Friday, May 27, 2011

A goodbye from the heart


Translation for those of you who don't read kinder-writing for a living :)




"I love kindergarten and Mrs. Anderson's class. I will miss you very, very much. I promise that I will visit you every year and I will see your new kindergarteners and how much you teach them like us. I hope that you have fun!"

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Fire safety


Student: "I can stay safe from fire by not playing with mattresses."

Me: "Do you mean matches?"

Student: "Oh yeah!"

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Playing pretend


I just overheard the most hilarious "pretend" game... 

Girl: "Mr. Anderson! Where is Frankie?" 
Boy: "Oh no, don't tell me he ran off again..." 
Girl #2: "Maybe he went to school!" 

Tyson and I have officially become characters in their game -- oh my! :) Too cute!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

From the heart


This gave me a big smile last week. 2 Fruit Loop necklaces wrapped up for my husband and me -- definitely a giftfrom the heart!  



Oh... and the "AAF" inside the hearts is for "Mr. Anderson, Mrs. Anderson, and Frankie." Cute!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Look, Mrs. A! They're moving!


Our kindergarten classroom got a very exciting package in the mail this week... our CATERPILLARS! The kids could not be more excited, wide-eyed, or curious about our 5 new "classroom pets."



We have been learning about living things, what they need, and how they change and grow in science. This is the perfect culmination of life science in our classroom. We have 5 new friends, but one is very little. It has been a great "teachable moment" to discuss why this might be a disadvantage and how he might not progress the same as the other caterpillars. I love their honest opinions of the world around them. They have few misconceptions -- they are simply little minds ready for growing scientists.

One of the highlights of this week was naming our caterpillars. Because kinders have an impossible time "voting," we had to do a modified version. Each student gave me one suggestion for names and I chose five from the list. One student could not think of any name except for his own name -- ha! :) We ended up with Harry, Larry, Poppy, Tulip, and Tiny.


We made a "word bank" poster and posted it above the caterpillars. We brainstormed a list of words that would help us write about or write letters to our caterpillars. The kids now visit this station during literacy workstations and they have done the sweetest writing ever. I am simply in awe of not only their interest and curiosity in these little creatures, but also their kindness and consideration.


My students can't WAIT to watch the caterpillars grow, form cocoons, and turn into butterflies. And I can't wait to watch my students. It is truly a blessing.