Goodbye Third Grade, Hello Kindergarten!

Greetings blogger buddies!


Okay, okay . . . I have to admit that I have been totally MIA on our blog the last few weeks.  The end of the year was a whirlwind and I can't believe it's already August - yikes!  Here's a peek into what I've been up to!


As I wrapped up my year with my wonderful Third Graders, Open House was a huge highlight!  Our room showcased my wonderful writers, artists, readers, mathmaticians, and scientists!  Here are some pictures to give you a peek:

This was our Native American wall for Social Studies.  Each child made a clay doll, made a hand-woven basket, and several books and maps showcasing the various Native American groups of the regions of California.

Across our classroom clothesline I hung self-portraits that my students did of themselves using oil pastels.  They loved the challenge of drawing themselves realistically, and especially had fun with their crazy, colorful backgrounds!

Across the front of the room I hung their wonderful "Third Grade Gazette" newspapers, which featured articles they wrote about their favorite field trip, the best book they read, and what they were most proud of this year in Third Grade!  I also hung their dioramas that they created based on a story from our Language Arts anthology.

Probably our favorite project was creating a Solar System in our classroom.  Actually, it worked out great - since I had 24 students, they each got to research, write about, and create their own paper mache planet, so we had a total of three Solar Systems on display - along with our GIANT sun!!  (The sun was made of a HUGE balloon and took several coats of paper mache and many hours of work from students, parents, and myself before it was ready to be displayed.)  Along with each planet, my students wrote a "Postcard From Space" to their parents on what it was like to be visiting their planet of choice.  Click HERE to download a template of the postcard to use with your kiddos!


As I wrapped up this year with my students, I received news that I will be teaching KINDERGARTEN next year - WOOHOO!!  I am so excited to be going back to a grade that I am so passionate about!  Unfortunately, once school was out and my new room was clean and ready, I only had TWO DAYS to move in all of my things and get set up for next year before I had to turn in my key for the summer! Whew!  Thanks to Kerri for coming and helping put up some fabulous bulletin boards (pictures coming soon), and to my husband for doing some serious heavy lifting . . . As of yesterday, we are only two weeks away from my due date for little Jackson to arrive!!  Here are some recent belly shots from our maternity photo shoot.  Can't wait to meet the little man inside that belly!!

So now as I anxiously and eagerly await Jack's arrival, I have been filling my sleepless nights with lots of kinder prep: getting things organized for my long-term sub, loading up on school supplies, and digging up all my kinder files.  I wanted to share my Kindergarten Classroom Rules that I made a few years ago and still love.  They are: Quiet Voice, Raise Your Hand, Give 100%, HFO (stands for keeping Hands, Feet, and Objects to yourself!), Show Heart Behavior (which covers being kind, respectful, etc.), Listen, and Walk.  Hope you can use these in your rooms as well!

Click on the image to download a PDF of my classroom rules!

Hope you are all having wonderful, relaxing summers.  I will keep you updated with baby news and hopefully lots of helpful Kinder resources as well!

Lindsay