Christmas Presents

Now that Christmas has passed, I can share what we made for our parents this year 

As an adult, I love looking back on the things I made for my parents when I was a child. My hope is that these keepsakes make my students and their families smile and share a memory whenever they place it on a tree AND hopefully when they are older it will make them smile! 

For the christmas tree, parents volunteered their time to paint the popsicle sticks. My teaching partner laminated the green and brown construction paper and assembled the ornaments. The children used q-tips to paint the "ornaments" on the tree. We used their school picture so they could be reminded of what they looked like in kindergarten years from now!

The Rudolph ornaments were the students' handprints. I glued the lighter paper onto darker paper and cut it out to give it a more polished look. I laminated the paper. While I was watching Christmas movies at home, I glued on the eyes; nose; and ribbon.

I let the students wrap the presents and create gift tags for their parents. The students were so excited about the whole process. It's so exciting to hear the students take pride in the gifts they get to give their parents on Christmas!

Number Order Game

In kindergarten we focus a lot on numbers.  The newest math game we have been playing is putting numbers in order. It's an easy game that you can play at home. If you don't have playing cards, you can make cards with paper. I like the cards I have for the classroom because there are pictures with one-to-one correspondence to match the number on the card.

What you need to play:
Cards (I used the numbers 0 -10 but you can use higher numbers if your child/students are ready)
Optional
A paper to record results.

How to play with 1 person:
1. Pick 4 cards
2. Arrange the cards in order (I had them do smallest to largest.)
3. Record results (optional)
4. Shuffle cards
5. Repeat

How to play with 2 people:
1. Each person picks 2 cards
2. Arrange the cards in order (I had them do smallest to largest.)
3. Record results (optional)
4. Shuffle cards
5. Repeat

Here are some pictures of my kindergartener's playing the game. They love smiling for the camera!   

                                     

                                    

                                    

                          

Save The Worms

I try to see every moment I'm with my students as a teachable moment. 

A few weeks ago we went outside after it had rained. 

A sweet little girl in my class came up to me to show me her new friend.

I told her that she could save the worm's life if she put him back on the grass. 

Some of the other students heard me and ran around the blacktop looking for worms to save. 

They were very concerned for the worms. It was a very touching moment for me. 

It was one of those moments that will stick with me for life. 

This is one of the many reasons why I love my job. 

I work with 24 amazing children every day!

                 

            

                                    

Don't forget to let the children in your life teach you a lesson every now and then. 

They are wiser than most people give them credit for.