Polar Express Train

All Aboard!

What a great day.  We had been talking about doing a pajama day.  My partner suggested a "Polar Express Day!"  Perfect.  Then we found an incredible packet Polar Express Packet.  Click on those words to it thanks to Beth at www.livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com.


We made a train crossing sign at the entrance and the students came in pajamas (slippers optional) and our day began.

Each student received an "engineer" hat (blue engineer style cut out attached to sentence strip) and we were ready to go.  The first order of business was making gingerbread cookies in the school kitchen.   Next we listened to the book "The Polar Express" read by our lower school head.

Each student received a ticket with the numbers 1 2 3 4 5 added to it.  As they completed their various jobs throughout the day, they could hole punch the numbers.

They just loved it.  The best part was listening to them talk about whether or not the train was coming.

We took pictures of the whole class clad in jammies and put on top of a folder.  Each child got their own folder to store all of their work.  We took individual photos and added to them to a simple train engine.  They made great keepsakes.

The train whistle was used all day to signal end of centers, lining up...  We even moved around the school as a train.  This will surely become an annual event.

Holly Bloggy Exchange

I participated in the "Holly Bloggy Exchange" for the first time this year.

It was fun finding things that suited bloggy friend, Linda.  Here is a picture of what I sent her.

I realize now the picture is not great.  Sorry.  Her favorite color is pink, so she got 3 pink little dollar store bags filled with some of my favorite things, some Ghiradelli dark chocolate for those afternoon chocolate fixes, peppermint sticks, a magnetic notepad, some stickers for the students, my favorite pink nail polish "shell we dance" (has to have a good name), chamomile mango tea, biscotti, a pink snow scraper mitten (I really can't stand getting my gloves all wet... as I scrape the snow off my car...) and lastly, a new creation of my own, "My Book of Word Families".  Hope she likes it.

I received a great package.

Kimberly Ann sent me some hand cream, lip balm, great red polish, a nail file (so needed a new one for school), Dove chocolate, Ghiradelli peppermint bark, (Never had it before but loved it, Thanks!),and special socks that come with lotion to keep your feet soft...  What fun! Thank you, Linda.  Perfect!

Count down to winter break and Random Acts of Kindness

We have had a great time counting down the days until we start our winter break.

I found a great candy cane clip art and added a nice big square - each student wrote a number on it and then got to color it.  I hung the finished products from some garland and they are loving it!  Each one gets a little heart attached to the back with a suggest act of kindness for the day.  I read the book, 

It is about a little girl who leaves a basket of freshly picked blueberries at a neighbor's door.  She does so leaving no note.  This leads to the making of blueberry muffins... and so on.  The best page is the page where all the random acts are added up... it is in the millions.  Great math lesson, combined with social studies and good vocabulary, as well.  So we were very ready for the starting of our random acts of kindness.


Some of the acts included:
*making decorations to be hung on various classroom doors - (Love how they are hung at their eye height and can be found all over the school.)  One teacher actually came in and mentioned how happy she was with the surprise decoration on her door..  We said we did not know anything about it.  Such fun.  In fact they liked it so much, they just keep doing it.  The appeal lies in the secret delivery...
*notes made to be left for their parents at home on their pillows, or in the bathroom...
*notes for the kitchen staff.
*paying compliments to a friend.
*letting someone else go first.
*holding the door for a classmate.
and more.

This is the first time I have done this.  I will definitely do it again next year!

Sara

Silence ifor Sandy Hook Elementary



 

 

There is a great quote:

 

"Perhaps strength doesn't reside in never having been broken...

But in the courage to grow strong in the broken places."

 

These are tough days ahead.

 

Live the love you feel for your family, your friends, and your students.

 

xxxo

 

Practical math

December is here.  I am excited to be back in Kindergarten this year and to celebrate Christmas with my class.  It is a bit overwhelming to think about all I'd love to accomplish and the few weeks I have to get it all accomplished!

My class sits at tables in the classroom.  The year began with free seating as I got to know each student and their learning styles and strengths.  Now they are assigned seats.  My motto of "smarter not harder" works well with this plan.  Each boy has an assigned number.  I love that they clearly know each others numbers.  We love to do a roll call.  I call out a number and they answer "here."  They can even gather in numeric order if I ask them.

There is so much buzz about the common core.  Having taught 2nd grade for 5 years, I value the confidence and mastery of the tens frames.  With that in mind, I am determined to have them master this before they leave in June.  Seeing the tens frames in the classroom with purpose and value can only help serve this goal.  So, for this month, I used holiday notepad snowmen.  I wrote a number in digit form, followed by the word, and then added the tens frame.  They have been taped to the chair back and are clearly visible for the students to see and hopefully absorb.  Here are some pictures.

I hope my class likes it. I know they will notice it right away.

Fun with the Alphabet

I love introducing new letters to the class.  We always use a full sheet of construction paper and then make a silly but memorable alliteration such as "Practically Perfect Purple Pianos." Then we assemble the "letters" to form a capital and a lowercase letter to match the one we are studying.  Here it letter "Tt."

The class loves watching it come together.  It is silly but they "totally" get it. Pun intended.

The "T" to the left has a speech bubble saying "T - is for Totally Terrific Tom Turkeys!"

Here is a picture for our letter "P" and we only did the capital letter.

Each letter was too big to form both upper and lowercase letters.

Try it in your classroom.  They will love it.

Hurricane Sandy - Teachers Helping Teachers

My family and I live in Milford, CT.  So many people here have had water damage, homes destroyed, cars hit by trees... The power of water is really amazing.  The rectory of our church is in  Time magazine.  The water actually pulled the concrete steps off the building and ripped up the concrete patio.  People are resilient and everyone is helping.  We have been without power since Monday and might get it back on Tuesday.  School is opening tomorrow even though buses will not be running...  We were very lucky.
   If you are interested in helping teachers who need help, link up with Laura at The ESOL Odyssey who has put together a linky to connect resource donations with teachers in need. If you can help, or need help, please click on the link.  Good luck to all!