Happy Holidays!

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday! My husband & I are heading to NY & NJ on Christmas Day with the baby to visit my family. I hope you & your families all have a happy & healthy winter break. Here are some photos of our last couple of weeks of school:

Working on the addition strip board

The 100 Chain
The 100 Board
Playing Chutes & Ladders

Working on puzzles

Decorating Gingerbread Men

Writing letters to Santa

Metal Inset work

Learning phonograms with Sandpaper Letters

Sharing our book with Mrs. Campbell

We'll miss you!!!

Fall Frenzy

It's been a while since I've posted, so get ready! Here are a bunch of photos from the last 6 weeks at school. First up, some of the kids working: Sensory exploration with shaving cream at the easel
Easel painting

Washing dishes after snack

Working with the Negative Strip Board

Golden Bead Fetch

Working with the Grammar materials

Drawing in the shaving cream at the easel

Working with Compound Words

Next up: Photos from our Community Soup cooking experience. We read "Stone Soup" first and then talked about what it means to be a community. Each student came up and poured in his/her ingredient. Then everyone had a chance to come mix the soup. We cooked it while we were working and then ate it for snack. It was delicious!!!! (The recipe is "soup-er" simple if you want to make it at home: Just choose various cans of vegetables and mix together--including the liquid in the cans. Add a can of tomato sauce, a packet of taco seasoning & a packet of dry ranch dressing mix. You can also add ground beef or keep it vegetarian if you like. Enjoy!)

Earlier this week, we had a special visit from Ms. Sissy, our Dining Hall Manager. She came and taught the kids about healthy eating & the Food Pyramid.

The kids learned lots of great information about being healthy Ask them some of these questions:

How many hours of sleep do you need? 8

How many glasses of water should you drink each day? 8

How many bones do you have? 208

How many teeth do you have? approx. 28-32

What are milk products for? keep your teeth & bones healthy

What do vegetables do for you? Help with digestion

What are fruits good for? Help your skin stay healthy

What do Grains do for you? Give you energy

We've had a great first half of the school year! There's lots to do throughout the rest of December so check back for more updates and photos :)

Uniform Sale

Kenya's mom just left me a comment on my post about pumpkins...She said that the Rutherford County Walmarts have uniforms on sale for $3. You might want to stock up on some extras or buy a size up for next school year!

A rite of passage

Ask any preschool or pre-K student what the most exciting thing about being a kindergartener is, and you will most likely get the answer: "FIELD TRIPS!!!!" The children look forward to the year they will finally get to ride on a school bus and go on a field trip. A couple of weeks ago (I know, bad blogging teacher!), this year's kindergarteners got to go on their very first field trip. We went to Owl's Hill Nature Sanctuary. Although the weather was less than ideal, we didn't let it stop us! We braved the chill and the rain and checked out most of what the Nature Sanctuary has to offer. The trip began with a highlight of every field trip--the bus ride:Since it was raining, they gave us a little show inside with some animals. The children got to touch a real live snake!

They also got to see one of the owls that the Sanctuary is rehabilitating up close. Next, we braved the weather and took a hike around the property through the maze (a new sight this year). The children really enjoyed getting to see all that nature has to offer within it's true environment. The hay ride was cancelled but we still got to pick our pumpkins from the pumpkin patch!

The day was a hit! We returned back to school a bit wet and tired, but a wonderful time was had by all. We can't wait until the next one!

On a side note, I would like to say how proud I am of our kindergarteners. They were so well behaved, respectful and good mannered. It truly was one of the best trips I've taken children on in recent years. You deserve a pat on the back--you, too, parents!

Individual Photos

Don't forget to turn in your picture orders! They are due this week :)

Pumpkins here, Pumpkins there!

After finishing up our study of apples, we have moved on to another fall favorite--pumpkins! I changed the work on our science shelf and replaced it with a number of activities related to pumpkins. Here are a few: Examples of pumpkins and gourds: During group time, we cut open one of the pumpkins and learned about the different parts of a pumpkin. We labeled each of the parts. The children are free to come up to the shelf and observe the dissected pumpkin. I'm not sure what it will look like when we return from break, but that is another experiment of science!

Pumpkin collage: The children trace the pumpkin shape first which builds fine motor control and coordination and helps prepare them for learning to write. Next they cut strips of paper into smaller squares using scissors. This, too, is a fine motor skill. Lastly, they glue the squares inside the pumpkin shape. This activity is also a good lesson in following multi-step directions.

Pumpkin Patterns: There are green & orange pumpkins in the buckets. The children can use them to create their own patterns. This lesson extends upon the apple pattern work. There, they were copying & extending a pattern. Here, they are creating their own pattern. More Pumpkin patterns: Here the children can create their own pattern with the pumpkin cut-outs and take them home.

Pumpkin Necklace: Similar to the apple necklaces, the students copy a pattern, then string the pumpkins & pasta onto a necklace.

Parts of a pumpkin: The children learn the names of the parts of the pumpkin using the three part cards. They can then illustrate their own parts of a pumpkin book using the paper & pencils.

The kindergarteners are going to the pumpkin patch this week so I'm sure they will have more to share with the other children as well!

Look for more posts in the future...Remember, conferences are this week. They are scheduled back-to-back, so please be on time!