Comments from the kindergarteners.......

You never know what you're going to hear in kindergarten......so here are two of the funnier ones!!

Student: "Ms. Miller? Can I play with the farm animals? I'm done."
Me:  "Of course! I'll hand them to you."
Student: "I only need the boy horses."
Me (who should have been thinking!): "How are you going to sort them?"
Student: "The boy horses have penises."
Me (with a shocked expression on my face): "Ok!"

That one sure shocked me! lol! 

This one took place between one of my students and the art teacher.  It was a long day in my room!


Student:  "I don't know why my teacher's mad at me."

Art Teacher:    "Maybe she just needs a break from you."

Student:  " I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, ....................  ....................  ........................................  .................................

....      grounded."

 

Art Teacher - gasping stifled laughter

Paige comes to visit!

I was so excited that my cousin Paige was able to come to Pinedale for a long weekend!!!  We had a blast catching up on life and I was glad she was able to meet my kindergarten students.  After a long Friday in my classroom though, I believe Paige reaffirmed her desire to be an engineer and not a kindergarten teacher! lol!  On Saturday we played tourist in Jackson before she had to go back home early Sunday morning.  we had so much fun but I think Paige was happy to be heading back to warm weather and not be in freezing cold Wyoming any longer! lol!

Pinedale Medical Clinic Visit

We made ornaments for the tree at the Pinedale Medical Clinic.  All 90 kindergarten students traveled to the clinic to put their ornaments on the tree. After the tree was full with ornaments we hopped back on the bus and headed to the Sublette Center- our senior center in Pinedale.  We performed our full Christmas program for the residents.  The kids did great and the residents were thrilled to have us!

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CALENDERS ARE DONE!!!!

I can finally relax!  21 calendars are done, wrapped, and literally under the tree in my classroom.  The students had fun painting and I am super proud of the finished products! 

Cinnamon Applesause Ornaments

Every year I look forward to making ornaments out of cinnamon and applesauce with my class.  Once again our 4th grade buddies were able to join us for a morning of measuring, math, and really messy ratios!  The recipe called for one cup of applesauce for every one cup of cinnamon.  Once the two ingredients were mixed together, we added in two tablespoons of glue to keep the ornaments together...and to keep the daring little ones from eating them!  Students got their hands messy rolling out their dough and cutting out their ornaments with cookie cutters.  To make the hole in the ornament for hanging, students twisted a straw back and forth.  We let the ornaments dry for over 48 hours then tied a ribbon on them for hanging.  My classroom smelled amazing for weeks!!!! I pulled out 2 ornaments from last year and they still retained their wonderful smell.  I hope my students had as much fun as I did!  

 

Measuring With Gummy Worms!

In kindergarten, one of our goals is to be able to measure with non-standard units.  At the measuring center, students measured items around the room.  It was a challenge not to eat them but the students had fun measuring with the gross worms! Students learned how to identify if the item was at the end of the worm or closer to the middle.  They practiced writing whole numbers and half numbers. 

Number Writing Practice

We're working hard on practicing writing numbers from 1-30.  At this center students used "teacher markers" to practice their number writing.  (Click here to view this center on Pinterest.)  Notice the correct pencil grip: Mom and Dad in the front, kids in the back! Thanks to Ms. Kay, our OT, for the cute way to help remember how to hold a writing utensil. 

Q-Tip Painting

Like many other teachers, I LOVE Pinterest!  My teaching partner and I thought this would be a fun center to practice one-to-one correspondence and teen numbers.  The kids had a fantastic time and rose to the challenge!  Thanks Pinterest and all the pinners for the great ideas!  (Click here to link to the Pin.)

Tally Marks

We have been practicing tally marks every day and it has proven to be a very tough concept for my students to grasp.  When two of my students chose to make tally marks on their own, I was super excited! 

I Live in a Gorgeous Place!

This fall, I met friends for lunch in Yellowstone National Park!  Here are a few pictures from my day in the parks. 

I saw 2 moose 4 miles outside of Pinedale! Started the day out right!

Sunrise looking at the Wyoming Range

Old Faithful Geyser with the lodge in the background

Looking at the Tetons with Jackson Lake in the foreground

Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park

I'm a Turkey! You're a Turkey!

 I just love Thanksgiving! I'm so thankful for everything in my life: my job, my students, my family, my friends, and so much more.  One of the funniest way we celebrated the Thanksgiving feast in kindergarten was by making hats that looked like giant turkey legs!  Although I got of strange looks from the kids at first, in the end they had a blast wearing turkey legs on their head. :-)

Up to Our Elbows in Dough

 In November, students in KM joined forces with students in Mrs. Hecht's 4th grade class to make our own bread. The 4th grade students were great helpers with reading the ingredients, mixing, and kneading. 

 Each student got to make their own small loaf of bread to eat part of and take the rest home. 

 The dough had to rise for an hour, then into the oven, and finally we got to eat it with our 4th grade buddies!

Oh man was our bread tasty!!!!

Halloween 2012 in Kindergarten

All the Ghosts and Goblins lined up for Halloween parade! 

Cooking Spiders?!? Ewww!!

Once a month, my students and I use book cooks!  It is a cookbook with literature based cook book that has step by step recipes that each relate to specific children's books.  My students look forward to cooking each month!   This month, we "cooked" spiders! (Click here to order the book from Amazon.)

 

 Each student was given 4 M&M's, 2 large marshmallows, and 16 small pieces of licorice in bag. 

 First, each student put eight legs on to their spider.  Getting 4 on each side wasn't the easiest thing to do!

 

Once the legs were on, the adults poured melted chocolate over the marshmallows and the students quickly added 2 eyes to each spider.  

 While the students waited for the chocolate to cool, Mrs. Seehafer read us books about Spiders! Then we got to eat! 

 

Pinedale Volunteer Fire Fighters Visit PES!

 Thank you so much to the Pinedale Fire Volunteer Firefighters for talking to us about Fire Safety!!  We loved seeing the ladder truck!

 The firefighters put on their full gear so the students would know what they looked like if a firefighter had to come into their home. 

   Goofing around for the camera after seeing how high the ladder went up in the air! Notice the mountains in the background.