Field Trip to the Kansas History Museum and Kansas Day!

We went on our field trip to the Kansas History Museum for Kansas Day. They had lots of fun seeing the train and tepees. They also liked feeling the buffalo skin and trying to make a spark with flint. Many of the students also enjoyed the special race car exhibit. There also was a playroom where they could dress up in clothes from pioneer days, and there was a tepee they could play in. There were so many fun things to do and see. Thank you to all of my parent volunteers. You were a big help!
Back at school, the students got the chance to make the state of Kansas out of a graham cracker. They took a bite out of the corner of the graham cracker. Then, they put a little bit of frosting and an M&M where Topeka is located. It made a great snack! Lastly, we had another birthday today.

Field trip pictures







Holding up their Kansas state snack

Happy Birthday A!

Getting Ready for Kansas Day!

Today, we finished our "Kansas, Kansas What Do You See?" books. It reads just like the Brown Bear book but with Kansas state symbols instead. Mrs. Smith, a 1st grade teacher, came in and listened to us read our books. I captured it on video for all of you to see. They did an awesome job! We also went to the computer lab and made sunflowers on the computer program, TuxPaint. We are definitely prepared for Kansas Day and we can't wait for our field trip tomorrow!
We are going to be very busy with our field trip tomorrow and our 100 days of school celebration on Monday, so we got ready for Groundhog Day today. We made a graph with our predictions of whether or not the groundhog will see his shadow. Most of the students are expecting him to see his shadow. We're excited to see if we're right on Tuesday. Lastly, a friend celebrated his birthday today. He brought in delicious cupcakes that gave us very dark lips and tongues. :-)

Reading our Kansas books to Mrs. Smith

Two of the sunflowers we made at the computer lab

The groundhog graph

Enjoying the birthday cupcakes


Happy Birthday B!

Oh and I promised I would share their block tower with you

Having Fun with a Parachute in P.E.

Today, we played with a parachute in P.E. for the first time. Mr. Ziekle taught them how to make a mushroom in the air. Also, he taught them how to make a merry-go-round. They even practiced switching directions. Lastly, they played popcorn with the parachute. Mr. Ziekle put balls in the middle of the parachute, and the students shook the parachute and "popped the popcorn". I tried to be tech savvy and filmed this with my camera. Unfortunately, I did not get them popping the popcorn, but I did get some other great clips. Enjoy the 2 video clips and some pictures. As you will see, they did a wonderful job following directions and it was so much fun!

Here are the 2 video clips:


Making a mushroom

Shaking the parachute

Mr. Snowman and Art with Mrs. O'Hara

Today, we played another fun, snowman game. This game involved following directions. I sang a song that gave them the directions for how to make their snowman. For example, one lyric of the song told them to put 6 buttons on their snowman. I attached a picture of a student's finished snowman that has the words to the song on it. We even made a few lyrics of our own in order to make the arms, scarf, and mittens.
In Art class, they have been making Eye Spy posters for different colors (i.e. I Spy Something Purple). Today, they were making the green poster. They discussed all of the things that are green. Mrs. O'Hara wanted specific things and not just things that could be green like shoes or shirts. The students came up with turtles, broccoli, trees, frogs, pears, lettuce, and leaves. Then, they made their pictures for the Eye Spy posters that will be hanging outside of the art room. They had all different shades of green crayons and markers that they could use.
Lastly, I have some fun pictures to share with you from centers.

A finished Mr. Snowman with the song lyrics

Making their green pictures for the Eye Spy poster in Art class




She completed a 24 piece puzzle all by herself!

Holding up some hearts that they made in Art Center

Some impressive block towers


Playing educational games at www.sesamestreet.com in Computer Center

Playing in the Drama/Kitchen Center

Kansas State Flags

Today, we made our own Kansas state flags with our study buddies. They had to cut out the state seal and color it the correct colors. Also, they had to glue the word Kansas at the bottom of the flag. They had a great time working on them with their buddies. They are currently on display in the hallway. We also began learning about the Kansas state symbols. We are in the process of making a special Kansas book that we plan to share with our study buddies. Of course, I will share it on the blog when we are finished. We are also very excited about our upcoming field trip to the Kansas History Museum on Kansas Day.

Here are some students working on their flags with their study buddies


Two girls holding up their finished flags

Snowman Math and Library!

Today, we played another snowman math game. The students cut out the pieces of a snowman. Each piece had a number on it (1-6). The students were partnered up and took turns rolling dice. If the students rolled a 3, they would glue the snowman piece with a 3 on the paper. If a student rolled a number he/she had already rolled, they would lose their turn. The first one with a finished snowman won the game. Everybody got to put their snowman together in the end. This game helped students practice valuable social skills. We are getting so much better at playing games together. Tomorrow, I will be introducing subtraction to the students.

We also went to library today. They are learning how to find books on the shelves by looking at the letters on the book's spine. They talked about finding the first letter today. Mrs. Baker wrote 3 letters on her Smart Board, and she called on students to come and circle the first letter on the Smart Board. Then, students had to look at the letters on their book's spine and find the first letter. Next, they had to find the large letter that matched the letter on their book over at the bookshelf and stand by it. That letter told the students what section their book is in (look at picture below). As a reward for doing so well, Mrs. Baker let each student choose a stuffed animal to join them on the carpet while she read the story "The Mitten" by Jan Brett. It was a great, silly story!

Playing the snowman game in math


Circling the 1st letter on the Smart Board

A small group of students who found the letter that their book came from (1st letter on spine told them this)

Some of the girls happily holding their stuffed animal before the story

Listening to Mrs. Baker's story

Study Buddies and a Birthday

Today, was B's 6th birthday. Unfortunately, he went home sick. We've had a bug going around Kindergarten. B was kind enough to leave his treats with us. We enjoyed the cupcakes, but we were sad he couldn't celebrate with us. We also had our study buddies come visit us today. We were very excited because we haven't seen them since before our holiday break. We played Roll-a-Snowman with them. The students took turns rolling dice. The number they rolled told them what part to draw on their snowman (i.e. hat, nose, etc.) The first person to get a finished snowman won. Then, all of the players were able to finish their snowmen too.

Happy Birthday B! (He wasn't feeling well at all)

Enjoying B's cupcakes


Playing Roll-a-Snowman with our study buddies


Here's a peek at the game and a friend's completed snowman

Donuts for Dads and a 1/2 Birthday!

This morning, we had Donuts for Dads at our school. Many of the student's dads came and ate breakfast with them. I tried to snap a few pictures of some of the students with their dads. I'll be putting them in the student's scrapbooks. We also had a friend celebrate their 1/2 birthday today. He brought in tasty cupcakes for us to enjoy.

Some students and their dads at Donuts for Dads





The 1/2 birthday boy

Enjoying the cupcakes