Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Right Around the Corner....


Wow, Thanksgiving is really right around the corner.  This year has really been flying by.  We've been having a blast doing Thanksgiving activities and crafts, but my absolute fa.vor.ite is this adorably colorful turkey.   I really have an addiction to scrapbook paper.  But I just love how they turned out, each one so different and so stinking cute.


And they made the cutest bulletin board!  I just love them! 


We also had a "layover" in learning about apples.  I started by giving each child an apple half and we counted seeds.  We read books about apples, we made homemade applesauce in the crock pot (nothing beats that smell!), and we made applemen.  They turned out just adorable.  AND they went perfectly with the hanging laterns I already had up for my space board.  Woo!  I just love when it works out like that.


We officially have 5 1/2 more school days until Thanksgiving break!  Not that I'm counting or anything.... :)
 

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

VETERANS DAY

I AM SO PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!  I seriously get teary eyed just thinking about it.  I live in a military town, and sadly I've seen first hand how de-sensitized they can become.  But, I hope we all take a few moments out of our lives to sincerely thank a veteran (or two or three) for his or her service to our magnificent country.  Let's never forget that there are sooo many men and women today who bravely chose to enter the service out of love for their country, knowing exactly what it meant to do so.  I am so very thankful, and I have tried my best to show that to my class this week.  Friday is not just a day off.  It's special!  So, we made these as a tribute to our veterans (many of whom are the very parents of children in my class.....and my very own husband). 
 Got this cute idea from Babbling Abby!
They sure do make for a messy door, but I think I can take it until Thursday.  I told the kids that they could take them home Thursday and give it to a veteran.  Many of them will be giving theirs to their own dad.  :)  So sweet.  What a blessing to live in an area full of such awesome and selfless men and women.
THANK YOU VETERANS OF ALL AGES FOR YOUR INCREDIBLE SACRIFICE FOR THIS AMAZING COUNTRY OF OURS!  AMERICA WOULDN'T BE WHAT IT IS TODAY WITHOUT YOUR SERVICE AND GOD'S BLESSING! LET'S NOT TAKE IT FOR GRANTED.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

HELLO NOVEMBER!

Whew.  I made it through October.  Not that I don't love October, because I simply adore it: the leaves, the break from the crazy North Carolina summer heat (!), the smells, everything.  It's just been a bit of a doozy of a month....class-wise.  Don't get me wrong.  I. love. these. kids.  They totally have my heart!  I am so crazy attached to these guys already.  BUT (and isn't there always one?)  they have been pushing my buttons a little much lately.  It all started with a field trip, followed by a long weekend, followed by my being absent and having a substitute.  Isn't that just a haunting combination?  Plus, I introduced "even and odd" and counting by twos last week, and it didn't go so well. 



On the plus side, we had a blast on our first field trip.  We went to Neuseway Nature Center and Planetarium.  These are my girls. :)  Doesn't this photo just drip personality? 

We also tried out some awesome new math tubs (thanks to Cara Carroll and Babbling Abby). 

Also, we had a great time learning about bats.  We read the nonfiction book BATS by Gail Gibbons, and we made a class list of interesting facts about bats.  Then we made our own bat, and each student got to choose 4 interesting facts they wanted to include.  This was our result:



Pretty dang cute, if I do say so myself.  Then we read the fiction book STELLALUNA by Janell Cannon.  This is so stinking cute.  We just loved it.  I definitely recommend it.   


Happy November!! :)