Soooooo Happy

I'm off for one whole week, YAHOOOOO

Oh, I have been looking so forward to some time off.

Technology has not been kind to me lately, at home or school.

I love technology and have been trying to effectively use it more in my class, but I tell ya, when Techy is not cooperative, ugh!

And, to let us know who is in control, the power at school was out Thursday.

Something about lightning striking a transformer I think.

no power

20+ kids

rainy weather

equals migraine

I think mostly because I'm still fighting this cough, cold, head congestion.

Any....ways....

I have to say, I am just so thankful for my class this year.  They are the sweetest, hard-working, little sponges of knowledge!  We have been working on comparing and contrasting all week with our stories, animals, and finally each other.  

This is seriously a great activity for communicating, collaborating, and asking questions.

My hubby Jeff and I both love to watch movies, sushi, coffee, walking on the beach, and we love our family.

I've shared this activity before, and it never fails to amaze me at some of the things they come up with.  I didn't include it, but one pair shared their birthdays, how awesome is that?

And in case you didn't catch it,

look at this:

both boys had same kindergarten and 1st grade teachers, they are the best teachers!

tear, quivering lip...

So THANKFUL for my kiddos :)

20 Days But Who's Counting!?!

I can't believe I haven't blogged in so long! 

But I know if you're a teacher, you can totally relate to how crazy busy this time of year is!
And the craziness is just starting, aaaaaaaah!!!

Anyways, here are a couple of things we've been working on...

One of our Earth Day activities:
this followed our space unit so well, talk about seeing the Big Picture!

We've also been working a lot on comparing and contrasting.

My kiddos worked in collaborative groups to compare/contrast the characters Cat & Dog from our Tesoros (Treasures) unit last week. Then I paired them up and had them compare/contrast themselves with a partner.

They did a really great job!

I love how they really understood the concept of comparing apples to apples, and point for point.

I loved how they color coded their double bubbles,

(how cute, blue and red make purple :)

Jeri likes to color, Jazmin likes to play outside.

Jeri has a dog, Jazmin-a cat.

Jeri has short hair, Jazmin-long hair.

Jeri likes chocolate ice cream, Jazmin-vanilla.

They're both girls, like mango, pink, insects, and Skippy John Jones (how cute is their spelling in Spanish ;)

But the BEST PART of this activity?

When they presented, Wow!

I was floored as to how well they presented, man I wish I would've recorded them!

They presented point for point and took turns to present what they both liked.

Did I mention this is Jeri's first year in Spanish?

Man I'm proud of my kiddos!

Patriotic Thinking Maps

My Kinder Kiddos enjoyed learning about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

After reading books about each of the Presidents, we made a Double Bubble to compare and contrast them

I loved the vocabulary my students developed.

We completed a Tree Map (Thanks Deanna Jump)

and made a TLC inspired Abraham Lincoln.

I didn't give them directions, 

I just gave them the construction paper and let them create.

I was surprised at how nervous my Kiddos were,

What?  No directions?

How do I make the tie?

Just try it, don't worry....

I think they're super cute!

¡Muy bien K3!

Main Idea: Weather

This week we'll continue our Unit 6 assessment for Treasures.

Next week we'll start a new unit of study.  

For each unit of study, our Kinder Team decided to make a Circle Map power point and have kids try to figure out the Main Idea.

Below you'll see the Circle Map power point that we'll use to introduce Weather.

We start with a blank circle map, then bring up each slide individually.  Finally the center is revealed to show the Main Idea.

I love starting a unit this way.

Students discuss the pictures in their groups and it gives them an opportunity to practice oral language.

I tried to upload to Scribd but I don't think it was working out.