WOW!! Thank you!!

CaliforniaTeachingCredential.org

We are beyond speechless to have been chosen to be a part of such an AWESOME group of kindergarten teachers who share their thoughts and ideas through blogging! Thank you Donna, from kinderglynn for letting us know about such an honor! We truly feel privileged to be able to say that we were even put in the same group as the other blogs that were given the award. We look up to those of you who design and write those blogs. You all have been our inspirations! Thank you, California Teaching Credential!!

2010-2011 School Year.....DONE!

Well yesterday was out last day with our students! They are officially 1st graders now! I can't believe the year is over! It really has flown by! At the beginning of the school year we had our children write their name below the sentence "This is how I write my name on the first day of kindergarten". Then they drew a self-portrait. Last week on day 175 we had them write their name again at the end of this sentence "This is how I write my name on the 175th day of kindergarten" and they again drew a self- portrait! WOW! It was amazing to see how they had grown in their handwriting as well as their drawings! We did not have arms coming out of our heads or legs coming straight out of our necks!!!!!! We also weighed and measured our children at the beginning of the year and took their picture. Yesterday we weighed and measured them again and took new pictures! We could not believe the changes! When you see your children daily, their physical growth sometimes goes unnoticed! Some children lost weight as they grew taller and some gained weight and height! Most of all, we noticed how most of them did not look like babies anymore but young children! Bittersweet! We sent the pictures with their height and weight home to parents as well as the handwriting and drawing activity! We hope each will take the time reflect on just how precious these children are and how fast they grow up! To all of our new first graders....we hope you stay as carefree, silly, and happy as you were in the short time you shared with us! We love each of you so much!

Mrs. Hutter and Mrs. Wildman

Teachers Pay Teachers Store OPEN

I have just opened my store on Teachers Pay Teachers! YEAH!!! I only have 2 things posted rightnow but am working on a few things to start the new school year! Please check my store often by clicking on the Teachers Pay Teachers badge to the right! Happy Shopping!

Room Mom Gifts

We had some great room moms and volunteers this school year! We wanted to show them our appreciation and decided to give them a little heart felt gift. In the past, I have given my room mom a canvas tote bag and I decorated it by using the student's thumb prints to make butterflies, bumble bees, and lady bugs. This year I decided to use flesh colored paint and use sharpies to add each child's eye color and hair color. I also added glasses or freckles if the child had either. I tried to put some of the girls hair styles as pony tails. Each student's name is under their thumb print. We are having our class end of the year party on Monday and we plan to give our gifts to our room moms then. Only 4 more days of school with our kinders and then one work day and then it is time for our annual BEACH trip!! Woo hoo!!

Count Your Blessings

Last week, the beautiful state of Alabama was devastated by several tornadoes. The storms were the most fierce in history. One of the tornadoes, which was over a mile wide, stayed on the ground from Tuscaloosa to somewhere in Georgia. The death toll is over 250 in just Alabama (other parts of the south were affected, too) and there are still hundreds missing. Many schools will be closed until further notice. The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa cancelled finals and postponed graduation until August. High schools, middles schools, and elementary school students are being bused to other schools. Thousands of people lost EVERYTHING in several towns. Tuscaloosa, Cullman, Pleasant Grove, Pratt City, Concord, are just a few.

We live about 20 miles south of Birmingham. Our area was not hit. Shelby County schools were let out at noon on the day of the storms. Families in this area spent most of the afternoon and evening in their safe places glued to radios and televisions. Now, grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, children, etc. are trying to pick up the pieces and salvage even the smallest trinket that they can find among what looks like toothpicks but is really their beloved homes.

The outpouring of love and support is the one bright spot in this tragedy. People from all over the country have come together to help people dig through rubble, get much needed supplies, and find places to sleep. Can you imagine what it would be like to not even own a toothbrush anymore? I know I can't! But, this is exactly what thousands of people are going through right now.

Our school is doing a "Fill My Bucket" project. One of our teachers got "Home Depot" to donate enough 5 gallon buckets for each class. The students are bringing in supplies to send to these people in need. Many organizations are filling 18 wheelers with everything from diapers to work gloves. Some of our stores are out of or running low on bottled water and the such. Which is WONDERFUL! Facebook is full of opportunities to volunteer. Tickers are going across the bottom of the tv with information on where to take your donations, locations of shelters, and the like. It does your heart good to see everyone pitch it!

So, when you eat your dinner tonight, brush your teeth, and snuggle into your warm comfy bed, count your blessings, even the smallest ones! HUGS TO EVERYONE!!

Kindergarten Crayons is having this awesome giveaway! We just love all of Fran's great ideas! Hop on over and check out the details! You will be glad you did!

CRAZY!!!

It has been FOREVER since I have posted anything! Just haven't come up with anything blog worthy lately. We have been using a lot of everyone's awesome ideas in our classroom. Thank you all for sharing!

Today was our 150th day of school! Yes, only 30 more school days left in the school year. Can you believe it? Seems like it was just last week that all those little 5 (a few 4) year old babies walked into our classroom for the very first time. We could not be more proud of the progress they have all made.

This time of the school year is B.U.S.Y.!!! And that really is an understatement. Our school has so much going on right now. Here is a list of some of the happenings that make our lives a little more crazed right now:

Boosterthon Fun Run ~ if you aren't familiar with this, it is a HUGE fundraiser that 100s of school across the Southeast participate in. It all starts with a very LOUD and fast paced "pep rally". There is music pumping, beach balls bouncing, frisbee's flying, and kids screaming. The guys that work for Boosterthon show the kids all the prizes they could win by getting people to pledge an amount per lap that they run. Then they give all the students a lanyard with their pledge booklet attached. The students come out of the gym so hyped up and thinking that they are going to win all the prizes. Then everyday until the actual fun run (which isn't until next Thursday) a Boosterthon representative comes into your classroom and gives out prizes to the kids that brought in new pledges. You can imagine how the kids that don't have pledges feel when they don't get to take home silly bandz or a foam rocket. It is a big money maker for the school and each teacher gets 10% of what their class raises. The kids are in a frenzy over it!!

School-Wide Art Show ~ Each child has art work hanging in the hall that they completed in art class and the school is opened for the families to stroll through and see the art. That is tomorrow night.

Children's Theater Field Trip ~ We will be going to see "Beauty and the Beast".

Field Day ~ Kindergarteners really don't have any idea what to expect on this day. We have lots of water stations. There is also a lovely station where the kids pull their teacher in a plastic sled. I used to always get paired with a size 0 teacher to race. SO. NOT. FAIR! We get to enjoy this day next month.

Those are just a few of the distractions we are dealing with. And there are only 30 more days to finish teaching, make Mother's Day gifts, do assessments,fill out end of the year paperwork, etc! Starting to feel a little bit overwhelmed....