Party

Yesterday was our October birthday party. Our school doesn't allow Halloween parties, but I do have a celebration sometime during the month to celebrate all the kids who have birthdays that month. This helps in keeping cupcakes and other sugary snacks to a minimum.

This was also the first party of the year. My kids were over the moon excited for it, and had a very, VERY hard time staying focused. In fact, three kindergarten people had to miss part of the festivities because of their behavior. I thought I was going to go crazy from reminding and redirecting behavior.

But it was worth it. My little Southern Belle came up to me, smiled her shy smile and said "This is the best party ever!!!"

I love my job!

Just Dance

I know I've been a bad blogger of late, but with assessments, report cards, breaks, and the impending holidays, I've been a tad stressed busy.

In fact, I started yesterday in quite a funk. A morning allergy attack + a "mandatory" before school meeting = one very grumpy kindergarten teacher. Not wanting to shield the kindergarten people from the fact that adults get grumpy too, I shared my feelings with the group during dear time. Very understanding, they offered suggestions to make me feel better. The major consensus was to dance to a song we had just learned from( #3 the Wheels on The Bus Rap). So we did. And they were right. Sometimes you just need to dance.

Smartboard Saturday: Fire Safety

October is Fire Safety Month. My team and I wanted to provide our kindergarten people with real, authentic experiences (like taking up the local fire department on their offer of a field trip, or perhaps inviting them out to our school), however, due to admin., budget, yada, yada, yada, it can't happen. So I have scoured the internet, and have found a little jewel that would make our fire safety lessons a tad more meaningful.

The good people at Owen Sound Fire and Emergency Services in Canada have created a virtual firefighter that displays and explains in great detail each piece of a firefighter's equipment. As you progress through the tour, each piece of the equipment is added to the firefighter, resulting in a fully dressed firefighter at the end. The information itself is a bit wordy for kindergarten people, however, the pictures are fantastic and a crucial part in discussing about not hiding from the "scary" firefighter in the event of a fire.

So there you have it people! Smartboard Saturday is back in action. Have a great weekend!

Class Obsession: Flies

Like a good teacher, I have read and will read a plethora of books to my kindergarten people in an effort to teach concepts and spark a love of reading and good books. Like good students, my kindergarten people take what they have learned, and apply it to real life. Which is every teachers dream....right?

Right now my entire class is OBSESSED with and the rest of the books in the series, which is pretty awesome in itself. It's about a boy, Buzz, and his pet fly that can say the boy's name, Fly Guy, and the many adventures they have in their community, like going to school or playing in a football game.

However, our classroom is also infested with flies. Our maintenance staff have sprayed for bugs, however, it only makes the flies drunk and bold. They have a tendency to land on the faces of my dear kindergarten people throughout the day. However, instead of swatting them in annoyance, they will shout "HEY LOOK! IT'S FLY GUY!!!" at which point every one will crowd around until I remove the pest/pet and continue our day.

Only in kindergarten...I love it!

Discovery

Today during afternoon seat work, one of my kindergarten people came up to me and said "Ms. S! Look!  Blue and yellow make green!"  He brought me his paper and showed me how he had colored over a yellow spot with his blue crayon, making green. We celebrated his discovery with a high five, and he skipped off happily to his seat.

Now that the essence of kindergarten...discovery and amazement.

I love my job!!!

P.S. I know that I am behind on my Smart Board posts, but I promise they are coming!!!