Stand up workstation

I have been doing a lot of research this year on the benefits of standing!  There is quite a bit of research out there on the correlations between standing and improved focus, higher test scores, lower obesity rates, and few behavioral challenges.  While this class is probably not the best class to test out these things since they are such an easy going, academically strong class to begin with; I thought it couldn't hurt!  So I got a stand-up workstation donated to our class that can accommodate 5 learners at a time!  I am also in the process of writing grants to try to receive funding for more of these stations to be used in other classes around the school.  They are amazing and the kids are loving it!  And I am loving seeing the kids get to move more, have more control over their learning environment, and use such great problem solving skills to determine how the station will be used!

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!

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!!

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.

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!