Wilson's Whiskers

A Big Thank You

2007-08-30T11:14:00.000-07:00

We delivered the towels we collected to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society. Everyone working there came to see us and tell us how much they appreciated it. Nothing warms the heart better than serving others.

After a visit with the director of education I took a look at the cute puppies and kittens. There are some wonderful animals up for adoption. I only wish I had the space for more animals. I have two little dogs, Jack and Magnolia. They are so sweet and add so much to my life. I know why research shows that people who have pets are happier and live longer. They are such a joy!!

Before leaving the Humane Society, I took a quick trip through the gift shop. There are so many wonderful items for the pet lover, and the best part is that the proceeds go to the care of the animals.

If you haven't been to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society, take a ride there. You will be so impressed!!! They are located at 300 Snow Drive, Birmingham AL 35209

Helping the Animals

2007-08-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

We learn so much and grow so much when we help others. For the second year our class, Wilson's Whiskers, has taken on the Greater Birmingham Humane Society as a service project. We began collecting towels for the animals. We e-mailed all of the other teachers in our school and told them of our project. One of our new second grade teachers sent a message back that she and her class wanted to join us.

Each morning for a week the boys and girls came to school with towels for the animals. The children were so excited to bring them. But most of all they were excited to know they were helping the animals.

We had great response from parents about the project. They loved the idea of teaching the children about respect, kindness, and being helpful. And they also took advantage of cleaning out the linen closet for a good cause!!!!

We are so proud to help a great organization. To find out more about the humane society visit www.gbhs.org.

A Brand New Bunch

2007-08-17T14:07:00.000-07:00

The 2007-2008 school year has begun. This past Monday I met the children that I would have the privilege to spend a few months with. It was such an exciting time. The children were ready to come to kindergarten. Some even brought their backpacks with them. While they were excited, they were also somewhat timid. Their eyes were big and bright as they scanned the room. It is interesting to see what grabs their attention.

I enjoy meeting the parents as well. They too are excited and far more apprehensive about things. It is so hard to let that "little one" move on to the next step. It is one of the biggest milestones in their lives. Reality sets in...they are no longer babies.

I must admit, even after all of the years I've been teaching, I too am a little anxious about the new school year. The unknown of whats to come is very exciting and a little scary. Actually, I think that is part of the magic of teaching!!!

It is now Friday and we have finished our first week in school. It has been a wonderful week. The children are delightful. They are so eager to learn and are enjoying getting to know each other. So far we have a good mix of personalities. There have been no clashes whic is a good sign. When a group of people spend many hours inside the smae four walls over a long period of time, it always helps to have personalities that mesh well together. It can make or break a good school year. This year promises to be great!!!

We began the year discussing cats. The reason being our class name is "Wilson's Whiskers". Many of our activities centered around this theme.

Here are a couple examples of the girls playing some math games with the cat theme. They were so busy with their work, they did not pay any attention to me taking their pictures. I love it!!!!!

The children chose many things to do during center time. They all seemed to work well together as they shared the centers. As I said before, we are off to a great start!

Whether working with someone or working alone, there was much learning going on.

One of the highlights of the week was our first visit to the computer lab. We spent our first vist doing a couple of online games.

The first game had the children putting the abc's in order. It was also a great way to practice "click and drag". The second game was creating a picture while doing a "dot to dot" activity. All in all everyone had a great time!

To sum it all up, I would say,"Our first week has been a great success!"

100+

2007-01-24T21:14:00.000-08:00

We did it!!!!

Yesterday, January 23, 2007 was our 100th day in school. It was one of the most exciting days we have had. The children arrived anxious to count our cans of food. We made sure each can was labeled with a number before the final count. As we counted the children seemed to get even more excited and louder.

The final count...108!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hooray for all cans of food!
Hooray for all the children who brought the food!
Hooray for all the parents who bought the food!
Hooray for THE UNITED WAY who will distribute the food!
Hooray for those who will receive the food!

But most of all,
Hooray for the kind hearts and giving spirit!

It was yesterday, January 23, 2007 that I saw young children experience what we as adults know.
"It is more blessed to give than to receive".

More food!

2007-01-10T13:06:00.000-08:00

We are now in our second week of our food drive. As of today our class has collected 34 cans of food. We are moving along with our count. But the most important thing is we are helping others.

Stay in touch for our next update.

The Count Is On!!

2007-01-05T11:15:00.000-08:00

We have started our food drive for the United Way.

We are off to a slow start. But I only pause to remember the story of The Tortoise and the Hare. Today we began with 5 cans.

If you and your child are a part of our class, please help us out and send in the cans!!!

Can You?

2007-01-04T10:25:00.000-08:00

Yes we can!! You may ask what? The answer is we can help others. There is no better way to begin a new year than by helping others.

January 23rd is the 100th day of school. We plan to collect 100+ can of food by then. We will label each can with a number. The cans will be lined up in the hall outside our classroom. By placing the cans in line we will be able to count them each day. We will also use them for other activities such as sorting and classifying, estimation, addition and subtraction.

Representatives from the United Way will come to school on January 23 the pick them up. They will then be distributed to local food banks.

Check back for daily updates!!

Barnyards

2006-11-13T16:57:00.000-08:00

This month we have been discussing farms. I always enjoy teaching this unit. Young children get so excited about so many things. This was evident last week when we talked about hog farms. When we discussed the many products that can come from the hog, our unit took on a new level of excitement.

We began by making a list of things we eat that are considered meat of the hog. The list included bacon, sausage, pork chops, ham, and barbecue ribs. The children got so excited shouting out things that someone said "fried chicken" and another child said "pancakes". Both children realized the moment the words had left their mouths, it was all over! We all had a good laughed and talked about how everyone can say funny things when they get excited.

The children were amused to hear about bristles for hair brushes, being made from the hog's hair. Some soap and candle wax can be made from the fat of the hog. But the best of all is when we talked of the football, and why it sometimes is referred to as "the pigskin". I knew I had a teachable moment there!!

We spent our time in the computer lab making barnyard pictures for our bulletin board.

We used the KIDPIX program to create these pictures. I am so please with the work the children did.

Mary Morgan is working very hard to get the details just right.

Austin spent a lot of time building a good fence for his farm.

Shafton has a lot of hay in his loft!!

Hailey and Jazz were quietly working together on their barns.

Robert has really got it going on in his picture!!!

Honor Our Vets

2006-11-06T11:08:00.000-08:00

This week we will be celebrating the service of the men in women who have served our country in uniform. We are especially celebrating our family members who are veterans. The following note was sent home to parents Friday.

Today, we talked of Caleb's great grandmother, and the service she performed to help our country while the United States was at war. Take a look at her picture and read the interesting story about her career in the military.

Meet Hayden's uncle, Sargent Nathan Russell.
U.S. Army National Guard
Served 9-11 One year at Anniston's Army Depot
During Hurrican Ivan protected homes in Gulf Shores AL

Sargent Russell served 18 months in Iraq. He returned to the US this past May. Sargent Russell received the Bronze Star. He felt his whole unit also deserved the credit.

Wesley brought pictures of veterans in his family.
This is Wesley's dad. Wesley told us that when his dad was in the Navy, he worked on a great big ship!!!
Prettycool!!

Apple Time

2006-10-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

We love to eat apples and we love to learn about apples.

Recently we spent some time in our class talking bout apples. Of course we read about Johnny Appleseed and his love for apples. It is a wonderful story. I only wish I know just how much is true. It is amazing over time how stories will grow and change. I wonder what John Chapman,(Johnny Appleseed) would think today of his tale.

One of the more fun activities we did during our study was to pretend we were apple trees.
Several years ago I made apples from felt. One side of the apple was red and the other side was green. I stuffed them with fiberfill. Before stitching them up, I sewed a little stem and leaf to them.

Each child was given one apple. I said "Go"! Then children began to drop their apples to the ground. Each time they dropped the apple, they would record the color that was face-side up. The recording was done with tally marks. This is a familiar activity. Each month we record how many days we have been in school. This is a daily activity during our calendar time. We talk about the 5th tally mark in a group goes across the others and a group of ten tally marks gets circled.
I was curious to see how many children would remember this and put it in to practice. I was amazed!!!!

After a while, I said, "Stop"! Each child then recorded how many tally marks they had for red and fore green. After all of the counting was done we recorded their totals,(using tally marks,of course, on the board. It was then that we saw the grand total of red and green apples.

It was lots of fun, lots of learning, and surprisingly, a very quiet time in our class. A rare moment!!

During our apple unit study, we did a couple of graphs with apples. We first tasted Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith apples. After the tasting we did a graph of our favorites.

We also did a bar graph of apples using a poster in our class. This is Wesley working on his graph. Wesley loves to work with graphs in class.

City or Country

2006-09-25T13:47:00.000-07:00

Because we live in the suburbs, it is interesting to talk about how other people live and go to school. I enjoy sharing information from the book TOWN AND COUNTRY by Alice and Martin Provensen with the children. We spend a lot of time comparing and contrasting lifestyles.
The children especially enjoy talking about the how different recess can be. Why in a "City School" sometimes streets must be blocked off for recess. There is not enough room among all of the tall buildings for a playground. We talk about different games that are played and how you have to be very careful not to bat a ball through one of the school windows.
When we discuss recess at a country school, we talk all of the open space there is for the children to play. If you bat a ball across the fence there why it may go into a pasture.

Another one of our favorite books to read is THE LITTLE HOUSE by Virginia Lee Burton. After reading and discussing the book the children illustrate a picture of what the little house saw. We then write about there picture on the page. I love to read what they say and draw from the book. It is interesting to me what "sticks with a child".

Some focus on The Little House in the country. They illustrate the hills, mountains, ponds, flowers, and trees.
Usually someone will have a beautiful apple tree near The Little House. And often there will be ducks swimming in the pond.

Some of the children will focus on The Little House in the city. They will illustrate the tall buildings surrounding The Little House as the cars, trucks and buses are rushing by.

Most of the children will illustrate a daytime picture. But every once in a while a child will illustrate The Little House and what it sees at nighttime.

There are some children who focus on all of the seasons The Little House will see. They enjoy talking about the difference in the landscape as the seasons change.

I enjoy using THE LITTLE HOUSE to talk about a story's setting. The book is just the perfect example for children to understand how important the setting is to telling the story.

It is at this time that we talk of developing good scenes for our stories. And believe it or not, they get it!!!

Watching the Weather

2006-09-14T07:46:00.000-07:00

We are weather watchers!! Each morning, when we do our calendar activities, we discuss the weather. We go to the internet of one of our local television stations and check out the weather report for the day.

We then record the information on our weather board. This gives us an opportunity to discuss and compare the weather to the previous day.

I love that the children are so interested and excited about the weather. It is so interesting that they talk of watching the weather reports at home. It is also wonderful to see the children use weather terminology in their discussions.

The children record their entries in their weather journals each day. Ferguson is working very hard to get the information in his journal just right!!!

It is so interesting to watch them as they talk among themselves about their journals.
They say things like, "Today the high is going to be three degrees higher than yesterday's high". Or they may say,"Yesterday was partly cloudy and the forecast today is partly sunny". Sometimes I get tickled when they argue over the terms "partly cloudy and partly sunny".

One day last week Austin came in the room with great excitement. He said that he had to tell me something right then and it couldn't wait. He said that when we do the weather report for the day, we will be writing "rainy" because it was already "sprinkling" on Chestnut Road. What a funny thing for a little boy to get so excited about!!! I just loved it. It is moments like that, that make me realize we have make a great connection!!

Maddie takes great pride in the work she does each day in her weather book. Maddie is very maticulous and works very hard to get each detail just as she wants it. She can also strike a great pose!!! Looking Good!!!!!!!

Jazz works very hard to do her best. And her best is always wonderful. She has such outstanding work habits and is always eager to help others.
What a beautiful smiile Jazz has. It is obvious that she is proud of her weather book.

We Are Weather Watchers!!!!!

I wonder what the weather will be like tomorrow?

Hey Diddle Diddle

2006-08-31T19:58:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-22T20:34:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-21T14:54:00.000-07:00

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.

A Couple of Cool Cowboys

2006-05-26T12:46:00.000-07:00

Recently we studied THE WILD WILD WEST. We talked about people moving west. We discussed how they traveled, their living conditions, and why they would want to pursue this life.
We spent a great amount of time discussing the life of a cowboy. We talked about the work they did and why they did it.

We discussed their clothing and the necessity of the garments they wore. Some of the things we learned... a cowboy wore boots to protect his legs from getting scratched and cut. But also he wore the boots to protect his legs from possible snake bites! Yikes!!! We like the bandanas the cowboys wore. They look real cool! The cowboy used it to cover his face when the wind blew. The bandana kept the dirt and dust from getting all over his face! Pretty neat, hugh!!! The big hats protected the cowboy's face from the rain and also kept the sun out of his eyes.

We discussed not only their work, but their "leisure time", how and where they slept They used their saddle for a pillow, which in my opinion doesn't seem very soft!
The cowboys had their own cook to go out on the trail with them. They called hime Cookie. He had a special wagon with drawers built-in to store the pots and pans and all the food.

A cowboys life could be full of adventure but was full of very hard work.
One morning we drew and colored pictures of a cowboy. Take a glance at these.

This cowboy was done by Nathan. Nathan made sure he had some of those necessities on to protect himself.

I especuially like the catus in the picture, Nathan shows a good perception of distance with the large catus being in front, and the small one in the back. I think Nathan did a good job showing how hot it was in the desert. He did this by making the background colors very vivid and bright.

Outstanding work Nathan!!!!!

Jack D. is the artist of the next cowboy!! I must confess that I have refered to Jack D. all year as PARTY MAN!!! When I met Jack the first day of school, I knew right off we were going to have fun. Jack brings new meaning to LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL! His cowboy picture tells it all!!

I like the way Jack illustrated the lassos. They take on the look of balloons!! The stars give the picture a party image too!
The spikes on the catus make it look as if the wind might be blowing. It just seems to be a picture full of movement and alot of energy!

But,I must admit my favorite part of the picture is that Jack drew the cowboy sitting on a catus!!! It is soooooo Jack! Just look at the expression on the cowboy's face! He looks as if he is going to yell OUCH!!!!!!

The Sandbox

2006-05-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

We work in centers everyday. Some of our centers are in the classroom, some we do in the hall, and some are outside. We are so lucky to have a courtyard right outside our classroom. It is completely enclosed, safe, and secure.
One of our favorite centers is the sandbox.
Jack M said,"I like to dig in the sand and I like to make sand mountains".

Alex said, "I like the sandbox because it is fun for me. I like it cause I get to play. I build sand castles".

Kara said, "I like it because I get to play with the sand. I get to make cakes and sand castles".

Matthew said, "Sometimes we make sand forts in the sandbox".

Nathan said, "I like going to the sandbox because you get to build stuff with sand. You get to build stuff like sand houses, sand forts, castles and buildings. Its very cool!!!"

This is Nathan. We are very greatful to him and his dad. Nathan's dad built our sandbox. Natnan and his brother helped bring the sand into the courtyard and pour it in the sandbox. This was a special gift to our class. We have really enjoyed it. So, we say "THANKS FOR THE SANDBOX"!!

Why, some people will challenge the use of a sandbox in kindergarten. They say, "It is only play". I say "Good"!! We in Early Childhood know that a child's play is a child's work. What better way to learn.
The sandbox offers many opporitunities. It provides the child with appropriate play experiences that contribute to the child's development. It helps children with large and fine motor skills. It enhances creativity and curiousity. It gives the child a better sense of science and math in our world. The sandbox also is a part of building a foundation of reading and math readiness.

I have noticed that the children in our class suddenly become quieter when working in the sandbox. Maybe it is because it gives a calming, soothing feeling to them. Even as an adult, I still enjoy the feeling of running my fingers through the sand.

I can remember vividly playing in the sandbox. I would spend many days at Mamaw's house. And Mamaw lived next door to My Aunt Catherine (Cac Cac) and Uncle Ernie. Edward is their son. He and I would play for hours in his sandbox. We would make roads, cities, and farms. Sometimes it was fun to just pour the sand in a bucket and empty it over and over again. But my favorite thing to do, was to play in the sandbox after it had rained. It was then we could mold all kinds of shapes and build castles!!
I am sad to say that one summer it all came to an end. Cac Cac took the tin top off the sandbox for us. (She always covered it up for the winter.) Edward and I were standing there with great anticipation. When she removed the top, the first thing we saw were two baby snakes. A mama snake had made our sandbox her home.
Cac Cac killed the snakes, empited the sandbox, and put it in the alley for the garbage man to pick up. We never played in the sandbox again.

The Reading Teacher

2006-05-15T19:46:00.000-07:00

Matthew began kindergarten with such a desire to read. And suddenly one day last fall, he was reading! I don't mean beginning to read. HE WAS READING ANYTHING HE WANTED!!! I don't know who was more excited, Matthew or me.

Last Tuesday, Matthew entered the room with a huge smile on his face. He said, "I can read good and I can help other people read too. I think Dr. Richardson will want to hire me to be a reading teacher. That way I could help alot of people learn to read."

So, I sent a message to Dr. Richardson telling him I had someone in our class he needed to interview. Dr. Richardson scheduled an appointment with Matthew for later that day.

Here are some questions from the interview.

Dr. Richardson: Why do you want to be a reading teacher?
Matthew: Because I am a very good reader. I can even read part of a chapter book.

Dr. Richardson: Have you ever taught anyone how to read?
Matthew: I have helped my friends in class.

Dr. Richardson: Do you think you could manage a class full of kids?
Matthew: Yes!

Dr. Richardson: Although I'd like to hire you right now, I'm not allowed to because of your age. Will you continue to be our
reading helper and help your friends learn to read?
Matthew Yes I will.

The next day, our Reading Specialist, Anna Mary Walthall, came by our class to visit Matthew. She and Matthew went out in the hall to talk.

This is a part of the conversation.

Miss Walthal: When did you become a reader?
Matthew: On April 1st or October 13th, I started reading and I didn't dream of anything else. I started sounding out
words and ummmmm, that's how I got into reading.

Miss Walthal: How did you learn to read?
Matthew: At night I read books to get better at reading and the more I get better at reading the more I get reading the
correct words and the correct lines.

Miss Walthal: Today I'm going to talk with parents that will have Kindergarteners next year, how can they help their
children learn to read?
Mathtew: If they keep going to the library to get some chapter books and picture books and if the books are too easy
return them, but if they are too hard, you can read them to them.

Miss Walthal: Why is it important for parents to read to their children every night?
Matthew: The more they listen to their mother read, the more they can read better.

Miss Walthal: Matthew, what tips would you give to next years's kindergarteners about how to read?
Matthew: Keep on reading easy books. If you know how to do it, teach each other. Help them sound out. The more
they do it, the more they get good at it.

We can all learn some lessons from Matthew.
Don't give up.
Keep practicing.
Do your best.
Listen to you parents.
Help others

Here We Are

2006-05-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

Here are Wilson's Whiskers 2005-2006. Pictured from left to right,
Front Row
Matthew, Peyton, Kathleen, Chace, Taylor, Maya, Jack D., Caleb, Alex,
Back Row
Ms. Wilson,(teacher) Jayda, Nathan, Jack M. Jaylyn, Jenny, Dr. Richardson, (principal)
Don't you think we are the greatest looking kindergarten class you have ever seen!!

Can you guess who "The Party Man" of the class is?

Jack and Magnolia

2006-05-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

Jack and Magnolia are my little dogs. They are long-haired Chahuahuas.They are one year old and weigh 4.5 lbs. each. Jack is white with a little buff. Magnolia is black and white with a little tan around her eyes. This is their "school picture". When we had spring pictures made,the photographer was delighted to make their picture. They love to come to school! They come quite often on weekends with me.

Teaching requires alot of work after school has dismissed. Because I spend time working after hours, I will bring them to school to play. I am lucky to have a coutyard right outside my room. They enjoy running and playing there while I work. Soon Jack and Magnolia will have their very own blog.
Stay tuned! You will not want to miss it!

Our Visiting Artist

2006-05-08T11:03:00.000-07:00

Each year an artist comes to our school. The artist will talk about the kind of work they do. He/she will demonstrate the work. In years past we have had artists who paint with watercolors, oils, acrylic. We have had an artist to do a collage. We have had artists to show how they sculptor things. We have even had a potter.
This year our guest artist paints murals.

Our artist is very special to our class. Her name is Julie and she is Taylor's mom!! Wow! How exciting could that be!! I think an artist is a cool thing for a mom to be.

She spoke to all of the classes at school. She told us that she had been drawing and painting since she was a little girl. She told us that the best way to get good at drawing and painting is to practice.

She show us a book of all kind of murals she has painted. They were neat! She told us that since she paints on walls, she must paint the pictures very big. She said that she has been painting big things for such a long time, that it is sometimes hard to draw and paint small things. I guess that comes from all of that practice!!

The very best part of her visit is that she left a special gift for our school!! She painted a mural in our front hallway! It is beautiful, and VERY BIG! There are two big tress with lots of flowers and some animals. It looks great! Everyone who comes to our school will see it!!!

Take a look at Taylor and her mom in front of the mural.

We've Gone Buggy

2006-05-01T09:33:00.000-07:00

What is it that is so intriging about bugs to children? They get so excited and want to look at pictures of them, hunt them, draw and colr them, and even write about them. Maybe it is because there are so many varities of bugs. They come in all sizes, shapes, and colors, and live everywhere. Whatever the answer, kindergarteners love them.

Each year, during our study of bugs, we do a little project. The children like to refer to it as "homework",which sounds so grown-up to them. I send a paper home for the children and parentsto work on together. It is called CREATE A BUG. Below is a copy of the page. Now, I can't take credit for this because it came from a book entitled BUNCHES OF BUGS whic is published by Lasting Lessons.

Check out these bugs that were made by children in our class. Each child show his/her bug to the class and told us exactly how they made it. Let us know what you think!!

This is Jaylyn.
Jaylyn made a betterfly. She used blue construction paper to make the wings. The face was made from a push pin. The body was made from a hair bow and a glue stick. Jaylyn said she liked making the wings the best because it was like making a fan.

This is Jenny.
Jenny made a butterfly. For the body she used a feather. For the legs she used bread ties. She used a cotton ball for the head and paper for the wings. Jenny said she liked making it with her dad.

This is Jayda.
Jayda made a ladybug. She used a paper plate to make the body. She used a small paper plate to make the face. And she used two markers. Jayda said she liked it best when she colored the spots.

This is Kathleen.
Kathleen made a caterpillar. She made it with a paper towel roll and some wires for the legs. She used Easter eggs for the head and the tail. Kathlee said she like it best shen she wrapped the paper towel roll with tissue paper.

This is Chace.
Chace made a spider. He used a cup for the body. He used pipe cleaners for the eight legs. He used fake eyes that move for the eyes. Chace said he liked putting the pipe cleaners on the spider.

This is Nathan.
He made a butterfly. A water bottle was used to make the body. Nathan used a disco ball for the head. For the wings, he used tissues and for the legs he used pipec leaners. Nathan said he like it when he got to put the legs and the wings on the butterfly. He said his mom made holes in the bottle with a knife and then he got to put the pipe cleaners cleaners in it.

This is Maya.
Maya made a honeybee. She used a bottle for the body. Feathers were used for the wings, and Qtips were used to make legs. QTips were also used for the antennae. Maya said she liked using the bottle for the body the best!! She had to take the paper off the bottle before she used it.

This is Alex.
He made a ladybug. He made the head out of a little fuzzy ball. The body was made out of wood. The antennae were made out of string and the wings were made out of plates. Alex said the best part of making the ladybug was painting it.

This is Taylor.
She made a ladybug. She made the wings out of paper towels. She colored it yellow. She used google eyes for its eyes. Taylor said she like cutting out the cardboard for the ladybug's body the best.

Writing Is A Way to Keep Our Thoughts Alive!

2006-04-27T15:07:00.000-07:00

Meet Maya.
Maya used her writing workshop time today to write about doing homework and her sister, Alyssa. Take a look at her work. Not only is her writing good, her illustration is beautiful!!! Just take a look and you will be impressed. MAYA, I THINK YOUR WORK IS TERRIFIC!!

This is Matthew!

Today Matthew wrote about dinosaurs. He wrote that his favorite is the Long Neck. Matthew did an outstanding illustration to go with his story. Matthew is very artistic! I think it has something to do with being left-handed. I too am left-handed. I think it is a special gift!!!!

The writing is a little difficult to read. But, take if from me, it is good. I just love the details of his illustration. The picture seem to come alive right before my eyes! MATTHEW, YOU'RE THE GREATEST!!

An Apple A Day

2006-04-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

Take a look at what Jack D and Peyton wrote about apples.

Jack D. approaches everythig with energy and joy!!
Jack D. is not only a good writer, he is a good illustrator!!! Don't you like the way Jack spelled "healthy"! I am pleased to see he remembered to put a period at the end of the sentence!!!! JACK, YOU ARE AWSOME!!!!!

Peyton has written her own version of "An apple a day, keeps the doctor away". PEYTON, YOU ARE DOING GREAT! YOU MAKE ME PROUD!!!!

We Are Writers

2006-04-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

We love to tell stories. We all have many stories to tell. Take a peek at the ones below. You will see fantastic examples of kindergarteners writing and illustrating their thoughts. Tell us what you think!!

Jenny is such a good writer. She loves writing more than anyone I know her age. One day we will probably even read a book that she has written. Jenny likes to write with great detail. She especially enjoys adding a little humor to her stories. I LOVE THE WORK YOU DO JENNY!!!!! DON'T EVER STOP!!

Jack M has done some great work. It always makes me feel good when a student tells me how much he likes school. It makes me feel even better when he writes about it!!! The detailed illustration of the classroom is interesting. WAY TO GO JACK M.

I like the picture Jack drew of our classroom. We have round tables, big windows, and a pink rug by our sink. I thought it was great that he included these in his illustration. And of course, he must have known, no kindergarten classroom is complete without the alphabet on the wall.

Stay in touch. We have many things to share. We are sure you will be impressed!!!

Stone Soup Part 2

2006-04-18T16:17:00.000-07:00

Today we went to see the musical Stone Soup performed by Mrs. Patterson's class. It was so much fun to watch another class perform the very same thing we did. Our class was a very good audience. It is interesting to observe children watching something they know so well. And of course they wanted to hum/sing along.

Because our performance was first, some in our class thought they were experts. When we returned to our classroom they began to discuss and critique what they had just seen. Some went into detail about who was a good singer, who was a good dancer, and who play the instruments. I was amused at their comments.

Our class did enjoy the performance Mrs. Patterson's class presented. We thought they did a super job!!

Stone Soup

2006-04-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

Today,we performed the story STONE SOUP. We had a very large audience of parents and other classes. The children were proud to show the many things they have learned in music class this year.
Jayda said, "The part I liked the best was when Me and Jaylyn were playing the instruments".
Jack M. said, "I liked putting the stones in the pot".
Chace said, "I liked doing STONE SOUP today because our parents came. I liked the song SOLDIERS ARE WE the best".
Our music teacher is Mrs. Glaze. She does a wonderful job teaching the children. Mrs. Glaze is always so positive and makes each child feel special!!
Maya said,"I like to go to music class because we get to do dancing and singing".
Jack D. said, Mrs. Glaze is nice. We get to sing and I like to sing".

A Time to Dance

2006-04-06T12:59:00.000-07:00

This morning the Kindergarten classes in our school presented a rhythm and movement program. They began with a song using rhythm sticks. Every child was on the beat!! The program continued with a 'rock & roll" number. It was an excellent demonstration of isolating different parts of the body to the beat. The children did a super job with the parachutes. The program ended with square dancing. This was an outstanding way for our PE teachers to show off the many skills they have taught the children. These skills are so important to us all. As we know people are better readers when they have a concept of rhythm and rhyme. Balance and coordination are life long skills. As we get older, they tend to get more important. Today, I witnessed a great example of a true and meaningful physical education program. We should all do more dancing!!! It is good for us.

Losing teeth

2006-04-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

In the last week, three children have lost teeth. It has been so exciting for them. A couple of others have loose teeth. At times it seems to be the only thing on their minds. I can remember when I was a child and had a loose tooth. I would wiggle it. I would pull and push on it trying to get the tooth to come out. It always seemed forever from the time I realized it was loose, to the time it would finally come out. Once it was out I was consummed with placing my tongue in the hole in my mouth. Until this week I had not thought about that time in my life in along time. It is funny, the things we remember, and the things that stir those memories.

2006-04-04T21:10:00.000-07:00

Kindergarten is such an exciting place to be, We have been discussing birds. We are also making a big book about birds. It is shaped like a birdhouse. We will finish this unit Friday. I stand amazed at how the children remember. They especially like the smallest details. They get excited when they think they know something their parents don't know.