I can rap the whole alphabet for YOU!

Teach me How to Read

Ya'll didn't know but I love me some rap! Just Kidding..but I do love this 
catchy spin on a popular song!! GENIUS in my book.
Not only does this song STICK...its covers letters/sounds and decoding! Enjoy but just a warning you will be hooked :)

CONFESSIONS of BAD teacher blogger!!

Once again- I CONFESS to be the worst blogger on the teaching planet! However,I do think I have an explanation. Its called NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION. I literally fell off the face of the planet (for real- that is what I felt like). My family will even tell you all last year....I WAS A ZOMBIE! I spent every waking second typing, editing and compiling loads of information from lessons etc etc etc.....

The whole process was well VERY time CONSUMING! I found I had great days and days where I felt like I hit rock bottom. All in all it was a great experience. I CAN say that NOW....not a two months ago!!

If you have no idea what I am talking about- allow me to explain. 
National Board Teaching Certification is like THE last and final JEWEL I need to earn in my teacher crown! Its the highest certification/honor a teacher can obtain!
Its a long two part process, which requires massive amounts of time and....well GUTS! I had to develop a portfolio all about my teaching and take a computerized test in my certification area.

 FUN FACT: Only 40% of first timers certify. HERE is the kicker....I wont have my scores until Novemberish to Decemberish!!! ( yep- I am not even sure of the date of score release. I'll get a nice little email when that DAY comes!!!)  

In the meantime, I am looking forward to getting back on the OCD bandwagon. For any of you that know me personally...its just how I am in the classroom! National Boards forced me to push my crazy ways aside for a year. 

So there! I feel better. I am back and better than ever and I am ready to have a great year with your kids!

I also wanted to take a second for all the PARENTS involved in my certification...THANK YOU to the moon and back. Your letters, time and words will never be forgotten. I saved copies of everything and will cherish them always!!

Love you all
~Mrs. Hensley~

I'm a terrible blogger!

I am working on creating a First Semester in a Flash posting....because my confession is....I AM A TERRIBLE BLOGGER. Over Thanksgiving, please check back for pictures and updates. I have honestly just not had time. I hope you have been reading your monthly newsletters. I appreciate all of you who attended our Common Core Cafe lunch. It was a great time. I enjoyed talking with each of you. 

Thanks for all you do :)

I'm BACK!!!

It has been a LONG TIME....sadly the end of the year happens and things get crazy! Then my blog somehow slips.
Now its summer and here I am!

I know, its only the end of July and I am thinking of next year! That's the life of a teacher for ya! If you follow me on Pinterest....its like a bomb of teaching ideas exploded! Sad thing is I will soon have to prioritize even my favorite pins.

No matter if you are reading this as a classroom parent or if you are just passing by...please know that your children rest in good hands at OFE. Your child's teachers have spent countless hours and countless dollars of their own to make sure this is the best year possible. There have been many teachers trying to beat the doors down to get in and set up for school. THAT is the true heart of a teacher.  I consider it an honor to teach with the teachers at our school. Please make sure you let your child's teacher know how much they are appreciated this year. Our teachers are THE BEST!

Here is a little something for us to all think about .....

Spring has Sprung....I think!

It seems like I am always apologizing for not updating our blog. Needless to say, its has been a little wild with parent conferences and crazy schedules! I'm sorry again...forgive me once more!

First off, we had an excellent time on our field trip. It was a great way to start off our spring. We learned all about clouds and weather. The kids had a lot of fun exploring using their five senses (which we have talked about all year long).  They had a hard time picking a favorite station!

We were unsuccessful in trying to capture a leprechaun this year. He did manage to leave footprints and escape our elaborate traps.  The family projects were adorable. The traps and rainbows are both on display. Thank you for always being so creative. 

I have included a few pictures for the past few weeks. Enjoy!!
Our Easter/Spring party will be on March 28th...look for your letter today!

Graphing our Lucky Charms!

Trap from Sophie!

Tristan's Trap

Hanging out as one happy family!

Analyzing our graph

Inspecting for Cavities as a team  ~ Kid Senses~

 

March already???!?!?!

You will have to excuse me for being so slack on our blog. I have been frantically planning for our kindergarten registration. Where did February go? I cannot believe its March. We have so much coming our way. 

Please be looking for March family project, our newsletter and parent conference sign up sheet. Lastly, please check in with the office to make sure we have an updated phone number. We sent out several calls concerning school and many did not get them. Thanks!!!

Working on Addition Stories with Shark teeth to correlate with Dental Health Month!

I will get back on track soon. Until then....here are a few photos from the end of February. 

Our girly girls!

Opening Valentines....all smiles!

We SURVIVED 100 days!!!

We survived 100 days together!

Tuesday we spent most of the day talking about the number 100. We wrote about what we would do with 100 dollars and we counted 100 objects in teams. We even had a 100th day snack ( a Nutty Butty with two doughnuts...forgot to take a picture). Everyone had a great day. Please come by to check out our 100th day stories. 

Have a great weekend!

 

ATTENTION K Registration MARCH 4th!

Hello Everyone!
I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. Today we learned kindergarten registration is going to be March 4th! If you know of any child attending OFE next year, please pass on this information. They can also pick up registration packets in the office.  Registration will begin at 9am and everyone should plan to arrive early to get signed in.

Its so hard to think of registration already....I am too busy loving the class I have RIGHT NOW! I cannot tell you how much we love these little ones. They really make everyday worth it. 

I will update more toward the end of the week. I just wanted to pass on Kindergarten Registration information. 

Let's Share Equally!

We have started to talk about sharing equally. This past week we practiced sharing with Percy Penguin (have your child sing the poem to you). We shared fish, played games and wrote about our math in our math journals. 

Try sharing equally with your child at home. We have used number 1 to 10 thus far. They are beginning to get the hang of odd and even numbers too. They have really picked up this particular concept quickly.

This week we will learn a song about odd and even numbers to go along with our math unit. 

 I have also included some pictures of  our activities. 
We are also learning to work in teams on our new Ipad during center time.....its a big HIT!

Enjoy!

Chillin in K....with Polar Animals!

We have been learning all about Arctic animals in the past few weeks. Last week we learned about polar bears. We reviewed elements of nonficion texts ( vocabulary covered includes: diagrams, lables, glossary, table of contents, photographs, facts, information). We took the information and facts from our nonfiction texts and composed a peice of writing.


Here are a few examples of our writing! (I am still working on figuring our how to turn the photos....direct upload from my phone again....sorry!)

BIG DAY! (drum roll please)

Today was a big day. We are now proud owners of a classroom Ipad. It was like Christmas for me. I cannot tell you how excited I am to be able to have this tool in our classroom. I am going to be doing a lot of research on ways to use them in kindergarten. Our Ipads will be used to administer accurate assessments and give me instructional feedback and strategies to catapult our learning !

I did manage to take some pictures with our new Ipad. I  caught the kids working really hard in learning centers....see you yourself!

These photos are proof of how hard they are working on sounding out words and building words. I'm amazed!!
 

Playing - MELTED SNOWMAN!!!

Building Words!

Look at all the words we can sound out!

Just Chillin' in Kindergarten !

Its been a WHILE!

First of all....I hope everyone had a great holiday season. We have been really busy since we got back to school. It has not been easy getting back to the grind but we are managing. 

Since returning to school, we have talked about the winter season. We have discussed how animals and humans prepare for the changing seasons.This week we are having fun talking about snow and blizzards.

Its been really hard to teach about the seasons when its 60 outside!!! I think the kids think their teacher is crazy at times. 

We have also started working really hard on sounding out words with CVC patterns. Today we talked about vowels (only touched on this in the past). We  practiced sounding out words with silent e ( cake, take, make, bake etc.). I have to say they have already blown me away. I think we were ready for a challenge! 

In math, we have been working really hard on solving word problems. We discussed how we can solve and picture problems in our minds. 

I'll apologize for no rotation- I uploaded from my phone ...sorry!

Working on  word families with friends!

Math Journals

You will see in the picture, we are using illustrations to solve mathematical problems in our math journals.

I have attached a few pictures from our first few days back. 

I promise to do better blogging in the coming weeks!!!

Your a Mean one MR. GRINCH!!!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a classic story. It is one of my favorite books of all time. I remember when my teachers read this story to me. They made the story come alive while helping me to understand the meaning of Christmas.  I hope I have managed to make it just as special for our kids. 

What some may see as a silly rhyming book....I see as a teaching opportunity. This week we have talked about characters, setting, author's purpose and how characters can change throughout a story. 

Learning about basic story elements is a critical part of reading success and reading comprehension. 

We also thought about how we would make the Grinch feel less "Grinchy". We brainstormed ways to make The Grinch grin. The kids came up with some really great ideas. You can view all of our ideas on our December bulletin board.

Today, Mrs Pat made a really great GRINCHY punch. It was delicious! Cheers to the holidays and to the weekend. 

 How to make a GRINCH GRIN...

All Aboard the Mayflower!!!

All aboard the Mayflower. We took a little time to imagine what it would be like as a young child on the Mayflower. The kids had a great time thinking of what they would say. I have listed some of the quotes we thought of in class.

" I miss land"
"I miss my toys"
"I am going to be sick"
" I do not feel good "
" I want to play"
" I am squished"
" I miss my own bed"

Turkey....where?!?!?

Wow...good luck finding a Turkey on Thanksgiving if they learn to disguise themselves like our cleaver Turkeys. 

We have some wonderful family projects for November. Thank you so much for helping make this wonderful project a great success. 

To see all our wonderful creations, please visit our classroom display outside of our classroom.  

I look forward to seeing what you come up with next month!

Election Day Videos from Class!

I wanted to include some videos we will use this week as we discover our new president and learn about past presidents. 

We will also briefly cover coins and money too!

 

Word on the street.VOTE!

 
 

Election Day....in K!

Our school recently took part in our own "presidential election". As a school we voted and elected Mr. Mitt Romney to be the next president of the United States. It was VERY close. 

 I have always heard school elections are a great predictor of actual elections. I guess we shall see tomorrow night...... (or maybe by December ha ha)!

Anyways, we have been talking about elections and voting within our classroom as well. We have worked hard on vocabulary. We have learned about polls, ballots and candidates. Surprisingly, the kids have done very well applying the new vocabulary.

We took a short walk to the library on Friday. We got to visit a real polling place and see what it was like for real voters. The kids learned you must be 18 to vote. To become a president you must be at least 35 and be born in the United States. 

Remember.....GO VOTE Tomorrow!

* I also included a few Halloween Pictures of sorting candy and our classroom pumpkin. Enjoy!

All About Bats!

Okay parents....I know I just posted yesterday but these books were too cute not to post. Today the kids proved they have been listening! We made books today that focused on our unit vocabulary words. ONCE AGAIN....I am one happy teacher! They did a super job on the illustrations and the writing. Most importantly, they knew the content.  Please look for these books to come home. Read them with your children and enjoy!!!

Going batty!

We are going Batty in Kindergarten!!
 We are learning about bats this week and we are reading plenty of nonfiction books. The children came up with a list of questions they wanted to answer about bats. We are working on answering questions in multiple ways. We have used texts and thinking maps to chart what we are learning. On Tuesday, we used a venn diagram to compare bats and birds. I have added a picture of our comparison below. We also took some time to write down some information we learned from our morning read aloud.

Today we will begin looking at some fiction texts and discussing elements of fantasy stories. One of my personal favorites is Stellaluna. You can find this particular story online at 

 http://www.storylineonline.net/
( You will have to search for the books....but this is a great read aloud)

Enjoy the pictures below!

* Check our our BEST ATTENDANCE award! *

Spider Facts!

Its only Tuesday and we are learning so many interesting facts about spiders.  These are just a few writing samples from today. We may have the best writers in Kindergarten.What do you think? The children are already showing progress.
The writing process in kindergarten can come easily for some while others may develop writing skills more slowly. You will notice the punctuation, spaces between words and some phonetic spelling. I have been stressing the the kids....IF YOU HEAR IT YOU WRITE IT!

I have also been encouraging them to sing our sight word songs as we write. The writers featured here were able to correctly spell many of he words they used. I am one proud teacher tonight!!!