I am a lucky girl this year! I have wonderful aides this year helping me out. I had a HUGE list today of things to do and my one aide got it all done- my other aide was on a little vacation today, so she couldn't be there, but she also rocks! I am SO excited this year to be working with these wonderful people. I couldn't be happier. These ladies are going to have our room rock and excell sooooo much! :) I can't wait now for the first day!
Oh and my dad has been rocking out with making my new storage shelves! I am loving it! I can't wait to get it into my classroom! :) YEAH! I will post a picture once he has it all done! :) YEAH!
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Back to School linky
Here is a cute linky that I have seen on a few other blogs. I thought it was cute so I am going to try it!
The blog that started it can be found here at Kindergarten Lifestyle. I always know more buses are out because my son LOVES to see and count the buses we see for the day. Usually in the summer we get one, maybe two because we live right by the ISD and we see them coming or going all the time. On a typical school day, depending on if I am running on time or not, we can see usually about 20 buses or more a day. Our count lately has been up to about 6, so the new routes are being tested and school is almost here!
I have been back to school since Wednesday. I have been in my room getting all of my furniture arranged the way I would like it. My desk is in a new spot, I have a new rug this year (SUPER excited about that) and my desks are arranged in a different style too since I have more kids this year than last year. Last year's set up will not work with this many kids. I went to an awesome conference on Friday about using iPads in the classroom. It would be a dream to have 24 iPads for my kiddos to use in the classroom. I would love to even have 6 that I could share with my teaching partner when we have centers. The pros of the iPads being used in the classroom were great. One of the main ideas that stuck with me was that for the student who struggles to write and form letters, they can succeed at writing by using the iPad and typing it out! I can also differentiate the different learning styles in my class to all 24 kids! That would be wonderful to be able to do. I applied for my first grant over the summer, and didn't get it. But I am not discouraged because I know there is someone out there who will help me get iPads in my classroom! I will try again this winter for the same grant, just rewrite it a little, and also for Target's grants in the spring. I am hoping to get at least one of those grants to get about 5 iPads in the classroom. (Hey I will even pay all the taxes on the iPads if I got the grants to go with them and they only covered the cost of the actual iPad.) It would be worth it to me! So if there is someone who is reading this and would like to donate something large to my classroom... an iPad would be wonderful! :) Just saying. Never hurts to ask!
The blog that started it can be found here at Kindergarten Lifestyle. I always know more buses are out because my son LOVES to see and count the buses we see for the day. Usually in the summer we get one, maybe two because we live right by the ISD and we see them coming or going all the time. On a typical school day, depending on if I am running on time or not, we can see usually about 20 buses or more a day. Our count lately has been up to about 6, so the new routes are being tested and school is almost here!
I have been back to school since Wednesday. I have been in my room getting all of my furniture arranged the way I would like it. My desk is in a new spot, I have a new rug this year (SUPER excited about that) and my desks are arranged in a different style too since I have more kids this year than last year. Last year's set up will not work with this many kids. I went to an awesome conference on Friday about using iPads in the classroom. It would be a dream to have 24 iPads for my kiddos to use in the classroom. I would love to even have 6 that I could share with my teaching partner when we have centers. The pros of the iPads being used in the classroom were great. One of the main ideas that stuck with me was that for the student who struggles to write and form letters, they can succeed at writing by using the iPad and typing it out! I can also differentiate the different learning styles in my class to all 24 kids! That would be wonderful to be able to do. I applied for my first grant over the summer, and didn't get it. But I am not discouraged because I know there is someone out there who will help me get iPads in my classroom! I will try again this winter for the same grant, just rewrite it a little, and also for Target's grants in the spring. I am hoping to get at least one of those grants to get about 5 iPads in the classroom. (Hey I will even pay all the taxes on the iPads if I got the grants to go with them and they only covered the cost of the actual iPad.) It would be worth it to me! So if there is someone who is reading this and would like to donate something large to my classroom... an iPad would be wonderful! :) Just saying. Never hurts to ask!
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Almost over...
So summer is almost over, at least for me it is. The teachers have to report on Wednesday this week and the work in my room shall begin! I was excited to see today after church that yes, my room was shampooed and cleaned this week! YEAH! That means I have free reign in my room now. I can't wait. I am looking forward to getting in there now. I finally am getting the itch to go back... finally (only taking 3 days before I start to get it)! I am hoping that it is such a fun year this year. I really enjoyed last year and now I get double the fun!
Even though the back to school itch is back, I still am feeling a little stressed because I am working on my colloquy. There is a lot more writing to this one and I hope that I am able to pull it off. (I think it is also my 'got to get A's and nothing else' nature pulling through and not helping me stay relaxed.) I have a little more to go, but almost there!
I can also tell that summer is almost over because it is Armada Fair time! This year I have 3 quilts and about 60 pictures in the fair. I will probably have a big post later this week about the fair. I can't wait to go to the fair tomorrow! It opens tomorrow and I can't go until about 4:30! AHHH! If it is really bugging me, I may sneak out there early, but it is a drive from my house and I don't want to waste the gas. (I am worse than my almost 4 year old! He keeps begging to go out to the fair. I guess if he has to wait, I should also set the example.) :) Here is hoping to some ribbons! My goal is to one year get a rosette. I have many ribbons from years past, but never a rosette. I am trying to win one, but it has to be something specatular to get one and I don't know if I am there yet. I think a nice hand sewn appliqued quilt may be the key... we shall see. I am not up to making that yet. :) (Lots of time involved which you don't quite have as a teacher and mother to young ones.)
Even though the back to school itch is back, I still am feeling a little stressed because I am working on my colloquy. There is a lot more writing to this one and I hope that I am able to pull it off. (I think it is also my 'got to get A's and nothing else' nature pulling through and not helping me stay relaxed.) I have a little more to go, but almost there!
I can also tell that summer is almost over because it is Armada Fair time! This year I have 3 quilts and about 60 pictures in the fair. I will probably have a big post later this week about the fair. I can't wait to go to the fair tomorrow! It opens tomorrow and I can't go until about 4:30! AHHH! If it is really bugging me, I may sneak out there early, but it is a drive from my house and I don't want to waste the gas. (I am worse than my almost 4 year old! He keeps begging to go out to the fair. I guess if he has to wait, I should also set the example.) :) Here is hoping to some ribbons! My goal is to one year get a rosette. I have many ribbons from years past, but never a rosette. I am trying to win one, but it has to be something specatular to get one and I don't know if I am there yet. I think a nice hand sewn appliqued quilt may be the key... we shall see. I am not up to making that yet. :) (Lots of time involved which you don't quite have as a teacher and mother to young ones.)
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Scavenger Hunt Bags
So I have seen this on Pinterest a while back and thought these would be really good for my students who finish early. I decided to make one for every letter of the alphabet, which is proving harder than I thought with some letters. I would like to have at least 5-6 items per bag, with not too many in the bag since the kids are suppose to find things. My "Ss" bag has the most items in it. These have cost some money to make, but I think that it will be beneficial to the students, especially with beginning sounds and identifying things that begin with certain letters.
The bags are not finished. I have put the ribbon on where the zipper is, but I still have to put the letters on the bag to identify which letter bag it is. I also have to print out the pictures with the items on it. On the back of that picture, I am going to have the different items listed for my students who are higher and can read. Then I am going to put them on a ring and going to have a special spot in the room for these to be hanging. :) here are some pictures for a sneek peek at what I have collected so far. These are the bags that are all set and ribbon glued on them.
The bags are not finished. I have put the ribbon on where the zipper is, but I still have to put the letters on the bag to identify which letter bag it is. I also have to print out the pictures with the items on it. On the back of that picture, I am going to have the different items listed for my students who are higher and can read. Then I am going to put them on a ring and going to have a special spot in the room for these to be hanging. :) here are some pictures for a sneek peek at what I have collected so far. These are the bags that are all set and ribbon glued on them.
These are the items that are in my Bb bag.
The Cc bag
The Pp bag.
The Ff bag
The Ee bag
The Hh bag
The Mm bag (don't know why this picture is turned this way, it was normal)
The Ss bag
These are the little plastic beads that I put in. Thanks to my dad who got them from his work. You can get them from Joann's too or get Bean Bag filler.
I used see through binder pencil bags. These I got at Meijer and seem really durable. For the consonants, I am using blue, black, and purple. The vowels are all going to be in pink bags... to show the kids that there is a difference. I hot glued ribbon right on to the zipper, making sure I went over the zipper all the way so that the bag doesn't come apart. I wanted to make sure I couldn't get into the bag again- also so I don't have these plastic pieces EVERY WHERE in my room! (Don't think that Mr. Jerry would like that too much at the end of the day!)
Once I get one finished, I will post a picture of that as well. I have the letters at school, in a cupboard, packed away, so it will be hard to find them right now. Have to start cleaning out and setting up the room first to find them. I will have my aides help me in final assembly of these.
I am really excited about these and hope that the kids enjoy them. :)
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Post Card Exchange
So excited that I may be participating in a Post Card Exchange this year. It is through Miss Whiddens blog. She needs a few more states, so check it out! :) I do hope that I get Michigan, because this will be such a wonderful thing to do with my kiddos to teach them about writing letters and also the United States. I can totally see this being a great resource for them and get them excited about learning to write letters. If you are interested, check the blog out and see if you are able to do it. :) It would be nice to get all 50 states!
misswhiddenssweetseconds.blogspot.com/
misswhiddenssweetseconds.blogspot.com/
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Dollar Deals!
I totally found some really cool finds today at Target in their Dollar Spot. Some great things that I will be using this year in my classroom, many for centers.
It was fun shopping today. As always though, spent more of my own money, but the kiddos are worth it. :)
These are going to be used at centers. I found the really cute containers, erasers, and the ice cube tray holders all for $1! I like the ice cube tray holders because they have three rows instead of the traditional two. Plus the silicon at the bottom can pop out the erasers. Here I have the stars and the frogs shown. This will be used to show and create patterns.
I was SUPER excited about these stickers. I will be using these with Chica Chica Boom Boom when we make our own trees at the beginning of this year. I didn't do this last year, but I would like to incorporate it into the first week of school this year.
I liked these little certificates because in March, I have the kids eat Green Eggs and Ham with their prayer partners. I thought this would be a cute certificate to go along with it. Can't wait... just hope I remember where I put them in March! :)
It was fun shopping today. As always though, spent more of my own money, but the kiddos are worth it. :)
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Vacation
Does a teacher ever stop thinking of their classrooms and things that they can use in their classroom? I know wherever I am at, I always am thinking of how I can use something in someway in my classroom.
When we were on vacation these past few days, I kept getting things for my new bulletin board idea that I want to do in my classroom. It is mainly an "About Me" bulleting board where things can be brought in and displayed on the board. Of course, I got a patch and pin at Sleeping Bear Dunes. I also was thinking of how I could incorporate our little sailing adventure into my class too.
We had SO much fun on the trip. I can't remember a time of being more relaxed or just at peace with everything. We really enjoyed our times together as a family and not having to punch a clock to be somewhere at a certain time. Yes, our skin is a little more sunkissed now (or lobsterized) and we all have sand in our hair, but I wouldn't change it for the world. It was a great trip. We spent all day on the beach on Tuesday and played in the sand, built sand castles, 'walked the plank' (or the boat dock), 'dug for treasure', and laid out on the cabana. It was wonderful! God gave us great weather to enjoy our time with eachother and a beautiful place to do it in. I love Traverse City. I had really been there mostly when I was little in the winter (awesome Cross-Country Ski places around). To be there now in the summer after many years was great. I cannot wait to go back... we did make it home in 4 hours and 15 minutes... not too far to make a weekend trip.... hint hint honey! ;p
I also realized when we were there that I would love to live there. It is just big enough to not be a small town, yet not huge either. There isn't the congestion that there is here at home. The places around there are so beautiful.... maybe one day we could do a summer house. Ahh dreams... it would be great, but more than likely not a reality... at least not for a few years. I have to become a called worker of the church (so that I can get called there) and I also have to convince my loving husband that the winters are not that bad up there, it isn't that cold, and that the snow piles on the side of the roads that are higher than your car are nothing to be worried about. :) Until then... pictures will help keep that memory and dream alive...
My little guy and I on the top of the Dune Climb with Glenn Lake in the background.
Our family with Sleeping Bear Dune and Lake Michigan in the background.
A Michigan sunset with my little man.
Building sand castles with Daddy.
'Walking the Plank' as it was called... more like walking out to the end of the dock.
Look at that adorable Captain... he did a wonderful job steering the boat.
My little Captain and I.
A family that sails together has lots of fun together!
When we were on vacation these past few days, I kept getting things for my new bulletin board idea that I want to do in my classroom. It is mainly an "About Me" bulleting board where things can be brought in and displayed on the board. Of course, I got a patch and pin at Sleeping Bear Dunes. I also was thinking of how I could incorporate our little sailing adventure into my class too.
We had SO much fun on the trip. I can't remember a time of being more relaxed or just at peace with everything. We really enjoyed our times together as a family and not having to punch a clock to be somewhere at a certain time. Yes, our skin is a little more sunkissed now (or lobsterized) and we all have sand in our hair, but I wouldn't change it for the world. It was a great trip. We spent all day on the beach on Tuesday and played in the sand, built sand castles, 'walked the plank' (or the boat dock), 'dug for treasure', and laid out on the cabana. It was wonderful! God gave us great weather to enjoy our time with eachother and a beautiful place to do it in. I love Traverse City. I had really been there mostly when I was little in the winter (awesome Cross-Country Ski places around). To be there now in the summer after many years was great. I cannot wait to go back... we did make it home in 4 hours and 15 minutes... not too far to make a weekend trip.... hint hint honey! ;p
I also realized when we were there that I would love to live there. It is just big enough to not be a small town, yet not huge either. There isn't the congestion that there is here at home. The places around there are so beautiful.... maybe one day we could do a summer house. Ahh dreams... it would be great, but more than likely not a reality... at least not for a few years. I have to become a called worker of the church (so that I can get called there) and I also have to convince my loving husband that the winters are not that bad up there, it isn't that cold, and that the snow piles on the side of the roads that are higher than your car are nothing to be worried about. :) Until then... pictures will help keep that memory and dream alive...
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Summer
The summer has been great so far this year. I have gone on several little vacations, with the bigger one coming up next week. (I cannot wait!) It has also been a busy one with my sister coming in with her little guy from Phoenix for a month. They are about half way through their trip here.
Today, I had the pleasure of being on the otherside of the interview chair. It was an interesting experience asking the questions instead of answering them. I found myself answering the questions myself in my head of what I would have answered! We have so many good candidates for our aide positions that are available. I will be praying hard for the Lord to lead me to the right fit for me and my students next year.
I have also started my colloquy program. For those that don't know what the colloquy is, it is a series of classes that I have to take through Concordia University in order to remain at my school. I have to become certified on religion in short. The classes are only 25 days long. There are about 15 hours of videos to watch and then small paragraphs to write. Then at the end, I have to write a one page paper for my portfolio. I decided to do the portfolio track because I don't want to write the big paper at the end of the paper route. The portfolio breaks up that paper into each class. I find that easier. So far, doing good. Luckily we can move at our own pace with it. Since I know I will be busy next week, I have been working on it non-stop the last 9 days. I am about 60% done with the class so far and it is only the 10th. :)
Along with hanging out with Landon, starting my colloquy, and then interviewing, I still am working in my room a little bit. Thankfully none of the construction is being done in my room. Today, I had some time inbetween the interviews to run down to my room and go through some of my file folders. I ended up just throwing them into an empty drawer at the end of the year and that bugged me because it was so disorganized. So I emptied them out today and worked on it. I got most of it done. now I just want to make tabs for what sections I have so that I know where one starts and one ends.
All in all... a great summer so far! I cannot wait for the new school year, but yet I want to enjoy my time with Landon so much this summer.
Today, I had the pleasure of being on the otherside of the interview chair. It was an interesting experience asking the questions instead of answering them. I found myself answering the questions myself in my head of what I would have answered! We have so many good candidates for our aide positions that are available. I will be praying hard for the Lord to lead me to the right fit for me and my students next year.
I have also started my colloquy program. For those that don't know what the colloquy is, it is a series of classes that I have to take through Concordia University in order to remain at my school. I have to become certified on religion in short. The classes are only 25 days long. There are about 15 hours of videos to watch and then small paragraphs to write. Then at the end, I have to write a one page paper for my portfolio. I decided to do the portfolio track because I don't want to write the big paper at the end of the paper route. The portfolio breaks up that paper into each class. I find that easier. So far, doing good. Luckily we can move at our own pace with it. Since I know I will be busy next week, I have been working on it non-stop the last 9 days. I am about 60% done with the class so far and it is only the 10th. :)
Along with hanging out with Landon, starting my colloquy, and then interviewing, I still am working in my room a little bit. Thankfully none of the construction is being done in my room. Today, I had some time inbetween the interviews to run down to my room and go through some of my file folders. I ended up just throwing them into an empty drawer at the end of the year and that bugged me because it was so disorganized. So I emptied them out today and worked on it. I got most of it done. now I just want to make tabs for what sections I have so that I know where one starts and one ends.
All in all... a great summer so far! I cannot wait for the new school year, but yet I want to enjoy my time with Landon so much this summer.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Shipshewana
It has been quite a while since I posted on here. It got crazy near the end of the year with all the final things going on with the end of Kindergarten. The kids did a fabulous job on their End of Year Celebration! I was SO proud of them. I promised myself that I wouldn't cry- but then I opened the door to where we were going, saw the parents and looked back at my kiddos and I lost it! I couldn't help it! They have grown SO much over this last year. I am really going to miss this class.
The week after school got out, we had our end of year teacher meetings. Then this last week (got home yesterday) I was in Shipshewana, IN. If you have never been to Shipshewana, I suggest that you go. On Tuesday and Wednesday every week, there is a HUGE flea market there. I got lots and lots of items for my classroom (including Happy Birthday pencils.. 100 for $10) for really cheap. I will have to try and take a picture of all of my stuff later and post it. Really excited about everything that I got there. Bring your money when you go; they have something for everyone. I was also super excited to find little toy dolls there that go with our doll houses at school! When I came into the room, I had the doll house, but no dolls! I picked up several dolls that I know will fit in there and some furniture too. When I brought it all out the first night, I was really surprised to see my son who is 3, start playing with them all. I knew then that the kids would like them a lot. I can't wait till the girls get to play with it this year. Otherwise this huge doll house would just be taking up more room on my shelves.
If you do happen to go to Shipshewana make sure you hit the flea market. It is only there Tuesdays and Wednesdays expect the major holidays over the summer. Also, I suggest eating, or at least getting, cinnomon rolls at The Bread Box. They are SO yummy! I got a bakers dozen to bring back... I will be freezing some. I have loved them since I was a little girl. I also suggest driving over to Middleburry, IN and staying and eating at the Essenhaus. When I was little, I use to stay there all the time. This year they were booked when we wanted to go (BIG quilt show going on) and we were only able to go and eat there. You should check it out. Great home made Amish food.
I will be going through some ideas and gathering others this summer for next year's classes. I cannot wait to meet my kids, but I am going to enjoy my summer! :) Lots of things to make this summer and do- a teacher's job is never done!
The week after school got out, we had our end of year teacher meetings. Then this last week (got home yesterday) I was in Shipshewana, IN. If you have never been to Shipshewana, I suggest that you go. On Tuesday and Wednesday every week, there is a HUGE flea market there. I got lots and lots of items for my classroom (including Happy Birthday pencils.. 100 for $10) for really cheap. I will have to try and take a picture of all of my stuff later and post it. Really excited about everything that I got there. Bring your money when you go; they have something for everyone. I was also super excited to find little toy dolls there that go with our doll houses at school! When I came into the room, I had the doll house, but no dolls! I picked up several dolls that I know will fit in there and some furniture too. When I brought it all out the first night, I was really surprised to see my son who is 3, start playing with them all. I knew then that the kids would like them a lot. I can't wait till the girls get to play with it this year. Otherwise this huge doll house would just be taking up more room on my shelves.
If you do happen to go to Shipshewana make sure you hit the flea market. It is only there Tuesdays and Wednesdays expect the major holidays over the summer. Also, I suggest eating, or at least getting, cinnomon rolls at The Bread Box. They are SO yummy! I got a bakers dozen to bring back... I will be freezing some. I have loved them since I was a little girl. I also suggest driving over to Middleburry, IN and staying and eating at the Essenhaus. When I was little, I use to stay there all the time. This year they were booked when we wanted to go (BIG quilt show going on) and we were only able to go and eat there. You should check it out. Great home made Amish food.
I will be going through some ideas and gathering others this summer for next year's classes. I cannot wait to meet my kids, but I am going to enjoy my summer! :) Lots of things to make this summer and do- a teacher's job is never done!
Friday, May 11, 2012
Classroom lessons
This week has been a busy week. We had to practice for Chapel every day until our Chapel day on Thursday. The kids did a FANTASTIC job! I couldn't be more proud of them! It was a great lesson for them to also learn how to speak in front of people. Some who practiced and talked really really fast froze up there- they did warm up after a while and then talked normal! This was great. I told them later that they spoke much better and we could understand what they said. :) They all spoke so nice into the microphone. We could hear them. :) Yeah!
We had another classroom lesson this week with our butterflies. The kids learned that they have to be very gentle with them- don't shake the table, don't talk to loud around them, don't hit or touch their house. They also learned how to take care of the butterflies. Although they never fed them themselves, I was reminded many times that it was time to feed them! I like how they took it upon themselves to give me reminders.
We didn't let our butterflies go today. I want to wait till Monday. :) Plus, I allowed my son to bring two of them home for the weekend. Although we only offically named one in my classroom (Stinker), Landon promptly named his new pals in the car on the way home from school. They are Fluffy and Wingo. :) I love it! Landon has started to name things more instead of the obvious names like "Yellow Lovey and Blue Lovey" Lately cars have earned some of the names from the Detroit Tigers. His "guys" are names from people who have been on Wipeout. So I was happy that he named the butterflies something other than "orange one and brown one". I like Fluffy and Wingo. They will be good companions this weekend for him. We may release them on Mother's Day if the weather is right.
We had another classroom lesson this week with our butterflies. The kids learned that they have to be very gentle with them- don't shake the table, don't talk to loud around them, don't hit or touch their house. They also learned how to take care of the butterflies. Although they never fed them themselves, I was reminded many times that it was time to feed them! I like how they took it upon themselves to give me reminders.
We didn't let our butterflies go today. I want to wait till Monday. :) Plus, I allowed my son to bring two of them home for the weekend. Although we only offically named one in my classroom (Stinker), Landon promptly named his new pals in the car on the way home from school. They are Fluffy and Wingo. :) I love it! Landon has started to name things more instead of the obvious names like "Yellow Lovey and Blue Lovey" Lately cars have earned some of the names from the Detroit Tigers. His "guys" are names from people who have been on Wipeout. So I was happy that he named the butterflies something other than "orange one and brown one". I like Fluffy and Wingo. They will be good companions this weekend for him. We may release them on Mother's Day if the weather is right.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Butterflies are Here!
Today, my class had the wonderful chance to see a butterfly actually emerge from its chrysalis. It was an amazing sight to see and watch happen. It was by chance that we hadn't already left the room for Chapel practice. I had gone to my desk to get the Chapel items needed for the day and I happened to look over at our butterfly house. I saw a head poking out of the chrysalis. I hurried all my kids over to the butterfly house. We watched this in amazement. The kids were just in awe of it happening before them. We had already had 4 butterflies that had emerged over the weekend (of course when none of us were there). We watched until it opened its wings to dry out more. One of my kids asked, "How does it start coming out? What makes the Chrysalis come apart?" I was about to answer when one of my girls stated, "It uses its beak to come out. It just peck pecks until the chrysalis opens." I then gently explained that butterflies do not have beaks, only birds. I had some of the kids chime in and go "Yeah look at its face, it doesn't have a beak." The girl gently and nicely replied, "Well it fell off after it came out! It doesn't need it anymore!" So needless to say, we will be comparing insects such as butterflies to birds coming up before the school year ends. We will do a Venn Diagram with it. It was a good learning experience for them today and me as well. I saw that I need to go further into the parts of the body for insects (even as they had a whole field trip on this).
I have only seen one other time butterflies emerge from their chrysalis. That was several years ago. We did have 4 born today. Two others had emerged when we practiced Chapel. Apparently their names are Landon (after my son) and Mrs. Lindhurst. They haven't named all the others yet. How they keep track of which is which when we have eight and soon to be nine butterflies in there, I don't know, but I will go along with it because it makes them happy and lets face it- it is really cute! We were watching closely the rest of the day to have the two remaining chrysalis' emerge. I thought that one wasn't going to because it was really dark, almost black in color. I thought it wasn't making it. Well, my kids had to go to gym. Gym is literally about 30 feet from my classroom. I walked them there, went upstairs to the teaching lounge to get a snack, and then came back down. Not even gone 10 minutes. That dark chrysalis was empty with a new butterfly next to it! That little stinker! It waited until everyone was out of the room! So, needless to say, that ones name is Stinker. The kids think it is hilarious. I told them it is because he is a little stinker for coming out when no one was there and we had been watching and waiting for it!
I just love this butterfly unit though. I wish we could keep them all year long and watch the cycles over and over again! I will be sad when we have to let them go either later this week or next week. All depends on the weather. The kids have enjoyed watching them grow as caterpillars, watching me transfer the chrysalis' into the butterfly house, and now having butterflies! I can't wait for this again next year- and with two classes that will be fun!
I have only seen one other time butterflies emerge from their chrysalis. That was several years ago. We did have 4 born today. Two others had emerged when we practiced Chapel. Apparently their names are Landon (after my son) and Mrs. Lindhurst. They haven't named all the others yet. How they keep track of which is which when we have eight and soon to be nine butterflies in there, I don't know, but I will go along with it because it makes them happy and lets face it- it is really cute! We were watching closely the rest of the day to have the two remaining chrysalis' emerge. I thought that one wasn't going to because it was really dark, almost black in color. I thought it wasn't making it. Well, my kids had to go to gym. Gym is literally about 30 feet from my classroom. I walked them there, went upstairs to the teaching lounge to get a snack, and then came back down. Not even gone 10 minutes. That dark chrysalis was empty with a new butterfly next to it! That little stinker! It waited until everyone was out of the room! So, needless to say, that ones name is Stinker. The kids think it is hilarious. I told them it is because he is a little stinker for coming out when no one was there and we had been watching and waiting for it!
I just love this butterfly unit though. I wish we could keep them all year long and watch the cycles over and over again! I will be sad when we have to let them go either later this week or next week. All depends on the weather. The kids have enjoyed watching them grow as caterpillars, watching me transfer the chrysalis' into the butterfly house, and now having butterflies! I can't wait for this again next year- and with two classes that will be fun!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Very Hungry Caterpillar
Our caterpillars arrived about a week and a half ago. It has been fun watching them go from about a half an inch long to being these much bigger creatures. Over the weekend they all turned into their Chrysallis. Now we get the joy of watching them and seeing the color changing on their wings. It amazes me the changes that a caterpillar goes under to become a butterfly. When I get to heaven one day, that is a question I am going to ask God- how does that happen? It truly does amaze me!
When we got our caterpillars I decided that we had to pause in our literature unit and bring out The Very Hungry Caterpillar unit. It was so much fun to do with the kids. It was a lot of work, but they had fun as I did too. We are still working on a few things with the unit, but for the most part most of the things are all done. There are still a few butterflies to be made so the door isn't completely done, but I wanted to share some pictures of what the kids made for our "bulletin board". (I have all of 2 small bulletin boards in my HUGE classroom, so I made due with making one of my door cubbies my bulletin board.) I am hoping to be able to figure out how to get my templates onto TPT so that I could sell them, but we will see if I can be that technologically efficent.
When we got our caterpillars I decided that we had to pause in our literature unit and bring out The Very Hungry Caterpillar unit. It was so much fun to do with the kids. It was a lot of work, but they had fun as I did too. We are still working on a few things with the unit, but for the most part most of the things are all done. There are still a few butterflies to be made so the door isn't completely done, but I wanted to share some pictures of what the kids made for our "bulletin board". (I have all of 2 small bulletin boards in my HUGE classroom, so I made due with making one of my door cubbies my bulletin board.) I am hoping to be able to figure out how to get my templates onto TPT so that I could sell them, but we will see if I can be that technologically efficent.
This is the one side of my door "cubby" as I call it.
This is the opposite side of the cubby. I love all their little caterpillars!
This is my second door... we don't really use this door, so I figured why not have it be used for a project like this. Of course it has a lot more butteflies and food on it right now.
My door cubby... I tried to use my wood on the side as part of the tree trunk. Things don't like to stick to that part of the wood otherwise. :)
One of my favorite pieces of fruit. I thought they did a wonderful job in mixing the colors. It really looks like a pear! The fruit was made by painting it first and while the paint was still wet, they put pieces of tissue paper on it too. We did it all Eric Carle style. Some of my girls were saying, "I'm Mrs. Eric Carle!" They couldn't be Eric Carle because he is a boy!
Another one of my favorites... the watermelon. They did a WONDERFUL job I thought at this. After the paint all dried, I glued the black sequins on to make the seeds. :)
I will post final pictures once I have all their projects up! Plus I will add the link to TPT if I figure that out (hopefully soon)!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Going to try and Blog about my teachings...
Well, I have become an addicted person to several blogs now on the internet to get ideas for Kindergarten. I have had some REALLY cool ideas from these sites and also gathered some ideas for myself. I like the idea of blogging and posting ideas or things that the kids are doing in class. I decided that I would start to write a blog to help with this. I was going to start to do this next school year, but I decided if I started now, that it would be easier to keep it up next school year! :)
Life as a Kindergarten teacher has been a blast this year. Yes, there are ups and downs everyday, but that is like that in any job field. I love being with the kids and teaching them new things. Just even the simplest things they can be so interested in- which makes the task even more fun! I have learned a lot this last school year, since it was my first year teaching. I fell in love with Kindergarten and I don't know if I will want to teach anything else. We will see what God has in store for me in the future, but for now I will take how awesome my job is every day!
I teach at a K-8 Lutheran school in Michigan. I actually went to this school from Kindergarten through 8th grade myself. (Yes, some of my former teachers are still teaching there.) :) My class currently is 18 students. I love them all. They have taught me much about Kindergarten and that age level, which is good to prepare me for a few years away when my son turns 5!
It is so much fun doing projects with the kids. I am always looking online for different ideas for them to do. I also keep looking for different ideas for centers for my kids to do. It is so much fun teaching them new things. I love to be on Pinterest... I am addicted, I will admit that. I also like looking on Teachers Pay Teachers, or TPT. I need to figure out how to sell things on there too!
So I hope that you enjoy reading about things we are doing in Kindergarten, ideas and projects that we have been doing, and just the life of being a Kindergarten teacher. Next year will be different for me too. I will be teaching two half day classes. I am excited to teach twice as many kids, but also will miss my time with my son in the afternoon. It will be worth it though and I will just have to make more special times with my son.
Life as a Kindergarten teacher has been a blast this year. Yes, there are ups and downs everyday, but that is like that in any job field. I love being with the kids and teaching them new things. Just even the simplest things they can be so interested in- which makes the task even more fun! I have learned a lot this last school year, since it was my first year teaching. I fell in love with Kindergarten and I don't know if I will want to teach anything else. We will see what God has in store for me in the future, but for now I will take how awesome my job is every day!
I teach at a K-8 Lutheran school in Michigan. I actually went to this school from Kindergarten through 8th grade myself. (Yes, some of my former teachers are still teaching there.) :) My class currently is 18 students. I love them all. They have taught me much about Kindergarten and that age level, which is good to prepare me for a few years away when my son turns 5!
It is so much fun doing projects with the kids. I am always looking online for different ideas for them to do. I also keep looking for different ideas for centers for my kids to do. It is so much fun teaching them new things. I love to be on Pinterest... I am addicted, I will admit that. I also like looking on Teachers Pay Teachers, or TPT. I need to figure out how to sell things on there too!
So I hope that you enjoy reading about things we are doing in Kindergarten, ideas and projects that we have been doing, and just the life of being a Kindergarten teacher. Next year will be different for me too. I will be teaching two half day classes. I am excited to teach twice as many kids, but also will miss my time with my son in the afternoon. It will be worth it though and I will just have to make more special times with my son.
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