Due to security purposes and district policy, I am no longer allowed to post on my class blog. :( What a sad sad day! Thanks to those who followed my class!

Class volunteers!

On Wednesday we had volunteers come to Newell from Central Catholic. We were lucky enough to have two in our classroom. They helped up with our stories, watched us build words, listened to us read and helped us make our Valentine's Day bags. Thanks to them for coming!

How to Blow a Bubble...

The students published their how to stories and then created a self portrait of them blowing a bubble. Way too cute!

The kids practicing how to blow a bubble.

Snow Day!

Christmas Plays!

Students worked hard the two weeks before break at creating their own plays. It was so fun to see them work together to create a play of their own. The last day of school they presented their plays to the rest of the class. They were all so different and very creative.

Santa Visits Newell!

The kids got soooooooo excited when Santa came to visit our classroom. He let each of them ring his strip of bells and of course he handed out candy canes.

Christmas Party!

Eating all the yummy treats that parents brought.

Playing musical chairs!

Making snowflake ornaments!

Thanks to Mrs. Sindelar for planning and organizing our Christmas party. Also, thank you to all the parents who donated napkins, drinks, and treats. Without the help of parents this would not have been possible. The kids really enjoyed the fun time with friends!

Class Tree!

All the decorations they made at Stuhr we placed on our class tree. In addition, they made a few extra that the pioneers may have made back in the day.

Stuhr Field Trip!

Students making paper chains.

Stringing popcorn that we later put on our classroom tree.

Students all worked together to pop popcorn using Old Betsy. They even got to eat it when it was finished.

Braedon was the example of how men shaved.

Calling for the cows before we headed in to the cabin.

This field trip is definitely a memorable one for students. They learned about pioneer living and their Christmas traditions. I took soooooo many pictures but it would take me eternity to post them all so here is just a sneak peek. The kids really enjoyed their visit!

Math!

With the new math series it is very seldom that we get to do a lot of hands on activities so we try to integrate them when we can. The kids had fun reviewing patterns this week. We have been working on picture and numerical patterns.

Skate Night!

Braedon and Caden!

Abby doing the Hokey Pokey!

Brady and Braedon!

Pat on the Back!

Students reading all their compliments.

Students excited about what their friends wrote to them.

This is my ALL TIME FAVORITE character lesson on caring. Students have a paper plate taped to their back and they go around and write nice things about each other on their plates. Sometimes it is hard for us to express how we fell about others so this is a perfect way to say what we need to say. It is so fun to see them reach out to each of their friends. It is definitely a bucket filling activity.

Mmmmm my favorite meal...

Each student drew their favorite meal on a plate for their pre-write. This was my example! I love eating my Grandma's meatballs, cream corn, and mashed potatoes.

The stories students created were full of many WOW words. I hope they took time to share them with their families. They also had amazing voice in them. They definitely made me hungary!

Christmas Program!

It is so fun to see the kids all dressed up and ready to sing for their families! I was so proud of how respectful they were during the performances and they sang their little hearts out.

Character Chain!

We have been focusing on the character trait of caring this month as a school; however, within the classroom we are still working on using all of them on a daily basis. Students are able to earn a character strip based on a character trait they are caught doing. Our chain has almost reached the floor! Hopefully we'll start having students point out good character in their peers starting this week by giving out the strips themselves instead of me.

Thanksgiving Poetry!

Students paired up with a friend and picked a Thanksgiving, fall, or turkey poem. They practiced it and then shared it with the class focusing on expression, smoothness and pacing. They were so fun to listen to!

Can you guess which gourd is mine?

Students each got to pick out their own gourd and use vivid details to describe what it looked like. Then, when everyone was done students traded papers with a partner and had to figure out which gourd was being described. Some of the kids did such a great job describing their gourd that their classmate was able to figure it out! It was such a fun project to end the week!

Maps!

Students have had fun looking at various types of maps. They have been looking for a key, grid and symbols.