My apologies for not posting sooner than this. It has been a very busy Spring here at Lawrence Avenue. Since my last post, we have had Spring Break, Passover, Easter and Tas Cru in the house!

It seems as though many of you had exciting adventures over Spring Break! Whether you stayed in the North Country or traveled south, the children came back to school excited to share their adventures. My family traveled to South Carolina for the very first time during Spring Break. Although I was dreading the long car ride, I found it was more enjoyable than I had anticipated. Not only did I get to spend some quality, up close and personal time with my family, I was also able to reconnect with two of my former teachers who have retired to the area I visited. Mr. and Mrs. "H" had such a profound effect on me while I was in school! I only hope I can touch the lives of my students as they have touched mine! (They were my 5th and 6th grade teachers!...see pic.)

Mrs. Williams came in to our classroom and shared another Sammy Spider adventure with us. This time, the Shapiro's were preparing their house for Passover and unknowingly destroy the Sammy the Spider's web. Though Sammy becomes fascinated by his mother's explanations of the holiday traditions, he is repeatedly told, "Spiders don't celebrate Passover. Spiders spin webs." Following instructions, Sammy completes a new web?and participates in the Shapiro family observance after all. Using cut-paper artwork made festive with cheery patterns, Kahn depicts a contemporary human family and a mother-son spider duo reminiscent of Eric Carle's creations, complete with a review of basic shapes. We also got to taste unleavened bread dipped in chocolate. Thank you, Mrs. Williams.

Next, our 4th grade friends visited us donning their Easter Bonnets. Each student designed his/her own bonnet to mirror individual interests, etc. We really enjoyed their visit!

Finally, on Monday, April 25th, Dr. Rick Bates, professor of Literacy at SUNY Potsdam (aka Tas Cru, who participates in the North Country's Blues for Books campaign) visited our classroom and performed several of his blues songs based loosely on Eric Carle's books. The children thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Bates' visit, as did I! I ran into Rick in Saratoga Springs last month while attending the NYSRA Reading Conference. Rick was my sponsor teacher many moons ago when I was his student teach at SUNY Potsdam's Campus School. Thank you, Rick!

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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!

February 2011

What an exciting month we have had! We celebrated Valentines Day with treats, valentines and a Valentine's Dance in the cafeteria. The 100th Day of School passed us by on Wednesday, Feb. 16th.

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I hope you are enjoying your February Break! Mine has been very exciting! We have been hosting a French Exchange student (who goes home tonight). My sisters and their five children have also been visiting for the past few days. We have had lots of fun!

See you on Monday!

Teddy Bear Picnic

Well, those teddy bears were naughty again this year! We opened the door to our classroom to find those cuddly friends of ours climbing the flagpole, sleeping in our story tree, playing the computer, reading books, hanging from our cupboard doors and making messes on the rug with blocks and puzzles! It looks like they had a little party of their own during their sleep over at school.

We took our bears for a walk and then enjoyed our lunch together in the KIVA with the rest of our kindergarten friends and their teddy bear friends.

A special "Thank You" to Mrs. Marge Howe for making our day fun.

Enjoy the photos below and have a wonderful weekend...

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Where the Teddy Bear Got His Name

The Teddy Bear

1902-2002

A hundred years ago all toy bears came to be known as Teddy Bears

The year was 1902 and President Theodore Roosevelt, an avid outdoorsman, was visiting Mississippi. During this visit several members of his presidential party captured a bear cub and tied it to a nearby tree. Upon seeing this, he ordered the bear set free.

Hearing of this noble act, a New York store owner wanted to name the toy bears in his store after the president. Thus he wrote a letter to the president asking permission to name the toy bears “Teddy”. The president gave his consent and from that day on all toy bears were called Teddy Bears.

Thank you, Mrs. Howe, for sharing your special bear with our class and for joining us for our Teddy Bear Picnic!

Kindergarten Sledding Trip

What a perfect day at Parishville Park today! The snow was just right, the sun was peeking through the clouds, the children and adults were laughing and sliding! Fun was had by all.

Thank you to all who participated in our day! I am sure it will be one your child will cherish for a long time!

Enjoy the pics! I got some great shots!

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