Delightful December

The students have been busy this month making angels, coloring Christmas trees and singing songs. Our classroom looks so festive with all the red, green, gold and silver ornaments that the students have colored and cut out.

Our Christmas party was a very big hit. We had so much to eat: pizza, cookies, cupcakes, chips, and punch! We played games (Christmas Bingo), colored pretty papers, and made crafts. Then to top it off, we had our gift exchange. After all the gifts were chosen, I counted to 3 and the kids tore into the presents! What a sight to see! They were so excited and appreciative!

Now comes our 2 week break. I will miss "my kiddos" but will also enjoy the time to spend with my family. I hope you all have a most wonderful Christmas and a blessed and safe New Year. See you all in 2012.

A November of Thankfulness

November has been an enjoyable month for kindergarten. It is also my favorite time of the year. The weather is beginning to cool off, so we finally get to wear our sweaters. The kids made several harvest crafts using leaves, pumpkins and scarecrows. They made a number of Thanksgiving crafts as well. My favorite day was the one the kids and I had a discussion on what we are all thankful for. Just ask your child what he or she is thankful for, you will be surprised. It isn't the gaming system or bike.....it is parents who love them and take care of them. It is food on the table and a place to call home. I was so proud of "my" kids! It was a sweet time of sharing and caring. We are all so blessed and truly have a lot to be thankful for!

Sea Life Arizona Field Trip

The kindergarten classes went on their first field trip today. We went to Sea Life Arizona in Arizona Mills Mall. It was a great field trip!

We had several parents volunteer as chaperons for both classes. We were able to give each parent 2-3 students to take through the aquarium. We all, adults and children, enjoyed looking at the many varieties of sea life. There were several rooms of aquariums of various sizes. There was also a play area for the children to get the wiggles out before going back to see more of the wonderful displays.

We sat in a small theater where a video explained the upcoming changes to Sea Life. A sea turtle called Ziva is coming soon! The film explained how Ziva was injured, how she was saved and how she will be transported to Sea Life. She will be the first sea turtle in the state of Arizona!

After eating lunch at the food court, the students returned to the aquarium for a short while, then it was off to the buses to go back to school. Many of our favorites were: the shark, the manta rays, the sea horses, the puffer fish, the star fish and the "Nemo" fish.

Everyone was given a free ticket to go back after the first of the year to see Ziva in her new habitat. We are all looking forward to going again to meet Ziva.

Welcome to Kindergarten!

Welcome to a new group of kindergartners! I am so excited about this school year! We are going to have so much fun as we learn. Most of the new students do not know much about school and many cannot even write their name. However, by the end of the school year they will be able to count to 100 by 1's, 5's, and 10's. They will know their a,b,c's and all the sounds they make and will use that knowledge to begin reading. They will also know all the colors, shapes, days of the week, and months of the year. Oh yeah, they will not only be able to write their names, they will have wonderful penmanship when they do it. WOW! We have a lot to do! Let's get started!

Graduating Kindergarten

Kindergarten students are busy winding down the school year. We have taken our final spelling test, worked our final math paper, and written our last journal page. Now it is time to promote to first grade!

Our promotion program will be Monday, May 23, at 9:30 in the morning. The students are all very excited to show the parents, family and friends what they have learned this year. The theme is A, B, C, and 1, 2, 3.

I have enjoyed this class and will truly miss them as they move on to first grade. While most will stay in this school, others will move to other schools and other cities. I wish them all good luck and God bless.

Thank you for a wonderful year!

Enchanted Island Field Trip

The kindergartners had a wonderful time at Enchanted Island in Encanto Park on Thursday, April 7. The consensus was to go on the train ride first thing after getting their hands stamped. They excitedly observed all of the other rides as they went by. Some were trying to decide which ones to go on next. There were a lot of choices: roller coaster, bumper boats, parachutes, merry-go-round, airplanes, and many more. At 11:00 we took a break for lunch, but after about 20 minutes the kids were ready to go back to the rides. They were all very well behaved and everyone had a great time. Even the weather was nice - breezy and partially overcast. We left Enchanted Island around 1:00 and walked to the lagoon to feed the ducks. Those ducks really had a feast with 43 children throwing pieces of bread to them. Even the pigeons got in on it and ate their fill. Only one mishap for the day when one little boy got too close as he threw the bread and fell in the water. He was quickly rescued and other than being wet, was just fine. The students had about 20 minutes to play on the playground, then off to the bus and back to school. Several of the kids fell asleep on the trip back - guess we wore them out with all the fun. Everyone agreed that it was a great day and a couple asked if we could come back tomorrow. Yep, it was a successful field trip! I would like to say a big THANK YOU!! to all of the parents who helped with chaperoning my kids. I could not have done it without your help. You made this fun day possible. You are the best!

Marvelous March!

March has gone from cold and windy to beautiful in just a few short days. We went from wearing jackets to shorts and boy-oh-boy are the kindergarteners loving it! They are especially enjoying playing outside now. We are not, however, looking forward to the really hot weather. Let's hope it will stay nice for awhile, because we will be going on another field trip soon.

Our field trip is planned for Thursday, April 7. Both classes will be going to Encanto Park for a picnic with a side trip to Enchanted Island. FUN! We will also take some old bread along to feed to the ducks. It should be a great day. Students will be working on taking turns, staying with a partner, and using their social skills on this field trip.

Look for pictures to come later!

Fabulous February

The kindergarten students loved February! They learned about Arizona and celebrated its 99th birthday with some fun activities. They prepared for President's Day by learning about President George Washington and making a tri-cornered hat. We also studied President Abraham Lincoln and colored a picture of him. The most important thing we learned about our presidents was that they were both great leaders and both of them sacrificed greatly for the good of our country.

Everyone agreed that the very best part of February was Valentine's Day. We spent several days making valentine projects, knowing that all of our preparations would culminate in a Valentine's Day party. This was the first time most have celebrated this holiday and they really enjoyed making valentines and passing them out to the other students. It was organized chaos for a short while as the cards were being passed out, but everyone had a great time. The pizza and sweets at the end of the day were also a delightful treat.

100th Day of School

The kindergarten class had a wonderful 100th day of school. Several students brought 100 items for us to count as a class. We counted 100 bread ties, marshmallows, crayons, pretzels, gummy worms, and tooth picks. We had a great time doing 100th day activities like making glasses shaped like 100, doing dot-to-dots to 100, and coloring pictures with 10 each of 10 different items. The only down part to the day was that we had 2 students who were sick and could not come to school that day. We missed them and saved several things for them to taste.