Welcome Spring!

Uh oh, I hope I didn't jinx it. How could I resist from feeling like today is the perfect Spring day? The highlight of my day at Garvy was taking the students to the garden for reading time. Elise commented, "this school has a very beautiful garden." I'm so excited for her to see it once Ms. Columbus and her gardeners have planted new flowers, it truly is a beautiful space.

During reading time Leah sat down next to me on a bench and read almost the entire book, "Ten Apples Up on Top." It is the perfect story for reinforcing our new sight word out and the number words one through ten. I was so proud of her for never giving up on this looooong (over 60 pages) book!

How did you and your family enjoy this beautiful weather? I'm going to enjoy it at a friends for a lobster boil (fresh from Boston), sitting outside, and RELAXING. No more National Board for me tonight!

Kohl Children's Museum

I love everything about the Kohl Children's Museum and today was a perfect field trip. A BIG thank you to the parent chaperons and to the kids for making the day run smoothly. They learned about water, their bodies, sounds, movements, carpentry, air, and dramatic play of being a veterinarian, grocery story shopper/checker, and sandwich maker. Here are a few photos of the kids in action, thank you Mrs. Storr, Mrs. Micic, and Mrs. Hernandez for passing these along. If you have any to share please email them to me and I'll put them up.

What was your child most excited to tell you about when they got home?

Green Eggs and Ham

Would you like them here or there?

Would you like them ANYWHERE?!

Today I read one of my favorite Dr. Seuss stories, "Green Eggs and Ham." I just love how persistent the little creature is who won't take no for an answer. After reading the story and talking about our favorite part, the students illustrated an excerpt from the text. Can you find my spelling error? Whoops! They put the poems in their poetry folder when finished. It's a lovely collection that they've illustrated throughout the year and will be sent home in June. Here are samples of student work:

Here's a link to Garvy's own Mr. Kent Joseph starring in Seussical the Musical as Horton the Elephant. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxEhi-U4g_4&feature=related

CPS restricts me from cooking green eggs and ham at school because everything must be store bought. The next time you make scrambled eggs for your family add one drop of green food coloring and a slice of ham. Try them! Try them! And you may. Try them and you may, I say! Do you like green eggs and ham? What's your families favorite Dr. Seuss book?

Six Simple Things to Smile About

1. Dr. Seuss

2. Running in the rain

3. Students that want to be "ninjas" when they grow up

4. Listening to my students READ on Raz-kids.com

5. Encouraging words from my National Board mentor

6. New technology resources from Mrs. Berlage

Here are the kids who completed the challenge homework for February. Well done!

This weekend I'm going to be working on my National Board portfolios. I have until the end of March to finish all four and I can't wait to send them in. Your children have learned so much this year, they are making it easy for me to write about their achievements. I hope you enjoy the weekend and I'll see you all on Tuesday.

What are your plans for the long weekend? Is anybody going to see Dr. Seuss' new movie "The Lorax?"