Hey Diddle Diddle

There are so many skills and lessons that can be learned from Mother Goose and her rhymes. Each week we study and learn a new rhyme. Our first rhyme this year was Hey Diddle Diddle. It is always a favorite!! It has so many fun characters doing so many funny things. We enjoy saying the rhyme as we pat and clap the beat. We also perform it as an echo rhyme.
It is a great rhyme to "get into character" and "act out".

Playing Hey Diddle Diddle matching games are fun too. One of our favorites is matching plates with dots to spoons with the correct numerals. This is just about the easiest game to make. Just place sticker dots on paper plates and write numerals on plastic spoons. How simple can that be to make!! And the children love it because they are playing with 'real objects".

Another game we enjoy is matching cows and moons with upper and lowercase letters on them. We have a Rhyme Center in our classroom. There is always a poster of the rhyme. The children use pointers to read the words. In the Rhyme of the Week center there is a matching game using words and the corresponding pictures such as cat, dog, fiddle, moon, cow, dish, spoon, etc.

We made wonderful pictures that "tell the story" of Hey Diddle Diddle. They were so beautiful we hung them in the hall for all of our friends could see!! I know that if you are reading this, you too will want to see our work. Just take a look and you will agree. They are beautiful!!!

Not Just A Guess

We have been discussing cats and dogs in our class.

Recently we read the book MILLIONS OF CATS. We enjoyed the story about the old man going on a journey to find the most beautiful and perfect cat for his wife. He saw "Hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats". They all fought with each other. For each and every one thought they were the most beautiful. But the old man chose a very shy and homely little cat. After he and his wife fed the cat, brushed the cat, and loved the cat, it truly was the most beautiful cat of all!!

In our classroom we have a display showing pictues of many cats. We have talked about all of the different cats and wondered just how many there are. During our discussion we learned that there is a big difference in a guess and an estimation. If you ask the boys and girls in our class they will quickly tell you that an estimation is an intellegent guess. It involves studying and thinking. After much study and thought, each child told me what they estimated to be the number of cats on display.

After a couple of days of more time and study, the answer was revealed. There are 63 cats on the display!! WOW!! That's alot of cats. Caleb estimated there were 60 cats. He sure made and intellegent guess!! Caleb did some outstanding estimating. For the great work, I rewarded Caleb with a new 100 piece puzzle!!! I am so proud of Caleb and all of the other boys and girls who did such good work.

Excellent Work

We have been talking about dogs and cats in our class. Today we made a picture story about building a doghouse. I just love the way Hayden took such pride in his work. He colored the pictues so nicely. The colors are so bright and vivid. He also sequenced them in the correct order. What an outstanding job!!! I always enjoy seeing someone who takes pride in his/her work.

Because of Hayden's extra effort and good work he got to visit Dr. Richardson. Dr. Richardson loves to show off good work on his "Good Work Board". Not only did Hayden get his work up on the board, but he also got a great new pencil with tigers all over it! Pretty Cool!!


I have seen alot of good work from many boys and girls in our class. I can tell that Dr. Richardson will be getting some super work for his good work board from our class this year!!

A New Beginning

The 2006-2007 school year is up and running. We are beginning our second week of kindergarten and it seems to be a wonderful start. As of now we have 16 children in our class. We have 9 girls and 7 boys.

I find it interesting how much children mature and learn during the course of the year. It seems just yesterday I said "Goodbye" to last years Whiskers. They were so mature, becoming great independent thinkers and self sufficient in so many ways. Now that a new group has arrived I realize just how much children learn, mature and progress during the course of the year. At the beginning of the year they are so dependent on me in so many ways. Often they ask a question, (knowing the answer) just for reassurance. It is too bad that as adults we are not as concerned about "doing it right". I marvel at how much we really do learn from kindergarten and how lifelong the lessons are.

A Little Rest and Relaxation

There is much to be said for a little "R&R". Sometimes we as adults crave a little rest. That Power Nap can do so much for us. We know that it makes us "feel good". And research shows that we will be more alert, have less stress, and improve our cognitive functioning! WOW!!! What tremendous benefits we gain, and the price is right!! Oh, how I wish we all could have the opportunity that the children in my class have. I wonder what the level of our performance would be with a little afternoon rest time.








I feel so fortunate that I work in a school district where "What is Best For Children" comes first. Due to the so called "No Child Left Behind Act" which focuses on the "high stakes" testing to determine whether a school is passing or failing, some school administrators have eleminated play time and rest time for young children. These are two of the most important components of a child's development and school success.

I think of rest time in our class as a great gift. It is at this time I share my love of music with the children. We listen to the classics, jazz, R&B, folk music, oldies, show tunes, holiday music etc. This week we are listening to Rod Stewart's American Songbook. Many times I have had parents to comment about their child's recognition of different songs and style of music. It makes my heart sing. So you see, rest time can be a wonderful learning time too.



As you can see, the children in our class have learned the true value of a little nap and are taking full advantage of it!!!! I only wish they knew just how lucky they are.




Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Be very quiet. We are resting.