Marvelous March

We are now officially in our last quarter of the 2013-2014 school year! It's amazing to see how much the students have grown and are continuing to grow - both physically and academically. Some of these little guys are going to be taller than me in a few years!

March was a busy month for us. The students enjoyed a long spring break and came back with marvelous stories of all the fun adventures they had while away. We practiced hard for our kindergarten PTA performance where the students melted our hearts with their cute little bunny ears and precious renditions of spring songs. One of their favorites was the "dip the egg" song. Check out pictures of these talented spring singers from our Kindergarten PTA Performance here.

The last day of the month was a fantastic adventure to the nature center at the Amelia Island Plantation. The students spent the day learning about reptiles, sea turtles, and beach life. We started our day with a presentation about reptiles and learned the differences between turtles and tortoises and reptiles and mammals. We even got to meet and pet quite a few of these critters. One of their favorite things to pet was the luscious and soft fur of Speckles the rabbit. The students were also very brave as they felt the scales of the corn snake!
Shortly before lunch, two curious and hungry ducks made their way over to our tables and hung out with us for the rest of the afternoon. We also had visits from a few squirrels, birds, and a great blue heron.
After lunch we walked down to the beautiful sandy shores of the beach where the students participated in a scavenger hunt for things like shells, shark's teeth, sea stars, and coral pieces. While at the beach, we were visited by a small group of dolphins who waved at us with their fins as they swam by! You can see more of our adventure to Amelia Island by clicking here.

As we move into these last few months of school, I encourage you to keep practicing with your child at home. The goal is for students to be reading at an independent level E by the time they leave kindergarten. This requires them to have mastered all of the sight words we have introduced as well as be able to apply concepts like word families, silent e, bossy r, the king of -ing, long vowel teams, and y as a vowel to their reading. If you'd like some examples of level E books to see where your child measures up, check out http://www.readinga-z.com/. As always, thank you for all you do to support your child and this classroom!

I DO Like Green Eggs and Ham!

"I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them Sam-I-Am!"

In memory of a fabulous author, we celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday with an unforgettable experience of Green Eggs and Ham.
After we read the story, the students talked with each other about whether or not they thought green eggs and ham would be something they would like to eat. Most of the students thought that they would end up liking it, since the characters in the book liked it so much. They were surprised to find out they would get the chance to see if their predictions about eating green eggs and ham were true!
Check out these pictures, I think you will see that this class can say, "I DO like green eggs and ham! I do like them Sam-I-Am!".
Dr. Seuss 2014

100th Day & Valentines

Our class has been very busy these past few weeks!
We celebrated our 100th day of school with a class party, the highlight of which was making our snack bags of 100 treats. The students used their math skills to practice counting by 10's as they filled their bags up with 10 different treats. Of course the day wouldn't have been complete if we didn't get to eat our snack when we were done!
Last week we celebrated love and friendship on Valentine's day, giving each other treats and notes to show how much we care.
The students have also been getting to know our newest classroom addition, Ms. Broughton, an intern from Florida State College at Jacksonville. She will be with us for the next few months as she completes her last step before graduation and a move into a classroom of her own.

The next few weeks will be just as busy as the last few. So be sure to keep up to date with our classroom events and practice, practice, practice at home with your child! :-)

Click the link below to see what we've been up to in room 123!
https://plus.google.com/photos/114885866962776930630/albums/5981946972853218273?authkey=CNaR1PGphKvz5wE

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!! I hope each of you had a relaxing and joy filled winter break!
Just before the break, our class celebrated with a fabulous winter party. The kids had a great time making ornaments, holiday picture holders, beaded candy canes, reindeer food, and an edible snowman in class. Our special pizza lunch was delicious and everyone had a great time finding out who their secret Santa was as they participated in the gift exchange. Thank you so much to all the parents and family members who came out to help and enjoy the special day with us!

I would also like to say thank you so much for all the kind cards and sweet Christmas gifts you sent in for me. I feel so blessed to have such sweet students and supportive families! We will be wrapping up our second quarter in just a few weeks. Please help your child prepare for the many upcoming assessments by practicing basic concepts with them daily. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for test reminders in the agenda so you can help your child do his or her best.

Click the link below to see how much fun we had during our winter celebration!
Winter Party Pictures

Gobble, gobble!

This past Tuesday was very busy in room 123!
The students had just learned how to draw a cartoon turkey on Monday and were very excited to apply their newly found artistic skills to some fun, fall crafts. Throughout the morning, students rotated through different stations and created awesome owls, thankful turkeys, edible rakes, and a word family coloring page.


During science, we discussed how some things were made when the pilgrims first came to America and the students learned how to make their very own butter. It was a labor intensive process and each student helped to vigorously shake our butter jar, watching in amazement as the cream and salt turned into a clump of butter before their eyes. Of course, we had to taste it and nearly all the students thought it was absolutely fantastic.


We finished our day by inviting our parents and grandparents to join us for some delicious pumpkin pie. Though the air conveniently decided to turn off when everyone arrived, the room was warm with smiles and laughter, which made the heat a little more bearable!

A HUGE thanks goes out to all the families who helped to make our day a success by sending in supplies, helping out with crafts, and joining us for a time of thankfulness.

I hope each of you has a fantastic holiday, enjoying time with family and friends. Remember, school is closed from Nov. 27 - Dec. 2 and will resume on Tuesday, December 3.

You can see more pictures from our fabulous day by clicking on the link below:
https://plus.google.com/photos/114885866962776930630/albums/5951035110812174097?authkey=CKmi2K_O9eXZ_wE  

Falling into Learning

This year is flying by at record pace and we have been very busy over the past month. From pumpkin decorating to pajama day to our first field trip at Diamond D Ranch, this fall season has been packed with a variety of fun learning experiences.

A huge thanks goes out to Mrs. Kennedy for taking the time to help our class create the most beautiful and sparkly pumpkin fish for the pumpkin decorating contest. Though there were many fantastic pumpkins on display, none were quite as happy or eye catching as our very own Bright Stanley!
 

We learned a lot about the importance of keeping our bodies healthy and saying no to drugs and other bad things that could harm us. The school participated in a variety of fun activities to help us remember to say "no" and make smart choices. Our favorite was pajama and silly sock day. We couldn't resist getting a little silly during our group picture! What a great looking bunch of students.


Diamond D Ranch was a great experience for the students. Though Mrs. Callejas was unable to make it, the class had a great time feeding cows, riding horses, attempting the barrel ride, and learning all about the ranch. Our fabulous substitute, Mrs. Foster, will send us pictures soon so we can share our adventure with you.

As we continue to "fall" into learning this season, please continue to work with your child at home. Your daily support of our classroom activities will further ensure the success of your child! We continue to introduce new sight words each week and sometimes, students will forget or mix up words when they do not practice enough. Please make it a part of your home routine to read books (and log them in the agenda), practice sight words, and find ways to count and recognize numbers. You can also have your child practice these concepts using learning websites like www.starfall.com and learning videos like Leap Frog's Talking Words Factory. Thanks for all you do to help these students be their best!

Super Scientists!

The students have been learning all about their five senses and the many ways in which we use our senses to explore and observe the world around us. We recently started learning about science tools that can help us as we make observations and take part in exploration. During this lab, students were asked to look at different materials and pick the one they thought would be best to use when cleaning up a liquid mess. They had to answer the question, "which material will absorb water the best?". The students made predictions and then worked with partners to explore pieces of aluminum foil, wax paper, and paper towel using water droppers and observing how each material reacted with the water. Our conclusion? Wax paper and aluminum foil would only spread the mess around. Paper towels are the best choice because they absorb liquids better than foil and wax paper!