Merry Christmas

"Oh deer" it looks like Christmas!  Have a wonderful winter break!  READ!

We all need a hug

Posted with permission from a fellow teacher.  The author is unknown.

We have no words

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

FROM OUR "GRIZZLY TRIBE" TO YOURS HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Final Day of Red Ribbon Week

The last day of Red Ribbon Week we dressed as our favorite book character.

"Don't be a "character" be drug free!

This Week

RED RIBBON Week:
Grizzlies received an outline for the week of activities.
Plan to participate each and every day.
Reminder:  Monday TEAM UP AGAINST DRUGS wear your jersey and jeans
                     Tuesday ROCK AND ROLL THE DRUGS AWAY dress "50's style"
                     Wednesday PUT A LID ON DRUGS wear a silly hat
                      Thursday ROUND UP AGAINST DRUGS cowboy/girl attire
                      Friday CHARACTER AND DRUGS DON'T MIX dress as your favorite storybook character (No Halloween costumes or masks - book character only)
Friday will be our "Trunk or Treat" day after school.  This is hosted by our GFFA group and everyone is invited.  Please send a bag of wrapped candy to your class.  Bring your Grizzly dressed and ready to get treats from 4-5 Friday.  When the candy runs out it is over, so please send candy our way and make sure your student has a bag or some kind of container to put the treats in.  We had a great time last year, but the candy ran out QUICKLY!

This will still be a week full of Kindergarten work!  Our "Eye Can statements" will cover:
READING/LA speaking in a complete sentence
                      writing a complete sentence with capital letter and punctuation(making sense with beginning, middle and end)
                      writing our own name correctly
                      knowing the difference between a letter and a word
                      phonological awareness of EVERY letter of the alphabet(capital and lowercase)
                      reading expository text
MATH patterns 
             extending patterns
SCIENCE heat
                   continue the 5 senses
SOC. ST.  location
                  locating authority figures
HEALTH fire safety
KIDS OF CHARACTER cont. RESPECT and begin RESPONSIBILITY (OUR CLASS WON THE RESPECT CERTIFICATE! YOUR STUDENT HAD A FREE FOOD ITEM FOR THE RAINFOREST CAFE IN THEIR DAILY FOLDER!) YEA! ...and one of  our very own students name was randomly selected to sit on the stage and have lunch with all the administrators Friday!  See if you can find out who SHE was????!!!

Parent conferences were wonderful!  THANK YOU for sharing your students with me and for coming to discuss their progress.  Continue to read for 20 minutes EVERY night.  Reading can be by the parent, by the child or even by an older sibling.  Three ways to read a good book? 1.  Read the pictures 2.  Sound out and stretch the words 3.  Retell the story from your "smart brain"

GRIZZLY T-SHIRTS STILL ON SALE before and after school.  These are worn every Friday for Spirit Day! ($10) Available in the office.

EACH CHILD 
EACH DAY
SUCCESS!
                      

Meet and Greet

Yesterday I posted that we have a new principal and guess what? Yes, I misspelled her name.  Way to go K teacher.  Anyway the GFFA group will have a "Meet and Greet" with Patty Bustamante Thursday, October 4th from 5 to 6 p.m.  What a great way to meet the newest Grizzly!  Parents and friends of Gilbert please come and welcome her to the campus.  
Each child, each day, success!

New Beginnings

Hello Grizzly Growlings!  It has been a long time since I have blogged on you!  Our new Grizzlies have entered with a bang not a whimper!  Our class size has dwindled to 17 at the present time.  We are working on many new skills.  The computer will become our testing vehicle this year.  The world is going "green".  Less paper...more hands on than ever before.  Goals are set and headed for the STAAR.  
Kinder parents need to be aware of the limited homework policy which means YOU and your student are to read at least 20 minutes EVERY night.  There will be plenty of opportunities to accomplish that goal.  Writing first and last name with capital and lowercase letters in their proper place is quite a task for us at this time.  We all have busy schedules, but Kindergarten is the foundation to school success.  We still live by the motto, "Each child, each day, success!"
Be sure to become acquainted with our new Principal Ms. Bustamontes and our new Vice-Principal Ms. McDougal.  Give them a hearty Grizzly welcome. 
We really need EVERY parent to join our Parent/Teacher group GFFA(Gilbert Faculty Friends Association) $5 for the entire family and for all your students if you have multiple students.  Grandparents are welcome to join also.  All money and events help our school.  So join!
The first Six Weeks of school is coming to an end.  Ask your Kinder Kid every day "tell me at least one thing you did or learned today(besides eating breakfast, lunch and recess)."
We are on a rapid pace and a new journey together, and together we can accomplish all our goals!

Before school ended for the year we fell in love with this book!  Remember to read this summer and don't be a pout pout fish!

It is the first day of summer vacation for me! We had a great Grizzly learning year and now it is time to say, "LOOK OUT FIRST GRADE HERE WE COME!"  I hope you remember to read ALL summer long and you have a great beginning with the books the IISD gave you.  The public library always has summer reading fun programs so remember here at Gilbert...
EACH CHILD, EACH DAY, SUCCESS!  Have a wonderful summer! Everything I ever needed to know I learned in Kindergarten. (Robert Fulgham)  Love 'ya, see 'ya, bye! 

Exciting Surprise

Mr. Crotty surprised our class this morning by inviting us to Dr. Bedden's 10 @ 10!  We were entertained by seeing Clifford the Big Red Dog, the Cat in the Hat, and Dr. Bedden our superintendent of schools.  He (Dr. Bedden) read two books, "The Pigeon Wants a Puppy" and "Clifford's Joke Book".  The Cat in the Hat read "Green Eggs and Ham" in Spanish and English.  Our friends from Ms. Easterling's class and Ms. Morales class were there also.  It was so exciting and thrilling.  We were full of enthusiasm for reading all afternoon.  Tuesday each student will receive free books to keep practicing their reading skills for the summer.  What a fun way to kick start summer reading.  Enjoy!  Each child, each day, success!

Listening to the Cat in the Hat read:

Listening to Dr. Bedden read:

Say Cheese!:

Celebrate Good Times Come On

It is time for Celebration!  The Kindergarten Grizzlies are getting pitch perfect and excited to share all their songs and accomplishments this year.  Remember the Celebration begins this coming Thursday, May 31st in the Grizzly Cafeteria at 8:30 A.M.  Each Kindergarten student should wear their fancy/best attire and smiling faces.  Please bring Grandma, siblings, family and friends to our end of the year presentation.  Each child, each day, success!

Here's a "preview" of things to come...

Extreme Weather continued

The glasses and lab coat are what we use as "Scientific Investigators"!  The videos may be hard to hear, but the students did an awesome job!  Talk about each child, each day, success...there it is!  Thank you so much for following and allowing me to share their successes!

Extreme Weather Presentations

                               Tornadoes seem to be the most interesting weather phenomenon!

Each child, each day, success!

More Celebration News

Parents, Grandparents, friends you will all want to take the day off from work and come attend the Celebration.  It is truly our big deal for the year.  There is singing and celebrating and having that feeling that the these students have matured and are ready for bigger experiences in independence.  It will be a very big deal to your Kinder student.  Make every effort to attend and then plan a time to celebrate with your family and friends.  Remember it gets to be standing room only.  We applaud every class and stay until ALL STUDENTS have received their diploma. The students go the extra mile and dress in their very best.  Suits and ties, fancy dresses, Sunday best. Please try to wear slacks no jeans or shorts and as the girls call it "foo foo" hair, shoes and bows. Looking forward to every parent as the children stop when receiving their diploma and "pose" for a picture.  It is disappointing not to have someone there for your student.
First Grade here we come! "Start spreading the news!" Get those cameras charged up. Be in the cafeteria by 8:30 we begin promptly as lunch and other classes are going on!


Each child, each day, SUCCESS! (17 DAYS TO GO)

Celebration Correction

Kindergarten Celebration date has been moved to THURSDAY, MAY 31st, from 8:30 A.M. to 10:00 A.M. in the cafeteria.

Super Science

Time flies when you're having fun and learning.  We wrapped up our plant unit by performing the experiment where the students observed celery and a white daisy turning red!  Can you see how we learned more vividly what a stem does for plants?  We also became stems ourselves by sucking up the nutrients (water) through a stem (straw).  Ask your super scientist  what a stem does, and just for fun who observed us during our science time.  What a great experience we had!  Today the proof was there!  Our daisies had taken on a reddish tint and the celery stalk and leaves were reddish too!  One courageous young man went and got Mr. Crotty to come and "check it out, it worked!"

Each day in Kindergarten is truly amazing!

Each child, each day, SUCCESS! (We are counting the days to First Grade!)  Check your calendar and be there for your student on CELEBRATION DAY, Tuesday May 29th.

Growing Seeds

WELCOME BACK GRIZZLIES!

What a great Spring Break and now...back to work!
Our kindergarten objectives for the week:

Math

1. Use one to one correspondence and language such as more than, same number as, or two less than to describe relative sizes of sets of concrete objects
2. Count by ones to 100 by 1's, 5's, 10's and 2's
3. Fractions 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/3
4. 3-D Geometrical Shapes 
5. Math in real-life situations with emphasis on addition and subtraction

Science

1. Make predictions based on observable patterns in nature.
2. Plants, observe how plants grow
3. Animals, what animals need to survive 
4. Living vs. Nonliving

Social Studies

1. Obtain information about a topic using a variety of valid oral sources such as conversations, interviews, and music
2. Sequence and categorize information 
3. Express ideas orally based on knowledge and experiences
4. Communities in the past and communities today 

Language Arts

1. Continue practicing our syllables as well as our letter sounds
2. Identify upper case and lowecase letters
3. Identify different parts of a book
4. Discuss purposes for reading and listening to various texts (e.g., to become involved in real and imagined events, settings, actions, and to enjoy language).
5. Monitor and adjust comprehension (e.g., using background knowledge, creating sensory images, re-reading a portion aloud).
6. Follow pictorial directions (e.g., recipes, science experiments).
7. Write rough drafts in order to get our thoughts in order 
8. Retell important events from a story
9. Use knowledge of letter-sound relationships to decode regular words in text and independent of content (e.g., VC, CVC, CCVC, CVCC words).
10. Use descriptive words to describe an object 
11. Learn how to use a dictionary

                                The "Bean" Experiment

                          It did sprout! (most of them)

                                     The Growing Song

Each child, Each day, Success!

Spring Break

It is almost here...Spring Break!  We have the fever in Room 13! (Spring Fever)  Trying to continue learning when the weather is nice, the plants are blooming, and the birds are singing...well you get the idea, we are very ACTIVE and LOUD!  Even with the break please read for 20 minutes nightly.  Also be reminded that March 11th SPRING FORWARD with your clock. Which means we all loose 1 hour of sleep!  Daylight Savings Time begins again!


Have a wonderful break with your precious students and remember...each child, each day, SUCCESS!

Diversity Fairytale from the Academy

Students from the Jack Singley Academy came today to present a cultural experience called, "Diversity Fairytale".
The students seperated our class into groups of five.  The girls from the Academy gave a skit about how to work together no matter what part of the world you come from.
The Kindergarten and First grade students made their own flag, created a "costume" for one student and named their country.  It was a fun way to learn about our diverse world.

Open House TEXAS STYLE

"There is a state in which I live and TEXAS is it's name oh, T- E- X- A- S repeat x 3 and TEXAS is it's name oh!

There is a town in which I live and IRVING is it's name oh, I-RV-I-N-G repeat x 3 and IRVING is it's name oh!

Open House Thursday night was a wonderful experience.  Our Texas study was finished and the students got to show off their excellent work  to their parents, grandparents and friends.  Learning never stops.

Each child, each day, success! 

Some photos of the night:

Great job Grizzly Cowboys/Cowgirls!

Got to love those Kindergarten Kids!  I am so proud to say we are all on the "Wise" team!

Why We Are Always Busy Learning

This past two weeks we have been busily working on skills and performance indicators.  We did have a great experience Thursday of having our class picture made!  What a challenge for the photographer to get some very active K kids to focus ALL AT THE SAME TIME and smile for the camera!  It was great!  We are excited to see the results.

If you should ever wonder why I cannot keep up on postings for Grizzly Growlings...perhaps this would give a clue:

Math

1. Use one to one correspondence and language such as more than, same number as, or two less than to describe relative sizes of sets of concrete objects
2. Use sets of concrete objects to represent quantities given in verbal or written form (through 20).
3. Use numbers to describe how many objects are in a set (through 20) using verbal and symbolic descriptions.
4. Count by ones to 100 by 1's, 5's, 10's and 2's
5. 3-D Geometrical Shapes 
6. Math in real-life situations with emphasis on addition and subtraction

Science

1. Make predictions based on observable patterns in nature.
2. Identify events that have repeating patterns, including day and night.
3. Record and organize data and observations using pictures, and words.
4. Study the sun and other stars 
5. Finish and wrap up performance indicators for science.

Social Studies

1. Identify contributions of patriots and good citizens who have shaped the community
2. Obtain information about a topic using a variety of valid oral sources such as conversations, interviews, and music
3. Sequence and categorize information 
4. Continue working on timelines on historical figures such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. Christopher Columbus, and Stephen F. Austin.
5. Express ideas orally based on knowledge and experiences
6. Create and interpret visuals, including pictures and maps. 
7. Learn about President's Day and the presidents we celebrate during that day as well as who our current president is.

Language Arts

1. Continue practicing our syllables as well as our letter sounds
2. Identify upper case and lowecase letters
3. Identify different parts of a book
4. Discuss purposes for reading and listening to various texts (e.g., to become involved in real and imagined events, settings, actions, and to enjoy language).
5. Monitor and adjust comprehension (e.g., using background knowledge, creating sensory images, re-reading a portion aloud).
6. Follow pictorial directions (e.g., recipes, science experiments).
7. Write rough drafts in order to get our thoughts in order 
8. Retell important events from a story
9. Use knowledge of letter-sound relationships to decode regular words in text and independent of content (e.g., VC, CVC, CCVC, CVCC words).
10. Use descriptive words to describe an object 
11. Learn how to use a dictionary

Please continue to work with your students at home.  Reading 20 minutes every night, math facts adding and subtracting to ten, and asking the question, "what did you learn today?"  Thank you for all you do to support us in this journey called Kindergarten.  Our class count says 63 days until I can say, "I AM A FIRST GRADER!"  Yes, we keep that goal in mind all the time.

REMEMBER:  EACH CHILD, EACH DAY, SUCCESS!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

What is the best place on earth to have a Valentine celebration...?  Kindergarten of course!
Valentine baskets, coffee cup for the teacher, chocolates, flowers, teddy bears, and lots of
 L-O-V-E!
Not to mention when you eat your sucker boys have mustaches and girls have ruby red lips.
Fun times for everyone. (Yea it's over)!

Also we had a "surprise" visitor bring cupcakes...Mr. Wise!

WE ALL SAY THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO, ESPECIALLY ME!
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY FROM THE KINDERGARTEN GRIZZLIES IN ROOM 13!

Officer Brockett

Officer "Friendly" Mr. Gary Brockett gave our combined classes his informative talk about police officers.  His main objective is to keep us all safe, therefore he had a presentation about what to do in case "you" (students) see a gun.  Thank you officer Brockett!

1. Stop!
2. Don't touch!
3. Leave the area!
4. Tell an adult!

Groundhog Day

We read about predictions and groundhog day.  We decided that we would make our own predictions and then record the data.  Here are our results:

100 collections

Student/parent project: 100 Collection

Helpful Student Link

Starfall

Starfall is a website I use in class mostly because of its great math activities and reading.

 A link to the page can be followed below. 

 It is especially great for addition and subtraction which every student needs more practice with as well as books being read to, by and with the students.  Check it out!

http://www.starfall.com/

100 DAYS!

100 Days of learning! ... Math, Reading/Language Arts, Writing, Science, and Social Studies

Each student, each day, success is the goal of Grizzly Land.  We try to accomplish what the state and local school has required of us, we need all the support and help our families can give us also.  Kindergarten is a team effort...we appreciate the love and support we get from our families.  Enjoy our attempt to sing about our 100 days and remember their teacher never wanted to be heard!

EACH STUDENT, EACH DAY, SUCCESS!

We Owe A Thank You

Mrs. Mercer our room Mother decorated our door for Christmas and we liked it so much it stayed for all of January.  We owe her a great big "THANK YOU!" for doing this for us.  The kids enjoyed looking at themselves as snowflakes every day since we had hoped for just a few real snowflakes in December or January.  Thank you so much Mrs. Mercer!