Monday, August 12, 2013
2012-13 Kindergarten Kiddoz
Monday, March 25, 2013
Cat in the Hat at Jumpstart
How
do you pick just ONE of Dr. Seuss’ quotes?
I can’t do it, so here are a few of my many favorites!
“The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” ~Dr. Seuss
“A person's a person, no matter how small.”
~Dr. Seuss
Another great day spent in the
Jumpstart as we celebrated one of my favorite author’s birthdays. I also got to spend time with a great group
of kids, a great teacher (Miss Stacey) and one of my best friends, who decided
to join me, Miss Deb. I just love Dr.
Seuss books, and love the way kiddos are just engrossed in the book, even if
they have heard it 100 times before! I
couldn’t decide which story I wanted to read, but Cat in the Hat seemed to be
the way to go. Of course the Lorax is always a great choice too, but time only allowed
one story. I was surprised when Miss Deb
showed up with a gift for me~ a Cat in the Hat in a box with my own hat and a new
copy of the book for me! I was thrilled
to get to wear it into the Jumpstart classroom.
We read the story, Cat in the Hat, and
when I say we, I mean the students enjoyed chiming in during the parts they
remembered. We completed a sorting
activity, talking about different kinds of weather and what pictures went in
each category. We talked about what we liked to do on rainy days and then
illustrated our rainy day activities and dictated, or helped write, a sentence
about our pictures.
We then made our own hats, the same
shape as the Cat’s, but ours were decorated very differently. We discuss how they were the same and
different from the Cat’s and from each other’s!
And last, but not least, we put an ice
cream cone “hat” on top of a scoop of ice cream. We used various sweets to decorate our
dessert to look like the Cat in the Hat!
Not only fun, but yummy!!
I am already looking forward to my
next visit!
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Penguins visit Jumpstart...
"Real isn't how you are made," said the
Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for
a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become
real." ~ Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit
This is my first
blog entry that doesn’t address my life in the kindergarten world, or as a
mom! The trend here is…children. I love the excitement you see on their faces when
they learn something new, or create something that they want to tell you all
about. Their imaginations are endless
and take us on adventures that prime time cannot compare to.
I dreamed of being a teacher beginning at the
age of 7. This was the year I had a fabulous teacher
(one of many I was fortunate enough to have.)
I loved to read at a young age.
Part of the reason is because it was a challenge in the classroom. I went to school during the time when SRA was
used in the classroom. Maybe some of you
remember the different levels and colors.
We read the stories, answered the questions, and if we did well on the “test”
for that book we moved on! I had a bit
of a competitive nature, so I was going to conquer reading those levels
first!! Though I am sure I was not
successful, it provided me with drive and determination. My other dream was to be an author of
children’s books. My mom still thinks I should pursue this avenue;
however, I would rather be with the kids, reading the great books to them,
rather than writing books for them.
So, I am a full-time
mom of two teenagers, a wife, and a full-time special education kindergarten
teacher! On my days off, in between
running my teens around and spending time with my friends, I enjoy going to the
Jumpstart program run by the YMCA (and held at the former Center Street School)
and spending time with the preschool age kiddos! This is in part due to the lack of
responsibility I have there~I get to read my favorite
stories, do some of my favorite crafts, and teach using fun resources! I also taught at CS school for several years
before the district consolidation, and enjoy spending time in the place I loved
teaching in for years. Also, Miss Stacey
is a good friend of mine, and we had the opportunity to teach together a bit
last year, and I enjoy our teaching teamwork!
I had spent some
time in the room with Stacey, met the kiddos, and couldn’t wait to enjoy more
time with them. My first theme I decided
to cover was Penguins! One of my
favorite kindergarten themes, so I decided I would love to do it twice! Enjoy the pictures of the children as we read
the book Antarctica by Helen Cower. We then
had fun writing word problems to go with our penguin craft and we used water
bottles to make our own Penguins! I hope
they enjoyed it as much as I did!
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Learning with Dr. Seuss~and much more!
How did it get
so late so soon? It’s night before it’s afternoon.
December is here before its June. My goodness how the time
has flewn. How did it get so late so soon? ~Dr. Seuss
(I believe I start every blog post with something about
time moving too quickly...so this month, I will let Dr. Seuss mention it, after
all, it was his birthday.)
Dr. Seuss’ birthday is always a favorite for me, and so
much fun. We had a lot of fun activities
to celebrate from crazy hats to mismatched socks and ended with Green Eggs and
Ham (well, bacon.) We had a great time
wearing pajamas to school and watching the Lorax (my
personal favorite.) We read many of Dr.
Seuss’ books, and followed up with some great writings, such as “What would you
do with the last truffula seed?” And “What do you like to do on rainy days.” We blended words and decided if they were
real words or if they were nonsense (Dr. Seuss) words. We made Thing One and hats that resembled the
Cat’s. We were invited to the library to
hear a Dr. Seuss story and then enjoyed cupcakes to celebrate Dr. Seuss’
birthday. We also tried green eggs and
ham (well, bacon) green pancakes and green milk, but left the juice
orange! I am sorry to say that my
camera, which is usually glued to me, has decided to disappear somewhere between
rainbows and leprechaun traps! Fortunately,
I had downloaded many of Dr. Seuss pictures, and I have borrowed pictures from
others to complete my blog. My shopping
list now includes a new camera!
This month we also enjoyed listening to Steven share his “Star
of the Week” poster. We learned that he
loves super heros,
dinosaurs, and his baby brother, Dallas.
His favorite food is spaghetti with meatballs and he enjoys
fishing!
I love when the kiddos do things outside of school and
bring it in to share. Two of our
students participated in a science fair and brought their projects in to share
with their friends. They did a great job
explaining their project and demonstrating how they did it!
Of course, March brings Leprechauns (named Laddy) who leave footprints all over our classroom, as well
as gold coins (candy) at our tables. Laddy got himself into some trouble too, when he lost his
shoe in the cake trap set by Brandon.
Mrs. Saggese’s computer ended up missing too, but Laddy
let us know that he would trade the laptop for his special shoe, so Mrs.
Saggese met him to make the trade! We
learned about Ireland and their traditions while we read a nonfiction
text. The students’ at home project for
March included making a rainbow or a leprechaun trap, and many did both. The enjoyed sharing them and were quite
comical. You can check out the videos on
Mrs. Saggese’s blog: www.wigglesngigglesink.blogspot.com.
Since celebrating the beginning of spring didn’t seem
like the thing to do a day after a snowstorm, we waited an extra day and
celebrated Tanner’s birthday instead! We
enjoyed a presentation by his Martial Arts instructor, Mr. C from Jin Shil
Martial Arts, and Tanner enjoyed sharing
what he loves to do. The kiddos were
excited as they got the opportunity to get up and try it out! After this special treat, we got a sweet
treat of make your own ice cream sundaes.
Tanner’s parents joined us in helping the class make their sundaes and
after singing to Tanner, they dug in! Happy
Birthday Tanner!
We ended our week by doing some Jelly Bean graphing, used
Jelly Beans to solve some word problems, and talked about Jelly Beans using our
Five Senses.
After break, we will continue talking about and learning
about our Five Senses and spring, followed by the Oviparous theme! Have a safe and refreshing break and enjoy
those kiddos!
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Are we allowed to have this much fun in school?
People may be said to resemble not
the bricks of which a house is built, but the pieces of a picture puzzle, each
differing in shape, but matching the rest, and thus bringing out the picture.
– Felix Adler
Whether it is religion, culture, abilities, interests, shapes or sizes we are all different. As a special education teacher, this is a lesson that can’t be taught enough. We all have greatness to add to the classroom and each of the 21 unique kiddos that I get to spend every day with certainly are a resemblance of that. We spend time in our groups talking about strengths and I love that they have learned which friend to go to when they need help. We discuss the friend that can read, the friend that can write, and the friend that is a math whiz. We also discuss the “artist,” the one that can help tie shoes, and the one that will help us with anything we ask. Of course, this discussion always starts as I try to draw a picture on the board that typically ends up not resembling in the least what my intent was. My compassionate students now respond with comments such as, “It is perfect, Mrs. Ganio,” or “You are getting so much better.” I then end up calling on a “friend” to help me! We love to celebrate differences and I love the way the students feel when they are called upon by their peers to help them. Even the kiddo that struggles the most with the academic challenges has so much to offer his friends.
I also enjoy when parents and students share with the class their traditions and their cultural backgrounds. I have learned so much this year from the class and their parents, I often wonder if I should be called the student. Sometimes it is the student’s star week when they bring a parent to help share this information, and sometimes it is the time of the year. In February, we were fortunate enough to have Sam and his mom come and share with us about the Asian New Year! With a wonderful slideshow and interacting, we all sat and enjoyed what they had to share!
No different from any other month we were busy and on the go. In addition to learning about differences we learned about the heart and keeping our bodies healthy.
We then had a wonderful Valentine’s Day event and enjoyed eating healthy, red snacks that the parents shared with us. (I must admit that I was at a training this day and was not able to be a part of the festivities. I asked my wonderful co-teacher to be sure that she took a lot of pictures for me….she did admit later that they forgot and so she “staged” most of the pictures that ended up on my camera.)
Josie turned six years old in February and it was an exciting time for her, and the rest of us, as she shared her Star Student poster and told us all about her family, favorite book, favorite music and favorite food! It amazes me sometimes at how even the quietest students gain a louder voice, more confidence, and answer questions with determination as they talk about the important things in their lives.
Our hundredth day of school arrived one day before Valentine’s day this year and what fun it was to see all of the kiddos (and Mrs. Saggese) to be dressed up like they were 100 years old. Conversations of what would be happening a year from now took place, as well as many fun stations that involved counting 100 items to make necklaces, using the numbers in 100 to make a picture, and sharing our At Home Family Projects that students used 100 of something to make.
This month we also wrapped up our Penguin unit, and had fun learning addition. I introduced Touchmath to each student as another method of addition. We then made our own number cards using stickers to represent our touch spots!
We also enjoyed a special event called “Healthy Snacks.” The kiddos loved using the ingredients to make a healthy snack with a guest speaker. They each got a turn to help in measuring or mixing. Of course, they all had the opportunity to taste a bit of the smoothie they made.
We are looking forward to March when we will have two new participators joining our class from SUNY Oneonta, and my favorite time….Dr. Seuss!!