Where?
Apr 05
Today during Sharing, Joey decided to tell the class what he was doing over our Spring Break, which doesn’t happen for another week. “I’m going campin’ on the ‘cation,” he blurted out. Now, during Sharing, it’s common for me to comment or ask clarifying questions. “Joey, where are you going camping?” I wondered. This wasn’t a place I...
Drum set.
Apr 02
We had an assembly today. It was a good one, but it was on the loooong side. Like over an hour long. Which is never good for my sprouts. Sitting more than fifteen minutes is hard. Well today, to help out, I ended up with a drum set. Let me explain. If I notice a kid getting restless (usually a boy), I motion for them to come sit next to me (we’re on the floor). I then rub or pat...
Chickerella.
Mar 29
Yes, you read that correctly, Chickerella. She showed me just how important and powerful our Fairy Tale unit has been. We started with Cinderella and ready many versions… even Dogerella, but I had never heard of Chickerella. Until yesterday, when Maria, a little girl who is just learning English, came running over to me during Library. Waving the book in her hand, her smile was...
Rhombus.
Mar 23
The other day, we were reviewing shapes. For some reason, most of the shape names aren’t too tricky. Circle – well we all know that. Square and Triangle too. Rectangle can be challenging, but a little explanation of the two short and two long sides usually does the trick. It’s the darn Rhombus that gets us every time. Back when I was a kid, we just called it a...
100th Day!
Feb 11
Well, it really doesn’t get much better than the 100th day in kindergarten. It’s kind of like Christmas, Valentine’s Day (coming Thursday!), and the Fourth of July wrapped into one. Well, it is in my class anyway. I used an entire bottle of glitter to make this for the doorway: We sang our hearts out. We sang the 100th Day song by Jack Hartman and while we didn’t...
America!
Feb 05
At bus time (seriously, the best stuff happens at bus time), I was talking with a boy about his plans for Spring Break. He’s going to Mexico to see some family and we were talking about how he’ll get there (according to him, a plane, a bus, and then a boat). Well Ernie, always full of hilarity, chimed in with, “Mr. _____, I’ve been to America!” Well who am I to...
Radar.
Jan 22
Here’s a quickie for you. Today at bus time as all the kids were in the hallway getting ready, I walked out to check on my friends. I turned towards the kindergarten classroom next door and spotted Mrs. C. – my new kindergarten teaching partner, with something in her mouth. Somehow, don’t ask me how, I knew it was something good. Walking towards her I whispered, “What...
Free Hugs
Jan 18
I have a ‘Free Hugs’ t-shirt and wore it to school a few weeks ago. I didn’t think much of it. My class loved it and over this last week, a few of them have been asking me to wear it again. Yesterday, one little boy came out and just said, “Mr. ______, please wear the ‘free hugs’ shirt!” So today, I wore it. This morning, as they...
Martin Luther, Baby!
Jan 09Today we made our Martin Luther King models. They are so hard, but also so much fun. I show the kids a finished model and then quickly free cut from construction paper to show them how to make the shapes needed for his face. I then projected a super size photo onto the SmartBoard for them to look at while they worked. I’m lucky I had a helper from third and fourth grade at every...
Guess What?
Jan 07
I am pretty sure my school’s cafeteria doesn’t serve coffee… or Red Bull, and I’m pretty sure the ravioli wasn’t spiked, but you’d never know it after hearing Joey talk to me during Center Time. Of course he was interrupting my conversation with another child. Of course he spoke faster than one of those supersonic trains in Japan. Of course he is still learning...
