Ms. Gilbert's Six Things That Make Me Smile

My student teaching experience at Garvy is quickly flying by. I am so thankful to have been placed at such a wonderful school with great staff, students, and parents. There are so many things about our class that makes me smile, but here are six things that made me smile this past week:

1. When the entire class responds with a cheerful, "Good Morning Ms. Gilbert" each morning at calendar time.
2. The moment when a light bulb goes off in a student's mind and they understand what I have been trying to teach.
3. Getting a handshake, hug, or high five from every student at the end of the week.
4. Watching a child be so excited and proud to share their Star Student poster with the class.
5. Our new class book "Pete the Cat" (Thank you Hernandez Family!)
6. Having such a wonderful mentor teacher and kindergarten class to interact with each day!

Have you had the chance today to sit down and think about what makes you smile?
-Ms. Gilbert

What We Learned at Goebbert's Pumpkin Farm

"Pumpkins start out as a flower." -John

"Pumpkins start out as little green pumpkins." -Megan H.

"They plant green pumpkin seeds." -Milan
(So the seeds won't rot in the ground, they are covered with a protective green coating).

"The pumpkins grow on vines." -Savannah

"They don't grow pumpkins at Goebbert's Pumpkin Farm that we went to." -Mason
(Goebbert's grows their pumpkins at another farm and bring them to South Barrington).

"They grow on a vine when they are orange." -Russell

"We picked one pumpkin, corn, and a gourd. It was really fun!" -Elise

"The flower grows first, then they wait, then the pumpkin comes out, and then you get to pick them." -Adam

"The pumpkins, they are green when they start and then turn orange." -Lynette

"The pumpkins will be orange when you pick them up." -Farris

"The pumpkins have swirly vines." -Megan N.

Goebbert's Pumpkin Farm

We had a great day at Goebbert's Pumpkin Farm on Monday. The first field trip of the year always brings an added excitement of riding a school bus for the first time (for most of the students). During our visit we learned all about pumpkins and farm life. The kids got to go on a wagon ride, explore the many farm/exotic animals, watch a mechanical dinosaur destroy a pumpkin, make their way through a corn maze, pick out their very own pumpkin, gourd, and piece of autumn corn.

Check back tomorrow for a post about what the kids learned at Goebbert's.

What was your child most excited to tell you about the field trip?

Things That Make Me Smile

Every Friday my good friend Brooke writes a blog post about 6 simple things that make her smile. They range anywhere from the sound of leaves crunching as you walk on the sidewalk to scoring a seat on the train. Like a little kid anxious to check under their pillow for $ from the tooth fairy, I check her blog to see the simple things she appreciates each Friday. These always inspire me put a positive spin on the events of my week. I am so lucky to work at a job that I love. Each morning when driving to school, I'm excited to arrive and begin planning for the day and then teaching when the kids arrive.



Here are 6 simple things that make me smile in Kindergarten...

1. The eagerness to read a new books when they are added to the class library.

2. Cheering and calling of "encore" at the end of reading a story aloud.

3. Watching kids help each other, by giving friendly reminders to follow the class rules.

4. Kindergartener's eagerness to learn and do well in school.

5. The excitement on a child's face and pride they feel when sharing their writing with the class.

6. Observing students working together, taking turns and having meaningful discussions.



These are the new books added to our classroom library this month. Thank you for ordering books from Scholastic because they always give us free books!

What makes you smile as a parent?

What We Learned About Sugar Gliders

"Sugar gliders eat meal worms." -Paul

"The sugar gliders glide around the room." -Alyssa

"The sugar glides jumped." -Joe

"The sugar gliders glide with the skin on their arms." -Adam

"I learned that sugar gliders can be black and brown." -Elena

"Sugar gliders have big eyes." -Russell

"Sugar gliders have big eyes so they can see in the dark." -Destiny

"I learned about sugar gliders that they sleep in the day." -Megan N.

"They hang upside down with their nails." -Lynette

"They eat bugs." -Calvin

"They have a treat at nighttime, it's fruit and vegetables." -Farris

"They eat insects." -Lillian

"If you give them a birds feather, they won't eat it." -Leah
(Birds are their biggest predator and will try to eat the sugar gliders).

"They glide." -Shea

Sugar Gliders

Today we have two very special guests come and teach us about nocturnal animals. Mr. and Mrs. Micic brought in Daisy and Minnie, their families sugar gliders. Here are a few of the facts the kids learned about these marsupials:

They sleep during the day and are awake at night.

Sugar gliders don't fly, they are good jumpers and glide from one place to another.

Two weeks after conception the baby moves from inside the mom to the pouch.

They are about the size of a thumb when they come out of the mother's pouch.

Their favorite treats are dried fruit, vegetables, and yogurt chips.

As domestic pets they live in cages. In the wild they live inside trees.

Mr. and Mrs. Micic complemented the kids on staying calm and helping Minnie and Daisy feel comfortable in our class. Thank you again for bringing in and teaching us all about these fun nocturnal pets!

Was your child excited to tell you about the visitors? Did they share any other interesting facts?

Everyday Math

Room 108 learning all about numbers, patterns, and money. A large component of the math program encourages learning about these concepts through exploration and games. Here are a few pictures of the kids working together and enjoying the games.

Thank you to all the parents who have donated sidewalk chalk. The kids love using it to write numbers and make pretty decorations around Garvy.

What's your favorite game to play at home? Have you tried Chutes and Ladders?

Fire Safety

Having a real firefighter come to our class and teach the kids was such a treat. The kids were excited to see and touch the fire equipment, especially the hat and oxygen mask. We discussed making an escape plan and family meeting place, in case of an emergency. Mason was so proud of his dad. Thank you Mr. Kading for coming to Garvy and teaching the kids all about fire safety.

Does your family have a safe meeting place? Have you replaced the batteries in your smoke detector in the past 6 months? Remember, stay low and go!

Walk-a-Thon

The Garvy Walk-a-Thon was a huge success. As a school, we far surpassed the $5,000 goal. I'll update the total once all money is counted this weekend, but as of last Thursday we had already reached $7,000. All donations will go into improving the school library. A big THANK YOU goes out to Mrs. Rife for coordinating this event, and all of the parent volunteers who cheered and kept all the Bulldogs safe.

Patterns

We've been busy in math learning about patterns. The pictures are of Oce and Calvin, coming up with their own patterns. The class also enjoy movement patterns throughout the day because they get up and move around. Some examples include frog jumps, hops, claps, spins, jumping jacks, criss-crosses, and stomps. If you've been sitting for awhile maybe it's time for a little break, go ahead and come up with your own pattern.

Back to School

We've had an AMAZING first two weeks of school in Room 108. This is a great group of kids who are full of energy and eager to learn. It's so refreshing to work with your children, thank you for sharing them with me. In just the first 9 days of school your child has already started to learn and master the routines and expectations of Kindergarten. Throughout the next couple of weeks we'll continue to work on making new friends, learn about apples, explore numbers through 10, learn new letters and a few sight words.

New friends working together to sort teddy bears by a size and color.

On the BEAUTIFUL new playground at Garvy with our student teacher Miss Gilbert.

There's always time to be a little bit silly.

Playing with blocks during "choice" time.

Working together to sort buttons by size, shape, and number of holes.

Meet and Greet

Hello new Kindergarten families! I'd like to welcome you to Garvy and hope that you can come Friday to drop off school supplies and meet your teacher. If your last name begins with A-M you should plan to arrive any time between 9 and 10 am. Last names beginning with N-Z can arrive between 10 and 11 am. I'm really looking forward to meeting all of you!

Try, Try, Try...Never Give Up!

I wanted to give up after running 5 miles, but had 8.1 to go. Needing motivation, I looked to other runners, people cheering, the bands, and the Chicago skyline to cross the finish line. This race taught me that when something is hard, it's really easy to quit. How could I just give up when all year long I taught you guys to try your best and never give up? I could almost hear you little voices cheering, "Keep going Ms. Bachman! We love you!" My goal time for this 1/2 marathon was 1 hour and 50 minutes, but sadly I didn't reach it. I still did well and finished in 1 hour 56 minutes and 45 seconds. Here's a picture where I'm sprinting to the finish line.

Have you learned something new this summer that was really hard? Did you give up or stick with it?

Back to School Countdown

Well my little 5 and 6 year old friends, it's almost time to head back to school. The first day of school will be Tuesday, September 6th. In anticipation for the new year I thought it would be fun to have an alphabet countdown. Here is a list of 26 fun activities to help you wrap up summer vacation.

Ask a friend to a play date

Breakfast in bed

Catch lightning bugs

Decorate cookies or cupcakes

Explore your neighborhood

Ferris wheel ride at Navy Pier

Go bowling

Hop scotch

Ice cream sundae party

Jump rope

Kickball

Library visit to find a new book

Movie night

Night owl; see how late you can stay up

Open a lemonade stand

Picnic at the park

Q-Tip artwork

Ride bikes

Slip and slide

Tie-dye a t-shirt

Under a tree reading

Visit a grandparent

Water day; pool, sprinklers, waterpark, beach

eXtra sweet to your family day

You're almost ready for school CELEBRATE a great summer

Zip up your new backpack and head to Garvy

I'd love to see which activities you can complete before school starts. Print off the list, highlight your accomplishments and bring it to show me. I'll have a treat for you!

Ear Piercing 101

Dehne wrote a story about getting her ears pierced earlier this summer. What a brave little girl!

Since I was in Kindergarten, my Mom kept asking me to get my ears pierced. I didn't want to because I thought it would hurt. My mom wanted me to get my ears pierced because she thinks I am fancy and would love earrings. Finally, this summer I got my ears pierced! Mommy was right, I love them, so so so so so much!

You have to clean them three times a day so they do not get infected. Mommy and Daddy help me clean my earrings. You have to keep them in for six months before you can take them out. My Grandmother gave me 5 pairs of earrings and I can't wait to try them on.

If my memory serves me correctly, my parents made me wait until I was 12 years old to pierce my ears. I was so excited to have it done, and it was so quick with the little earring gun. I still remember the story of my mom's home ear piercing, my grandma used a needle, ice and a potato to pierce her ears. OUCH!

These earrings might be one of the MAIN reasons I wanted to pierce my ears in the first place.