Who loves Christmas time? WE DO!

Our classroom elf Dash

Our silver bells

Oh my, oh my, what a surprise we had today! After reading the wonderful story The Polar Express yesterday at story time we wrote a note to Santa for our class elf Dash to deliver.  When we came into school today we had a surprise from Santa delivered by Dash.  We received silver slay bells! We can all hear the bells ring, so we know that we ALL believe in Santa.

Christmas Time is Coming....

I can not believe that Christmas time is almost here! Where did our year go?! Our classroom elf official made his debut the week before we left for Thanksgiving break, so in Kindergarten we trying extra hard to behave. Since coming back from break we have read the story The Sparkle Box in which we discussed good things we could do for others this year as our gift to Jesus who remember especially during Advent.  We also read and watched the Snowmen At Night one of my personal favorites.  Click on the image below to enjoy the story:




 Another thing we have been enjoying is our classroom fireplace and carols while we settle in to do our morning work. We do love Christmas!

Friday News Report by Tejas

This Week In School...

"We learned about our new Super Kid Icky.  This week we in math we finded the missing number.  We made a turkey from our hand.  We had art in the classroom.  In science we learned about turkeys. We also learned about God in Religion."

Friday News Report by Haylee

This Week We...

"This week in school we go-ed to library with 5th grade. We learned our Super Kid [Lily]. We played a game with Lily, I-Spy L pictures.  In math we writed numbers and counted stuff.  We had centers.  And we painted corn with our fingers and writed thankful stories."

There is NOTHING funny about internet safety!

This day in age our children seem to know more and more about how to navigate the world wide web and it is a daunting task to try and keep up with all that is out there.  As much as I would love to say lets cut the plug and keep our little ones in a bubble, I am more than aware that is not the safest or even wisest route to take.  We need to educate our children on how to stay safe and be aware of what they are doing online.  There are wonderful resources and tools out their, but there is also misinformation and danger.  We need to help our youth become detectives (critical thinkers) when it comes to processing and deciphering the information and tools they are presented with.  Our job as parents, aunts/uncles, grandparents, and teachers is be informed and diligent so that we can help guide and keep the children in our lives safe.

Here are some great tips from Scholastic on keeping children safe when online:

Safety Standards:

These basic rules apply to keeping kids safe online; visit Commonsense.com for age-by-age tips.

• Limit usage. Permit your child have free online time for, say, 30 minutes right after school to instant-message friends, play games, or visit social networking sites, but make it a rule that family time starts with dinner. After that the computer is used for homework and it's an IM-free zone.
• Keep kids in sight. Have the computer centrally located. Your child is less likely to browse questionable content if she knows Mom or Dad (or her brother or sister) might walk by at any second. This helps you monitor time spent online, chosen activities, and resultant behavior.
• Do your homework. Check his browser history to know where your child goes online, and check the sites regularly. Use security tools and privacy features — whether offered by your browser or Internet service provider, or purchased separately — for extra protection. GetNetWise has more information about these safety features.

Kids' Favorites:

Use this overview to understand what kids love to do online — and what risks go along with the rewards.

Communicating and social networking: Online communication consists primarily of email, instant messaging (IMs), chat rooms, and journals or Web logs (blogs). On networking sites such as Facebook, kids can create Web profiles, and then invite others to view and become online buddies. Your child may use these media to share gossip, exchange photos, make weekend plans, find out about missed assignments, connect over common interests, and express opinions.

What to know: One out of every five kids gets sexual solicitations online. Strangers, predators, and cyber-bullies all target children, and their work is simplified when screen names reveal age, gender, or hometown. If posts aren't marked as private, personal information can be displayed to an unrestricted audience of readers.

What to do:  

• Know who your child talks to online. Review her buddy list: does she really know everyone, or are some buddies "friends of friends"? Have her remove anyone whom she hasn't met in person.
• Tell him not to exchange personal information like a phone number, address, best friend's name, or picture. No party invitations, revealing details, or meeting in person — ever.

Web surfing: Kids can explore new interests, check to see if a library book is available, or find a recipe for the class party in valuable resources, such as online encyclopedias, newspapers, and periodicals.

What to know: Surfing the Web without restrictions can mean encountering pop-up ads, viruses, erroneous information, and inappropriate content. The ease of cutting and pasting means that plagiarism is a real concern. And time flies online! Kids can click from one site to another until bedtime (or beyond), if you let them.

What to do:

• Set a code of conduct and time limits. Keeping kids safe means setting guidelines about suitable language, content, and behavior. While it's important to direct your child to suitable websites, it's even more valuable to help her recognize the redeeming qualities of those sites, so she can surf safely on her own.
• Critique content. Help your child think critically about the content he reads and sees. Encourage him to check facts with multiple sources before including them in a school report. Try to distinguish between user-generated content and reputable institutions.

(Information taken from Scholastic website)

Dear Parents...

It's time for  Holiday Family Activity! Your child is bringing home a paper turkey today. Please cut out the turkey shape and help your child DISGUISE the turkey as a different animal or character in hopes of avoiding being caught for Thanksgiving Day dinner!  Please use any items you find in your home to create your turkey's disguise. Some suggestions for disguising the turkey may be: a sheep, a cat, Superman, a pilgrim, a ballerina, a football player, a doctor, a nurse, a cheerleader, a clown, or perhaps a favorite character from a book.  Your son or daughter will be asked to discuss the chosen disguise in school.

Dreaming Big....

I show this video every year to Kindergarten. Then we discuss our dreams for the future and what we want to be when we grow-up. The students laugh every time I tell them that when I was little I wanted to a mermaid when I grew up (in my defense I was only 3). Every picture I drew I had a fish tale, which my mother (who saved all my art work loves to show me now). Enjoy the video "Dream Big" and have fun discussing your children's dreams, they have some beautiful ones.

Favorite Halloween Stories....

It is no mystery what one of my favorite things to do with my Kindergarten cuties... reading! I have a plethora of books for every season, occasion, and topic.  I tell every class that I am a collector of words and ideas, and reading is just one way I build my collection.  Below you find some of my all time favorite Halloween books... read if you dare!!!

(Editorial Reviews Amazon.com Halloween can be a dark and spooky time of year, but nowhere is it written that witches and ghosts have to be scary. "A Very Brave Witch" twists the common perception of witches to reveal that most witches are actually afraid of people, thanks to humans' lack of green coloring, fear of flying, failure to cackle, and other perceived oddities. The brave little witch in this story is fascinated with humans and, after doing some research, decides to get a close-up look at some human children on Halloween night. What she discovers is a young human who's just as brave as she is. "A Dark, Dark Tale" follows a black cat through a dark moor and a spooky old house to find a surprise lurking in a dark corner, and "By the Light of the Halloween Moon" is a cumulative-structure poem, reminiscent of the song "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly," in which a tapping toe sets off a chain reaction that involves a witch, a bat, a ghoul, and several others. "Georgie" is the story of a cute little ghost who feels unappreciated by his human family and runs away only to realize that he and the family really need one another. "The Witch in the Cherry Tree" depicts an intelligent young boy who uses his wits to outsmart a witch and protect his freshly baked cakes, and "The Three Legged Cat" is a humorous tale about a peg-legged cat whose yearning for travel and adventure gets satisfied as a result of a case of mistaken identity. In "The Three Robbers," a young orphan girl turns a band of robbers' misdeeds into something good, and in "Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain," a young boy stows away on a steamer and journeys out to sea. These eight captivating stories feature original illustrations that are either animated or filmed with simple camera pans, skillful narration, optional onscreen read-along words, and fun music. What a perfect way to celebrate the witching season without fears or tears. (Ages 3 to 7) --Tami Horiuchi)

("Looking for a soup bone on Halloween, a little old lady finds a hungry skeleton instead".)

Spookley The Square Pumpkin

This week in kindergarten we read the story of Spookley the Square Pumpkin.  We discussed the importance of looking beyond the outside appearance of something and not to judge things based only on their looks.  We loved the story of Spookley, and as an instructor have found lots of great resources out there to accompany the text.  There is one great blog post about Spookley and bullying that I recommend checking out (whether you're a teacher or parent), it even has some cute printables to use for young and older children. I especially love the video that is posted on the blog.  Click the link to visit: Poppell Farms

Happy Reading!

Kindergarten Demonstrates Learning...

We are wrapping up our learning on the Letter Dd. As a cumulative activity we decided to make a video showing a little of what we have learned about D and the /d/ sound. I was really proud of how the class came together voted and worked on picking pictures and deciding what say in the video. Check it out!

All About Dd

Digital Story Telling, Thank You Judy

One of the most useful courses I took during my graduate studies with Univ. of Saint Joseph was on how to properly and effectively incorporate technology into the classroom. I was also one of my most frustrating classes. There was so much out there and I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by all the possibilities.  My professor recently posted on her blog, which I still check in on, a beautiful slide show on Digital Storytelling that I wanted to share. Check it out... =)

Digital Storytelling from Lyn Hilt

My Little Writers

I love finding new ways to make writing fun for my students, especially at this young age.  We have been working on storytelling... take a peek at our work!

WELCOME! 

Hello to everyone, and welcome to my classroom blog =)  I hope that you will find what we are doing fun and interesting, thank you for popping in.