Winter Wellness Day

Today we celebrated Winter Wellness Day.  This is a FANTASTIC way to send kids off on vacation.  It involves LOTS of moving and just being kids.

We had a morning assembly, made trail mix for a snack, moved to Zumba, and made bird feeders.

Students also worked as a team to build a snowman.  It quickly turned into a dragon and we used our bird feeders as the teeth and spikes!

We also spent the afternoon taking a nature hike on the bike path.  Students spotted deer tracks and even found this log shelter in the woods.

The kids thought it was the LOOONGEST walk ever (but really it wasn't).  Since they were SO tired I found a spot for them to slide down.

The last photo had be cracking up.  My kiddo came right down the hill and landed on his belly.  He got up with snow on his face but was ready to go again.  The entire walk back, the kids would find more clear spots to slide down.

We had so much fun today and the kids said it was the best day.  

Have a restful vacation!!

The LONGEST Blog Post and a Giddy Teacher

So I'm quite giddy tonight.  I came home to find out my husband had bought me a NEW Mac Pro.  My school laptop had to be sent away to be fixed and lets just say I've been quite cranky lately because I haven't been able to create!!

I think he wants me to get back to work!!

SooOoooo...if you have time, sit back and see what we've been up to the last two weeks.  This post will have LOTS of pics!!

We learned a lot about penguins.

Penguins Can, Have, Are

Penguin Facts and Number Stories

We've also been learning about Matter.  Our focus has been solids and liquids.  The kids sorted different types of beans and even built towers with everyday materials.

We've completed  some winter writing.  We wrote what we'd do if we were stuck in a snowglobe and students wrote steps on "How to Build a Snowman."  I used Ivory Flakes and the kids helped me measure the ingredients so they could create their own snowmen.

I consider myself to be quite crafty...but not in the sewing department.  I was looking for a way to cover my windows and here's what I came up with.  My grandmother gave me a quick lesson (which was quite comical) on how to do a straight stitch.  I used tension roads and have a ribbon attached to the larger window fabric so I can roll it up.  I think they came out cute and I LOVE the fabric!

We also celebrated the 100th day of school!!  Wow, the excitement over the number 100.  The kids went to each first grade class and completed activities.  They exercised, stamped, made Cheerio necklaces, put together 100 piece puzzles, and made their portraits of what they'd look like at 100.

The kids completed Eskimo Math.  They predicted, tallied, and recorded how many bites it would take to eat a Klondike.  YUM!!  Students also had to describe what it looked like and how it tasted.  Let's just say, they ENJOYED this activity.

And last but not least...I introduced Brown Bag Book Club last week.  This is when kids get together with a buddy and share a GREAT book they've read during the week.  They fill out a quick worksheet, share their books, and eat a snack provided by me (that's why they have the brown bag).

I hope you haven't fallen asleep yet but I had so much to share!

Happy 100th Day of School

Have you ever used Oldster?  This is one of the funniest apps on the IPad that I've seen.  Here I am at 100.  I'm still lookin' pretty good, right?  I'm sure that's all natural hair color and not from a bottle.  Of course I took pictures of the kids too...not just of me!

Today, we celebrated the 100th day of school.  The kids rotated to each first grade classroom and had an activity to do.  They exercised, put together 100 piece puzzles, stamped, made Cheerio necklaces, and made portraits of themselves at 100.  We had a BLAST!!

I have SOO much to share but I still don't have my laptop back.  I know when I do get it back, I'll have the longest post ever.

I'm beginning to fall into the state of being of feeling really relaxed and not consumed with work but I have a list of things brewing up that I want to get done.