Your child is coming home with a heavy backpack today! I sent home all the supplies from their cubbies and let each child choose 2 books from my bookshelf to keep. They are super excited about the books! We tried to do a cutting a gluing project on the life cycle of the butterfly but in the middle of it, I realized that they had their scissors in their backpacks so I modified the project a bit. Tomorrow when you are here for the program, don't forget to pick up your child's last art project which is hanging in the hall. It is your child dressed as a graduate. Each child autographed everyone's picture and I laminated it so it could be a keepsake. Thanks for sharing your precious child with me this year. Have a great summer!

We rehearsed our performance in front of the 1st and 2nd graders this morning. We had difficulty with the sound system so students could not hear the music, but they still did a nice job. It was a teachable moment, proving the importance of rehearsal to the students. Several students volunteered to read aloud to the class today so I don't think I actually read a book. Some 4th graders did bicycle safety reports and presented them to our class in the afternoon. See if your child can remember any of the tips they learned.

We had a great outing with our big buddies today at Rose Park. We ate a picnic lunch on the grass and then played, played, played! Students had PE afterward, so your child is bound to be worn out tonight. We lucked out with perfect weather!

This morning we went to Mrs. Paulson's room to watch her first graders perform Frog and Toad plays. They were funny and I think the kindergartners enjoyed themselves and will look forward to doing the same thing next year. I think the only halfway "normal" part of our day was center time. After school today, Mrs. Manfredi and I chose a day for our classes to go on a picnic together, so on Tuesday the kindergartners will go with their big buddies to Rose Park for a picnic and some play time. I'll send home a reminder tomorrow. Tomorrow is Ava's birthday! It's supposed to be pretty cool tomorrow so please send jackets!

Your kids are awesome at sign language and I can't wait for you to see them perform on June 1st at 11am! I did a second assessment of the whole class on their ability to create larger shapes using pattern blocks. Most were successful. We read a book about a bear pressing his ear to the wall to listen for a sound. I told the class that you could use a drinking glass pressed to the wall and now they all want to spy on you, so this is a heads-up! As I'm working on report cards, gathering all the notes of observations I've made of these guys all year, I reflect on how fast this year has gone by. I can't believe the year is almost over and they will be big first graders in just a few months! They sure grow up fast, which I'm keenly aware of now that my BABY is going off to college. I'm keeping is short and sweet tonight because I have to events to attend. See you tomorrow.

Students finally got to present their animal puppet shows today, with the help of their big buddies. The big buddies also recited their favorite poems to us. Those kindergartners who presented today took home their scenery and sock puppet. I had a 5th grader video the whole thing and it's on my school laptop. I'll try to upload the video for you.

Since this is Ava's VIP week, she brought some beautiful and delicious cupcakes to share with the class. Pete the Cat has a new book that just came out, Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons, so I borrowed it from the library. It was perfect timing since I wanted to review subtraction and that's exactly what the book is all about. Of course it also has a catchy song that goes along with it that we just had to sing. If you go to harpercollinschildrens.com/feature/petethecat/ you can listen to the song. We also brainstormed words with the _ug chunk and then students highlighted those words in their Bugs! book. In social studies, we talked about leaders and what it takes to be President of the United States. Boy, did I hear some political views! I also read a book about Barack Obama and his family. Students also used a secret ballot to write down the names of two students in our class that they think show leadership skills. The four students with the most votes (and my agreement) will have a special lunch with me on Friday. I didn't tell them about the lunch so they wouldn't just vote for themselves, but I will reveal the results tomorrow.

Our day started our dark and quiet. The power had gone out in the building just before 8am this morning so students worked by natural light. It was amazingly quiet while they worked (maybe I'll leave the lights off more often). The power came back on around 9am. We learned some consonant blends today (fr as in frog, sl as in slurp). Our math review included making predictions, counting coins, and filling in missing numbers between 30 and 50. Students worked with their big buddies to complete the scenery and sock puppet for their animal presentation. The plan is to put on the plays next Tuesday. We will not have space to accommodate visitors, but I will video the whole thing and send you a link. I also wanted to encourage you to check out the lost and found table outside the library. The piles of clothing are substantial. Everything that's still unclaimed by the end of the year will be donated.

I think the students were as happy to see me as I was to see them! Our day definitely had less structure than usual today. I pulled out a reader's theater script and students took turns reading the three parts. They also worked a little more on scripts for their puppet shows and some more groups performed today. It was so hot at recess that I really tried to have us stay inside to watch a movie, but the majority of the class voted to go out.

We practiced coin recognition today. Students worked in pairs to play a coin exchange game. They took turns rolling a die and then putting that many pennies onto a mat. When they had 5 pennies they could trade them for a nickel. When they got 2 nickels they could trade for a dime. You get the idea. The first child to get a quarter was the winner. My husband visited at story time to share the children's book he's written. Half of the pictures are still black and white as the illustrator is still working on them, but they were able to get the gist of it. Students worked with their big buddies to finish their scenery and begin making their sock puppets. I don't think we'll wait until next Thursday to start putting on the puppet shows--we need to get the show on the road! Thanks for the donation of socks. We have exactly what we need!

We got a little number writing practice with another math game. Students worked in pairs to take turns rolling a die and then tracing the number that turned up. The person to fill their sheet first won the game. In the afternoon, some pairs of students put on their puppet "shows." I video taped them and showed them how they appeared to the audience in hopes that they would be able to identify parts they needed to refine, but it backfired. They thought their silly, unscripted ramblings were hilarious. Oh, well. Tomorrow they work with their big buddies to build a puppet and draw scenery for an animal show in which their animal puppet will give information about the animal each they researched.

I think the highlight of the day was that students made sock puppets to go along with the stories they wrote with their partners. Tomorrow they will put on their puppet show. I have to laugh because the stories they wrote mostly consist of two characters that each say "hi" and then the story ends. It will be a short show, but maybe some of them will get inspired to write more dialog so we can put on a performance for some other classrooms. We will need more socks for Thursday, when students make animal puppets for their animals they researched with their big buddies.

We played a very challenging math game today called Silent Movement Math. As you've probably already guessed, it was anything but silent, but at least we moved and practiced math. Students walked around the room, to 30 different numbered math problems and recorded answers onto a long answer sheet. They spent from 30 seconds to 1 minute at each math problem, calculating one more, one less, ten more or ten less than a particular number on each of 30 cards taped to the tables. If they recorded an answer beside the wrong number, they really got off track. For those who were really careful, though, it worked well. I should have done this on a day that we had our big buddies, but I still thought it was fun and I think the students enjoyed it. For social studies, we learned about caring for pets. We also talked briefly about the characteristics of mammals, which we'll cover in more detail tomorrow during science. Tomorrow is "tennis shoe Tuesday."

Happy birthday, Sophie!!

It was a muy loco day! We started by practicing sign language with the other kindergarten class. Next, students played a coin concentration-style card game. With their buddy, each student researched an animal, finding out where they live, what they eat, who their enemies are, and 3 interesting facts. Next, they worked on drawing scenery or the animal's habitat. Next Thursday, they will create a puppet of their animal and then begin working on a show to present their information to the rest of the class. After music, we went to Mrs. Holland's classroom for a fiesta to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. I read a story while Mrs. Holland fried sopapillas and then Mrs. Holland read a Skippy John Jones book as students ate. It was lots of fun, but left us with only a few minutes to pack up to go home. Enjoy the 3-day weekend!

Several students have asked if they could read a book to the class. I think it's a fabulous idea. My thought is that it would be best if they brought a book from home so that it's a story they've heard many times and are able to practice it a few times before reading it in front of everyone. Abby read If You Give a Moose a Muffin today. She did a great job. The book gave me an idea. In the story, the moose gets distracted by making a sock puppet and scenery. It made me think about how difficult it is to get some of the students to write, so this afternoon I announced that students can work with a small group to write a story, make sock puppet characters, draw scenery, and put on a performance for the rest of the class. The kids want to invite other classes to watch our shows, but we'll need to practice first. I will definitely video the performances. The enthusiasm level (and along with it the NOISE level) is very high for this project. If you are able to buy a pack of white athletic socks (size: Youth) we will need 22 socks or 11 pairs.