Happy Holidays!

Ho Ho Ho....Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! To get in the spirit of the holidays, we had our very own Winter Festival. We started out with a laid back and delicious lunch in our classroom. This was followed by an afternoon full of crafts, activities and goodies. We decorated ornaments, made reindeer food, designed and ate gingerbread men cookies, and even created patterned candy canes! We ended our festival with a gift exchange. Each student brought in their "Secret Santa" a gift and then personally handed it to them on Thursday afternoon. Excitement filled the air as each child unwrapped something special. We learned that the holidays are not only about receiving gifts, but giving them as well. It was a fun time for all! Thank you to all of the wonderful parents who helped make this celebration a success!

Meet Buddy!

Be a Buddy not a Bully! Buddy (an Irish Wolfhound) and Mr. Courtney (Buddy's master) stopped by New Berlin to talk to us about the 5 Winning Character Traits and how to be a buddy to our friends and peers. Mr. Courtney and Buddy talked to us about Integrity and being truthful with our word. We also learned about being Responsible, Caring, Respectful and Successful with our actions and words at home and in school. Mr. Courtney also talked about the importance of being a buddy to our peers and how to steer clear of a bully. The students enjoyed Mr. Courtney's tips, but they were even more excited about Buddy's tricks!

We put the "FUN" in Functional!

For the last few weeks we have been working on a new genre of writing - Functional. The students have been telling how to do or make something that they are experts at in their writing. We have discussed all of the important components of a great functional writing piece that meets the Kindergarten Functional Standard - LA.1.4.2.1 The student will write in a variety of informational/expository forms (e.g., rules, summaries, recipes, notes/messages, labels, instructions, graphs/tables). They have learned how to title their work, include 4 steps or more in their piece, use transition words (first, next, then and last) and label the picture to match their writing. We have a class full of experts on many different "How To" topics! As a class we have written about How to Brush Our Teeth, Take Care of a Pet, Wrap a Gift, and even Pull Out a Tooth and many other exciting things that we know how to do. One of the students' favorite writing days was when Mrs. Callejas demonstated "How to Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich." After the students assisted in writing the steps, they went back to their seats and made their own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Here are some pictures to give you a glimpse of our "Fun"ctional Writing!

Special Delivery

On Friday, we had a special delivery from Mrs. Claus herself! Mrs. Claus and her reindeer helper (Mrs. Reese and Mrs. Stewart) paid our class a visit. They hand delivered our Book of the Month, which came all the way from the North Pole. The Book of the Month is titled "Santa's Book of Names," which is a story that combines the magic of Christmas and the importance of reading into a great tale. The students were excited to know that Santa sent his helpers down to drop off a new book to our class, as well as remind us that Christmas is around the corner and we should all be on our BEST behavior! Hold on tight...the holidays are coming quick! We can't wait!