Another year gone.... Happy and Sad Feelings.....

Hello Friends,

1.  Well..... We had our last day yesterday. My classroom is all packed up and ready for summer cleaning. I have to say that the day was bittersweet. It was sweet because I now have time to get caught up with all those things that have been pushed to the bottom of my "to do" list. It is sweet because, although I really like writing lesson plans, it will be nice for awhile to NOT plan a day for a group of 5/6 year olds. It is sweet because I can get back in my garden and re-visit all my flower "friends". It is sweet because my brain has time to re-boot and I can walk away from standards and goals for awhile.

2. Another SWEET thing about the end of the year..... I had an awesome room parent who made me feel appreciated every day... Here is my end of year gift from my class... Everything in the bucket was orange. I kind of messed it up a bit when I was looking through it, but here are some of the items inside: orange slices candy, orange tic tacs, Reese's peanut butter cups, an orange gift card to Barnes & Noble, cute orange pinwheels, an orange scented candle, orange post it notes, orange straws, and kiwi orange gum....

3. I also received this precious gift... The children each decorated a wooden heart with markers. The hearts were glued to a picture frame. And.... yes.... I only had 12 kids this year... and yes..... I know that I am lucky..... and no..... this is not usual.....  :)

4.  I got this sweet idea from Katie Mense at Little Warriors. 

     Using wonderful clip art from Mel Lloyd From the Pond, I created an Avatar class picture. It was so much fun making it and a nice gift that the KIDS enjoyed as well as the parents!

5.  Finally.... the bitter part of the last day..... Saying good-bye to these little sweeties.  I saw them every week for 6 hours a day. We cried together. We laughed together. They learned from me, but I learned from them, too. The relationship that we had will never be quite the same. I am SO happy to send them on to first grade, but it does hurt my heart to see them go....... but.... that's part of teaching... the closing of a door in May and the opening of one in August.....

Take care,  my friends and make sure that you visit Doodle Bugs Teaching at Five for Friday!

Until next time,
Blessings,

Graduation Kids Craft

Hello Friends,

I thought that I would share a little craft that we did with our kinders today and...... I want you to know that I am not taking credit for the idea. We found it at the website of Welcome to Room 36.)  I teach in a K-8 school and our kindergarten and 8th graders "buddy up" throughout the year doing projects and activities together. It is such a wonderful experience for both our little ones and the BIG eighth graders. Our 8th graders graduate early, so we had a fun outdoor picnic with each other and then the 8th graders brought their yearbooks to our kinders for them to sign - so CUTE to see this interaction. Before the 8th graders came down with their yearbooks, our kinders created a card for them. 

 

Now.... this card took a LONG time to make, but it turned out adorable.  I made quick tracers for the craft that you can use. I made them quickly, so they are not perfect; but maybe they can give you a foundation for the creation of the graduation kid. Click HERE for the templates.

If you receive a message asking me to share this with you, your school is probably blocking your download. Try downloading at home. The link is set for public, so once you are away from school, it should work.

We added this to the inside of our cards, but you could add anything. Just attach writing paper to the middle and write! 

Until next time!

Blessings,

Ocean Zones, Scuba Diver Craft Freebie

Hello Friends,
We finished our Ocean unit this past week. We do Ocean a little different from a "normal" kindergarten unit. We actually study the layers of the ocean starting with the seashore and going all the way down to the Midnight Zone. My kinders LOVE this unit! It has everything they love - mystery, excitement, sharks, whales, sea "monsters"..... It's a fun unit. As we study each ocean zone, the kids make a book; each page getting progressively darker to symbolize the light in each layer i.e. the seashore is light blue, the sunlit zone/open ocean is medium blue, the twilight zone is gray, and the midnight zone is black. Even though my kiddos live in the middle of corn and soybean country, they can tell you what lives in those ocean layers and that my friends is one of the reasons why I am a teacher!

Here are a few more photos....

 We  made these cute scuba diver crafts/ writing activity at the conclusion of our unit. We discussed the difference between snorkeling and scuba divers. We talked about what we would see if we went under the sea. They look really cute hanging in the halls!

I have this little freebie in my store that we used when we did this scuba diving activity. I plan to revise it this summer, but it still has everything you need to do it!

So that's it for now, my friends...

Until next time,

Blessings,

Ascension of Jesus Craft

Hello Friends,

We made this cute Ascension of Jesus craft. Simply use a box cutter to make a slice in the top of a cup, tie a piece of yarn to the end of a paper clip, thread the paper clip through the top of the slice, and attach Jesus to the bottom of the yarn. I had a cut out of Jesus in my religion book, but you could easily Google "Jesus clip art" and copy/paste the image into a PPT document. Then print it upon card stock paper. My kids used clear tape to attach.Decorate the cup with pretty colors and cotton balls. Kids pull Jesus up with the paper clip... Jesus ascends to Heaven! Easy peasey!

 If you do not have a printout of Jesus, simply Google "Jesus template". Print upon cardstock and cut out.

Until next time!

Blessings,