Do you SEE what I see ?

Did you know we have a treasure chest ? It is a decorated chest that we let the children get in when they do something special or their behavior is extraordinarily good. Today they ALL got in the chest for the first time. Ask your child why !

Orrin got glasses out of the treasure chest .

I want Ms. Bethany to be good at EVERYTHING we do so today she did small groups.

We have had an exciting day today. We had our first walking field trip. I want to say that this group was BY FAR the BEST " field trippers" we have had in a long time. They obeyed all the rules we talked about before we left. Parents, you would have been so proud of them. We had 14 with us and they walked into the hospital SO QUIET and respectful. ( " There are sick people and babies that need to sleep in there." We saw Kat's new baby sister . Her grandma greeted us in the hallway and was so excited. I actually had chill bumps thinking of the day I will be with my daughter to have a baby - IF, that day ever comes. :) What a joy to help this family celebrate today. Kay was SO excited. If course, when we got home the "baby business " ensued. We had babies being born all over the house. I heard one little girl saying her " mom found her in a trash can." I laughed, she knew it was a joke and who hasnt said that to their little one a time or two when you dont know how else to answer the question. If you want some help or information on how to answer that question for your little one - click HERE.

When we take walking field trips we learn safe ways to cross streets.

Kingston playing a Brown Bear letter tile matching game.

What would we do if we could not see ?

I had to show off Dillion's journal today. Awesome writing buddy !

MUFFIN TIN MONDAY ! And yes, several of them DID eat the brussel sprouts.

Today was a Monday... and it was A GREAT DAY!

Farmers Market

This morning I loved walking in the quiet room and the boys are there writing on the chalk table without any prompting. YAY! BOYS!

A few of the toys on the morning tables.

For small groups today we did sticker stories. I put all our stickers out on the table and explain to the kids that we are going to use the stickers to tell a story. I started out with one myself. The kids loved going through the stickers. Not only is this a great literacy activity but also fine motor as they try to get those stickers off the backer sheets. This was a lot of fun. Some of the kids stories were really great !

What was also exciting was they way I saw them use them later in the day. The girls here set up another reading area and "read their stories to each other. "

I had to brag. I found this one the floor. I first posted it on FB and I didnt know who's it was. After we all got together as a group , I asked the kids. Geneviette said she did . I asked her how she knew how to spell spring and she said " well, I found a piece of paper with the word spring on it and I copied it. " NEVER.. under estimate the power of a child centered classroom that refuses to use worksheets or flashcards to teach. These kids can and do excell !

We also went to the Farmers Market today to see how some farmers sell their " goods." We met a bee farmer and he showed us a bee house and how they harvest the bees. We got to taste a spoon full of honey. We saw flowers and vegetables and even got to taste some cookies. For lunch we had a salad made from the greens we bought there.

Going back home....

A good day.

Kindergarten Tour

Today was the day that we go to tour the kindergarten where the older kids will go in the fall. I have six that will be moving up.

First thing this morning we were greeted by Emeri's pet !

Mr. D met us outside, he is the counselor.

We went in the library !

The computer room !

We peeked into Mrs. Fox's room.

We met the music teacher.

The gym is awesome. It has a climbing wall.

We met the art teacher !

We sat in Mrs. Freking's room . They were acting out a story that we know called " The Little Old Lady Who Wasnt Afraid of Anything. "

In Mrs. Freking's room the kids sat on balls. I plan to email her and ask her opinion of how she feels this works.

Mrs. Braun met us in the lunchroom .

After getting back home we stayed outside to practice our program for Friday night. We had to take a break to watch the tree limb truck come by and pick up some large limbs. I love this picture of all my little farm hands peering over the fence. While I was gone Beth ( Cohens mom ) and Mary ( Williams mom ) played outside. The kids said they had fun playing with the parachute. Thanks girls !

To little cow pokes....

This is a good example of how I teach letters.

P is for Pig

Randy and I were out in a worksampling training all day. Worksampling is an online assessment tool. But.. I do know what your kiddos did today!

Today the kids were read " If you give a pig a pancake" while they ate pancakes marked with a P on the top in red. The also got to chose a topping - pineapple, peanut butter, pecans , pears, peaches or powdered sugar. Do you see a trend here ? PPPPPPPPP!!!!!!! They also got cook whip but ... well, that was just for looks and taste.

During small group the kids made pigs from playdoh and graphed which topping they liked the best for their pancakes.

Circle time was a reading of " The Three Pigs " and acting out the story. This activity is good. It demands story recall and sequencing.

Another one of our friends became a big sister yesterday. Again, since the hospital was so close Devin and Jodie walked the kids over to help Malia celebrate. I think one of the moms came along to help ! Devin said " the walk went well. Malia was so sweet and proud to show off her new baby. It was so cute. "

Life in a small town is good. Really good.

After nap I think they might have watched a little of Charlotte's Web.

I am thankful for workers that make me feel totally confident that everything will be ok when I need to be away.