Five for Friday ~ 3 more Fridays left!

Yup ~ only three more Fridays until school's out!  It seems hard to believe that this year is nearly over.  Because of all the crazy winter weather, our school year is only 178 days this year (two days were waivered by the DOE).  My little cuties have really made an impression on my heart ~ I am going to miss these Kinders!  I was blessed with an amazing group of children this year.  They have learned and grown so much since August!  It will be so hard to let go of them.  But, I do have to say I am looking forward to lazy summer days spent on my front porch.  Click HERE to see a post on a lazy summer day to see what I'm looking forward to.

It's time to link up for the fun Five for Friday linky party hosted by Doodle Bugs Teaching!

 

Mother's Day gifts.  Yes, I know Mother's Day was a while ago, but here is what my kids made for their mothers.  A few weeks ago my teaching partners & I went to the "Free Teacher Store."  One of the goodies we got was a craft kit that contained these wooden door hangers.  The Kinders used them to create these cute gifts.  After the paint dried, they adorned their door hangers with a small picture and some foam stickers. 

 

Seriously one of the cutest bulletin boards ever.  The hallway bulletin board next to our Reading teachers' room is very Pinterest-worthy!  

 

 

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! ...or the boat, or the train, or the wrecking ball!  My kids love, love, love this silly book!  I have so much fun hamming it up as I read it.  (Hamming it up ~ just another perk of being a kindergarten teacher!)  We used this book for a lesson on speech bubbles.

 



 

I recently purchased some of Deanna Jump & Deedee Wills' Writing Through the Year sets.  Because they were a late-in-the-year acquisition, we just finished the "How To" unit.  I am SOOOO excited by how much my Kinders' writing has improved just by doing this one unit!  I had never done a Writer's Workshop before, so it was a learning experience for me, too.  My corporation is moving toward the Writer's Workshop next year, so I decided to try it out with my current crop of Kinders.  I figured that it is good to try out new things with kids who already know procedures, etc.  This way, I get experience in using it before I take the plunge with a bunch of newbies.  I have to say that I am totally in love with this product!  ...and plan to purchase all of their sets!

The picture on the left shows an almost-ready-to-be published piece.  We worked on the same pieces for a couple weeks.  I had never thought that kindergarteners would have the stamina to stick with the same piece of writing for so long.  (I was wrong!)

This sample is from a very average little Kinder.  The spelling is well, kindergarten spelling, but I love the subject!  "How to read Words If you're not sure, sound it out.  If that didn't work, then try a different one.  Break it into chunks.  If that doesn't work, then try a different one.  Look at the pictures.  If that doesn't work, then try this one.  Ask a friend.  If that doesn't work, try this one.  (not exactly sure...) Then ask the teacher what the word is."

We "published" our writing & invited our principal to our Publishing Celebration today.  I didn't snap any pictures, but we sure had fun.  My students have developed a love of writing that I hope follows them throughout their life.   

Our ONE AND ONLY finger painting day.  I must be getting old or something ~ I can only handle finger painting once a year.  We do use other paints throughout the year, but I can only handle the mess of finger paints once a year.  One of my little cuties asked me if May 16th was always finger painting day!  It sort of is ~ give or take a few days ~ I only break out the finger paints in May.

This week really flew by ~ full moon, end-of-year testing, and all.  Tomorrow I will be participating in Relay for Life with my teacher friends.  We walked in Relay for Life last year, and I am looking forward to doing so again.  (Even if it is going to be so cold that it could snow.)  My dear father had cancer, so this event is especially meaningful to me.  I need to remember to put on my pedometer to see how many steps I take tomorrow.  I figure I'll walk to keep from freezing! 

 

Have a great weekend!