Five for Friday: What a week!

 

  

We did it! Such a fun time at the color vibe. There were tons of people and lots of color. LOL! If you have never done one, you should try it out. It would be a good introductory to running a real 5K. There were tons of people so you spend half of the time trying to get through the crowds =) 

I also hit 150 classes in jazzercise since January. The goal is to reach 150 in a year to win their prize. It is a fun activity as I really enjoy the music and dance moves. You could still try a free class in your area until May 31st! Although I am a runner, I use jazz to help with my cross training. Lots of good friends along the way too =)

 It sure was a busy weekend because we also went biking on our local towpath. We heard all of this commotion and ran into Thomas. My oldest loved him when he was little. Jax is not into Thomas like Ty but was definitely excited to see the train and his moving eyes.

 

During the last few days, there was lots of cleaning and throwing out. The room smelled like barbasol but the kids had a blast with all of the shaving cream!

 

I hate how messy our manipulatives and game shelf gets throughout the year. I literally dumped everything in the middle of the floor, put the bins out and let the kiddos work away. They did a great job! I had to reorganize a bit after they left but it is all done now =)

 

 

Our previous principal always had a great farewell for the fifth grade class. The entire school lines the hallways (we have three floors) and claps as the graduating class walks out. It is so cool! Lots of high fives and parents with tears. As always, such a bittersweet feeling seeing those buses pull out for the summer!

 

 

I always take these pics and so excited to see the growth in the boys throughout the year. They have gotten so big. It definitely was a challenging year with all of our changes. I'm praying for a smooth upcoming school year.

Couldn't forget the little guy who likes to wear his pajamas out. You know..it's one of those things not worth fighting about...especially at seven in the morning =)

 

 

So now it is time to get ready for a new school year. I signed up to take six semester hours through Dominican University. I'm looking forward to getting some things done =)

 

 

Have a great weekend!!

Five for Friday: This is it!!

I can hardly believe that this is the very last Friday of the school year. I am so excited to be spending some time quality time with my boys this summer. I also signed up for a course that I will be doing but I am hoping that I find it enjoyable. Here is how we ended our last full week of school =)

 

If you read my post last week, I showed you the first self-portrait compared to our current pictures. I did the same thing this week with their writing samples. I know the kids have made huge strides this year but I always love to see it at the end. I like the parents to understand the progress that has been made too. 

We also wrote letters to our first grade teachers in anticipation of next year! I read this on Miss DeCarbo's blog and thought my kinders could do the same thing. They came out great!!

 

 

 

I have such a funny story to share that all of my kinder teachers will enjoy.....My lil guy wanted to pack his own lunch with his big brothers the other day. He then asked my husband to write his name on the bag so he could take it to the sitter's house the next morning. My hubby wrote his name in all caps which then prompted my three year old to roll his eyes and throw his hands down in complete frustration! He made sure to tell Daddy that the letters were all wrong! He then took a piece of chalk and showed him how it is done. I loved it! Already using proper upper and lowercase letters in his name =)

 

At this point in the year, we are all scrambling to finish up. I gave the kiddos our wall paper book to make some decorative flip flops with in helping to add some detail to our writing prompt.

 

Part of the curriculum in Third Grade is learning the history of your community. Kyle's entire grade made a wax museum and he was the tour guide. It was darling! They made all parts of the town from the 1800-1900s with lots and lots of boxes. When parents came through the museum, they would tap the child and he/she would tell about their history. Very cute!

 

So excited to be running in the color vibe this weekend with a group of girl friends. We did it last year for the very first time and had a blast! Looking forward to some fun girl time =)

 

Have a great weekend!!

Five for Friday: One more Friday to go!!!

 

 

So this is my favorite activity of the Kindergarten year as I love to see the growth they have made in their fine motor skills! On the first day of Orientation, the kiddos have to draw me a self-portrait so that I can study them for the first day of school =) I keep these in a special folder tucked away until we use them in the last weeks of school in making their final portrait. I laminate them after they do a writing activity on the back about their year in Kindergarten (friends, special classes, likes, etc.). I think they are a wonderful keepsake!

 

I was so excited that our school supplies arrived because my new bookshelf came. Woot woot! I am always piling my books up on a table that get buried under everything else so I'm thrilled I can put the thematic ones on display =)

 

I absolutely loved this cartoon as it hit the nail on the head! I feel like I can barely tread water in August/September but am swimming in October. Heck , by January, I am golden! I definitely treasure April and May when it all comes together and you hear those sentences being read fluently. I love Kindergarten for that very reason.....it is the foundation of all things! You are teaching/reviewing the letters, developing sounds, reading words, and putting them into sentences. Everything they need to have in their educational careers =)

 

We made our lil graduates and I have to admit that I think I am going to keep them! The kids did such a great job that I want to have them on a bulletin board welcoming our new kinders in August.  I had them tell one thing they were proud of accomplishing this year. I liked the last one because you hope there is fun along the learning path too!

 

 

We have hit the last few weeks of school which means there are hardly any supplies left in the building...including tissues. I usually have the kids use a tissue when they use the dry erase boards. I found a bag of pom poms in my cabinet so I hot glued them to the markers for easy erasing. I don't know how long they will last but it was worth a try. We were working on fix it up sentences in preparation of our writing =)

 

Have a great weekend!