Beach Day Update, Snowy Fun and The 100th Day!

I'm a bit behind on posting!  We had tons of fun in Jan.!  We started with Beach Day, did some fun winter crafts, and ended with the 100th day of school!!

Okay, this isn't a kinder, it's my older niece hanging out in K. ;) I had a big blow up crab pool in the room. She always likes to come hang out and see what's new in K. ;)

Here are the kiddos enjoying some octopus (hot dog). ;) I cut the bun length hot dogs in 1/2 and cut slits on the bottom. Boil until they are curled up.

Here are some cute torn paper snowmen.

We also did some q-tip painting snowmen. Lots of snowy fun even if we haven't had any good snow. ;)






 For the 100th day, we made some crazy hats with 10 colored strips of paper. On each strip, the kiddos used q-tips again to paint 10 dots on each strip to make 100. The kids put 100 things on their clothes and shared them with us. We strung 100 fruit loops, colored 100s, made 100 day snack mix, drew ourselves as 100 year olds, and counted lots of 100s!

Found the cute 100 day snack page on TeachersPayTeachers.






 Okay, updated! Now it's time for February ideas! I posted one on my previous post. Hearts with dot painters. I cut out a heart and taped it to the kiddos paper and they used dot painters to paint around it. Turned out cute! Here it is again. :)

Have a happy heart and happy teaching!!

A Happy Heart and a Playful Spirit! :)

Okay, here's another soap box, I get on those every now and then. ;)  Play in Kindergarten is how children learn!  Do I teach academics, absolutely, if you go back a bit I got on a soap box about abeka phonics, math, etc...  My kiddos are blending, counting, writing, reading, and more, but they are also playing.  When I'm teaching they don't just sit and attend, which has it's place too, but we move and learn.  We count and jump, we sing and dance, we rhyme and memorize, but we also play.

Some of my favorite times are when kiddos are in centers.  I love to hear their ideas when they are working together, I love to watch as they plan out a block building project, I love to hear them "read" and discover books through pictures, and I love to see their creativity as they play and imagine.  I change out the big centers each month, housekeeping, dress-up, and books, when I do that, you'd think I was the greatest decorator around.  The kids get so excited to see and try out the new areas!  Sometimes housekeeping is a store, it's been  a restaurant, it's been a pumpkin market, a beach shack cafe, pizza parlor, bakery, etc...  Dress up has been transformed into a vet, a puppet stage area, fairy tale and nursery rhyme acting stage, crazy hat dress up etc...  It's such fun to think up some new and exciting things in these areas!

Each week we have a writing center, math center, art center, listening center, table toys, blocks, and science.    These usually have a theme for the month.  Sometimes we throw in sand or playdough.  Through all of these, children are exploring and learning at their pace.

These children are going to have years sitting at a desk and doing homework, this is their time to be kids, to enjoy learning and have some fun!  Kindergarten is usually the year that sets the tone for learning through the years, and don't we want them to have a positive outlook on that?  So, let your kinders be kids a bit longer, let them squish some playdough, put on a fun and crazy costume, pretend they are a great chef, build a skyscraper, and just be kids!  Research shows that play is key to all kinds of higher learning, so pat yourself on the back, and when one of your students is a National Merit Scholar, you can say, I had a part in that, I let them play! ;)

Getting ready for Beach Day 2013!!

Yesterday was a WILD handpainting day in K! :)

 We made our crab shirts for Beach Day~

Two handprints for the crab, thumb and finger tips for the sun, blue slick paint for the waves, and sharpie for the eyes and mouth.   We used apple barrel paint for the shirts, it doesn't wash out.

We've got more beachy things coming soon!!

Happy Teaching!

Happy 2013!!

Can't believe it's 2013!  This is my 19th year anniversary as a teacher!  WOW!  It's hard to believe I've been doing this for that long, but I still love it! :)  Never a dull moment and each year brings fresh changes and a new batch of kiddos to enjoy!  When I think back starting out as a young 22 year old, I see how much I've learned and how my education philosophy has grown.  I went to a college that was very whole language with a bit of phonics sprinkled in.  I love the theme approach, but I knew that I wanted to teach with more phonics when I got out there.  I started in Jan. at SWCS taking over for a teacher who was leaving to have her first baby.  I had the joy of teaching right next door to my Mom, and got to do that for 14 years while I taught first!  We had SO much fun together!

While teaching first, I fell in LOVE with the Abeka phonics curriculum!  The "special sounds" help kiddos read and spell so well!  The other day, I pulled out the Dolch sight word list, and once you know the special sounds, it cuts that list down to like 60 some words.  Anyway, it's safe to say, I'm sold on Abeka!

After 14 years in 1st, an opening came up in Kindergarten/Pre-k, and I was offered the job.  I knew God had already been working on my heart to move, because the desire was there even before it was offered!  I pulled out my favorite book, "Creative Activities For Young Children" by Mary Mayesky and started re-reading what a developmentally appropriate K/Pre-K room would look like.  I wanted to include music and movement, poems, appropriate play areas, crafts, and of course Abeka academics.  That summer was a whirl wind!  Between two planned trips, one to Chicago and one to Yellowstone, and the cleaning out of two classrooms, my summer was busy!

Five years later, it's safe to say, I LOVE teaching Kindergarten!  I've seen how important it is to have a varied classroom with academics mixed with learning through play.  The silly songs and poems we learn help the kiddos to become readers with expression and fluency.  The Abeka curriculum provides just what they need to be successful learners.  Kindergarten is a busy place full of fun.  Yes, at times it's a bit noisy and messy, but it's controlled , and learning should be fun!  I love listening to the kiddos in centers as they discuss and learn together, or watching that light bulb go on during academics when they finally get that concept!  So, here is looking forward to a GREAT 2013 and all the fun learning that will be experienced!  Beach day and 100th day are coming soon!  I've been pinning some new ideas!

Happy New Year, and Happy teaching!

Every Who at SWCS likes Christmas a lot, but the Grinch who lives just north of there does not!

Every who at swcs like Christmas a lot, but the Grinch that lived just north of there did not! So the Whos got together with a plan you see, to make the Grinch as happy as could be! So Grinch day was decided as a merry treat, and they'd dress all in green from their head to their feet. Every Who in k, 3rd, and 4th, the tall and the small, got together today and had quite a ball!



Grinch day is here!!  We had SO many fun Grinchy ideas for a fun day!   K, 3rd, and 4th paired for some grinchly fun!

                                                                     Merry Grinchprints~

The kiddos chose which character they wanted to create with their handprint. ;)

"He even took their last can of Who hash!"

We made a whohash snack mix to snack on. The kiddos loved it!  We had some salty sweet things and the kids put it all together in a baggie. ;)

"The Grinch's small heart grew 3 sizes that day!"

We used homemade red playdough to make the Grinch's heart!  Then we used all sorts of measuring things to see it's size.

"I know just what to do, the Grinch laughed in his throat, and he made a quick Santy Clause hat and a coat."

Grinch ornament~

Construction paper, glitter glue, cotton balls, and googly eyes. ;)

Grinch book and worksheets found on Teachers pay Teachers!  They were freebies! ;)  

Fun photo booth props I found on Etsy!  They were only $3.95.  Such fun!

We had sleigh ride races with Max in antlers pulling the Grinch.

Of course the kiddos and teachers dressed the part in their green and Grinchly clothes.  So much fun was had by all!

Merry Grinchmas!!

Grinch Fun!

It's the first of December, to start out this GREAT month, I had the nieces over for Grinch night.

 We made a Grinch ornament~

Had some green treats~

Dressed Grinchy~

And of course, watched the original Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! It was tons of fun. :) We will be doing a Grinch day at school closer to break!

   Merry December!

 ornaments~ I found the light ornament at target. That's tinsel around the edge and just used a sharpie to make the face.

candy bar covers~ Found these on teachers pay teachers, it was a freebie! :)

Gingerbread Fun

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in our classroom! Our housekeeping center has turned into the Gingerbread Bakery.

I used our puppet stage to make the store front.

These are some cute little cookies I found on Pinterest. Don't they look good enough to eat?!

Here is our table full of yummy treat in our Gingerbread bakery! What a fun time of year! Today we made 2 gingerbread men and got to hunt around the school for them when they "ran away". :) I've said it before and I'll say it again, Jan Brett's gingerbread baby recipe for gingerbread is the BEST! Hope you have a merry time in your classroom!