Pete the Cat

We have had a great beginning to our kindergarten year. Everyone has been rockin' in their school shoes with Pete the Cat! We even got all of the kindergarten students together for a Pete Party in the courtyard last Friday. At the outdoor classroom, we had Pete Punch (blue, like Pete) and cat food (goldfish crackers)! After eating we sang and danced in the outdoor music lab! I love my red shoes, I love my red shoes, I love my red shoes! Kindergarten rocks!!!

I'm Back!!!

Bathroom Passes, Rockin' Behavior Chart, How Do I Go Home? Clips

Oral Reading Chart, Pete the Cat Doll and Books, Lunch Selection Magnets

Celebrity of the Week Board



Helper Chart, Focus Wall, and Calendar



Morning Routine iPod and The Book Nook

Waterford Computers, Word Wall, Bravo Board for Rockin' Student Work

The Book Nook

Celebrity Birthdays

Doorway to Our Rockin' Classroom

My Desk and Some of My Favorite Quotes That Inspire Us to Shine On!

Sight Words Chart and Our Interwrite Board

Calendar

The Golden Spatula Award for Great Lunchroom Behavior

Kindergarten Cubbies in the Early Learning Lab Hallway

Kindergarten Rocks in the Hallway for Displaying Student Work

This is my first post since the end of the last school year. I had a very busy summer and now I am excited to be back at Walnut Grove for my final year of teaching. At the end of this school year, I will retire with 36 years in the classroom, and 35 of those years in Kindergarten! Does that make me one of the oldest kindergartners around?!?! I think so! I have enjoyed my teaching career, but I have decided that it is time for changes in my life and it is time to give someone younger than me the opportunity to enjoy being an educator at WGS. I am not going out quietly though! I have a new grade level teaching partner and we have a new theme - KINDERGARTEN ROCKS! Mrs. Olson and I have worked hard this summer coming up with new decorations, projects, and activities for our classrooms and students. I am exicited about this year and very pleased with the new look in my classroom. I hope you enjoy the pictures of our new classroom and hallways. KINDERGARTEN ROCKS!

Good News!!!

We received official word today from the Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence about their visit to our school last week. We have received the highest award!!! We are a Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School! This award is very prestigious and we are very proud! Everyone is a part of this award - the faculty and staff, the students, the parents, and the community. Thanks so much for your support and be sure to share our exciting news with everyone!

Remodeled Room

We are so proud of our newly remodeled room. It has been a work in progress for the past month, but we have now declared it a finished product for the rest of the school year. The children are enjoying the new Book Nook and the new arrangement of tables. I like it better because we have more space without the loft and all of the children are closer to the interwrite board. Along with the new look of the room, the rest of the school has been updated. We have more displays in the hallways, the courtyard is beautiful, and we are enjoying the new Science room. I  have been at Walnut Grove for 35 years and I can honestly say that this is the most "alive" and "kid-friendly" that our school has ever looked. We already had a great instructional program, but we needed to make the effort to do a lot changes to the culture and environment of our school to make it the best school in the world! We have been successful in doing that and I hope you enjoy the pictures!

We Love to Read

Last week was an exciting week in our classroom. We kicked off the All-Star Reading Incentive Program and the new furniture for our reading nook arrived. Five of our classmates met the goal of reading 20 books and received their t-shirts! Congratulations to Skyler, Madilyn, Isabella, Allie, and Savana! The couch, chairs, and table for our reading area make reading so much more fun and comfortable. After the children at that station had been seated for about a minute, they had their feet up on the table getting very comfortable! Where had they seen that before?!?!

Happy Easter!

I've just returned from the early worship service at my church on this beautiful Easter Sunday morning. As we celebrated the sacrifice our Heavenly Father made for us through His death and ressurection, I was reminded of another true story from the Kindergarten past. On the Monday after Easter a few years back, we were busily working when I overheard two little girls talking about going to church the day before. One said she heard at church about Jesus dying on a cross and then coming back to life. Without hesitation the other one replied, "Yes, He does it every year." Oh, don't you just love Kindergarten Kuties?!?! Happy Easter!

Outdoor Music Lab

With the warm weather this past week the children really enjoyed having music class in the outdoor lab. The only problem was the kids weren't the only ones enjoying the warmth, the red wasp were also! Nothing makes kindergartners duck, dive, and squeal like a wasp! Hope you enjoy seeing your favorite kinderkutie making music!