Our Busy Week

 

This has been a very busy four-day week for us. We have learned about Antarctica in reading, taken our second comprehension exam using clickers, worked on joining sets in math, used our newest technology, the Elmo (document camera) during phonics time, learned about dinosaurs in unit study, had a tornado drill, had a fire drill, enjoyed using the new interactive learning games on the interwrite board and too many other things to mention! Wow, it's a busy job working and learning in Kindergarten! And the best part - it is so much FUN!

Proud to Be An American!

 

We have just completed a two-week unit study entitled Our Country. The children learned about several of our national symbols. I think the most important thing they learned is how fortunate they are to live in the U.S.A. and to be able to enjoy the freedoms that we have here. Even at their young age, I think they realized that freedom is not free. I've noticed that they stand and recite the pledge each morning with more respect now that we have learned about the flag what it means to us. We wrote about some American symbols and proudly displayed them in the hallway for everyone to read. We are proud to be Americans!

Valentine's Day

                                             

We had a great time on Valentine's Day! We "mailed" our Valentine exchange cards and then had a fun party! The food was so good!

We even danced a little to practice our "oldie goldie" songs for the birthday surprise for our principal! Everyone carried home a bag of cards and treats!

One Little Letter

We have been busy this week learning about blends. We have added "one little letter" to change words. We changed cap to clap, cab to crab, pot to spot, and we also changed several other words. This reminded me of one of my true and funny kindergarten stories. Our classroom is in one of the "open classroom pods" thanks to someone's bad idea back in the 70's. Thank goodness it is no longer open classrooms, but is four individual classrooms, however we have continued referring to it as the "pod". A few years ago as we were going through the lunch line, one of my male students gave me "the look and gesture" that he needed to go to the bathroom. When he told me this, I told him to go to the pod and use the bathroom. Well, at that time we also had a small decorative pond in the courtyard between the cafeteria and the pod building. I bet you are already guessing where this story is going! Imagine Mrs. Duke's surprise as she led her class down the sidewalk and saw one of my students urinating in the pond. When questioned the little boy said that Mrs. Kilpatrick told him to go to the pond and use the bathroom. This story is proof that "one little letter" can make a lot of difference!

Healthy Smiles!

We have been learning how to have a healthy smile during our Dental Health Unit Study. We have learned all about brushing, flossing, visiting the dentist, and eating healthy foods/snacks. The children colored a self-portrait and "blacked out" the baby teeth that they have already pulled. These pages are displayed in the hallway for everyone to see during February, Dental Health Month. I was very surprised at how many baby teeth have already been lost! That used to be a "first grade" thing, with a few lost teeth in kindergarten. I guess in our fast paced world, children are maturing faster these days. To celebrate our study about healthy smiles, we made smiles today using apple slices, cream cheese frosting, and mini marshmallows. Okay, I know the frosting is not that healthy, but we could not use peanut butter as suggested due to nut allergies in our class. We also learned occasional sweets are okay. We had fun making the smiles and even more fun eating them!!!

Fun Day at The Grove!

Singing along with Chester Drawers!

Conga line in the classroom!

Getting an autograph!

Oudoor Music Lab

Outdoor Classroom

What an exciting day at Walnut Grove!!! There was a lively discussion this morning about the groundhog and his shadow. Some students said he saw it (and the sun was shining at school this morning) and others, including myself, thinks that if he came out early this morning there was no way for him to see his shadow. We think he probably stayed up and invited Rudolph over to play in the fog with him! The other exciting thing was a visit from the author, Eddie Bowman, or as we like to call him, Chester Drawers. The children enjoyed his stories and singing along with him on his silly songs. Some of the children brought money and bought autographed items from the author. We are also excited about our outdoor area that is being constructed. When complete, it will have a music lab, a pond, and an outdoor classroom. We are learning and growing at The Grove!