{Published} Small Moments

We recently finished our 'Small Moment' writing unit. The kids did a GREAT job. It was tough for some of them to zoom in on a small moment at first but they worked hard and got the hang of it. 

When we finished our stories we published them.  We read them to our friends and made our stories into a video using LittleBirdTales.com.  

I am in the process of uploading and editing many of our stories but a couple that are done can be found by clicking on the links below.

I have to apologize because some of their writing was cut off when I uploaded things.  If you turn the volume up loud enough you can  view their illustrations as you hear each author read their story to you. Enjoy!

Trevor's Small Moment: Lunch

Elliot's Small Moment: My Soccer Game

Owl Shirts!

These two cuties came into school wearing the same owl shirts - in different colors. 

I just had to take a picture!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I owe a special thank you to the parents who came to help us with our St. Patrick's Day centers on Friday afternoon.  Thank you also, Francine, for the beaded necklaces.  They were a hit and the kids seemed to love them!

Each group sorted, counted and graphed Lucky Charms cereal. Oh, and they ate some too! 

Coloring and labeling a Leprechaun.

Practicing our addition skills by rolling two dice and adding them together.

Another dice game - this time the kids rolled their dice and compared the numbers. The greater number went under the big shamrock and the smaller number that was less went under the little shamrock.

Everyone seemed to like the marshmallows the best!

The kids made shamrock people to help decorate the room, too.

The students came up with great ideas on how to catch a Leprechaun. The lighting on the pictures make it difficult to read but it says:

"I would hide behind a bush. I would have a rope for when he comes. I would throw the rope to the gold and pull it." 

I loved hearing their ideas and helping them put their thoughts into writing. We have some amazing writers in our classroom. I am so proud of all of my owl friends!

March is Reading Month

On Friday, March 15th author and illustrator, Wendy Anderson Halperin came to NG. The kindergarten classes were able to see her first thing in the morning. 

She talked to the kids about her books and even taught them some drawing techniques.

Ms. Wendy talked about peace and explained to the kids what that is.

They did a great job listening and making their illustrations.

March Impact

We have some cool things going on in and around New Groningen this month and I am excited to share them with you. The children, staff and families of  NG believe in serving and impacting others in a positive way. If you click on the link below and read the document created by the March Impact Committee at NG, it may enlighten you more on our school's mission and passion for impacting others.

What is March Impact?

Yesterday was the first day of March so we had a K-5 assembly to kick off March Impact and explain this concept to the kids.  If you read the above document, you already know that Mrs. Nelson, one of the teachers at NG, is in the process of adopting and bringing home her little blessing from Ghana.  Throughout Mrs. Nelson's adoption process, her heart has been touched.  You see, like many orphanages around the world, this particular orphanage does all it can to provide care for orphans but lacks many resources due to expenses.  As a school family and community, we were able to help provide chairs and tables to this orphanage earlier in the year. Our next step is to provide plates and bowls for the children to eat with.  If you click on the link below you can see a PowerPoint with more pictures and information about the orphanage.

Offin Children's Centre, Ghana

My students and so many others were fired up by this assembly.  I was told that a 4th grade student went right up to Mrs. Nelson and gave her the money from her pocket for the orphans in Ghana. When we returned to our classroom, my class and I talked about March Impact more and the students had SO many great ideas of how they can impact others.  From bringing in money for the orphanage to making a card for a grandma in a nursing home.  The children reminded me of the importance of impacting others not just in March, but every month of the year. I love moments like these when my cute little kindergarteners remind me what really is important in life .

If you are reading this and not associated with NG elementary school but want to help Mrs. Nelson and the Offin Children's Centre Orphanage in Ghana you can find her blog and more information here:

How You Can Help

Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I hope you feel as fired up about impacting others this month as my students and I do! I want to leave you with one question: How can you impact others this month? 

Have a great weekend! :)

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Today would be Dr. Seuss' 109th birthday! Since today is Saturday, we celebrated Dr. Seuss yesterday.  We read Bartholomew and the Oobleck.  When we finished reading I gave each of the students a bag of their own Oobleck.  (Thank you mom for making it - she seriously is the best!)  The kids used their 5 senses to write about the Oobleck and even had time to use their imaginations and create a sculpture with it.

We also read Dr. Seuss' "I Will Read" poem (after all - March is reading month). The kids and I read a shortened version of the poem together.  After we read the poem, I gave them all of the words but they were mixed up.  The students had to unscramble the words and put them in the correct order so the poem made sense.  This was tough but they did a great job!

Later, our 5th grade buddies came to visit so we read our "I Will Read" poem to them.  I think they were impressed by our reading. The 5th graders helped us make hats just like Cat in the Hat's.  We even wrote 'at' words on them together.  After our hats were made, the 5th graders read Dr. Seuss books with us.  

It was a great day!