We Made It!

We did it - we got to the end of the year!  I do have to admit that it's a bittersweet time of year.  I will really miss my Kinders.  They worked so hard all year, and made so much progress.  I'm very proud of them.  But, I will really enjoy not getting up at 5:30 - 7:00 seems to be a much more sensible time to get up!  I'll be able to visit my mother more often (she lives in a memory care unit for people with Alzheimer & dementia) and mornings are better for her.  When I visited after school she was often tired, so I am looking forward to spending more time with her when she is alert.  (A side note:  If your parents are healthy visit them as much as possible.  Cherish the moments.  It is really difficult to see my bright, lively mom like she is today.)  I also am looking forward to spending time with my precious granddaughters, Isabella & Olivia, (and granddaughter-to-be, Amelia).  Everyone says grandchildren are the best, and believe me, they ROCK! I absolutely LOVE being Mimi!  I'll have time to get in some porch sitting (I went to the library today and got three new books). Another activity I'm looking forward to is being a "guest reader" at Hilltop House.  My little granddaughters went there when Sarah was teaching.  It is a wonderful facility that has helped my little darlings to blossom and grow!  It is a privilege to be able to give back.

Here's my Five for Friday:

1. Kinder Diva Dream Team!  I had the great pleasure to work with some of the most caring, professional, beautiful women this past year.  We are not only teammates - we are very good friends!  We supported, helped, affirmed, and loved & comforted each other.  Our closeness makes it very difficult to say goodbye.  Kiki is retiring this year.  She leaves behind some very big shoes, um stylish kitten heels to fill.  But, I'm sure that given our great ability to work together as a team, our new Kinder Diva will fit right in!

From left to right: Diva Teacher Patty, Diva Teacher Kiki, Diva Teaching Assistant Deb, and Diva me

 2.  Are you a Kinder Diva?  If you work hard, value friendship, and love what you do then you are a Kinder Diva!  This is our anthem which we all have posted above our desks.  It serves to remind us that we are a united team working together to provide the best education for our little Kinders.  (Plus, it's a reminder of how much fun we have together!)  Click HERE for your copy of the Kinder Diva anthem.

 

3.  My new lanyard.  A recent trip to the outlet mall (one of my favorite haunts) netted this cute lanyard.  I figure if I am required to wear my school ID, I may as well do it in style!

 

4. I spotted this on Facebook.  I think it is an important reminder for parents and teachers alike.  (And, also the administrators who evaluate teachers on how engaged their students are...)

                                                                                                                                



5.  OK One more Heifer International post.  Click HERE to see the news segment from channel 2 in Chicago. 

Almost Done!

The end is near!  Only three days left!  This past week has been a crazy whirlwind of activities!  Trying to get everything finished, cleaned up, and sorted out makes for a super busy time.  Add a classroom full of excited Kinders, and you have... well, you have a very long week!

Today actually began with a lovely concert performed by the high school choir.  We trooped up the hall and over to the high school cafeteria where the two dozen or so lovely teen girls sang a variety of songs for the elementary students.  There are real advantages to having a K - 12 building!

Despite the hecticness of our week, I was able to snap some pictures with my phone for this week's Five for Friday link up.

1.  Finger Paint!  This is something that can only be done once a year!  Don't get me wrong - we do lots of messy crafts - but I can only muster up the will to bring out finger paints once a year!  The Kinders had so much fun, I almost felt guilty for only doing this one time.  (But, if you had seen the tables - and their hands & arms - when they were finished, you'd understand!  lol)

 2. Laptops.  Our computer lab closed last week so our computer teacher/TIS can clean computers, etc. We have a set of laptops in the library that can be checked out for use in the classroom.  Yesterday was the first time we ever used them.  It was fun, but boy-oh-boy!  Many kids knew how to use a laptop, but logging in with their username & password was tricky!

3. Heifer International Read to Feed.  We had a wonderful celebration on Wednesday.  The high school cheerleaders and band welcomed the elementary students into the cafeteria, creating a party atmosphere.  Two TV stations (one from Chicago) were on hand to record the festivities.  A representative from the Indiana DOE, several state politicians, school board members, and a representative from Heifer International were present.  A slide show of the year's events was shown and a passing of the gifts ceremony was performed before presenting a check to Heifer International.  Our little school raised $13,337!!!  That's a lot of animals donated to needy families all over the world!  My Kinders really got into it, reading at home and at school (they earned $1.00 per book read).  My class earned $1,335!  We bought 2 trios of rabbits, 1 flock of chicks, 2 flocks of geese, 1 goat, 1 pig, 1 water buffalo, 1 cow, 1 hive of bees, and 1 llama!  It was an overwhelmingly wonderful program.  Not only did we get the opportunity to help people around the world, my students were motivated to practice their reading skills!  Thank you to the wonderful PTO moms who made this possible.

4.  Apples!  We have eighteen apple trees that are absolutely loaded with tiny apples!  Last year an early warm spring followed by a killing frost left us with a few skimpy apples.  This year it looks as if we will have a bumper crop!  But, given the fact that our trees are still pretty small, we will have to wait and see just how many apples we will get.

5.  Hubby on his 1948 Allis Chalmers tractor.  His father rebuilt this oldie and had it shipped out here from New York.  His dad has since passed away, but his gift is used daily to help keep our little "farm" running.  Here, he is towing a mower, but the tractor is mostly used to tow the manure spreader.  Given my germ-a-phobic, girly-girly-ish-ness, many of my friends are surprised to learn that I know how to drive a tractor (pulling a manure spreader)!  

Well, that's my five random things for the week.  Be sure to hop on over to Doodle Bugs for the linky party!

Stations & Skill Spots (Plus an Update on our Heifer International Giving)

My Kinders were busy not only with holiday activities, they were hard at work last week practicing important skills with our Literacy Stations and Skill Spots.

Our Independent CD Books Skill Spot is a favorite for listening to reading.

All of our Skill Spots, Skill Tubs, and Centers have books.  The kids love to practice reading books - which they read to me during our "Book Club" time so that they can contribute a dollar to our Heifer International Read to Feed program.  **Update**  In response to our Day of Giving Challenge (click on this link to watch our AWESOME video), our wonderful middle/high school students, spectators at the 2/2/13 basketball game, two local businesses, and an anonymous donor we greatly surpassed our goal of raising $1000 dollars...  In one day our little community raised $6426.72!!

Looking for letters.  I have several of these write on - wipe off pockets with poems in them available for the Kinders.  This little boy is looking for the letter r.

Popcorn Word Wall.  This bulletin board features all of the sight words from our reading series written on popcorn shaped note paper. 

 Spelling sight words.

Pocket Chart Skill Spot.  I have several pocket charts hanging on clothing racks (much cheaper than the real ones) in this Skill Spot.  These boys are working on making numbers with the smiley face counters.

"This" Writing Station.  In this station, the kids practiced writing the word this and wrote sentences using the word.  I think by now everyone can spell this!

Word Work Station.  In this station, from The Mailbox, the students sorted -an and -ap word family picture and word cards.  They also did a worksheet featuring the word families (not pictured).

Kinders love to write with dry erase markers!  I laminated the cards from the above station to make them wipe-off for reuse.

A file folder center from Lakeshore Learning gives additional CVC word practice.

Rhyme time!  Students match rhyming picture and word cards from Apple & ABC's Valentine pack.