Earth Day

Yesterday, we celebrated Earth Day. Allow me to say that I can't be more proud on how we educate the kindergarteners on saving Mother Earth. At first, most if not all of the kids didn't know what  Earth day is and what does it mean of "Saving the Earth". I started by making a connection between nature/environment and the children. How? Since this month our Science unit is GROWTH which includes plants and animals, it's a perfect time to link the lessons to EARTH DAY. When going outside, we called their attention to the plants, how green the grass is, the shade trees give and sounds of the birds. We also transformed our small balcony into a beautiful garden filled with flowers of different colors. Children brought potted plants from home which they water every morning. From then on, children are excited to step inside our classroom and ready to have their hands on the watering can. Their faces show the happiness that lingers in doing something significant to nature. Through this experience, they realized the joy and beauty plants give and how important water is to us, to the animals and to the plants. You can hear them say that they must not waste water. They realized that saving water is important and have given them much awareness to use water wisely.

We collected empty milk cans and other things which we can reuse and recycle. We made them into drums and costumes for our parade. We also made posters for our campaign. Best of all, we  made an Earth Day commercial. It was a fine preparation for the day of event. 

On the day, we started with a parade led by our models wearing recyclable materials and followed by other kids holding their posters and beating their cans shouting "SAVE THE EARTH!" After our parade, we assemble and had a mini fashion show. We concluded the day by a teachers' skit on how to make our Earth a better and cleaner place. Thanks Captain Planet for saving Gaia:)

Liebster Award Nomination

                         

LIEBSTER AWARD NOMINATION!

                                 

                                        
Sarah Wegener at kindergartenalphabetsoup.blogspot.com nominated me for the Liebster Award!! 

Per the rules of the Liebster Award, below are some questions to answer about myself. 

1.  What grade do you teach? What grades have you taught? How long have you been teaching?

I teach  4-5 age group which we named as K2 here in our school. I experienced a year teaching Preparation to Grade 1. I also taught Nursery class and K1 class. I have been teaching since 2001:)

2. What book do you read to your class each year without fail? 

I adore Eric Carle- the legendary author and illustrator. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is always a hit in my class. It goes with our Life Cycle theme which is integrated with our Language Arts program.

3. If you weren't a teacher, what would you be doing? 

If I wasn't a teacher, I would be working one of the casts of Hi-5:) I love to entertain children through dancing, singing, and acting. And hey, I love their colorful and stylish outfits big time.:)

4. What's one thing you're just dying to buy for your classroom?

More manipulatives and arts and craft materials. It's hard to find and purchase craft materials around here.

5. What's your non-teaching guilty pleasure?

Shoes and dresses. Ugh! I can have all the closets for me to place them in:)

6. Favorite book that is not teaching related?

The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. Very inspiring and full of wisdom which I can use in my everyday endeavor. 

7. What's one thing on your bucket list?

Travel to Norway and see if I can tour around Europe from that point.

8. Favorite restaurant?

Hana Bbq Buffet. This is a local Vietnamese resto which offers luscious food. The best deal is, it's a barbecue buffet where you just stay in your table and order any thing in the menu and they will bring it right in front of you. You have your own grilling pot in the middle of your table and you do all the grilling. From shrimp, clam, shellfish, oysters, meat of all sorts, hot pot, pizza, pasta, dessert and more, you can enjoy it all. Now I feel like going there:)

9. Who would play you in a movie about your life?

Drew Barrymore who plays very fun and free-spirited roles which means someone who still smiles when things aren't going too well, taking a positive outlook on life and trying to make the most of it - her spirit isn't damped by little things in life. The roles she plays can perfectly portray me:)

10. What's one thing you could eat everyday?

Vietnamese noodle soup which comes in various kinds of noodles and unique tastes. 

11. What inspired you to begin blogging?

I actually wanted to try what blogging is all about. I am not a good writer but I like trying things and see how I can cope with it. I also like the idea of documenting and sharing what I do in the classroom. It feels great to show people outside my classroom what is happening within the four walls of my room.

Here are 11 random facts about myself! 

1. I am a party organizer.

2. I love loud colors. 

3. I refused to learn how to drive.

4. I am taking online Montessori course

5. I love shopping especially with my friends.

6. I usually ask my hubby for best style and fashion idea

7. I'm always busy and I love it

8. I can't forget to wear my make up

9.My hubby is also a teacher and that makes us really compatible
10. My dream to play the bass guitar remains a dream

11. I want to travel to Europe 

 Here are my nominees!!! 

Yay, Happy Sharing!!

                                                        Ms. Alpha

niftyinfirstgrade.blogspot.com


http://therazzledazzleclassroom.blogspot.com


http://oodlesofteachingfun.blogspot.com




http://kindercutie.blogspot.com


http://misslawskinders.blogspot.com

To Weigh or not to Weigh!

I gathered common classroom items and prepared weighing scales in preparation for our lesson . I couldn't be more excited than my kids knowing that this will blow them once again.

Last week, we compared weights by holding things which was more on sersorial. This week, we use the SUPER weighing scale. The concept was introduced by demonstration. I chose objects to compare and asked the kids about their observation. It was like magic that my ESL students are able to say straight sentences about their observation.(e.g. The marker is heavier than the pencil., or The scissors are lighter than the tape dispenser."  Once all of the children grasped the concept, I allowed them to choose objects and weigh things together.
             So here, instead of just comparing objects, we are actually weighing them using non-standard units.

The next activity is more than just a  practice using a balance. I give each group  a variety of objects. They see how many different combinations of objects they can find to balance the objects. I'm using unifix cubes for them to use see how many cubes each object weighed. They also worked in groups to discuss about their estimation on how many cubes we need to balance objects. This is a good opportunity not only in enhancing their estimation skills but also on working together as a team to discuss and decide on what is their estimation. Then we balanced things using an object and unifix cubes. Everybody always had a blast every time they learned if their estimation was right or was way too close.

Life of a Teacher

                                   

Who among you out there can relate to this quote?
It had been a long week for me and my colleagues. Our to-do list is endless with deadlines and paper works. We start our morning putting our things away, then pop some blush on and apply lipstick like a pro in just a sec, welcome the kids and their parents, have a short chit-chat, back to the computer and check the daily plan, prepare all the materials, get ready for the morning circle, and then go along the motion of the class. In few hours you wouldn't realize that it's time for lunch and yet there are still many things to be done like monthly progress reports, lesson plan update or revision, Common Core Checklist, taskboard activities, collecting materials for arts and craft, newsletter, assessing new incoming students, replying to parents' emails, put up some decoration for birthday parties in the class, photocopying and the like. It's not a time for dilly-dally. 
And suddenly you realized it's time to stuff yourself and the afternoon class will soon to start and you have to finish your lunch the soonest you can. After brushing your teeth, the kids are awake ready for the afternoon roll. Our afternoon usually runs like this, journal, guided reading, music, dance, arts and craft, Science experiment..and boom.snack time and get ready to go home. As parents come to pick up  their little ones, I run again in front of my computer to get everything done and ready for the next day.
However, with all of the busyness and deadline I have to catch up, I am loving it. Loving it so much that at times when my list has ended and there's nothing left for me to do...I say to myself "Hmmmmm...what can I do now?" putting on my sneaky eyes as I walk around my classroom.:)

But the best thing to end the day is to receive a surprise hug from your students saying..."I love you Ms. Alpha!"

Marching Forward

March was filled with prints and literature as we dedicated it to Literacy. My classroom newsletter summarizes almost all of what we did in the class. Check it out:)