Two Hoots and A Holler

Hoot #1

In kindergarten, it is our goal to develop readers who have a love for books.  In order to promote this, we have already started using book boxes in our classrooms this year.  Book boxes are used during IDR time, Read to Self time, DEAR time, or whatever you may call it.  This year's group of students are SO excited to get their book box and read their books.  I have never had a group of kids so excited to read this early in the year.  It makes my teacher heart happy!  I learned from a co-worker last year to use whisper phones during independent reading.  Because students this age are emerging readers, it is good for them to read out loud.  But it can get very noisy and distracting with 26 different voices.  Using whisper phones made out of PVC pipe (from Home Depot or any hardware store) helps with the noise level and helps students be able to listen to themselves read.  Students were able to stay engaged in independent reading time for 5 minutes on the first day!  We are continuing to work on our reading stamina and increase it daily.  

Jitterbugs love reading too!

Hoot #2

Well, we have survived our first field trip! We have been studying the 5 senses, so we took a trip out to Litcherman Nature Center. The students loved it. They got to rotate through centers to explore their senses and learn how different animals use their senses.  They were able to see and hear the animals in the woods as they took a hike. They were able to see the fish, geese, and turtles eat food. They were able to taste things that were sour and investigate their taste buds. They even were able to feel a snake and opossum. It was very warm, but an awesome way to reinforce the skills taught in our classrooms.

We love when parents come along as we
learn!

 

We LOVE field trips, but these kiddos were "field tripped" out on the bus ride back to school! 

 
This Week's Holler... 
This week's holler goes out to Mr. Mike, AKA Cowboy! He has been in charge of our PTA for several years. He does an outstanding job! He and his helpers are the reason our students and teachers get the things they need. Well, the past week, he has been very sick, but we are glad to report that he is doing much better. We love you Mr. Mike and all that you do for us! 

    

Two Hoots And A Holler

Hoot #1
Now that the school year has started, we are all about routines and procedures. Our students have started centers and love them. In the beginning, I know this can be a headache. We have 27 bodies that are excited. They go in 27 different directions to do their favorite center and have a million questions as they do them. Rest assure, that this too shall pass. We find that it helps to put them with partners, and encourage them to work together in the beginning. Usually, they will slowly start doing centers independently has the year progresses.

Jitterbugs are busy counting sets.

Letter recognition

Writing our letters and numbers

Hoot#2
 Learning has never been so much fun!  We truly believe in age appropriate, hands-on, fun learning activities.  We teach 5 and 6 year olds, so it is only natural that they learn through play.  We are hard at work learning so many things. If you know "littles," you know that you have to spice it up a bit to keep them engaged in their learning. As many of you know, we went to RCA about a year ago, and we were truly inspired by the things we experienced there. We have always moved and grooved, but since attending, we do a lot more and with more excitement. Helpers get to do their large group time on tables, including dancing and singing! Have I mentioned how much fun teaching kindergarten can be?!?!

This Week's Holler...
We started this school year with a brand new principal and assistant principal.  We have been truly blessed to get these two women as leaders at our school!  They truly care about their teachers and the students.  We are so proud to have this "Dynamic Duo" to lead our school to greatness!  This holler is for you Mrs. Armstrong and Mrs. Cobb!  Thank you for all of your support and faith in our school! 

 

Two Hoots and A Holler

Hoot #1

Our students are loving all of our winter centers!  They cheer when it is time to do centers/workstations.  Even though they have a choice to do "center tubs" or "free choice", many choose to keep doing the center tubs!  Our kids actually choose to do WORK and LEARN....how AWESOME is that?!?!!  Check out some of their favorite centers...

This is a math center created by Greg Smedley at Kindergarten Smorgasboard. 

This is a freebie from TPT.  We tried to find who made this wonderful product, but we were unable to find it.  If you know, then please let us know so we can give proper credit. 

Hoot #2

We had a house meeting at the beginning of the month.  Our houses grew!  We added 3 more 5th grade classes and 3 more kinder classes to participate in the house systems.  They got to pop balloons to determine which house they would belong to, and our students cheered them along the way.  We can't wait to see how expanding the houses to contain 10 classes total will impact these students!  

 

This Week's Holler...
This week's holler goes out to Ladybug's Teacher Files!! This place is awesome.  It has everything you need to get organized. We could spend a lot of time and money in this little place.  We may be a little behind, but I will be reading up on how to use Google to make our "To Do Lists" for our lives!!! Happy reading!

Two Hoots and a Holler

Hoot #1

We began centers/workstations this week!  The students LOVE them!  They did so well with following directions and completing the activities.  We were impressed!  They actually "hoot and holler" when it is center time!  That is their favorite part of the day. 

Hoot #2

Light it up, up, up!!  Yes, another Ron Clark inspired idea gets a hoot this week!  We left RCA with SO many ideas that we wanted to incorporate into our classrooms!  We are taking baby steps towards our end goal, and this is one idea that is a huge hit with the kiddos! Ron Clark students stand on tables, so do we. Ron Clark used disco lights to celebrate accomplishments, so..... we have disco lights and LED lights to help us celebrate successes.  We do A LOT of moving in kindergarten, and we sing and dance A LOT!  The lights only come on for special occasions.  The kids love it when the lights are on, and even some have said that they love school because their classroom has lights!  haha  If it keeps them motivated to want to come to school and learn, then we are all for it!!  

  

This Week's Holler...

This week's holler goes out to Mrs. Lee's Kindergarten. We use Julie's stuff on a regular basis in our classroom. She has a ton of resources if you are look for items for you centers. Over the past couple of years, we have done an activity with the poem Rainbow Hair. After looking at her blog, that is about to change!! She has a Troll Craft that is SUPER CUTE!! You want to check this out!