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.