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

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!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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

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!!!