A Very Special Week

Last week was filled with so many exciting and different events. Where to even begin?

Let's start with Monday. We kicked off the week with discussing Earth Day and how we can recycle and reuse things that we normally just throw away. There's a children's book called Not a Box and it's about this bunny who takes a box and imagines it is all these different things--a spaceship, a racecar, a buiding, etc. During our morning meeting, I took a bunch of recycled items from our trash bins and had each student take an item, think of their own creative way to reuse it, and tell the class their idea: "This is not trash, this is _____."

This is not a box, this is a monster!

This is not a bottle, This is a fire hose.

This is not a box. It is a Angry Bird!

This is not a container. It is a jail cell.

This is not a box. This is a basketball.

The class and I learned all about the sun, the moon, and different constellations from a special guest visitor, Mrs. Sue. She set up something called a Star Lab and we all got to go inside this huge tent that magically transformed into night. I wanted to try taking a photo of all the stars lit up, but flash lighting in a dark tent just doesn't work.

We learned about the different moon phases, and what waxing and waning means.

Later on in the week, we learned about birthday constellations and drew our own.

I told the kindergartners that a very long time ago, people didn't have books to read at bedtime so instead they looked up at the night sky and made up their own stories using the stars. We put ourselves in their place and each student wrote a short story of their own using their birthday constellations. I emphasized to the class that all stories have a beginning, middle, and an ending. What they came up with was so incredible and so imaginative! They amaze me more and more every day.

On Earth Day, the kindergarten classes and third grade buddies went outside to help pick up trash. The kids were surprised that there wasn't a whole lot to pick up and some were almost bummed out. We talked about how everyone at our school must take diligent care of our outside learning areas because they recycle and throw garbage away rather than littering. That's something to be proud of!

We had a very special lunch with Dr. Warner for collecting the most box tops in March. The kids felt like such royalty and I spent some time beforehand teaching them how to use good etiquette and table manners.

Not only did we get to share a special lunch together on Wednesday, BUT then on Thursday we had a pancake breakfast with the finished maple syrup (boiled at Wazupi Farms) from our own Jeffers Pond maple trees! The verdict: DELICIOUS!

I know it is not the end yet, but I am seriously going to miss my kindergarten friends. I have grown so attached to each child in my class and I love how much growth, maturity, and success they've experienced so far in school. I shared with them a page of my memory book back when I was in kindergarten and they could not believe how DIFFERENT the things I learned in kindergarten were compared to today's kindergarten. I emphasized to the class that they are capable of SO many incredible things and can do so much with the knowledge they've gained so far in school. I hope they continue to use it and grow as learners not just in my room, but beyond!