Two Hoots and A Holler

Hoot #1

Spring is here!  It is warming up, flowers are blooming, pollen is covering everything (literally), and baby animals are born & hatching!  There isn't a better time to start our Oviparous animal unit!  We began with hatching chicken eggs.  We set up our incubators, got the eggs from the chicken farmer, and began to learn all about chickens! 

We are officially the proud parents of 6 chicks!!  

We think we have 4 roosters and 2 hens!

The kids are so excited!!

Hoot #2

I decided to try something new this year and purchase live caterpillars from Insect Lore.  The students have loved observing how fast the caterpillars grew throughout the day, and how overnight they formed their chrysalis!  

 

We made butterfly hats to wear.  As I was adding the faces on to the hats, they told me that it needed a proboscis!  

These Rockstars never cease to amaze me at how smart they are! 

We made butterflies out of over sized coffee filters.  We colored them with markers, and then sprayed them with water. 

This Week's Holler...
Testing season is among us, and we know this time of year can be very stressful and exhausting!  This week's holler goes out to all the testing coordinators out there! They have worked so hard to ensure everything runs smoothly so that teachers don't have any added worries.  Our testing coordinator is the best by far!  She is always willing to help in anyway she can, and she takes care of business!  Thank you Toni Glass for all that you do and will do!  Hang in there, there is light at the end of this tunnel.  You are the best!

Two Hoots and A Holler

Hoot #1

It is getting close to the end of the year, and we have spent well over 100 days together.  As with any family, we sometimes forget how important it is to always be kind and love one another...no matter what!  You teachers know what I am talking about...this time of year stress levels are high, emotions are all over the place, everyone is tired...and by everyone I mean teachers and students!  Well, that has been my class lately.  I have had to begin teaching kindness and character education lessons to help them remember the importance of being kind.  I have used a lot of videos and songs from YouTube to help my students with this.  I began a kindness chart in class.  I give students a check by their name when they are caught being kind.  Once they receive 6 checks (on check for each letter in "Be Kind"), they will choose a reward.  We have learned multiple ways to be kind, and they understand that they have to be "caught" being kind (they just can't tell me).  Some days are really hard, and there is a lot of whining, arguing, tattling, and disobeying in class.  On those days, I take a washable marker and draw a heart on each kid's hand.  This heart is to help remind them to always be kind.  The students love having the hearts on the hands!  They don't even want to wash their hands...so be prepared to redraw hearts! (Because we definitely want them to wash their hands...you fellow kinder teachers out there know what I mean!)  One of the most important goals for my students is to be a successful citizen in society.  Understanding kindness and showing kindness, even when we think someone doesn't deserve it, will help them achieve this goal.  I challenge each of you to try a little kindness challenge in your classroom!  It feels good to make someone smile!  A little kindness goes a LONG way!!!  

BE KIND AND PAY IT FORWARD! 

Hoot #2

We are 5 days away from meeting our chicks. We have studied all of the things that the chicks are currently doing inside the shell as we wait for their arrival. We have also been learning everything that it will take to care for them. One of the things that we learned was the body parts of a chick. We did a fun activity of tear art to reinforce labeling. The kids had a blast!

This Week's Holler...

This week's holler goes out to Elizabeth at Kickin' It In Kindergarten. I don't know about you, but right now, our class is all about word problems! We are loving Elizabeth's Wednesday Words Problems. She has them for the whole year. Hop over and check it out!

Two Hoots and A Holler

Hoot #1

We have some EGGciting news this week!!  We are hatching chicks again this year, and our eggs have arrived!  The Jitterbugs and Rockstars are the proud parents of 18 eggs.  We have been learning about chickens and oviparous animals.  The students are so excited to see how many eggs will hatch!  They will be observing and keeping an eye on the eggs during our 21 day countdown.  Stay tuned to see our chicks!  

Hoot #2 

Along with learning about chickens, we have been learning about weather.  We read the book Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs.  We thought about what we would want to fall from the sky if we lived in Chewandswallow.  Students wrote about it and created their food cloud.  They LOVE painting with puffy paint.  We mixed shaving cream, glue, and blue paint to finger paint our clouds.  They had a blast!

This Week's Holler... 

This week's holler goes out to Rachael at Sweet Sweet Primary.  With science becoming more of a focus in our state, we LOVE her science stations ideas.  We can't wait to use her ideas in our classrooms.  And her ABC countdown to Summer is just TOO PRECIOUS!  What a neat idea!!  Click below to go to her blog to check it all out!! 

 

Two Hoots and A Holler

Hoot #1

WE HAVE CHICKS!! This has been a wonderful experience for the children (and us too)! This week the students have ran to the incubator every time they hear a noise. The first chick that hatched was honored by the name Rockstar Jitterbug. He is spunky and loves to jump right in your hand to cuddle.

The students reaction to our new friend was priceless!

Derek was so excited, he made his very own chick at home and brought it to schoool! JaVaughn loved it so much that he begged me to take a picture of him standing next to Derek's chick!

Hoot #2
The end of the year is near, and testing season has begun!  Kindergarten students have already taken their state test, and we are SO proud of how much each student has grown this year!  In order to keep things as normal as possible during this busy time of year, we have to get creative!  Students love technology, so we use that as a reward daily for growth and behavior.  They have worked so hard this year, and they deserve a little break from the norm.  They are allowed to have free time on the computers and tablets, which means they do not have to do a certain program picked by the teacher.  This has been the best reward EVER! They share and work together so well!

 

This Week's Holler...
Hop on over to check out The Kindergarten Connection!  This blog has a team of wonderful people, each with their own specific job to help make this blog full of creative and fun learning activities!  One of our favorite reads from this blog was the Mother's Day activities since Mother's Day is just right around the corner.  They also have lots of items for sale on Teachers Pay Teachers.  Several have already been put on our wish list!  Be sure to check them out and follow them!  You will be glad you did!