lunch money

As I greeted my students at the door this morning with hugs and remembered how I had missed each child, the children were busy unpacking and getting settled into our semi decorated classroom and discussing each little change and seasonal decor!  During this time I try to talk to each student, give lots of hugs, and listen to their cute stories.  It is routine that they come in, get unpacked, put lunch money on Mrs. Green's desk, and start on their morning work.  Sometimes they don't remember to put their lunch money on Mrs. Green's desk or they don't have a bag with the money.  They hand it to me and then I frantically find a bag because I don't want to forget who it belongs to or lose it! 
As students were coming in a student came up and told me she had some lunch money.  I told her just to give it to me and I will take care of it.  So she handed me her lunch money....it was 3 pennies!  Not what I was expecting!  I couldn't wait to give Mrs. Green her "lunch money!"  We got a kick out of it all day!  She told us she found her lunch money in her coat pocket! 
We never broke the news to her that she didn't have enough!  At least she was trying!!!

 

t is for thanksgiving

I have so much to be thankful for every single day of my life!  I am thankful for my parents.  They love me so much and are so generous and giving...every single day of their life.  I am thankful for my sisters.  They are my best friends.  We are all so close and I am glad they love me and we can be silly together!  I am thankful for my students.  They are so sweet and I am thankful they are my first class!  I am thankful for the school I work at!  I love the Kindergarten staff and how we all get along and feel like family.  I love the other staff at the school as well.  I couldn't ask for a better school to be working at my first year.  There are so many people there who are so encouraging and uplifting.  My principal always has positive things to say and she really loves my blog!!!!  I am thankful for my relationship with Jesus.  I am thankful that I live in America.  I am thankful for life, food, and a day with family!
This morning my family got up and participated in the local YMCA 5K Turkey Trot!  We did dress up!  I was a Pilgrim, my sister Amy was a Native American, and my other sister Emily was a Turkey!  We all finished under an hour!!! 

The family after the race!  It did rain...but fun was still had by all!

We then spent the day at my cousin and his new wife's new house.  We painted and cleaned windows.  It was so great to spend time with them and help them out!  It made me feel more thankful today to do something productive and meaningful for my family!

Now...Black Friday shopping with my sis....just because!!!

brown tribe

Such excitement in the Brown classroom for the past two days!  We have enjoyed learning about Pilgrims and Native Americans and other Thanksgiving stuff.
I have a poster of Thanksgiving words.  There are several things on the poster that have other names.  We have read and talked about these in books so as we read the word I then ask what it is also known as.  One is a picture of corn.  I asked what it is also known as...wanting the answer maize...not many students raised their hand but one brave student answered...cob.  I had to laugh so hard! 
We enjoyed dancing about every day to The Turkey Wobble by Jill Gallin.  A teacher I worked with last year introduced me to this fun Thanksgiving song.  The students dance and move like a turkey and then have to hide when the farmer comes out!  They loved to take turns being the farmer! 
Growing up my mom sang a song to us every Thanksgiving...Turkey sat on a barn yard fence.  I enjoyed teaching it to my students.  I loved how they put great expressions and movements to the song!
Monday we were Pilgrims.  We made super cute hats and we learned from a book that the Pilgrims' buckles were not gold but bright colors.  I never knew that!!! 

Tuesday we were Native Americans.  We were really excited about this because I made shirts for my students to wear and we came up with different Indian names.  Each shirt had their name on the back.  I drew different symbols on each one.  We made headbands, pouches for the boys, and a papoose with a baby for each girl.  As they came in this morning their faces seriously lit up when they put their shirt on and as they watched one another put on their shirts.  I loved every minute of it!  I also painted their faces.  When they looked at themselves in the mirror they smiled so big!  They were SO stinkin cute!!!!



I tried really hard to call them by their new Indian names today!  I made them call me Pocahontas all day!  Every time they said Ms. Brown I corrected them!!!



We discussed being thankful for what we have.  Our craft of the day we made wreaths but as we did we made a list of things that each of us were thankful for.  A few favorites were...me (more A's on report cards!), the dentist, and turkey! 

We also played Pin the Tail on the Turkey.  They cheered for each child and were so positive and encouraging.  I am so proud!!!

...a little off!!!!

We enjoyed a snack and Charlie Brown Thanksgiving together with the other kindergarten classes. 

I am going to enjoy my 5 days of food, family, and shopping, but I am going to miss my kinder friends!!!  When we go back on Monday hopefully Santa will have made a stop and put a special magical touch in our room (and do away with some of those germs)!!! 

college day

As a part of our new teacher evaluation, we are to encourage and promote the importance of continuing education.  In my classroom I have several things to make my students aware of staying in school.  On the back of one of my doors I have "Oh, the Places You'll Go! Class of 2023" I have put each of their pictures inside a balloon.  They have commented several times about the door with their picture!  I have a mini Appalachian flag inside my class and a sign outside my door that says "A Mountaineer Teaches Here!" 

Last weekend I went back to Boone with my sister and some friends to watch Appalachian beat Wofford!  I knew college day at school was going to be the next week so I was excited to be back at my alma mater before this.  I enjoyed being on campus, eating with friends, seeing girls from my sorority, and cheering on the Mountaineers.  I love it up there! 

My sister and I got to put on Chancellor Peacocks championship rings!!!

We had some extra time before the game and went to the bookstore to see if there were any new good things that I HAD to have!  I was excited to find our mascot, Yosef, and a A to Z children's book all about Appalachian State!!!  I could hardly contain my excitement because it would fit perfectly into my lesson on college day!  To make things even more exciting the author was there and was able to sign my copy!

The middle of last week I introduced my class to Yosef.  Before I told them who he was I got asked a lot of questions about what he was and why was he in our classroom!  My favorite was..."Ms. Brown, who is that old man on your desk?" 

Friday I wore my Appalachian football jersey along with an Appalachian tattoo on my face (wanted to show as much school spirit as I could)!  My students asked questions about it all day!!!  Several of my students wore school shirts or colors.  I told my students a little about what college is and why I went to college.  We read the book and had a nice discuss about Yosef!  The book did a great job covering a lot of different parts of the college experience.  I hope these are positive seeds I am planting not only for continuing their education but for future Appalachian Mountaineers!!!!

Yosef is now a good friend of our class!

kindergarten building adventures

Today was a first! 

I have had an ear infection and have not been able to hear very well out of my left ear.  As we were sitting in our "pit" area with our students while we went on a virtual field trip to Plymouth, Miss Jordan and myself heard a LOUD thud!  I knew it was really loud because I could hear it with my messed up ear!  I asked her if she heard it too (making sure I was not just hearing things) and she did.  At first we just looked a each other confused for a few seconds then we stared at the back door trying to see if a student was trying to get in the building.  Nothing!  Miss Jordan said she saw some feathers!  I had to find out what it was.  I went to the back door....hesitantly....peeked out the window....and to my eyes saw a poor little bird laying on the ground...helpless! 

It wasn't dead.  In shock...majorly!  But...not dead!

We knew we had to move it before the students went out the door to go home!  I told her I was not touching it.  I told her we just needed to throw it under the tree.  She decided this was something to share with the other teachers.  We all laughed then Mrs. Campbell went to get gloves!  She was determined to save the poor thing!  

Mrs. Campbell gently picked it up, rubbed it, and was just so sweet to the poor thing.  Good thing she put on gloves because he decided to poop on her after being so kind!  I would have probably needed to do something too after flying into a metal door!
As far as we know the guy survived!  Glad the students didn't have to go out to the buses and witness a dead bird!

Maybe he wanted to join our fun in the Kindergarten building!  Everyone does!!! 

Glad we have a kind hearted teacher!!! 

Thanks Mrs. Campbell! 

  

eat more!

We have a week left before we are out for a much needed break!  We are counting down the days, and I think my students get more and more excited! 

Thanksgiving is another favorite holiday.  As a little girl I remember always dressing up as an Indian or Native American from paper bags we made at school and then once I got big enough we some how had a Pilgrim outfit that was past down. 

This is a picture of me and my two sisters when I was probably in 1st grade. 

A couple years ago my sisters and I decided that we were going to start dressing up again for Thanksgiving.  So we do!  It is a fun tradition that we look forward to.  Some people think we are really crazy, but it is pretty normal for us.  We rotate what Thanksgiving character we are each year.  This year I am a Pilgrim.  I will post a picture on Thanksgiving because I know you will be dying to see our costumes this year! 

This year I will be carrying the tradition on to my students!!!  Next Monday we will be dressed up like Pilgrims, and Tuesday we will be Native Americans.  We have already come up with names and have been working on our head dresses.  More about this soon!

I have been planning lots of crafts for Thanksgiving to do during center time.  We have been working a couple of days on one of my new favorite crafts!  I used a turkey template from makinglearningfun.com.  My students colored their turkey then wrote "Eat More ______" on a construction paper square and then I stapled it to a popsicle stick and then the sign to the turkey.  I was excited to see how creative they would be!  I was not disappointed!  Some of my favorites....Eat more hot chocolate, eat more corn, eat more pop tarts, eat more pizza, eat more hamburger, eat more cereal. 

9 days till Thanksgiving!!!!

veteran's day

I enjoyed my day off on Thursday!  I have been sick for about 3 weeks now.  It has been one thing after another.  I needed the day to rest and not be around more germs.  My students have been sick too.  This past week I had at least 4 out each day!!!  I hope this next week will be better.

On Friday our school had a special Veteran's Day celebration.  Veterans from the community and staff and student's family members were invited to be honored.  Our school has had this celebration for about 9 years.  My Dad was in the Air Force and served in Vietnam.  I was so excited for him and my Mom to come!  As they walked out with the other Veterans my students were excited to see someone they knew!  It was a great service.  The pep band from the high school came, our 4th grade choir sang, and a bag pipe player played.  I thought it was neat for our students to see a diverse group of music.  A group of students read a play and the Veteran's were treated to a special breakfast. 

The Kindergarten classes wore the cutest headbands with stars on them and proudly waved American flags.  My students were so excited to be apart of the service and hear the music and wave those flags. 

I am so thankful for my Dad and for the other Veterans who have served our country and who are currently serving!  My Dad is such a great man and I am so lucky to have such a wonderful Dad who loves me and our country!  Thanks Dad for your service, sacrifice, and love!!!!!!!  I love you!

how to...

I love that Kindergarten students get to experience a lot of firsts! I love when they start to have loose teeth! They get so excited about growing up!  I had several who already lost some before school started, and last month I had 2 lose a tooth on the same night! When a student loses a tooth, we chart it on our tooth chart, and then sing a Dr. Jean song called "Loose Tooth." It is a cute song that you get to personalize with the student's name who lost the tooth.

Friday I had a student who was so excited about having a loose tooth!!! It was very loose, and he was dying for it to come out. I told him I would pull it out, but he was not going to let that happen. My assistant and I kept on suggesting ways for him to get it out. All day I saw him showing it to another student or playing with it, and he also continually told me it hurt!  A little bit later some of the students who had already lost a tooth started to give him some guidance on how to get the tooth out! If you were interested in how to get a loose tooth out...here is how...kindergarten style!

1. Hold your chin.

2. Get tooth between fingers and wiggle it.

3. Try to pull.

4. Keep trying till it comes out!

Of course this started some major discussion between my kinder friends! I highly enjoyed listening to some of the talk. Some information you may need to know about teeth...
If the tooth stays in your mouth too long it will get rotten....this is wonderful insight from the student who lost her first tooth at the Dollar General!
Another student was real concerned about the directions he heard about how to get the tooth out. Particularly the part about holding your chin! He quickly jumped in and added not to hold your chin because if you do, then all your teeth will fall out!
He was not at school today for us to know if the tooth came out or not!  I am dying to know!!!!!!!

leaf party!

This afternoon we went outside to enjoy the sunshine and our Fun Friday snack.  We have a couple of trees that we have enjoyed watching change colors and really enjoyed watching them pile up on the ground.  Some students went to the playground to play after they ate but some decided to stay under the trees and play in the leaves.  They first began to make a huge pile then they starting squealing and throwing them in the air.  I sat in the sun close to the playground and watched them run and laugh and play.  I love to just watch and be close enough to hear their conversations.  One of my kinder friends came and sat with me for a little bit and we were talking about the weekend.  I was turning around to watch the students playing and my friend (who is always making me laugh) said, "Oh man, they are having a leaf party."  Then she jumped up and ran to join in the fun.  Never heard of a leaf party but I am glad it is the little things in life that make them so happy!!!