3rd Quarter in Review!

We have had an amazing time in our room since Christmas. We lost a friend to another town, which made us sad; however, we gained a new friend as well. A week after we returned from Christmas break, we welcomed a student teacher from Arkansas Tech University to our room. She is AWESOME, and we love her!!!

Amidst many days where we have not been able to be at school due to this...

(ice and snow and ice and snow x 8 days)

Yes, amidst all of that slushy, frigid fun...we have had REAL fun doing so many things! Our class has been so fortunate to have had several volunteers from the community come and do lessons and demonstrations for us. Our special guests have included a local farmer, a mom (to read with us), two college professors, and a veterinarian who brought a dog! What have we done with these guests? Well, just look!

(Dr. Itza showed us the order of the planets in the solar system)

(Gus only likes Dr. Parker and kids...not teachers!)

(Dr. Parker and Gus)

(Dr. Parker showed us how he listens to hearts!)

(Gus loved this boy! He just flopped right over for a belly rub!)

We also have had a couple of celebrations since I last posted about our days in Kindergarten. The first was Valentine's day. Originally, we weren't supposed to have had school on the actual day, BUT because of all of that white stuff falling from the sky so often, we used it as a make up day.

(yummy dairy-free chocolate cupcakes)

(a card made especially for someone special at home)

(a little something from the teacher)

(the 'owl-dorable' Valentine bags we made the day before)

(having a great time, checking out all of the goodies)

(passing out our Valentine cards)

(There is our new friend, Mrs. Donathan!)

Then there was a Seuss-tastical time as we enjoyed a day in recognition of Dr. Seuss. We even had green eggs and ham!

(Mrs. Knight and Mrs. Donathan cooking our Seuss Special!)

(Green eggs and ham)

(Listening to Dr. Parker as she eats!)

(Not so sure about these green eggs guys...)

(Heading out with our hats!)

(I think they liked them)

Needless to say, it has been a big few weeks, full of a lot of laughs and a lot of terrific, hands-on learning! On top of all of this, we are all AR testing now. Time sure is flying by!

Family Christmas Night

Each  year at our school, we have a special night dedicated to a celebration of the Christmas season. It is considered a literacy event because there is a reading of a Christmas book for the children and their families. At this reading, there is ALWAYS hot cocoa and cookies! After the story and snack, guests are taken on a tour of our elementary and kindergarten buildings. Why? You would think that they had all seen it by now! No, really, it's a tour of the buildings...all gussied up for the holidays!!!

This year, the theme of our family Christmas night is "Light Up the HALLidays." In the kindergarten building we always coordinate our decor so that our entire building is the same general theme. Last year, we were 'Gingerbread Lane,' and I promise you, it was super cute! We were a little stumped on our theme for this year. Other than hanging lights from the ceilings, how do you 'light up' classroom doors? Then, it was suggested that Rudolph has a bright and shiny nose...one that can light up the whole sky for Santa's sleigh...so, the birth of an idea began. So this year, we are Santa's Stable. The door to the kindergarten office shows Rudolph, leaping with excitement over Christmas Eve's rapid approach. Each classroom door is decorated as one of the other reindeer, with a description of that door's reindeer on display. Let me tell you, it is uh-'door'-able!!!

 Our door showcases "Prancer." 

Prancer is Santa's navigational expert! However, she is rather clumsy. I chose to have her tangled up in her holiday decor, with her compass dangling from her antlers. She also has her handy dandy map in hand, ready to fly on Christmas Eve!

Nearly Halfway Done!

It was time to update the 100 Club page, so I thought I would also give a little update on what we've been up to this nine weeks. As for the 100 Club, half of our class is in! *insert Happy Dance here*

In class, we have had Columbus Day festivities...

                   

And a Thanksgiving craftivity...

Then a Thanksgiving production...

          

As you can see, it has been a very busy time with the kinders! They are learning so much and loving it!

A Fourth Gone By!

A fourth of what? A fourth of the 2013-14 school year, that's what!!! This week is the 9th week of school, which is completely unbelievable to me, but indeed it is! We have been up to a bunch of good stuff already this year, with a whole lot more to come! We already have three members in our 100 Club (which has been updated with new photos)! The kinders are so excited about getting to try out for this club. They ask DAILY if we can try again!

Last week was Fire Safety Week in Kindergarten, which culminated in a final presentation by the firefighters in our community. It was awesome! They were all super listeners for our guests. I hope they all enjoyed the surprise coloring and activity book that they were each given by the fire department for this special day. Our class was especially interested in the 'jaws of life' that were laying out by one of the trucks. They got a special explanation of what they were and how they are used. I am so thankful that our community has such great volunteers who are also willing to give of their time to help educate our children.

When you're this cute, there's always time to smile for the paparazzi, right?

I am so proud of this group of sweethearts! They are really working hard and have come a long way already.

Back to School!!!

Well, it's here. THE BIG DAY. Yep, the one where you send your baby to kindergarten. All of the teachers have been putting in long hours getting everything ready and in order...we are ready. Are you?

Wow, It's Been A Long Time!

Everything has been going by in such a blur the past few months that I haven't had time to keep my head straight, much less blog! Sorry to leave you all with no new reading! The Knight Owls have been doing a lot of learning, and boy, do I mean a lot! Most recently, we read the entire chapter book of "Mr. Popper's Penguins" and then got to watch the recent movies for a comparison/contrast activity. With the reading of that book, we have also been reading a lot of non-fiction text about faraway places like Ireland, Mexico, Spain, and the Amazon Rainforest. In a few weeks, we should have a story of our own about the rainforest to publish here for you all to see!

We also had a visit from some Easter chicks last week...check these cuties out:

We had an awards assembly...

And so much more! There's no way I can get it all in tonight, but I will try to be better about getting posts on here to keep everyone updated for the rest of the year. There will definitely be a lot going on in the next 8 weeks. Yep, that's all that is left! Unbelievable! Future posts will include: 100th Day of School, Rainforest Story, more Easter chick pics, updated 100 Club, reading and math interactive activities, and scientific studies (a few weeks away). Keep checking back!

Black Bear Jewel

Thanks to one of my kinder's mom, I have this awesome link to show the class. We watched it today for a while, and everyone was so excited about it! It is Black Bear Jewel, a soon-to-be first time Momma Bear, in her den on a live webcam. It is amazing! I promised the kids that I would post the link so that they could watch her at home this weekend. She is expected to give birth any day. Enjoy! 

The class worked together to write a story about her. I wish I had snagged a photo of the story that they wrote. We all shared the pen, and it was a masterpiece! It went like this...

A black bear is in her den. Her name is Jewel. She will have babies. She is sleeping and she snores.

http://www.bear.org/livecams/jewel-den-cam.php