Under the Sea in Room 3

Here is my new theme for my newly renovated room!

Our Groovy End of the Year Celebration

The calm before the storm. Yes, before. We had so many props we had to lay them out ahead of time!

Our End of the Year Celebration was today and it was awesome! My kinders were promoted to first grade in 60s fashion, singing songs only by The Beatles.

Before the kids came out, my aide played a slideshow of the pictures I took from the year to "Help!" and "Here Comes the Sun." After, we came out to the "Graduation March."

We began with two kids reading this:

"Welcome to our groovy End of the Year Celebration. Boy, are we glad to see you all. It means we have finally finished kindergarten."

Next child:

"We have worked hard to listen, count, and read. Waiting for recess was the hardest! We are ready to rock and roll!"

The first song was "Hello, Goodbye."

Then, two more kids read:

"In the late 1950s, a band started that would change history. The Beatles came from England and the members were John, Paul, George, and Ringo. They had many popular songs and our class loved to listen to their music during seatwork and centers. Here's one of our favorites!"

The second song was "Octopus's Garden." We used handprints to make ocean puppets and blew bubbles during the bubbly music interlude!

One of my kinders read "All I Needed to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten," by Robert Fulghum.

Most of what I really need
To know about how to live
And what to do and how to be
I learned in kindergarten.
Wisdom was not at the top
Of the graduate school mountain,
But there in the sandpile at Sunday school.

These are the things I learned:

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life -
Learn some and think some
And draw and paint and sing and dance
And play and work everyday some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world,
Watch out for traffic,
Hold hands and stick together.

The next song was "Your Mother Should Know." I thought it was cute and they held up pictures of their mommies.

Then, one of my littlest ones read a poem from here:

"When I started kindergarten, I was very, very small. I have grown much bigger now. Can't you see how tall? I learned to write my name and numbers and my ABCs. Oh, I love to go to school now! Take me back soon, won't you please?!"

Of course, we sang "Yellow Submarine" and even had a captain and three sailors act out ship duties. The song ended with the construction of a 20' submarine puzzle!

My last reader read a poem from here:

Now I know my ABC's.

Colors, shapes, and days.

I sang some songs,

Learned some poems, rhymes, and fingerplays.

I played outside on sunny days,

And inside when it rained.

My little hands and feet were busy every day.

My teacher was ____.

I kept her on her toes.

She tied my shoes, combed my hair, and even wiped my nose.

But now it's time to say "Good-bye"

To all my kindergarten friends.

School is over, summer's here.

But learning never ends!

The kids held hands and sang "All You Need is Love" and during the last 30 seconds, they went around and hugged their classmates. Very sweet!

The grand finale was "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." We had a drummer, guitarist, 24 pairs of sunglasses, and 22 air guitars!

I ended the show with the Candy Bar Awards. Similar to the ones found here. They were cute and got lots of laughs and smiles.

All of the exhausting work put into this performance paid off!

My AMAZING aide and myself.

Goody bags.

I ordered this from OrientalTrading.com




Portfolios, memory books, and certificates.

Programs

Report Card Comments

My report card comments include sentences on:

1. letter recognition

2. reading

3. writing

4. handwriting

5. math

6. behavior

7. homework

For example, "Mickey Mouse has made tremendous growth this school year. Mickey has learned every letter of the alphabet and its sound(s). He is able to read simple texts and he participated in the AR (Accelerated Reader) program. Mickey’s handwriting is extremely neat. He is able to write more than four sentences with punctuation. He no longer frustrates easily when doing so. Mickey is able to add and subtract with and without manipulatives. He correctly identified pennies, nickels, and dimes. He was unable to tell the difference between a question and a statement orally. Mickey is a very sweet boy and displays appropriate behaviors in school. He has made many friends and is more outgoing. Thank you for your support with Mickey and his impeccable homework completion. I am very proud of what he has accomplished! Please continue reading with him over the summer. Good luck in first grade!"

Guess who got a Smartboard?!

I did, to my surprise! Does any one else have one? How do you use your's?


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Writing Progress

Every trimester, we do a school-wide writing prompt on our best day of school. These samples are from the same student on that same topic. In my class, I require all daily journal writing to be at least four sentences now. We are still working on varying sentence structure. :)
1st trimester student sample:



Her writing 2nd trimester:



Her writing 3rd trimester:


Back and rough draft:


Circle map:


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Coins

As money review, I got a coin purse and put some coins in it to help refresh some memories. My aide will let the kids "buy" items around the classroom for a penny, nickel, dime, or quarter. They are so excited! It's the best method we've tried!











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