L is for Laugh

One of the best parts about teaching kindergarten is that the kids are very funny, and the best part of that is they don't even know they are funny!
My kids make me laugh everyday. Some days or even some weeks are funnier than others...this was one of those weeks.

This week we celebrated our 100th day of school. I asked the kids to bring in a collection of 100 things, my only rule was that the collection had to fit in a backpack.

They shared their collections, we spread them out on the rug and counted. I gave them directions.

Me: Sally you count by 2's.
Sally: Okay Mrs. Collins
Me: Freddy you count by 5's
Freddy: Got it Mrs. Collins
Me: Maggie you count your collection by 10's.
Maggie: Okay.
Jenny: Mrs. Collins?
Me: Yes Jenny?
Jenny: Can I count by Mississippi's?

This was also the week I had to complete our mid-year math assessments.
One of the tasks was to sort attribute blocks by color. It was very interesting to see how they approached this task. Some sorted into piles, some sorted into lines, and one little guy sorted by color, but also patterned at the same time. Blue circle, blue square, blue triangle, blue circle, blue square, blue triangle.
This little guy is a pretty bright little boy.  He is naturally curious and loves to learn. So I said, "That is very interesting how you sorted those blocks, you sorted by color like I asked, but you made patterns too! That was very mathematical of you!"
"Thanks Mrs. Collins!"
"Maybe you'll be an engineer when you grow up."
"Well I really like trains!"
"I mean the kind of engineer that designs things like bridges."
"Nah, I just want to be a firefighter!"

One of my favorite parts of the day is listening to the kids talk while they have free choice. I sat near a table today where the kids were coloring.
Kelly announced to the table, "When I grow up I'm going to get married. Do you all want to come to the wedding."
I said, "Wow, you're planning your guest list very early, you have plenty of time to think about that!"
Bobby who was listening to this conversation and clearly has his life all planned out, suddenly piped in."When I grow up, I am NOT getting married. I'm just getting a house...and a dog."

Now there's a boy with a plan. Perhaps he'll be a firefighter and live in Mississippi!

C is for Counting!

Counting to 100 to be exact! We counted by 1's, 5's and 10's! We sorted, we graphed, we grouped, we snacked, but most of all, we just had fun with the number 100!
We finally made it to our 100th day of school, it's always an exciting day and a big milestone too!
My little cherubs are 100 days smarter, taller, and more confident. They are readers and writers and today mathematicians!

A 100 piece puzzle!

100 fluffy yellow pom poms!

100 cups stacked very high!

Our 100's day menu!

A 100's day buffet!

P is for Penguin, P is for Polar Bear

One of my favorite units to teach is my Polar Animal unit. I think penguins and polar bears are fascinating animals, true lessons in endurance and perseverance! I also love teaching using nonfiction books, the kids love the photographs and I love how we can use nonfiction to improve our kindergarten writing. Special thanks to Mrs. Williamson on Welcome to Room 36! and Michele Cain on C.E. Kindergarten Kids! Who originally posted their inspiring ideas on Pinterest.

Love a Penguin with a sense of style!

Macaroni Penguin

S is for Super!

It's finally here! Super Bowl Sunday! It's been two weeks since Our New England Patriots became AFC Champions, there's been a lot of hype and anticipation and soon it will all come to a halt at kick off time.

Now I'm not a huge football fan, baseball is my sport, I won't turn on football just because there's a game on, but these are The Patriots and I will always tune in to watch the "home town" team no matter what the sport.

On Friday we celebrated Patriots Day. Not to be confused with the Patriots Day in April, that's for The Boston Marathon, this Patriots Day was for all things football!

We asked the kids and staff to dress in red, white, and blue. We made signs, designed our own helmets, and made some predictions.

I tried my best not to influence their picks in any way, but cringing when three of my little kiddos placed their helmets in the NY Giants column was probably not the best way to show impartiality!

So I'm hoping that my cherubs have a little insight when it comes to picking a winner.
Final score...Patriots 14, Giants 3.

Works for me! Go Pats!