Friday, December 11, 2015

The Gingerbread Man!

On the hunt for our cookies!

We found them running all around Ms. Schneider's classroom!

We captured them on a tray!



Eating them was yummy!


We read the story of the Gingerbread Man today!  When we went to eat our gingerbread cookies though we discovered they had run away.  We had fun looking for clues all over the school!  We eventually heard all kinds of noise coming from Mrs. Schneider's room and it turns out she had caught them for us and they were running all over her room!

St. Nick

We are learning about different Christmas traditions around the world!  On Thursday we learned about St. Nick and how he visits children in Europe on December 6 to put treats in their shoes.  We tried it at rest time...AND HE CAME!  The kids were so excited!  I am not sure if they were more excited about resting with no shoes on or the treats they got but it sure was a fun time!





Friday, December 4, 2015

Cookie Time!

December is a magical time of year in kindergarten!  Today we got to decorate cookies and the kids had a blast!  They got to smear their own icing then use sprinkles that our elf, Snowing Penguin, brought for them!  After lunch, they go to eat the cookies!!

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Do Mermaids Use lungs or gills to breathe?

Our discussion question today was how mermaids breathe!  Since there is no "real" answer to this question, it was fun to take what we know about oceans and breathing and come up with our own answers!
Do mermaids use lungs or gills to breathe?

Logan- I think they have both.  When they come up out of the water they breathe with lungs and when they go back in the water they don’t have to hold their breath, they switch to gills.

Aubrey- Gills because they breathe underwater for a long time.

Jasper- Gills because I think they can breathe underwater for a very long time and only pop up for a little time.

Ava- Both because mermaids are half human and half mermaid.

Ellie- I think they kind of have both because its half mermaid and half human.

Camden- Both because they are under water and they also come up. They never have to hold their breath.

Cooper- I think they have gills because they can breathe underwater.

Hunter- Lungs because every once in a while they come up to breathe air.

Annabelle- Both because half of the side is gills and half of the side is lungs.  When they come up they breathe with lungs and when they go down they blow bubbles with their gills.

Kailey- Both because they are half human and half mermaid.

Addy- Both because they are half human and half fish.

Connor- Both because mermaids breathe in water and their lungs to breathe on the bench.

Toron- I think gills because they swim a lot!

Haiden- Gills because they can breathe underwater.

Luke- Gills because they can breathe underwater and can stay under for a really long time.


Delaney- I think mermaids have lungs on the top and gills on the bottom because they are half human on the top and half fish on their tail.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Why is the water in the oceans salty?

Today we made a list of things that we know about the ocean and things we want to know!  I mentioned that I wanted to know how the water got so salty.  The kids, of course, exclaimed that they knew how.  We had lots of great answers and they were too cute not to share!

Our elf

Meet our new elf friend...Snowing Penguin!  Can't wait to see his shenanigans this year!

Friday, November 20, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!


Meet "Marker Ingram"!

The kids put him in the marker tub while I was cleaning his cage and renames him "Marker" Ingram!  So clever!

Friday, November 13, 2015

Native Americans

This week we got to learn about the first people who lived in our country.  We learned about how they lived, ate, dressed, and had fun.  We got to make our own Native American names, headbands, and sand art to show what we learned!  Next week we will get to learn about how the Native Americans helped the pilgrims when they came over and how that led to the first Thanksgiving!







Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Happy Veteran's Day!

The kids have been practicing this special song all month to let all veterans know how much they are appreciated!

Monday, November 9, 2015

Thank you Two Moms in the Raw

This week we have healthy treats from Two Moms in the Raw (www.twomomsintheraw.com)!  They are delicious raw granola bars with none of the bad stuff!  They are also made right here in Colorado (Lafayette to be exact!) We have different flavors to try for each day this week!  You can get their bars at King Soopers, Lucky's, and Sprouts!  Here is what the kids have to say:

Logan- I like these so much!  Thank you!
Addy- Thank you so much!  I really like the blueberry!
Colten- They look and taste so good.  I want to eat a lot in my mouth!
Connor- Thank you for bringing those to our school!
Cooper- Thank you!  Those were so good and I really like the berries!





Friday, November 6, 2015

Public Speaking

We learned how to use a podium today and speak to a group as we shared our scientific observations on the animal we observed!  The kids are natural speakers and loved being able to use a podium their size!


Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Thank you Education Foundation!

The Education Foundation for the St. Vrain Valley (www.efsvv.org) hands out thousands of dollars in grants to St. Vrain schools each year.  This year I applied or a grant for "whooshing speakers".  Our old speakers were not reliable for movement time (probably the most important part of our day) so we needed new ones.  I found these incredibly awesome ones that lit up and "danced" to the sound thinking they would also be a good behavioral intervention for kiddos who needed a little help focusing.  The kids all love them and our new problem is who gets to stand the closest to them!!

Friday, October 30, 2015

Our Halloween Mad Scientist Party!

Our amazing room mom, Jayme, planned the BEST PARTY EVER!  With the help of all of the families in our class (thank you!) we were able to do many experiments while wearing lab coats and safety goggles!  We watched dinosaurs grow from capsules, we made "bugs" light up, we watched as foam exploded from a dinosaurs mouth, we made ooey gooey slime, we made a geyser, and we did a lot of great experiments with dry ice!  We then ended the day with some yummy treats!










Thursday, October 29, 2015

Thank you, Greens Plus!

Today we tried greens plus chocolate bars (www.greensplus.com) and the class LOVED them!  I love them too and told the kids that I eat one everyday! They were amazed that the inside was green but still tasty!  I'm not sure why they associate green food with being yucky but this sure did change their minds!  You can get them at some Safeway's, Vitamin Cottage, Whole Foods, or on their website (that's what I do) or amazon!  Here is what the kids had to say:
Annabelle- you guys must be scientists to make all of those ingredients taste so good!
Connor- Thank you for giving us bars for our whole class!
Hunter- The bars are really delicious!  Thank you for sending them to our whole class! They were amazing!
Cooper- I like those bars because they taste really good!
Luke- Thank you for giving these to our class!
Toron- Thank you for giving these bars to our class because I really like them!
Kailey- Thank for giving us those bars!
Ava- I really like these bars and thank you for giving them to our whole class!
Haiden- Thank you for getting these to us.  Most everyone in our class liked them!

Delaney- Yummy, yummy, yummy! How do you make green stuff taste so good?


Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Thank you Dragon Herbs!

Today we got to try goji berries from Dragon Herbs (www.dragonherbs.com)!  The kids LOVED them!  Unfortunately you can only get them online but they are well worth it!  And so healthy for us! They also sent us a superfood powder that the kids are taking home to try on yogurt or applesauce or in smoothies!  Here is what the kids had to say about the goji berries:

Connor- Thank you for sending these berries to our class!
Logan- This is probably the best thing I ever tasted!
Addy- I like these.  Thank you for sending these!
Hunter- These are…DELICIOUS!
Ava- These are awesome!
Ellie- Thank you for the goji berries.  I just love them!

Cooper- I really like goji berries.  They are good!

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Thank you, Go Raw!

Today we tried sprouted pumpkin seeds and carrot cake "cookies" by a company called Go Raw (www.goraw.com)  The great thing about them was that neither treat had any added sugar so our bodies were very healthy!  I told the kids that it would make their bodies go "zing!!"
Here is what the kids had to say:

Sprouted Pumpkin seeds:

Addy- Thank you so much.  These taste so good!
Toron- The pumpkin seeds are delicious!
Connor- Thank you for these pumpkin seeds for our class!
Cooper- Thank you for these great seeds!
Ava- Thank you for bringing such a really, really yummy snack to our class!

Ellie- Thank you for giving the seeds to us.  I am so thankful for you!

Carrot Cake Cookies:
Toron- Those are just too good!
Kailey- Thank you for the cookie crackers!  They were so crunchy!
Connor- Thank you for the cookies!  They taste super good!
Luke- I like those a lot!
Cooper- I like the cookie crackers.  They taste so good!
Aubrey- Those are really, really good!
Ellie- Thank you so much for the cookies!  I love them!
Colten- Thank you for the cookies. (can I have some more Ms. Baker!)


Monday, October 26, 2015

Thank you Justin's!

Sometimes treats (the sugary ones!) don't have to be all bad for you!  Justin's (www.justins.com) sent us organic peanut butter cups and they were a hit!  No bad chemicals (high fructose corn syrup, GMOs, etc)...only well sourced ingredients!  They also sent us some nut butters that we will get to try later this week! You can find their products at King Soopers, Safeway, and Walmart. Here is what some kids had to say about the peanut butter cups:
Connor- Thank you for sending those chocolates to our class!
Toron- This is too good to be healthy for me!
Jasper- I really like these treats a lot!
Colten- I love these.  (Ms. Baker, can I have some more!?)
Aubrey- Thank you!  They taste so good!
Luke- Everything tastes so good!
Kailey- These treats taste really, really good!
Ava- These are so good I am about to cry happy tears!

Thank you Happy Family Brands!

Today we began learning about our bodies and how we can stay healthy.  One way to keep our bodies healthy and happy to is make candy (and other sugary treats) a sometimes food and try to eat more fruits and vegetables as all the time foods! To help us learn that healthy foods can taste yummy, different companies sent us healthy snacks to try!

Today we got to try Apple, peach, pumpkin, and cinnamon sauce from Happy Family Brands  (happyfamilybrands.com)  They can be found at King Soopers, Safeway, and Wal-Mart!  Here is what some of the kids had to say about it:
Ava- I like these a lot!
Jasper- Thank you for sending these to us!
Colten- Thank you for sending these so much.  Thank you and thank you!
Kailey- Thank you! And Yum!
Luke- Thank you! This is delicious!
Aubrey- Thank you!
Connor- Thank you and these taste so good!
Toron- Thank you for letting us have these healthy treats for our class!  They taste fabulous!


What is your favorite sense?

What is your favorite sense and why?

Logan- my favorite sense is seeing so I don’t run into anything sharp!
Connor- my favorite sense is hearing so I can keep hearing things!
Luke- my favorite sense is hearing because I want to be able to hear when my mom says to go to class!
Delaney- my favorite sense is taste because if we didn’t have it we would be without food and water!
Toron- my favorite sense is seeing so that I don’t cut myself when I eat!
Annabelle- my favorite sense is seeing so I don’t run into a wall and get hurt!
Hunter- my favorite sense is taste so I can try new food!
Addy- my favorite sense is taste because I have a lot of food in my belly!
Jasper- my favorite sense is seeing because I like to look at houses, dogs, and people making dinner!
Colten- my favorite sense is hearing so I can hear the danger of a rattlesnake!
Kailey- my favorite sense is hearing in case there is a fire!
Aubrey- my favorite sense is feeling because I like to feel stuff that is soft!
Cooper- my favorite sense is seeing because I like to see roller coasters and cars crashing into each other!
Ava- my favorite sense is taste because I like to eat!
Haiden- my favorite sense is seeing because I like to see things go fast!
Camden- I like all of them!
Ellie- my favorite sense is hearing so I can hear the police if I get into an accident.


Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Vote for our pumpkin!

We are participating in our school wide pumpkin decorating contest!  We turned our pumpkin into a globe!  We actually made two and our class will vote on the one we want to enter in the contest that will take place at our trick-or-treat street next Friday!




Pumpkin math

We did some pumpkin math today!  We estimated the height, diameter, and weight of our pumpkin then measured and weighed to figure out the answers!  Afterwards, during indoor recess, the kids thought the pumpkin looked boring and asked to decorate it!