Astronauts, Valentine's Day, and Snow Days!

Oh my! I apologize for neglecting my little blog! It's been a while since I've posted. I am taking advantage of having another snow day from school to try and get caught up with my "to do" list which of course has blogging on the top of the list!

Last month my students learned about outer space. I wish I had more time to spend on this unit because they loved it! They learned about planets, the sun, the moon, and of course astronauts! My students and I made an astronaut anchor chart. I appreciate Mrs. Williamson for her example: http://mrswilliamsonskinders.blogspot.com/2011/05/space.html.

The children made cute astronaut pictures thanks to Kindergarten Nana:

http://dbsenk.wordpress.com/2011/05/15/outer-space/ 

 

 

 

Our unit last week was Friendship/Valentine's Day. We made a chart titled Friends and from that made sentences for our "Shared Reading" time. The students each drew a picture of themselves with a friend. I was so proud of their work! They each cut out a heart and wrote a sentence about friendship and glued them onto their papers. Here are a few examples:

 

 

Next week I will continue 3rd quarter assessments. It's hard to believe it's almost March! Soon we'll be starting to get ready for Kindergarten Graduation!

 

~ Lisa



 



 

 





 

Thankful for an Award Nomination!

I was nominated for a Liebster award! I received this award a few months ago, but I hope it's okay that I accept it again! The rules given to me are different than I had before, so I thought it would be fun to participate again. It's always fun to meet new bloggers!

The Liebster Award is given by bloggers to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. It is to show new bloggers that they are appreciated and to help spread the word about new blogs.

 



Thanks so much to Kristen from Kinderpillars for nominating me for this award! It was a nice surprise!

The Rules:

~ You must post 11 random things about yourself.

~ Answer the questions that the nominator set for you.

~ Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.

~ Choose 11 blogs you love with less than 200 followers and link them in your post.

~ No tag back is needed, but please leave me a comment on this post with the URL to your Leibster post so I can learn more about you!

 

11 Random Things About Myself:



1. I am a Christian and can't imagine going through this life without my faith in God!

2. I am very happily married to my husband Tony. He's perfect for me!

3. I have two grown children, Clayton & Jessica. Also, my husband has 2 grown daughters.

4. I am blessed to have grandchildren! It's fun being a Nana!

5. I am 50 years old!

6. This is my 9th year as a certified teacher and I love teaching!

7. I have lived in 7 states, Japan, and England. I currently live in Missouri.

8. I love cats! My cat's name is Molly.

9. I enjoy playing the piano, reading, watching movies, and blogging.

10. I love Pinterest!

11. My favorite TV shows are Parenthood, Grey's Anatomy, and Private Practice.

 

Here are questions asked by Kristen:

1. What grade do you currently teach?

I teach Kindergarten!

2. Where did you grow up?

Cabot, Arkansas ~ I lived there the longest while growing up.

3. What is your favorite color?

Burgundy

4. What is your dream vacation?

Traveling around the USA with my husband!

5. What is your favorite school break?

Summer break is the best!

6. Who is someone you look up to?

I look up to my mom. She has always been an inspiration to me. No matter what comes her way, she always stays strong and relies on God to help her.

7. What did you do before you started teaching?

I was a secretary, handled accounts payable/receivable, payroll, legal secretary, family day care provider, and Head Start teacher.

8. What do you like to do in your "spare" time?

I love spending time with my family, camping, hiking, reading, and of course blogging!

9. Where is your favorite place to shop?

Hmmm, this is hard to answer! I like a few places like Christopher & Banks, JCP, Target, and Hobby Lobby.

10. Do you drink coffee?

Yes! I usually drink a cup or 2 in the mornings. Occasionally I'll drink it with a yummy dessert too.

11. Are you a morning person or night owl?

I'm definitely a morning person. It seems the older I get, my bedtime gets earlier. I usually go to bed by 9:00!

 

Questions for my nominees:

 

1. What grade do you currently teach?

2. If you could teach a different grade/subject, what would it be?

3. How many years have you been teaching?

4. Give your teaching philosophy in one or two sentences.

5. Name one of your favorite children's books.

6. How many students are in your class?

7. Have you started a new "program" in your school this year? Please explain.

8. What is your favorite candy?

9. Do you use Pinterest and have you created anything inspired by Pinterest? Example-recipe, craft, school decoration, posters, etc...

10. Do you have a pet? What is it?

11. What do you like to do in your "spare" time?

 

Here are some blogs I am nominating for the Leibster Award:

http://cathedralkindergarten.blogspot.com/ - Charlotte’s Clips and Kindergarten Kids

 

http://co-kindering.blogspot.com/ - Co-Kindering

 

http://kindergartenbliss.blogspot.com/ - Kindergarten Bliss

 

http://gracehopperlearning.blogspot.com/ - Grasshopper Learning

http://smartkindercookies.blogspot.com/ - Smart Kinder Cookies

http://misschambleeskinderfriends.blogspot.com/ - Miss Chamblee’s Kinder Friends

http://theteachersbackpack.blogspot.com/ - The Teacher’s Backpack

 

http://cobbkindersprouts.blogspot.com/ - Mrs. Cobb’s Kinder Sprouts

 

http://krazee4kindergarten.blogspot.com/ - Krazee 4 Kindergarten

http://kindergartenkidlets.blogspot.com/ - Mrs. Mindy’s Kindergarten Kidlets

http://kindergartenlovesme.blogspot.com/ - Kindergarten Love

 

I'm looking forward to learning more about these bloggers! Thanks again to Kristen from Kinderpillars for nominating my little blog! :)

 

~ Lisa

Stone Soup and Turkeys!

Hello! It's hard to believe how fast this month is going by! I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and has a nice break from school! I am enjoying the time off and spending time with family. I am so thankful for the blessings in my life! Of course, this time of year most of us reflect on things we are thankful for, but wouldn't it be nice to count our blessings everyday?  Psalms 92:1 says, "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord..." The last day before our break, I asked my students to tell me and the class something they were thankful for. Their answers were so cute! I almost cried when some said they were thankful for "ME"! :)

Here are a few activities my kindergarten kiddos enjoyed last week:

• Stone Soup - Our kindergarten classes got together for our annual Stone Soup day on Monday. We read aloud the book Stone Soup, watched a video, and made a graph of all the vegetables used for ingredients to make the soup. The soup cooked all day and everyone had the opportunity to taste it during our snack time in the late afternoon. It tasted so good!
• Here's a link to a summary of the book: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stone-soup-marcia-brown/1100222926 The children really enjoyed the story and all the activities. Here are a few photos.

           

 

Marlana, from http://lilcountrykindergarten.blogspot.com/ is one of my co-workers. She is so creative! She made our "Stone Soup Evaluation" sheets and an emergent reader for our kiddos!

• Turkeys - I read lots of books about the first Thanksgiving, Pilgrims, Native Americans, and of course turkeys! The kiddos really enjoyed making turkeys out of their hand prints! I encouraged them to add details to their pictures and they were so creative! I'm not sure who the author is for the poem attached to their artwork, but I thought it was cute! It's probably a familiar poem to many of you too.

 



I would love to hear about your lessons/activities you had with your students! It's been fun being a part of the blogging world and I am thankful for the opportunity. Of course, I still have lots to learn and maybe someday will create products like so many of my friends on TPT! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, products, activities, and ideas with me!

~ Lisa

Wordless Wednesday!

 



Limeades For Learning!

It's that time of year again for Sonic's Limeades For Learning promotion! Sonic has funded LOTS of projects on Donor's Choose.org in the past few years and they are starting another promotion September 24th! If you haven't used Donor's Choose, I recommend it! I have been blessed with 16 fully funded projects in the last 2 years. My students have benefited greatly by receiving books, learning centers, an easel, book cart, art shelf, audio books (with CDs), personal CD players, Leap Frog Tag Readers, and a lot more! Here's a link to my projects:

http://www.limeadesforlearning.com/teachers/view/436259/teacher/844903

http://www.limeadesforlearning.com/teachers/view/436259/teacher/867101

Please vote daily for my projects on: http://www.limeadesforlearning.com/
It's FREE and easy to vote. Let me know if you have a project, and I'll vote for you! Also, there will be stickers with codes on the packaging of food or drinks you buy from Sonic. Save the codes and you may apply them to teachers' projects. Please help spread the word to your family, friends, and of course fellow bloggers! :)

Thanks!

~ Lisa

Heather's Heart Wonderful Contest!

Hi everyone! Heather's Heart is having a fantastic contest! Her blog is wonderful and I have learned lots of great ideas from her. Just go to her blog and check it out for yourself! It's easy to enter her contest too! Help spread the word! :) ~ Lisa

Cute Customized Stamp!

I am so happy to have a new customized stamp from PJ Greetings Company! Here is a link to their webpage:  http://www.pjgreetings.com/default.htm
A few weeks ago I won a contest from Ms. Nelson's blog! I used it for the first time today on some of my kiddos' papers. They loved it too! :) If you are looking for a new stamp or a gift for somebody, I recommend their company. They also have lots of other products. Thanks again Miss Nelson! If you haven't checked out her blog, I recommend it! :) It came in a cute pink bag:

Here's a close up picture. There are lots of ink colors available. I chose navy.

Let me know what you think! I love comments! :) ~ Lisa