A Big Thank You

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

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

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+

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!

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!!

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?

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!!