Beach Party!!

As you can probably imagine, we had lots of fun today at school during our Beach Party! The music was jumpin' and the food was fine and plentiful! The children were ready to get to the beach as soon as they walked in this morning. (Some were actually a little disappointed when they found out we were only using our imaginations :o) )

We also started making our personal ocean murals after reading some more of Graeme Base's The Sign of the Seahorse. Although some of the vocabulary is a bit challenging, the words rhyme and they like that. Ask your child about Pearl, Corporal Bert, Finneus, the Grouper fish and his Shark henchmen. We have spoken about how the Grouper is a bully and a bucket dipper. We have also been talking about pollution and littering as we read the book.

More ocean tales next week!

Enjoy the pictures and your time with your family this weekend.

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Shamrocks and Shaving Cream

As I was frantically preparing final touches on my lesson plans last Thursday morning (which included adhering rubber bands to those cute little St. Paddy's Day visors your children brought home last week) I heard faint sounds of Irish music coming from somewhere. In an instant, the glorious music of my ancestors was right outside the door. As I peered outside, there, right before my eyes, was a leprechaun (Mr. Jenne is such a great sport!) posing with the Foisy Family and Company for a picture. Thank you to the Foisy's and Clan for the festive Irish tunes they provided the children and adults at Lawrence Ave. last Thursday! What a magical treat!

I think we had some Leprechauns visit our room too...our toilet water was GREEN! And look at the pictures my hidden camera caught before I got so school...

Later on that day, our Kindergarteners enjoyed their Shamrock Slurpies (lemon-lime soda with a scoop of sherbet) in the KIVA. I wish I was there to take pictures to share!

I am sure you are wondering where shaving cream fits in here. Well, today was quite fun in our classroom. Not only did we get to enjoy the 3rd graders perform their annual (which is an interpretation of Rudyard Kipling's The Elephant's Child, but we got to get "down and dirty" as well. I think it's safe to say we all had fun playing in shaving cream at our tables. Each child received his/her own dollop of cream to spread around the table in front of them.

Now, mind you, this was my first "solo" attempt at the shaving cream activity. When I was a very rookie teacher, I was a teaching assistant in a kindergarten classroom where the teacher did this activity. Let's just say I think I gave my students too much of the white stuff today! They did a great job writing their names, letters, sight words, etc. in the shaving cream. Some of them decided their chairs needed a little cleaning too.

And where are the pics, you ask? I left my camera on my counter at home! I promise to get pictures next time. Because there WILL be a next time. Talk about engaging every student...they didn't want to stop!

Enjoy the day! And thank you for sharing your child with me!