5 C Student of the Month

This month we worked on Celebrate.  We want to take time to celebrate our successes, our challenges, our attempts to try and try again!

Preston Pool was selected for our Celebrate award as he always has a thoughtful, kind thing to say to fellow classmates.  He is very encouraging and quick to say "Good Job!"  He is a hard worker himself!

The Kindergarteners have put in 71 days of school as of today.  We are all celebrating what a cohesive class we have and how much we have learned so far!

Puppet Show

Today the K-2 students were treated to a puppet show!  They were told many different stories and were encouraged to look up the books that the stories were based on.  The other really cool thing was that the puppeteer showed the children how the puppets were made easily out of every day things like boxes and sticks and paper towel tubes.  Don't be surprised if your child wants to get out the scissors and tape tonight!

Drivers Education Needed for G-man!

Waylon and Jackson report on a Gingerbread who tried to take a ride in a police car!

Click here!
Waylon and Jackson Report

G-Man Arrested?????

The Gingerbread men are keeping the community of Buffalo very busy!
To check out the latest written by Kris and Garett:

Police officer Helps

Gingerbread Man Falls Ill!

For the latest news by Lauren and Finn, click here!

Lauren and Finn Report

Other G-man News

Preston and Myia bring you the latest in
Gingerbread Man tomfoolery!

Click here for more news:

Preston and Myia Report 12/13/13

Gingerbread Stowaway!

The 'angel' gingerbread man stowed away on a bus today!  He was discovered when grades 3-5 arrived in Shakopee for a field trip!  We are so thankful they took good care of his and brought him back to us safe and sound!

Crazy bus ride back to Discovery!

Kaylah and Henry B. report G-man update!

Date:  Thursday, December 12, 2013

Check out the latest news update about our sassy gingerbread men.
Copy by Kaylah and Henry B.

G-man News for 12/13

Just for Fun...

I asked the children to make a shopping list for everyone in their family.  (If they had money and could drive, what would they go buy for the people in the house.)

Oh Dear!!!

Some of you can be very happy that your child does not have such freedom!  But some of you would have made out really well!

On the questionable side:

a puppy for mom
a cat for dad
a ball for mom and dad
a trampoline for mom and dad so they can give it to me
   (gotta love the honesty!?)


On the 'Don't you wish!' side:

a new snowmobile
a few dads are getting guitars  :)
a new truck
tires
a new red car


On the <3 warming side:

LOVE was big on everyone's list
  (We had a discussion about if you can buy love at a store.)
flowers
lots of ornaments and mugs for everybody :)
books
dolls and toys for brothers and sisters
lots of paper will be purchased for home made hearts and stars  ;)

G-Man News for Wed. December 11th!

What is a gingerbread man's favorite past time?
Check out this post by Maren and Gabriel!

Maren and Gabriel Trap G-man!

What does the fox say?

Fun song with the lyrics posted so they can read along!

What Does the Fox Say?

Library

We will NOT be going to the library today, December 11th, because of the wind chill conditions.

Stay warm everyone!

Can a Fox and a Gingerbread Cookie be Friends?

See what your children answered by clicking here:

Friendship

Elf Math!

Today the children got to roll the dice and make towers for the elves.  They had to add up the total of the two dice, then make the tower for the elf by that number.  When all of the towers were completed, the students had to line them up from shortest to tallest.  (12 being the tallest.)

Gingerbread News for Tuesday, December 10th!

Thor and Kenzie write a report about a Gingerbread Man who went to Africa???

Click here for the latest:

G-Man News Update

Gingerbread News for 12/9/13

A news update has been posted by Henry G. and Miranda.

Click here to find out the latest news!
G-Man News 12/9/13

Toys for Tots

The Buffalo Rotary has started their annal Toys for Tots drive.  Although we are not having a formal school-wide drive for Toys for Tots, in each classroom there is a money drop box for donations if you would like to support this drive.  Bank West is once again matching our donations up to $300.  We thank them for their generosity.

Any checks should be make out to the Buffalo Rotary.  There is also a drop box for Toys for Tots located in the front lobby of the Discovery Center.  The students have taken great ride and interest in helping to provide needy children in the Buffalo area with gifts during the holiday season.

Gingerbread New for 12/6/13

Teagan & Mitchell's Gingerbread News

Today's Centers 12/6/13

New Winter, Gingerbread Floor Puzzles

Listening Center:  "Turkey Clause"

Reading Nook:  New tub of Christmas Books

Writing Center featuring Christmas Card making

Using pens and clipboards to write around the room...

find words that start with each letter of the alphabet and write it on your sheet!

Count to 5 for Recess!!!

Winter is here!!!  Our students go outside every day unless the temperature or wind chill is restrictive.  They are expected to have 5 items for recess:

1)  Hats

2)  Mittens/Gloves your child can get on independantly

3)  Coat with a working/child friendly zipper

4)  Snow pants

5)  Boots

Children who have all 5 items have a great time playing on the playground and in the snow.  If a student is missing any of these, they are encouraged to borrow from the lost and found table.  If they do not have boots they have to stay on the tar area of the playground.

An important part of Kindergarten is building independence!  Set your child up for success.  If at all possible make sure they have winter clothing items they can manage quickly and independently!

Gingerbread News 12/4

Gingerbread News

Today's news by Peighton and Karson

Gingerbread Mischief!

It has started!  We have 10 gingerbread people who visit our classroom the month of December.  The problem is that gingerbread cookies tend to be sassy and full of mischief!  And, yes, the foolery has begun!

Shar and the students are quickly trying to build a gingerbread house to keep our gingerbread friends contained and safe from the FOX!

Contribute Award

Today in a Town Hall Meeting one Discovery student from each classroom was given an award for being outstanding at contributing to the classroom and the school.

The student that was honored from our room was Waylon!

Practice Makes... So Much Better!

After more than a week of using roller skates, the children are doing well!  And today Mr. Lindbloom said that ALL Kindies were willing to leave that mat and skate on the floor.  Be BRAVE!  Yay!

Kindies Improve Roller Skating Skills!

Conferences

Tonight is our last night of conferences for this fall.  Please know that you can always contact me about things as they come up!  Our next round of conferences starts in February.  Reminder slips will be sent home at that time.

I will try and get a classroom post up tomorrow!  :)

How Full is your Bucket

We have been reading books from the first day of school that talk about who we want to be as people and how we want to treat each other.  There are a number of book series' I use, including "The Best Me I Can Be" and "No Bullying Allowed."

Another book I use is called"How Full is Your Bucket: for Kids."  It is a children's book adapted from a book for adults.  The message is so clear and children understand it so easily... that how we treat each other either fills buckets or drains them.  When someone's bucket is drained, they are more likely to make bad choices.  It is everyone's resposibility in the room to help keep each other's buckets full!

We made a bucket and decorated it with pictures of things the children could do that would 'fill buckets'.

The next day I had to make another bucket because they did not want to stop adding their ideas!  Very cool!

Feel free to use the terminology with your children at home.  "What are you doing to your sister's bucket?"  "How did your brother's bucket get so empty?"  "How could you help with Mom's bucket?"

Friday

As usual, Friday is a big day.  Today was no exception!

1.  This morning we discovered the pumpkin plant had

a third leaf AND 

visible roots!

2.  Peighton (who has been out due to having her tonsils taken out) came in and shared her hospital experiences with the class.  They were so excited to see her!

3.  Lauren's mom came in and read "How Many is a Million" which is about math AND penguins!  She even had matching treats and special star lights for the ending.  We got to turn off all the lights and see stars on the ceiling!

Fish snack just like the penguins.

Guess you can't really see the stars, but you can use your imagination!

4.  Of course there was more roller skating as well!

You should have lots to talk about today about what happened at school!!!!

Kid Blog

Our first student blog post has been published.  You may check it out at:

Thanksgiving Thoughts

p.s.  There are now a total of 4 children published up on the Kid Blog.  I am getting faster at this and hopefully can get many more up next week!  If you want to share with extended family, you will have to email the link to them.  Only those with the link can see the blog.

Let's Roll!

The class is doing a great job of being brave and trying to learn how to roller skate.  A few of them have it down already, and the rest are having fun trying!

Listening and Learning about Equipment

Practice on the Mat First if you Like

Be Brave!

If at first you don't succeed...

try, try again!

Kindie's Roll!

the video!

A,B,C Ya!

Shar works with the Kindergarteners (half at a time) on computers once each week.  (The other half works with me on reading/math skills.)  They have just finished exploring a sight that is usually popular.  I wanted to share this link with you at home so you can access it as well.

ABCya

This is from their introduction:

ABCya.com is the leader in free educational kids computer games and activities for elementary students to learn on the web. All children's educational computer activities were created or approved by certified school teachers. All educational games are free and are modeled from primary grade lessons and enhanced to provide an interactive way for children to learn.

Grade level lessons incorporate areas such as math and language arts while introducing basic computer skills. Many of the kindergarten and first grade activities are equipped with sound to enhance understanding. Fun children's Holiday activities are available in grade level sections!

Reading Stamina

One important activity we do each day is "Read to Self."  We know that the ability to sit with books is an important part of getting into good habits and practicing more reading strategies.  We call that reading stamina.  When school first started the class' stamina was at 1 minute!  Most days, the K-class can now sit and read with their reading tubs for 10+ minutes!  That makes our Read to Self time very successful!