We received our first Blog Award!

Thank you Sarah @ Co-Kindering for this award! We are so honored! We have gained 5 followers in a day and are very excited! WOO HOO!!! I will be posting more Rainforest examples soon! When we reach 100 followers, we will celebrate with a FREEBIE for all !

Jungle Fever!

SWINGING INTO THE RAINFOREST!

OHMYWORD! Our students are SUPER excited about our new unit and… I must admit, so are we! J I LOVE our Rainforest unit and that our classrooms transform into a jungle of fun! This is a unit we do every other year so we have lots of time to look forward to it!

Kelly and I love tropical decor so our rooms start out with palm trees and jungle leaves from the beginning but the added vines bring all kinds of magic to our learning environments! The kids light up instantly when they see our rooms decked out! SO FUN!!! I have a CRAZY (with a capital C) next couple of weeks… but I will do my best to keep you posted on what we are doing in kindergarten!

J It is a jungle out there… I am so lucky to teach with my best friend everyday!

I “finished” my rainforest unit on Friday night and have already added to it… It is my FAVORITE so far!

USA & Presidents Finale

We finished up our United States unit this week! The students loved learning new vocabulary words about our nation and presidents. We have been amazed at how our students have bloomed in their writing lately!! We are so proud of them.  Here are some student examples of our vocabulary strips!

Here are some journal examples!

(Each morning during Smart Community, we focus on a new vocabulary word and writing about it later in the day.)

Next up… We will be swingin’ in the Jungle!! I am planning (hoping) to post my HUGE (over 100 pages) Rainforest Unit this weekend! I just have a few final touches to add! J

Persuasive Writing in Kindergarten!

So… Kelly and I were selected as Oklahoma state presenters for Common Core. We are super stoked about this amazing adventure but we still have so much to learn! J We will be attending a training event in March to meet and plan with our cadre group. Our area is “Creating Engaged Classrooms”. We are excited to share with others about our unique collaborative approach to teaching! I don’t know about you but for us, the extensive writing involved with CCSS is kinda overwhelming.

We write all day in our classes…fiction and non-fiction.  We have been impressed with our students' work including conventions and decided they were ready for a challenge. Today, I taught an introductory lesson on persuasive writing during SMART Community. We asked the students to write an opinion statement and support it with two factual sentences. I gotta say… they did pretty well for their first experience! J Check out a few examples from our classes!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day! J

It was a day full of partying and fun! I am plum worn out tonight!

I think it is fitting to make a list of all the things I love about teaching, don’t you?

 ~ I love how shy kinderkids are on the first day of school and how they grow up through the year.

~ I love watching the pure excitement of children learning something new!

~ I love hearing parents rave about their child’s growth over the year.

~ I love collaboration, more than I ever knew and it challenges me more than I ever dreamed! It is the single BEST thing I have ever done in my career, outside of National Board Certification.

~ I love creating curriculum so much… it helps me grow in so many ways.

~ I love hearing children read… and understand!

~ I love watching the writing process unfold.

~ I love the little drawings, notes and pictures my students make me. I LOVE all of their illustrations!

~ I LOVE true integration and setting challenging goals for myself and my students.

~ I love sharing a year of my life with a group of students and having them return to visit. J

USA & the Presidents!

I am not sure where January ran off to but wowzers… it went by fast! We are starting our USA and the Presidents Unit this week. It is about time I got it posted! J It will be time for Rainforest in just a few weeks… my oh my how times FLIES! Have a great week!

Penguin Facts & Research!

We have been working on our research penguin projects and “penguin Fact” books this week during our literacy center rotation called FAB FUN.  The students in Our SMART Community beg to go to the theme center but especially this week! They were so excited to complete this research project! J

This is Jaden’s Penguin Facts Book! She did an awesome job!!

Here are some research projects! Each student chooses their own type of penguin to make and research. I am so proud of them! They are doing a GREAT job!

Rockhopper penguins live on the Antarctic Penisula . Rockhopper penguins have red eyes. Rockhoppers are grumpy.

 

Adélie Penguins lay on their eggs. They are cute. Adélie Penguins are good swimmers.