Field Trip Reminder

Tomorrow we will finally go on our field trip to the Discovery Place! Below are a few reminders:

*Departure-We will depart GHES at 8:45 a.m.  Please make sure your child is on

  time that morning, as we will attend related arts and leave promptly at 8:45.

*Lunch-Please pack your child a bag lunch (disposable items & drinks) and label the

  bag and drink with your child’s name and “Pfountz”.  NO LUNCH BOXES

  PLEASE!!!  Brown paper or plastic grocery bags, with all contents inside, work best in our cooler!!!

*Chaperones-  Please remember that due to limited bus space, chaperones will NOT be able to ride the buses.  Since the field trip is downtown you may want to carpool with other parents.  Our estimated time of arrival is 9:30.  We suggest you arrive a few minutes early to park (there is a parking garage right across the street from the Discovery Place for an extra fee).  You will pay cash the morning of the field trip at the Discovery Place.  The cost is $5/museum admission and $5/IMAX ($10 total if you are staying for the movie).  The Discovery Place does not accept membership cards for school field trips.  Additionally, please remember siblings are not allowed on school field trips to promote the most positive learning experience and to ensure the safety of all students.

*Directions to Discovery Place 301 N Tryon St. Charlotte, NC 28202

1.    Take I-77 N to exit 9 (John Belk Freeway)

2.  Take the College St. exit.

3.  Follow College St. to 6^th St. (If you go from Tryon, it’s likely that you won’t be able to turn left onto 6^th.)

4.  Once you get to 6^th St. turn left.

5.  You’ll go through the light at N. Tryon. After passing Discovery Place on your right, you’ll need to go through the next light at Church and park in the Discovery Place deck on the right.

Loving the warm weather!!

It's felt soo nice outside the last few days! It's hard to believe that it's winter. We have been learning about winter in class the last 2 weeks. It is hard for the students to really understand what winter is like when it's 70 degrees outside!! With it being winter, we will go see our lead teacher, Mrs. Wells, this morning. She will make snow with us! Be on the lookout for that to come home today.

I plan to send towels home today. Please keep these at home. I don't want to take the chance of the students getting lice. We haven't had rest time since we've been back from the holidays. I think we are ok to just do away with it.

Please remember that students will be dismissed at 11:30 Thursday. There will be no school for students on Friday and Monday. We will see you again on Tuesday! :)

We will go on our field trip to the Discovery Place Friday, January 25. Please pack a lunch for your child on this day. The lunch needs to be in a paper bag and all contents must be something that can be thrown away afterwards.

If you have seen any of these bears around your house,
please send them back. Over half of them have disappeared.

2012 is coming to an end

Well, based on the cooler weather outside, I guess we are getting closer to winter. We sure are going to miss the warm days. Things have been so hectic around here that I have had little time to sit down and update our blog! Last week, we spent a lot of time learning the difference between evergreen and deciduous trees. We even went on a tree hunt and compared the two.

Deciduous Tree

Evergreen Tree

I honestly believe that we have some future female architects in our classroom! Below are a few pictures of things our kids have created over the last 2 months.

Below is a picture of some kids working in their math journals. On this day, we were doing Angry Bird math. The kids had to roll 2 dice and add the numbers. Then, they had to find the number on the Angry Bird and color it in. The kids LOVED this! :)

Below is a picture of our students working with their Senteo devices. These are hand held "clickers" that students use to answer questions. Each student has one with their own unique log in  I create a couple of questions that are displayed on the SMART board. The kids use these clickers to answer. In the past, the kids beg to use these. It really makes learning fun for them!

And finally, I need to get the Star of the Week pictures up. I have several!

 Star of the Week Wes!!

Star of the Week Riley!!

Star of the Week Tion!!

On Monday, we learned all about reindeer. I love my job because I, along with the students, learn something new every day. Did you know that reindeer are great swimmers? Did you also know that when they walk in the snow, their hooves spread out like snowshoes? Along with reindeer, we are learning about some of the customs that are celebrated around the world. Look for a book coming home next week.

This Tuesday, we invite parents to join us for hot chocolate and cookies. As 2012 is winding down, we are using this last day to relax and enjoy each other's company. We invite the children to wear their pajamas on this day. We invite parents to join us.

And I will end with this picture. This is my sweet godson Aidan. He went to see Santa Clause and did NOT enjoy it one bit! :)

Things we need

I hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving! Before you know it, we will be out of school once again for another mini vacation! :)

We are in need of a few items for our upcoming units.

1. 16 2.5' white styrofoam balls
2. tacky glue
3. real pine cones 

Busy busy!!

I am so sorry that I have not updated the blog in almost a month! It has been so busy in our classroom! Just a reminder, we will not have school Wednesday-Friday of this week.

Below are some overdue Star of the Week shout outs.....

Tyler!!

Sydney!!

 Wes!!

Is it the end of October already??

Can you believe we are already ending October? I feel like we have just began to school. However, counting our days of school proves otherwise. Today is the 47th day of kindergarten! For next week, we are in need of 2 items. We really need glue sticks and brown paper grocery bags.

This week, we will learn about what happens during an election year. Today, we talked about what an election is and how important it is for our country. We learned that in order to vote, you have to be at least 18 years old. The kids really wanted the opportunity to vote, so we have made up our own election! The students will have the opportunity to vote for a president after reading the books My Teacher for President, Duck for President and Grace for President. Following each book, we will discuss how that person/animal would make a good president. Today, we created voter registration cards. The kids were really excited to make these. We will vote for the "president" on Wednesday.

Don't forget that this Thursday is the 50th day of school! Feel free to dress your child in 50's attire. Please don't feel like you have to go out and buy anything. A ponytail and skirt will be fine for the girls. Slicked back hair and jeans will be fine for the boys.

Next week, we will begin our unit on nutrition. This is always a great unit to teach before Thanksgiving! The students really start to pick up on how many food groups are represented on their plate.

Meet our Star of the Week Arden!!

Panthers Video Link

Click the link to view the video! If you find any other photos or videos, let me know!

Click here for video!