Our friends across the country....

We are very excited to have the opportunity to become cyber-pals with the Kindergarten kids in Grosse Ile, Quebec. We will be doing a number of activities with them this year. We have already started correspondence with them via our blog sites. On our blog, we posted our apple graph with the results of our apple taste test, they did the same on their class blog.
We are very excited to be sending two stuffed animals back and forth between the two classrooms, we send them Melvin Moose and they send us Larry Lobster. They don't have moose on their island and we certainly don't have lobsters anywhere near our little prairie town.
We look forward to actually seeing the kids from Grosse Ile by using video conferencing. We will be able to see each other and have a little visit, technology can be just grand.
We did our first scientific experiment, we wondered what would happen to apples if we heated them? As you can see below, we made some hypotheses'(educated guesses), we then cooked our apples in a crock pot and got applesauce. The kids who like the applesauce signed their names.
We had a great week!

And we're off!

It feels good to be back! Our first week of Kindergarten went totally as expected. We were busy, busy, busy and tired, tired, tired, that certainly includes me! We always start things off with the easy theme of apples because everybody knows something about apples. Today we brainstormed about apples, read about apples, counted pretend apples, matched a number with the proper set of apples, made an apple craft, tasted apples and graphed which color of apple we liked best.
We had a great day in Kindergarten. I wrote a little note in each Bluebook about some of the learning outcomes we are working on. Any help you can provide from home will be a bonus for the little ones. I have posted some pictures below of our apple craft, our graphing activity, and our bulletin board with all the apples the students did for me before school even started.

Here we go...

"Twas the night before Kindergarten,
and as they prepared,
the kids were excited
and a little bit scared.

I think everyone is feeling a bit like the first part of this great book. Tomorrow is a big day for 20 families. Take some time to have an extra snuggle with your babies tonight and enjoy the excitement that tomorrow will bring.

The phone calls have started...

I have received my first few phone calls from eager parents looking for the Kindergarten supply list for the 2009-2010 school year so I will post it here for all to see, also it is listed on our school website . I am in the process of getting packages ready to send out to my new students, they should be receiving them by the end of the second week in August. I was in working in my classroom a few days ago and felt that familiar excitement that tells me it is time to go back to school and I am looking forward to the school year and all the challenges, excitement and learning it will bring.
Our Kindergarten Supply list:
1 white eraser
5 pencils
5 large glue sticks
wax crayons (box of 24)
1 HILROY Studio Scrap Book (20pgs, 35.6 by 27.9 cm)
Back pack big enough to fit a binder
inside shoes with non marking soles
Paint shirt (can be an old large shirt)
Set of extra clothes (pants, shirt, underwear, socks)
If last name begins A-N...1 box large Ziplock bags
O-Z...1 box small Ziplock bags
Scissors and Pencil Cases are supplied.
PLEASE LABEL EVERYTHING!

Hello, Summer...

Our year has come to an end. This time of the year is always so bittersweet. The babies have left my nest and will continue on and become one of the "big" kids next year. They will each be missed for different reasons. I always look forward to the start of the next school year because they always peak their heads in and say "Hi" and tell me how much they love Grade 1.
This was the first year for my classroom blog and I loved it. It was minimal work, most of the time and I felt I was able to share my classroom in a way that was never possible before. We do amazing things in Kindergarten and I want our parents to see this.
I would love to hear your opinion about the blog. Are there ways that you could see it improved? Should I have more of this or less of that? Basically, I would like some feedback to set my direction for next year. Thank you for your time.

I wish each of my Kindergarten families and fellow teachers who follow this blog a wonderful, relaxing summer. I have enjoyed sharing with each of your this year...

Thank you,
Mrs. McMahon

Hello Grosse Ile, Quebec Kindergarten kids

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We were thrilled to receive a very special delivery from our friends in Grosse Ile, Quebec. Mrs. Anderson and her Kindergarten kids sent us a lobster! A stuffed lobster that is and his name is Larry. We also received numerous hand drawn pictures of Larry. The children included photos of each of them on actual lobster boats. This is amazing for my little land locked prairie kids. Mrs. Anderson included a letter telling us about lobster fishing. It was so interesting for all of us. Our Kindergarten kids are in the process of organizing a package to send to Grosse Ile. We have a moose to send to them because they don't gave moose on the island where they live. We voted and came up with the name Melvin. Have a look at Larry and Melvin below, they are big buddies.