly wander through the pumpkin patch searching for the perfect pumpkin! For some it is a quick pick..the first one they find. Then there are some that will search and search and search, always claiming that each one is "just not it". Sometimes there can be quite a lot of thought put into finding just the perfect pumpkin that it makes you wonder, what do they really see? Does the pumpkin actually resemble something that makes them decide that is the one to step on the vine, twist and then pull? (These are strict Farmer Feist instructions for picking a pumpkin!) So, I thought I would ask and here are your children's answers to the question...
What or who does your pumpkin look like?

KiNdErGaRtEn EsCaPeS...to the pumpkin patch!!

2009-11-06T09:24:00.000-08:00

We did it!!! Even in the midst of horrible winds and an ice bitting chill in the air, we went to the pumpkin patch! Our day started with hard work during our reading block, enjoying some pizza together as a class while we waited for the bus and our parent teachers (Thanks office for providing us with lunch! It was YUMMY!) and then away we went to the pumpkin patch! We enjoyed ever minute of our special day! A HUGE thanks goes to the helpers that came with us or met us while we were there! You made our day so very special and we appreciate each and everyone of you! We hope you enjoy some special pictures of our day!

There was a Noodle name Nyle...

2009-10-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

Who liked to nap for a while.
He wears a scarf around his neck
He's neat and right in style!
Hopefully your child has been coming home and singing, or at least telling you about our alphafriends. They even have the same beginning sound as the letter they help us to remember. It is always a lot of fun on Monday/Tuesday when I get to introduce our new alphafriend/letter for the week.
This week we are learning about Nyle Noodle and/or the letter Nn. However, believe it or not, we have already met 6 alphafriends and spent at least a week on the letter each of them represent.
Just in case you were wondering....here are the remaining 5.
s=Sammy Seal
m=Mimi Mouse
r=Reggie Rooster
t=Tiggy Tiger
b=Benny Bear
Your child should be able to recognize each of these letters (upper and lowercase), say the sound the letter makes, and write them as well! So practice, practice, practice. Have your child teach you the songs and sing along with them! I am sure you will enjoy them as much as we do or even more! (Be careful! They are catchy and you will find yourself singing them at work, doing dishes or just driving in the car! :)) Isn't Kindergarten the best!?!?!?!??!

SoMe MoRe RoCkS fRoM mOnDaY-wEdNeSdAy GrOuP.......

2009-10-05T16:31:00.000-07:00

a LiTtLe RoCk FuN!!!!!

2009-09-24T14:03:00.000-07:00

What a week in Kindergarten! We have been learning about the letter R, the sound the letter makes and meeting our 3rd Alphafriend, Reggie Rooster!!!! Hopefully you have been hearing Reggie's song at home and had fun finding things that begin with the /r/ sound! We know we have!!! We ended the week with guessing what could Mrs. Ryan possibly put in the R box for us to guess this time? Guess what?!?!?!? She put Rocks in there! Not just any rocks but rocks that we got to paint and make into a pet! Oh what fun!!!!! Take a look at our Rocks and the names we gave them!!!

Have you seen our Gingerbread Man?

2009-09-20T15:47:00.001-07:00

We started the first day of school with a book about a gingerbread cookie, The Gingerbread Baby. Have you read it? It is a story about a little boy that bakes a gingerbread baby but doesn't follow the instructions and opens the oven before the suggested time. The gingerbread baby runs away and has many people and animals trying to catch him to eat him. However, in the end, the little boy is smart and bakes a gingerbread house. The big surprise however, is at the end when you lift the house and finding the gingerbread baby happy and caught!
The book made us all very hungry but Mrs. Ryan was a thinker and made us a HUGE gingerbread man cookie for us all to share for snack. We went to recess and came into our classroom with our mouths watering, only to find our gingerbread man missing! Can you imagine?
This started our tour of the school and how to walk in line. We looked in the office and meet Mrs. Cox and Mrs. Martinez (secretaries). We went to they gym and asked Mr. Andrus (PE teacher). We stopped by the lunchroom and they hadn't seen him. We went and asked Ms. Burr (Music teacher) and she never saw him either! We walked everywhere through the school (Learning "Hips and Lips" to keep us quiet in the hall!) and even asked the people we met along the way. Still, no gingerbread man!
Luckily, at the end of the day...Mr. Silzly (Principal) brought back our gingerbread man! He had been running on the blacktop outside at recess (This is a No, no!) and feel down and got hurt so someone took him to the office!
Thank goodness we learned rules and places we will go along the way so that will not happen to us! However, better than that, we finally got to have our snack!

Sorry T-Th group, somehow some of our pictures were deleted! I promised to make it up to you! Parents, we did have a lot of fun even if some of the pictures didn't make it here!

Introducing our new Kindergarteners!

2009-09-20T14:52:00.000-07:00

Sneak Peek was an success! I enjoyed meeting you and your child! Thank you, thank you, thank you for coming! Every year I am amazed at how I have been blessed by so many wonderful parents and students! So I would like to introduce to you, Reed Elementary's new groups of Kinder. Kids!! It is going to be a great year! I can't wait!

HELLO, and WELCOME to our Classroom!!!

2009-08-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

School is about to begin, and I am so very excited about our new year coming up! I can't wait to meet you and your child! It is going to be a fun new adventure being at school all day/every other day!
I have lots of fun and exciting activities planned for the months ahead. As we begin the school year, I look forward to getting to know you and your child much better. I hope that you will come and visit with us from time to time. If your schedule permits,I would love to have you volunteer in the classroom on a regular basis. If not,I hope you can join us for field trips or for a visit when you have a day off. You are always welcome in our classroom!
Again, I am looking forward to a great year and many successes with your child!

sPlAsH dAy 2009!!!

2009-06-03T12:44:00.001-07:00

Splash Day was a HUGE success!!! Thank you to the parents that donated items and came into help! What a fun way to end the year and celebrate all we have accomplished! I was completely surprised by a beautiful quilt that my morning class had created for me! WOW! I was speechless (Hard to imagine, isn't it?) Thank you so very much! It was an amazing gift and I am still in awe of it! We have found a quilt rack and it is now proudily displayed in our Boise State Room at home! I had the perfect spot for it! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! It was above what was necessary and I feel completely spoiled! I am going to miss each and everyone of you this summer and it will be especially hard when you come to school and keep walking down the hall, instead of coming to Room 2!! Enjoy pictures of our fun day!

TOMORROW IS OUR BIG SPLASH DAY!!!

2009-05-27T16:49:00.000-07:00

Parents,
Please remember that tomorrow is our big water day! If you have signed up to help, please come to school with your child to help out at a station! We are so very excited!!!
Every Kindergartner will need to have sunblock on! They will need shoes and clothes that can get wet! (You may send an extra pair of clothes in if you would like too!)
See you tomorrow! Let the fun begin!!!!

A Special Note To Parents/Parent Teachers and Ms. Stassie from Mrs. Ryan.

2009-05-27T16:05:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that we are coming to the end of Kindergarten! It has been truly a wonderful year, filled with learning, laughter and amazing growth! I cannot say enough how much I appreciate you sharing your children with me! They have developed and grown so much over the past year and I am so very proud of every one of them! It has been an honor to work with them each and every day and be a small part of their school career!
In no way do the two little words, "Thank you" begin to express how much I have appreciated each and everyone of you, my parents. Even if you did not have the opportunity to work in our classroom, I appreciate all of the time, love and understanding that you give to help your child be the best they can be! You have made my job easier and because of you, this year has been a HUGE success!
I need to take a moment to also thank those of you that gave up your time and worked with us in our classroom! I have always been so blessed to have such willing parents and grandparents spend countless hours in the copy room, organizing centers and/or me, stuffing folders, and/or working with us in the classroom! You did not let me down this year! Your help and availability completely amaze me! (If I didn't get your picture in the slideshow, please fogive me! I truly didn't mean to leave you out! This blog is a work in progress and I have big plans for next year!My hope is that you will know who you are and know how much I greatly appreciate you!!) I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all you have done to make my job easier! In fact, you leave me the fun part,simply just teaching your children! I do hope you know how much I appreciate each and everyone of you and now call you my friends!
That leaves us to our student helper from the High School this year. I was a little nervous about volunteering to have a helper but Ms. Stassie, you have been nothing less than amazing! You are so extremely talented and the best helper a teacher could ask for! Your smile and eagerness to work and enjoy Kindergarten is contagious and I enjoyed you more than you will ever know! You were a role model, an encourager, a helper, an igloo builder (teehee!) a photographer, a tester, and a perfect copy queen! We wish you the best in everything you do and hope you will always remember the special place you will have in our hearts. The only regret I have, is that my AM class did not get to experience, Ms. Stassie!! It was a pleasure to work and share my profession with you!
I appreciate each and everyone of you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Please remember to stop in and give your ol' Kindergarten Teacher a hug as you walk down the hall to your new classrooms! I am always available to you because you will always be the parents of children I have had the privilege to have worked with and love!

ThE aFtErNoOn GrOuP gEtS a TuRn At AlL dAy!!

2009-05-13T14:02:00.000-07:00

Today the PM class got to have a turn being at school all day! Miss Hall, a First Grade Teacher, was our host for our special experience! We were able to create a book about First Grade, read around the room, check out some very cool grass and alfalfa, as well as hear an awesome story! Then to top of an already amazing adventure, we got a treat from our buddies! Pencils and our own name tags to take home! WOW! We so enjoyed our time! Thank you Miss Hall and class! We can honestly say it was a fabulous time! Of course, the main event was eating lunch at school! Can you believe it? LUNCH! Probably second to that was the opportunity to have FOUR (Yes, count them, FOUR!) recesses! We even started our very first chapter book! It was a great day!!!
It is amazing to think that in 11 short days our Kindergarten days will be over. (Sniff, Sniff!) It has been a wonderful year and today just proved how ready the kids are to be in First Grade! Kindergartners, you are truly amazing! I am so proud of you and all you have done! See you tomorrow (normal schedule) as we prepare to finish the year in style! Have a nice evening!

ScHoOl AlL dAy!

2009-05-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

One way we attempt to prepare our kids for next year, is to have our Kindergartners come and stay at school all day. It is a great way to practice being a "First Grader" and see a schedule from 8:15-2:35. We had a wonderful time that started with our normal brain work and then headed to a First Grade classroom. We were able to spend some time in Mrs. Wright's classroom today where we read a story, authored and illustrated a book, and even did a subtraction sheet! WOW! Can you believe it? Thanks Mrs. Wright's class, you were amazing and we so enjoyed our time with you!!! Our Kindergarteners were briliant! We ate lunch, created designs/patterns on our graduation caps (sniff, sniff!) and even started our FIRST chapter book! Unbelievable!!!!! What a fun-filled day of school and a perfect celebration of all we have accomplished this year!
Remember AM kids and families, no school tomorrow!!! I will miss you and can't wait to see you on Thursday! Way to go Kindergarteners! You were fabulous and I am so proud of you!!! PM Kids and families, I can't wait to see you tomorrow!

What We Know About Our Moms!

2009-05-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day is a time when we get to tell our mothers how thankful we are for everything they do and what we know makes them special. Too often Mom's are overlooked but this one day each year, mothers get the thanks should receive on a daily basis. In Kindergarten, we took some time to think about our Mom's and how very special they are to us and tell the world what we love about them. So, Mom's take a look at what your child said that puts you above the rest!!!! Happy Mother's Day! We love and appreciate you!!!

A Glimpse at Our Chicks On The Farm!

2009-05-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of our babies, safe and happy on the farm. Farmer Steph and Farmer Val say that they are very happy and doing well. They miss us and have enjoyed the letters we sent with them. Farmer Steph and Farmer Val have had their kids read them to them when they get lonely. Look at those chicks use their listening ears while they are being read our stories! Wonderful! See all of our hard work is paying off!!! Way to go Kindergarteners! I will keep you updated as soon as I get some new pictures. Parents, I will try to get some of the goodbye pictures on our blog as soon as I can! However, we do have some special plans for Mothers Day so make sure you keep checking back often!

Just another day?!?!? NO WAY! Today was amazing!!!

2009-04-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

We would like to formally announce the arrival of our first baby chick! There appears to be at least one more baby hatching so we will just have to wait and sewe what happens tomorrow! Can I tell you have very excited we were today? It was a day of celebration! Not only were they chicks hatching but we have officially finished meeting every alphafriend! Keep checking back for chick progress and updates, as well as what we will do next, now what we have finished learning the alphabet! Kindergarten is the place to be!!!

Hey, do you know what "going green" means?!?!?!

2009-04-22T06:48:00.000-07:00

Such a BIG question for our little Kindergarten kids! The best part of working with kids is it doesn't matter if they know the answer or not, you will always get an answer! So in honor of Earth Day, we started the day with a question. What does "going green" mean? After the questions, we talked about Earth Day, what we can do to help, and to be in true Kindergarten form learned a song about the 3 R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! Isn't Kindergarten fun?!?!? We just love it! Happy Earth Day to you all!! Enjoy and help take care of our Earth that we like to call home!

HaTcHiNg EgGs In KiNdErGaRtEn!?!?!?

2009-04-13T18:57:00.000-07:00

Of course! It is a great way to observe science in action and learn about life cycles and scientific observations and much more!! Our eggs arrived last Tuesday and we put a dozen different types of chicks into our incubator. We have learned so much about our chicks or what we now call the embryo's because we are such amazing scientists! In fact, we are becoming experts about chicks and their cycle of life. For example, it takes around 21 days for our chicks to hatch, they are currently being fed by blood vessels inside of the shell, they have a heart that is beating and the eggs need to be kept in temperatures around 100 degrees. It is such a fun time in Kindergarten! The kids love learning about them and even chose to sing "special" lullabies to them as they are busy growing, instead of playing in housekeeping and with Lego's. Can you believe it? Instead of Legos!!!!

Did you think I wouldn't write about those crazy leprechauns? Silly you!

2009-03-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

Around March 17th, something happened to our classroom. When we arrived at school, our classroom was destroyed and noone ever saw anyone going in or out! There were chairs and coloring on the tables, toys left out and taken everywhere. Math games were strung throughout the room and there was even glue on our "must dos", not to mention rainbow drawings as well! Can you believe it? Rumor has it that some crazy leprechauns came into our school and tried to learn but have not been taught how to behave and/or take care of our things. We did try to leave them a letter (making sure to be specific) telling them that we don't mind them coming but there are rules in our room and they are going to have to make sure and follow them. We didn't like cleaning up after them (Just like Mrs. Ryan keeps telling us about her having to pick up after us!!) Of course, those tricky leprechauns left all kinds of "clues" for us to analyze and help us learn about the actual holiday (St. Patricks Day) but not really enough figure it all out. The best thing we came up with was to build traps! So, that is exactly what we did! Take a peek at some of our traps we built! Every studenthad great stories on how they would lure the leprechaun in and what would have to take place in order to catch them.

Oh, by the way, we didn't end up catching a leprechaun. They are so tricky! They were interested and were occupied by our traps leaving footprints all over our room! Believe it not, they even left us a note and some "chocolate gold" coins but no leprechauns were found anywhere! We sure did have fun trying though!

A little note from the teacher!

2009-03-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

I need to say how very sorry I am that I haven't been better about updating our blog this past month. My whole family has been quite sick (Including me!) and we have had a terrible time getting over it! For this reason, each night after I got home, I was either too tired to play on the computer or I had sick kids or a husband to take care of. I do hope you know how much I enjoy working with your children and that pictures are taken almost daily, even if they are not posted here! (Please don't worry! I am making each family a little surprise for the end of the year!!) I am feeling much better now and hopefully, we will get back into the routine of posting and keeping you all updated!
Thanks for understanding!!! Thanks again for the opportunity to work with your kids! I love each of them and am so proud of them all!

A Very Special Ceremony!

2009-02-14T19:09:00.000-08:00

I am sure that many of you know that the letter q is always followed by the letter u. Some examples are, quilt, queen, quit, quite, quiet and so many more that we cannot mention them all here! For this reason, it only makes sense that our Kindergarten classes would throw them a wedding to be together forever in words everywhere! So this past Wednesday, before our Valentines Party, we had a wedding for these two special letters! We made flags and necklaces for us to be the remaining letters in the alphabet to support the two letter friends and then the ceremony started! Of course, no wedding is complete without singing and dancing to the Chicken Dance, having some wedding cake and punch, and giving a "quilt" to the new letter couple! What a perfect ceremony to hopefully always remind us when we hear the /q/ sound, we will always add the vowel u behind it! We had a wonderful day and we are quite certain that there were even a few tears of joy as the ceremony took place! Who said that learning to read can't be fun!?!?!?!

A BIG thanks to all of the parents that helped with our big day! Also a HUGE thanks to Mrs. Thomas (Intervention teacher~Q for AM ceremony), Mrs. Dines (Intervention Teacher~Q for PM ceremony) and Mr. Harris (6th grade Teacher~U for both ceremonies), Mrs. Knudson (Extended Teacher~Master of Ceremony) for helping us put the wedding and making it a success! Without all of you, the wedding would never have been the success that it was! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

2009-01-30T07:55:00.000-08:00

Monday we learned about and celebrated Chinese New Year! We have been working so hard and learning so much about reading, writing, and math it was nice to work on some other things. For example, foreign cultures, new languages and traditions, fine motor skills (chop sticks!) and of course the ever missed snack! We had a great time! Hopefully, you got to hear stories about our fun-filled day and your child greeted you with "Gung Hay Fat Choy" or Happy New Year! Here are some pictures of our special day!

It DoEsN't TaKe MuCh FoR oUr LiL' fLaKeS tO hAvE fUn!

2009-01-23T19:55:00.000-08:00

Actually, all it takes is a few (Well, maybe more than a few!) empty milk jugs, a week long study with the short vowel i and some glue and Kindergarten becomes a perfect place to build an igloo!!!
Thanks to all of you for helping to clean and send in milk jugs! Also, a big thanks to the parents that have sent in hot glue sticks and even helped to build our igloo! We are just beginning to turn in the "ice blocks" to complete the roof! It has been fun and I must say one of the best igloos built thus far! Way to go Kindergartners!!!
So keep the milk jugs coming and please feel free to stop in and check out our really cool igloo! We would love to show it off!!! (Keep checking back in to see some candid shots of our special Friday centers today! We worked hard on all kinds of "cool" things like puffy painting igloos or polar bears, building an igloo of our own with marshmallows and toothpicks and lots of other fun activities!) Kindergarten is truly the best!!!

"Lifes most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?" - Martin Luther King Jr.

2009-01-19T09:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!! Last week, we took some time to read and talk about the reasons for having this day off from school. Our discussions turned to who Martin Luther King Jr. was and all that he accomplished during his lifetime. We also talked about his actions were to make the world a better place and to help others and how we should have the same desire in our lives today. I have to say that I was completely amazed by the conversations that took place with my 5-6 year olds. I am so proud of each of them!! Some say that our kids don't understand but I think each of them not only understand but appreciate what it takes to make our world better and help the others around them. The simplistic golden rule of just being nice and thoughtful to everyone is not only appropriate but one that we as adults need to be reminded of! Take a look at some of our thoughts on how we are going to help make the world a better place and what we can do to help other people! Enjoy!!

Winter Weather Reminder

2009-01-08T17:28:00.000-08:00

Parents,
A quick reminder to please make sure your children are coming dressed for the cold weather. While we try to hold them inside from recess when weather is hindering, there are days where we may be outside if possible. I do try to give them an option of going out or staying in even when the office staff has made the decision to go out. However, there are times when I have a meeting and/or I cannot allow them to do that. Even when the weather is okay to be out, they still encounter cold weather and wet conditions. Our office does not have enough extra socks and clothes to accommodate many students who end up being soaked from puddles. Today some of our kids, were pretty wet and miserable trying to learn in class with wet clothes. Thanks so much to the parents that come and brought us clothes during the day.
As a precaution, it is a good idea to send your child with an extra pair of socks and/or pants in their backpack, "just in case"!
Please don't forget coats, hats, mittents, etc. for playing outside as well!

Thank you for your help in keeping us safe and warm this winter!!! I appreciate all that you do to help to make our learning environment the best one possible!!!

WeLcOmE BaCk!!!!!!!!

2009-01-05T15:58:00.000-08:00

What a way to start back with the snow, ice and wind! Yipee!! It was hard getting up and going, especially with the fun roads but once I got to school and the kids started to show up, things were perfect! I got to hear all kinds of wonderful stories (Some I promise to keep to myself and only believe half of!! Teehee!) and it sounds like Santa was wonderful to everyone! I sure did miss my students and loved seeing them again! Two weeks seems like forever ago and I am almost certain some of them have grown. I know there were a handful of teeth lost!!
We are starting our 2nd quarter assessments for report cards this week and next week, so make sure to have your child work on letter identification, letter sounds, counting, etc. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by those that I worked with today! Thank you for all that you do! Your children are amazing and becoming quite the little readers!!
Homework was sent home for this week, so remember to read for at least 10 minutes and log it on the recording sheet and then do the short activity for each day. Please have your child bring in the homework on Friday, so I can give them credit for their work!
I am so excited for what this New Year will have in store for each of my students. I know that I have the best job there is and am so thankful that you have allowed me to work with your child!
Here is to a great start and an amazing 2009!!!! Please make sure to keep in touch, via e-mail, notes or even comments on our blog! Hopefully our blog has been a good tool for you to stay informed and see what is happening. We LOVE comments, so keep them coming!

Yes! It is time to party!

2008-12-29T08:55:00.001-08:00

A Little Bit About Our Week!

2008-12-16T15:44:00.000-08:00

Can you believe that the week is almost 1/2 over? We have been very busy making a special surprise for you and learning the letter Gg and the sound it makes. The hard part about G is that its most common sound, cannot be heard when saying the letter name. Your extra help at home would be most helpful!

We will be having our Christmas party on Thursday, December 18th. There is NO Kindergarten on Friday, December 19th due to an early release day for the upper grades. This year, we will be doing a Holidays Around The World theme and be going to each Kindergarten class to learn about 3 different Holiday traditions. It will be a lot of fun!! After our centers, we will come back into our classroom to decorate Christmas cookies together! I am excited to watch the kids and see their creations! I am sure there will be some amazingly decorated cookies! If you signed up to help, please come to school with your child at the beginning of the day. If you would like to send something (Please don't feel the pressure!) for decorating cookies, we would really appreciate it! Whatever you think would be a nice topping for a cookie would be perfect! Thank you so much for donating your time and supplies to our class! Our party wouldn't be a success without you!!

Thank you for all you do and giving me the opportunity to work with your child and you! I do enjoy it!!!! I hope to see you on Thursday!!! Take care and be safe out there on those roads!!!

On ThE pOlAr ExPrEsS.....

2008-12-13T14:14:00.000-08:00

The trip on the Polar Express was a perfect way to end our week of learning the letter Pp. It was a fun filled day with a train ride (for pretend!), cocoa, The Polar Express story, a great craft making a Santa Windsock, then a train ride back to school! I know I enjoyed the day and LOVED seeing their faces and excitement! Once again, I am in awe watching my students learn and enjoy life! What a truly wonderful day. I love my job!!!

Quick reminder.....

2008-12-11T15:54:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow we will be having our Pajama day and taking a trip on the Polar Express to celebrate a week of learning the letter Pp! Don't forget to have your child wear their PJ's! They will still need to wear shoes but they can bring slippers to wear during class!!!! It will be a perfect time to party!!! Thanks for helping to make it a special day for us!

KiNdErGaRtEn ChRiStMaS wIsHeS!!!!

2008-12-10T17:34:00.000-08:00

Christmas in Kindergarten is the best time of year! It is such a time of excitement and full of wonder and wishes! We hope you will enjoy reading our Christmas wishes for this year!!!

A Little Bit about Callie Cat

2008-12-01T16:31:00.000-08:00

Callie Cat can bake a cake and cover it with candy.
Callie Cat can bake some cornbread too! Callie is so handy!
Callie Cat can back some cupcakes. Her cupcakes are so cakey.
Callie bakes some cookies too! Her cookies are so flaky!

Bet you couldn't guess what letter/alphafriend we are meeting this week?!?!?! The letter C!!! Even though Callie is an amazing cat that can cook (Sure wish she could teach me!), the best part about learning the letter C is that our favorite holiday begins with it, CHRISTMAS!! Oh Boy!!! In Kindergarten, this is the best time of year! It is so much fun to watch the kids get excited about the holidays! We even had a parent donate a real tree this year but we had to say No. I guess it is a BIG school rule and against all safety codes to have a real tree! I hated to say no but figured that I need my job and would miss the kids terribly if I couldn't stay and teach the rest of the year! Mr. Silzly was very nice and tried to make it easier on us, but we were sad! In fact, I think I had tears in my eyes but thanks to Beau and family for trying! Wouldn't it have been nice? The thought will have to do! So, when you come in, just imagine a great smelling Christmas tree in the corner where our Chicka Boom Boom Tree is. We do have some lights up and we will start Christmas projects to help our room look more festive! Come in sometime and see! Maybe we can talk you into staying a while and helping us out! We would love to have you!!! In the meantime, have fun looking for all the words that begin with the letter C. Be careful, as we learned today.....it is a tricky letter. It can sometimes be confused with the letter K!

the BIG feast!

2008-11-25T16:25:00.001-08:00

Today was the BIG day!! No, we didn't go on a trip. No, we didn't have a test! No, we didn't met a new alphafriend. We just had a feast! Well, not "just" a feast. A feast with little Pilgrims and Native Americans and LOTS of food! What could be better in a 5 year old's life than to end a unit on the First Thanksgiving with a feast!!! And feast we did! Thanks to all the wonderful parent support and all of the items that were donated to make our feast a success! We spent the first part of the day doing "special" centers like making a sweet turkey made out of our own little hands, (Enjoy them! They will only stay that small for a little while!) we made bracelets with beads to help us remember the story, (Just ask us, we would be more than glad to share!) we finished up our Thanksgiving math games (Yea, Mrs. Ryan is so proud of us!) and we even wrote a little in our journals! We were busy!!! A great way to end the week and get ready for our own family feasts at home!

Please enjoy the time with your child! I sure do!! Once again, I am thankful for all of you! You and your child make my job look easy and are such a special part of my life! Thank you!! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

TiMe To GiVe ThAnKs!!!

2008-11-23T19:23:00.000-08:00

This past couple of weeks, we have been learning about the first Thanksgiving and how the feast was a time to give thanks for friends, family and the harvest! We have learned fun turkey songs, some songs about giving thanks and created a book to help us remember what this American tradition is for! I have enjoyed the stories being told about how each of you spend your thanksgiving! Kindergarten stories are the best!!!! However, I thought you would like to know what your child would say if given the question, "What are you really thankful for!" Enjoy! I sure did!

I am thankful for a job where I get to work with wonderful kids and their families! THANK YOU for giving me the opportunity!!! Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Monthly Birthday?!?!?!??!!

2008-11-11T19:37:00.000-08:00

NOT!!! So we tried! Our school is making a very BIG effort to make sure that we are healthy and using every valuable moment of our day. I agree with this and want to follow the rules. So, out went the letter explaining having a party at the end of each month the students that had or were having a birthday. Well, first of all, let's face it! We are turning six! Birthday's in Kindergarten are one of the most important days of the year! How can we just NOT do anything on OUR special day!?!?!?!? The answer is that we can't! (Maybe it just isn't the kids, maybe it is the teacher!)
Some things just don't work out and this is one of them. Birthday's will be celebrated in a traditional manner. On the day (or close to the day) of your child's birthday, I will put their name as the "snack packer". You can send in whatever treats you would like for their birthday. (Keep in mind the healthy part of the previous statement. How about if you send cupcakes, send the tiny ones instead of the HUGE ones! See, I can compromise! Oh yea, I am sure white cake is every one's favorite-hint, hint!) We will sing our Kindergarten song and make a birthday card! It is a lot of fun and so much easier! What about summer birthday's you might ask!??! Good question. If you would like to choose a special day to celebrate for your child, please let me know. (For example, the 1/2 way mark, on a convenient day for you, etc.)
It just makes sense!

Conferences!

2008-11-11T19:26:00.000-08:00

October 29th and 30th
I enjoyed meeting with each and everyone of you during parent/teacher conferences! You are all truly amazing people and your children bless me each and every day! Thank you for taking time out of busy schedules and lives to meet!! I understand how hard it is to fit one more thing into an already packed day but I also value your support and input! Please praise your child on their accomplishments! Everyone of them has worked very hard! We are learning and that is the most important focus!
On a personal note, thank you to the parents that offered suggestions and feedback on the evaluation! I do value you and are so glad that we are working together as a team! My strongest desire is that your child leaves Kindergarten (sniff, sniff...) with a lifelong love of learning and the attitude that they can do anything if given the opportunity! Please stay in touch! I truly appreciate you allowing me to work with your child and alongside of you!

A Day At The Pumpkin Patch!

2008-11-11T19:23:00.000-08:00

October 2008

Thank you to all of you that came and shared our special day at the pumpkin patch!! The weather turned out wonderful and the kids had a great time!It was so hard to not be able to have a Halloween party with the kids this year! However, the pumpkin patch was awesome and we did have fun! There will be time enough for us to party later in the year!! We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!!! You are wonderful!!

/b/ as in Benny Bear

2008-11-11T19:15:00.000-08:00

October 2008
The next letter in our line of learning is Bb and along with this letter is Benny Bear! We didn't have a chance to bring our bear to school but no worries, I think I have a plan to do that at another time! Benny has a very strange song....none of us can figure that one out! I won't write it, you will just have to ask your child and see if you can understand....Good luck! I have been singing this for 4 years now and I am still lost at the end!

BiTs AnD pIeCeS aBoUt FrIdAy'S!

2008-11-11T18:38:00.000-08:00

October 2008

Some of you have been asking about Friday's, so I thought I would take a minute to fill you in. The schedule is different on Friday for several reasons. The first is that Kindergarten gets to attend "specials". This is Library, PE and Music. The exciting part is that our class is divided up into 3 different groups and are going to the 3 different specials with the other Kindergarten classes. Clear as mud?!?!!? We have definitely had to practice this and it is getting easier each Friday!
For the remainder of our day, we do what we like to call "special" centers. Each color team stays together and moves through the 4 centers that are set up that day each 15 minutes. The four centers are focused on various math, phonics, art and theme/science/technology skills.
This being said, I wanted to brag on a very special parent teacher. Well, before I do that, I need to say thank you to all of the parents that have came in to help each week, colored things at home, worked with your child, given me special feedback and the list goes on and on! I am truly blessed by all of you and all the time, suggestions, comments and help you have given to our classroom! You are all amazing! This next paragraph is not to down play all you have done by any means at all!
However, I wanted to share about one particular parent that has helped me see things in a different way. (I told you this was a year of changes!!) We have a mom that is an art major and is truly teaching me how to incorporate art (Not just crafts, I can create a theme friendly craft project at the first sound in the word go) and teach art to Kindergarten. Your children are already color mixing (yellow and blue make green!) know about the art technique of printing and that warm colors can be used for Fall. AMAZING! The art our kids are creating is wonderful and the kids have enjoyed it so very much! Our Friday art is a mixture of creativity, true art and wonderful kid exploration. So...Thank you Amy!
Friday's have become a favorite day of mine! If you have a free morning or afternoon off, come on in! You won't be disappointed!!!

And Letter Tt Comes Next.........

2008-11-11T18:20:00.000-08:00

October 2008

Here is Tiggy!! Just in case you have become a follower of these little alphafriends, I will include the lyrics for you to sing! Isn't Kindergarten fun? I find myself doing dishes and singing these songs, as well as other various places! My husband LOVES them! In fact, I highly recommend them for road trips! (However, Tiggy Tiger is a stand up song, so save this one for at home!)
Tiggy Tiger can tickle his nose! (Tap your nose!)
Tiggy Tiger can touch his toes! (Reach down and touch your toes two times!)
Tiggy Tiger can turn around! (Turn around once slowly and then really, really fast!)
Tiggy Tiger can touch the ground! (Touch the ground, counting one then two!)
Tiggy Tiger can tie his shoes! (Pretend to tie shoes, don't forget the bow!!!)
Tiggy Tiger can count by two's! (Shout..2,4,6,8, 10!!!)

Our Daily Schedule!

2008-11-11T18:03:00.000-08:00

September 2008

Here is a special look into our day! Well, Monday thru Thursday at least! Hopefully this provides a springboard for you to talk about your childs day and helps you get a general idea of all we are doing! Isn't Kindergarten a lot of work!?!??!!

8:15-8:30/11:55-12:10 Brain Work
(Time for us to do journals, special theme related activities. It helps kick start our brain and get us ready for school! We also think about school rules and put our frog in the "I'm Ready" spot and sign in to show we are here to work!)

8:30-9:30/12:10-1:15 Direct Instruction
(This is an amazing time. We blend words, do letter sorts, do letter/sound chants, learn high frequency words, read special stories and learn strategies like summarize, (Yes, your child is learning this word!)predict and evaluate! The time flies by! (Shhh....we do some wiggle songs as needed!! This makes it even better!!!)

9:30-10:00/1:30-2:00 Differentiated Instruction
(Every student has Must Do's, Next Do's and choices during this time! This is also the time that allows me and Mrs. Dines to work with special groups on skills that they need and continue to guide them in their own learning!)

10:00-10:15/1:15-1:30 Recess
(We try to go outside as much as possible! It is great for our brains to get fresh air and move around. Please take note of the weather and dress your child appropraitly!)

10:15-10:30/2:00-2:15 Calendar Math
(Typical calendar skills...days of the week, counting, patterns, calendar, counting by 1's, 5's and 10's, story problems, tally's and more! We also graph the weather!)

10:30-10:45/2:15-2:30 Math Games
(See previous post!)

10:45-10:55/2:30-2:35 Snack/Clean Up/Dismissal

As you can see, our day is packed! The only exception is Friday! More to come about this special day! We didn't want to overwhelm you!!!

And here is Reggie Rooster!!!!

2008-11-11T17:59:00.000-08:00

September 2008
Reggie has a rocket that is red!
Reggie keeps it right beside his bed!
Reggie likes to listen to Rock n Roll!
Reggie plays it on his radio!!!

We absolutely LOVE to sing Reggie's song! Not only do we get to "jam" like Rock-n-Roll stars, we learn how to sign the color red! Amazing! Yes, we can do all of that!!! Believe it or not, we are through with our first 3 alphafriends and we are doing perfect! We have learned the shape of the letter, the letter sound and how to write each of them! Way to go Kindergarteners!! You Rock!!!

MaTh GaMeS!!!!

2008-11-11T17:53:00.000-08:00

September 2008 We have some very special math games that we play every day in school! The math games reinforce counting, number recognition, one to one correspondence and any other skill that we need to learn in Kindergarten. The best part of math games is that the kids don't even realize that they are learning as they play them! Each game is in a numbered bucket and after the game has been played, checked and put away, your child gets to color in the corresponding numbered item on their recording sheet! This year, each child gets to play with a partner! Watch for monthly recording sheets to come home to see what your child has been working on for that month! You will be surprised at the end of the year at how much we have learned!!!

Playin' In The Mud!

2008-11-11T17:33:00.000-08:00

September 2008
Our new alphafriend this week has been Mimi Mouse! Hopefully you have had the opportunity to listen/sing this great little song about a special mouse that never makes a mess, minds her manners, sips milk and never lets mud pies stain her dress! You guessed it, we have been learning the letter Mm! Please don't think we have forgotten the letter Ss though! We still practice it daily as well!!
I have to admit, this is a favorite of mine, so if you haven't heard it...make sure you ask your little M expert to sing it for you!
Learning the letter M, just wouldn't be right without playing in a little mud ourselves! So that is just what we did! On Friday, Mrs. Ryan surprised us with a little mud!! What fun!!!

A Little Parent Chalk Talk

2008-11-11T17:21:00.000-08:00

September 2008
A little note about my absence! Just in case you were wondering why I haven't been in school lately..... I have been asked to attend a class to learn how to use our reading series with fidelity and confidence. Even though I have hated being out of the classroom and not spending the day with your kids, I have learned so much and really have enjoyed each and every minute of it! All I have been learning is amazing and I realize some things are going to have to change, especially our daily routine. The most noticeble will be the "daily four" centers will be no longer the bulk of our day! I hate to say goodbye to something that I am used to but I can and appreciate the need for the change. As a district, we are now required to spend 60 minutes in Kinder. (Yes, I said 60 minutes (1 hour!) with whole group instruction based on phonics, reading strategies and other various reading activities. The guided instruction is a missing component of the "daily four" and will be a great place for me to assure each child is getting specific instruction to help them become successful readers. So for those of you that have worked with me before, hang on! We are going to change things up a bit!!!

Introducing Sammy Seal

2008-11-11T17:05:00.000-08:00

September 2008
The kids met our very first alphafriend this week!! The best part of learning to read is meeting our alphafriends throughout the year and the songs that go along with them! As silly as these songs are, the kids LOVE them!!! These catchy little tunes get stuck in your head and will never leave and that is the goal! If you can remember Sammy, you can remember the sound that the letter S makes!! Let's get ready to read Kindergarten! Yipee!!!
Sammy Seal will sail the sea
When summer is the season.
Sammy Seal will sail the sea
And never need a reason!
Sammy Seal will sail the sea
In very sunny weather.
Sammy Seal salutes a seagull
As they sail together!!!

Run, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me! I am the Gingerbread Man!!!

2008-09-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Ryan read us a story about a family that made a Gingerbread Man for a snack but when the oven door opened, the gingerbread man ran away! We were so excited because Mrs. Ryan even made us a HUGE gingerbread man for us to eat after recess. Guess what? When we got back, the gingerbread man was gone just like in the story! We looked and looked for him but couldn't find him anywhere. On our search, we found out where many things were in our school and we met a lot of people that will work with us like Mr. Andrus our PE teacher, Ms. Burr our Music teacher, Mrs. Cox and Mrs. Martinez the secretaries of our school in the office and even some of the great teachers that will be helping us in our classroom learn to read and some math skills. We learned how to walk in the halls of our school too! We searched everywhere!! The good news is when we got back and started to drink our milk, Mrs. Biery and Mr. Silzly our principals brought him back because he had been running and hurt his knee. Crazy story but at least we got our snack!!!!

A NeW yEaR

2008-09-13T09:36:00.001-07:00

School has started and I am so excited to get to know each session of kids! Our Kindergarten Sneek Peek was an awesome opporunity to meet each of you and your children! Thanks for coming! I am hoping that it helped you relax and feel comfortable for your child's first year of school. What an exciting time!!! I can't wait! Remember that I am here for you and am available for any questions or concerns that you might have! Here is to a new year and a great group of kids!!! (And parents!)