Kindergarten is the BEST place on Earth!

Well let me start by saying I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas!! I did, the break off from school has been great. I've enjoyed staying up late and sleeping in until... 8 o'clock. :) Not to mention getting away and seeing family was the best!

Anyway, while I was surfing through Pinterest yesterday, :)  I came across cute New Years Eve pins.

 I saw this video and I thought it was a great thing for the class to see. It goes right along with our Holidays Around the World.

              



Just in case your  Kindergarten baby isn't able to stay awake and see the ball drop in Times Square, here is a video from last year. :) Plus a link to a World Map. You can check and see how long until 2014 happens for some Time Zones/ Countries.

            

So the past two days have been a blur! The kids are very excited about Christmas and then we have had many interruptions... Conference with the Principal to discuss the classes Academic Progress, Chorus Holiday Concert and we have MANY teachers visiting us to borrow craft supplies. They have come to our classroom and called on the phone. Needless to say, I remember flying to the countries ,but I DO NOT remember flying back to school. The class hasn't mentioned anything to me yet... but I'm ready for someone to say it to me. :) haha We have a very smart bunch!


Anyway, here is some of our information and the links for everything. But I wasn't able to take a single picture. :( (Very shocking for me! I take pictures of anything and everything!!haha)  But the one TERRIFIC THING... The suitcases and souvenirs all go home tomorrow!! YAHOO!!


                                                          

Clothing: Today we discussed the sari and the red dot on the forehead, bindi.

Here is the slideshow we watched and the link to google translator. Unfortunately the video I found for the class to watch is currently offline. So I am unable to post it. 
The souvenir the class made is adorable! They made necklaces and they REALLY wanted to wear them... I told them they could once they got home and unpacked the suitcase. Be prepared, it may be the first thing they want to take out of the suitcase and show you. :)
Also, we did eat a treat during our visit... however it wasn't the correct treat. I had made a mistake some where along the travels and we ended up with applesauce.






Clothing: Today we discussed Lederhosen, mohawks and neon clothes.

Here is the slideshow we watched and the link to google translator. (Everyone heard their name pronounced today with a German accent. They loved it!!) We also watched a Youtube Video of Silent Night sung in German.  A few students recognized the tune and tried to sing along. :)           
The students ate Gingerbread Cookies and made a Gingerbread boy or girl with sandpaper. :) They took forever to dry because of all the neon paint... but they turned out perfectly!!

                                                
I'm not going to teach any new material, just reviewing all of our old stuff. The things that will be assessed for 2nd Quarter. So... We will be reviewing skills in Reading (sight words, rhyming, blending, etc) and Math (counting to 100, recognizing numbers, writing numbers, decomposing numbers). Plus we are writing letters to Santa and flying to India and Germany. :)  ooh and Wednesday is our WINTER ACTIVITY DAY!!

Also, your child will be bringing home the Christmas present they made for you. I'm hoping to get them sent home Monday. :) ... The excitement of keeping them all to myself is killing me!! haha    I've shown them off to many teachers at school and they all LOVED them. :)  On Wednesday they will bring home their Suitcases with all their souvenirs, plus the items they make during our Activity Day.

                                      
In case anyone needs some Holiday Help... The students were all interviewed for Elf Positions. Some of the students want to wrap presents, some want to work in the Bakery and a few want to make toys. Check out the applications in the slide show and let me know if you need an ELF!  :)

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The class looked adorable in their shirts. :) Another teacher commented at Lunch time, "Seeing your class in their Holiday T-Shirts makes me get in the Holiday Spirit."

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Hmmmm if the class looked that cute in their T-Shirts... I can't wait to see them in their PAJAMAS. They are going to look ADORABLE!!

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The morning was a little rough because our Bus was late, but as soon as the bus arrived... Everyone's smile came back and we loaded the bus. We had a little trouble with seat belts, but the kids did great helping each other and asking the adults for help. The drive to the JCA was HILARIOUS!!! A few students were talking about seeing New York City as we drove over the Buchman Bridge. haha And they were very disappointed when they found out it was only Downtown Jacksonville. :) Not to mention everyone would be whispering when the bus was moving... but as soon as the bus stopped. SILENCE! (The kids were amazing!! The adults... well we tried our best! haha)

I'll allow your child to tell you all about the show. But I want to give you a little background on all the toys. They are a bunch of misfits! The Teddy Bear is mean. The Princess is dirty! (the class thought she was hilarious!) The Jack in the Box doesn't know when to POP. The Clown who is supposed to be happy is always sad... and the Cowboy is unable to ride a horse. (the class loved him a bunch too!)  They were quite the bunch! haha

When we returned to school we ate snacks, discussed and drew our favorite characters from the Performance... and we watched all of our travels on the Blog. :) The kids were tired and to be honest... Ms. Godbold and I were too. (We can teach, fly, sing and play at Recess. But a bus ride and a play do us in. haha)

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Clothing: They wear sombreros, jeans, pants, cotton shirts. Women will wear clothing with lots of embroidery.

Our flight was very short! We landed and we were still watching our Power Point, here is the link. When we were getting off the plane, we walked over to the Primaria Escuela (Primary School) and since I had a few pesos... we hired a Miriachi band to perform for us. :) The class sat and watched in awe! Watch the video and enjoy!

                            

After the performance we made our souvenir from Mexico and ate tortilla chips. They were a huge hit!! The class ate two large bags of them. haha The slide show has pictures of the students wearing a sombrero. :)

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