We had an interactive math lesson today in which students wore different animal headbands and formed groups. We practiced addition, subtraction and matching numerals to number words. The students have fallen in love with Koko the gorilla and would really like for her to visit our school. I don't have the heart to tell them that she doesn't travel (yes, I already checked because I was thinking the same thing). We are planning to make a sign language video to email to her and students are working on letters and pictures that I will mail.

Koko the Gorilla plays with her kitten, All Ball

Students were re-introduced to their grass heads this morning and were very surprised at how much the grass had grown. They measured the length of the "hair" and if it was longer than 6 inches, they were to give their guy a haircut. Here's a picture of some of the styles, including Mohawk and crew cut. I read students the book "Koko's Kitten" about a gorilla who knows sign language and has a pet kitten. They are excited to learn more about Koko. As promised, I've added a link to Koko's web site in the links section below.

For any of you who are worried about your "Mr. Grass Head" here's how they are doing...

Ellie's mom and dad brought the family's 1928 Model A car as a show and tell. It has a crank engine and a really awesome horn. I'm sorry that I didn't have my camera available. For their morning work, students did a subtraction worksheet independently. I was so proud of how well they did! Both kindergarten classes went together to 3 intermediate classrooms to perform the song Firework in sign language. The big kids were so supportive and encouraging, in addition to being impressed by their wonderful signing! Way to go, kindergartners! You are awesome!

Ellie shared her awesome VIP poster with us this morning. We read In the Tall, Tall Grass about insects and animals you might find hiding in tall grass. Students completed an art project to go along with the book. Mrs. Felten helped students as they cut out grass, glued it to a blue background then drew and colored insects to put into the grass. Mrs. Rolfson read two books to the class after lunch and helped students with their journal topic "If I were a bug..."

If you've logged in looking for previous posts, you'll notice that they are all gone. I tried to update this blog yesterday to find that it had been deleted! Apparently there was suspicious activity and Google temporarily deleted it. I had to go through some work to get it back up again, but all my old posts are gone. Someone also hacked my Facebook account recently so I deleted it. It's kind of scary, but I'll keep an eye on this blog. If you notice any offensive posts or comments, please let me know so I can immediately deal with them. Thanks.

I took a picture of a sweet message that Ellie, Morgan, Lauren and Sofia left for me on the easel. Thank you, girls.

Students were very conscientious about watering their seeds this morning! As part of our unit on seeds, students created seed art. They were given sunflower seeds, in the shell and without shell, dried blackeyed peas, and dried lima beans and a small round paper plate. Some students created a pattern around the edges and others just sprinkled seeds randomly. We also labeled the parts of a plant on a picture of a sunflower. Students practiced subtraction independently.

After learning what seeds need in order to grow, students planted grass seeds in cups decorated like people. As the grass grows, we will take measurements and when it gets to a certain length we will give the grass heads haircuts.

Check out our new dinosaur center. I got the idea from a fellow teacher/blogger who created a sensory center. I also had some plastic dinosaurs that the students found on a shelf and desperately wanted to play with so I incorporated them.

Students brainstormed what to write as a class letter to our pen pals. They decided to write Happy Easter on a big egg shape. On it, each student designed their own egg. It turned out very cute and I will mail it to Canada tomorrow. We read The Ugly Duckling. Students were upset by the way the other ducklings treated the "ugly" duckling. They are getting so good at predicting and just understanding stories in general. (I love this time of year when everything starts clicking!) For art, students created egg shell cracking open, exposing a chick inside. For writing, I asked them to create something for the chick to say. Some examples are, "I can't breathe in here!" and "Hi, Mom!" I'll bring my camera to school and take pictures of their artwork. I forgot to mention this to the class, but I called the zoo to set a date for our end of year field trip. We will go to the zoo on Thursday May 19th. I will need 3 parent helpers if any of you are interested in coming along. Of course, you are all welcome to join us. The cost is $3.25 per person. I'll give more details as it gets closer.

Before learning about oviparous animals, each student received a picture of an insect or animal and had to decide if it hatches by putting the picture on a chart under the heading "yes" "no" or "maybe." As we learned more information, they were able to make changes to the chart. In science, we watched two time lapse videos of eagles and chicks hatching. If you didn't order a class picture and now wish to, I have 2 available. The cost is $8.00.

There's no school for students tomorrow. Have a nice day off!

Please keep Riley's family in your thoughts as they are going through a crisis. I have added a link to his mom's web page below in the Links section so you can read more about what's going on.