Tea with the QUEEN!!!

What an exciting week it has been! I have made it through my first set of conferences and I'm happy to report they all went great! Yay! On another more exciting note, our students got to have tea with the QUEEN this week!!!! Can you just imagine how stoked they were?!?! Here's how it all went down...

We started off by reading the story "Tea for Ruby" by Sarah Ferguson. After the story I told the kids how I received some very exciting mail today. I proceeded by letting them share a few guesses of what it might be about. Then I took out an invitation from the queen! We were invited to a tea party with the queen. Can you picture the priceless looks on their faces...even the boys!?! They couldn't believe it! The following days consisted of RSVPing to the tea party, practicing our manners, oh and did I say PRACTICING OUR MANNERS!?! :) 

The day of the tea party finally arrived and all of my students came to school in their fancy clothes and smiling faces! They were SO beyond cute!! Our amazing moms that volunteered to help with this event did an outstanding job with the planning. Each kiddo had their own tea cup and saucer that they got to decorate before the tea party. At the end of the day we walked down to the gym with our best posture to attend this fancy affair. 

Our queen was our principal, Mrs. Teeter, and she played the part perfectly! The moms prepared little snacks and "tea" (lemonade) and they were dressed up fancy too. The details they added to the party were awesome from the name plates to the table cloths and table settings...everything was outstanding! The students practiced using their manners and also wrote on a quilt square a manner they needed to remember. They were going to put the squares together to make a Quilt for the Queen! 

The Queen's place setting!

The moms serving our kiddos fruit skewers and "tea" or lemonade! :)

Check out these smiling faces dressed in their BEST!!! So cute!



Working on their quilt square...

 At the end of the tea party, we had some practice walking with good posture to try to keep the saucer on their head. We also learned how to curtsy and bow like princes and princesses would do! What a special memory we made!!

 Mrs. Berns

4

Light Up Writing

Writing in kindergarten can sometimes be a struggle. My teaching partner mentioned an idea she had seen before that motivated students to do a great job in their writing. I thought for our quarter writing, it would be the perfect chance to try it out and encourage good writing. It's amazing what a little string of lights will do! :) For a chatty class like I have, these lights were like magic. Students that were working hard on their writing and doing it quietly were able to go to the carpet by the lights and write. Of course EVERYONE wanted to write by the lights and on a clipboard, so they were super quiet and working hard the entire time.

Mrs. Berns

1

Family Fun Day!

As part of the end of our unit (Those Nearest & Dearest), we decided to invite family members to join their student at our family fun day! We had four fun stations for the students and their family member or friend to attend. Both classes had an amazing turn out and the kids loved this quality time with those nearest and dearest to them!

Making family portraits.

Reading about families on the story steps.

Trace hands and glue them together. We added a picture of them on top of the hands as a special keepsake from the day.

Make a yummy snack out of graham crackers, frosting, and sprinkles. YUMMM!!!

I love the school/home connection possibilities in the classroom and so do those kiddos! What kind of school/home connections do you incorporate at your school?

Mrs. Berns

0

Setting Up My FIRST Classroom!

So proud of my first classroom and a big thanks to my family for their help!

We take PRIDE in what we do! Students can clip up their work that they are proud of. I used a hot glue gun to put the clothespins on the paper.

Cubbies labeled with their name and number.

Mailboxes labeled with student names.

Floor labeled with student numbers for our line.

Hallway chant and the learning lab chart. Students clip their clothespin to the lab they want to go to.

Looking into my classroom from the hallway door.

Smart board, my desk, and my outside door!

Seating area in the classroom. All ready for the first day of school with homemade play dough on the desks.

The tree my family helped me make in my library lab out of fabric and green wrapping paper.

Calendar area.

Love this area beside my desk. Two file cabinets pushed together and dressed up with the same fabric from my curtains. My sweet husband got my name blocks for me when I graduated.

Word wall separated by black floor tape. I designed the letters and printed the vowels in a different color.

Our daily schedule that I created along with our math word wall.

Student portraits and the sun and rainbow made out of their hands.

Birthdays!! The kids LOVE seeing their picture on the wall!

Grab a few freebies before you go!

Star Chart

Word Wall Letters

Line Up & Goodbye Chants

Months

Even though the first nine weeks are already over, I am still in love with my room AND my kids! I hope you were able to grab a few ideas for yourself!

Thanks for stopping by!

Mrs. Berns

5