Okay.... we all say this..... "Where did the time go?" But this week, I REALLY, REALLY mean it! First of all, my youngest son (my baby) just graduated from college on Friday. It just seems impossible to think that all my children are grown up and able to fend for themselves. It is a bittersweet journey.... I am sooo proud of my kids - all of them! The years that I had with them at home was the best gift that I could have been given. All the track meets, cross country meets, t-ball games, baseball games, Halloween costumes, proms, Homecomings, Brownie meetings, Boy Scout meetings, family vacations, homework help, college visits..... ALL the time that I gave my children was worth every millisecond and I am thrilled with that fact! But, when your children are grown, you realize that your continued journey through life has changed forever and it is a hard fact that we must let go and appreciate the gift that we were given. So... as my youngest son is beginning his journey, I am saying good-bye to a part of mine......
Also...... Where did the time go with this school year? We have 16 more days of school left and it seems like these little kinders just entered my classroom! As with my children, I am so proud of the accomplishments my kinders have made! They are all reading at some level. They all have a wonderful number sense. They are able to create such beautiful projects and they are trying to get along with one another and be peaceful kids. I am proud of THEIR journey and can hardly believe we are close the journey's end!
This week we are in our Farm unit. I feel that it is so important that children know where their food comes from, so instead of focusing on farm animals and barns, I like to focus on crops and their products. So this week, we talked about corn, soybeans, and wheat. We discussed the parts of the plant and how it is grown and harvested. We talked about the Community helper, the farmer, who works on the farm and the tools that he/she uses. This coming week, we will talk about animals on the farm. I do not discuss the fact that we eat animals. I know that many teachers will disagree with me, but I feel that children will learn soon enough that we eat animals, so I don't make this a part of my unit. Instead, we discuss dairy products, eggs, and wool.
Our butterflies emerged from their chrysalis this week! What fun that
was to watch! Because I think it is important for my kinders to go
home in the summer with some knowledge of the wildlife they will see,
they are making a field guide of Backyard butterflies and Birds these
last few weeks of school. Here are pictures of the real Painted Lady butterflies....
Here are some fun pictures of a few of the butterfly sketches they made for their Field Guide.
Here is the preview to my butterfly and caterpillar unit, but this is something that is easy to set up yourself! Just Google butterfly images and have your students copy them!
Until next time!!
Blessings, Cindy
Some new products that I have been working on lately are my "Four (or Five) Fabulous Math or Literacy Center" packets. They have all been tried out in my classroom and so they are definitely child tested. I have been working really hard to create products that are based on the Common Core Standards for Math and Literacy. Of course, since I teach kindergarten, those are the standards that I use, but many of them can be used for early first grade, too. I have been trying to keep them easy - just print, laminate, and put into a center. We use math tubs in our kindergarten, so I put all pieces inside a tub and they are good to go. I have 4 math tubs because I usually use Monday to do a large group math lesson. Inside each math tub is a new game or activity and a review game. Most of the time, my centers match the science or social studies theme that we are studying; but sometimes I like to throw in a theme just for fun! All packets can be stand alone resources; you do not have to be studying the themes to use them! My newest packet it Five Fabulous Robot Math Centers featuring the cutest robots from Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs. 
Here are 2 resources to do "just for fun" with the educational purpose of working on writing! I received some feedback from someone who purchased my pirate pack and although, she said she loved it, she was disappointed that I did not provide a pattern for creating the pirate. Well.... although I DO understand the frustration of not having a pattern, I prefer giving my kiddos step by step illustrations for creating something and then giving them the opportunity to do it their way. I would LOVE, LOVE feedback from some of you as to whether I should provide tracing patterns in my How to Draw packets......
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