End of the Year

This will be my last post of the school year. I want to thank all of you parents for your support and help during the last nine months, and also thanks to all my fantastic students for your hard work and positive attitudes! We've had a great year, with tons of learning going on, and it's been so much fun to watch your progress, particularly in reading. You guys are AWESOME!!
Every year, I take my kids on a walk to my house for a snack, and then to Eastside Park for some playtime. We chose a beautiful morning with lots of sunshine and blue sky. My neighbors love this tradition and look forward every spring to seeing my class walk up the hill.

We're off!

We took a short cut through the cemetery.


First on our list of things to do was a game of Duck Duck Gray Duck in my front yard.

Run!

While the kids continued the game, I went inside to get some...

POPSICLES!

Mmmmmmm, good!

And no drips to wipe up from the desks!
After finishing up and wiping sticky fingers, I let the kids peek in my front door, and then we walked through the backyard and off to the park.
All of the first grade classes were at the park when we arrived, so the kids had lots of fun playing with all of their buddies. The equipment was very busy, and building sand castles was popular, too. Kind of dirty, but very fun!

Oh, to be a kids again and have all that energy for...

swinging,

playing in the sand,

hanging on the bars,

playing tag,

and sliding.

Time to take a break before the walk back to school.

Ahhhh, second grade, here we come!

The park was a very busy place with over 80 kids there, but
the kids had a great time, and everyone hated to leave.
My last message to all of you is one I've said many times this year: "The more you read, the better you read!" So... read lots this summer, and stop by my room in the fall and show me how much you've grown over the summer!

Thanks again for a fantastic year!

Class Play - The Little Red Hen

After lots of practice during the last few weeks, the kids did a GREAT job performing our play on Friday, and we had a wonderful audience of parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, sisters and brothers, and friends.
Some excerpts:

"Welcome to our play, 'The Little Red Hen.' We're glad that you came!"

"We are the Cows."
"We are the Sheep."
"We are the Pigs."
"We are the Rabbits."

The play opened with all of the barnyard animals singing a song: "Come now and see our farm for it is beautiful..."

Then: "Let us set the scene for you
By the pond there stands a mill,
And down the road a barnyard,
Where things are quiet and still.
The dog, the cat, and the duck

Are having a lovely day.
Now all three have stopped to listen -
Red Hen has something to say!"

Red Hen: "Look! I have found a grain of wheat.
Just think of what I could do.
I'll dig a hole and plant it.
I just need some help from you!"

Dog: "Sorry, but I can't help you.Why don't you go ask the cat? I need to chase my stick now, So out of my way. Please scat!"

Cat: "MEOW! I'm over-due for my cat nap. Why don't you go ask the duck? I need my 9 a.m. rest, I say no, but I still wish you luck."

Duck: "Help you dig a hole, you ask? This time I'll have to say no. I'm ready for a nice swim, So off to the mill pond I go."

Barnyard Animals: "They all refused to help, They all refused to help. She did it by herself. She did it with no help."
Red Hen: "Now it's time to make the bread. Just think of what I can do. I'll knead the dough and bake it, I just need some help from you."

Did anyone help?? No!

Dog: "Oh, how I love homemade bread!"

Cat: "I'm hungry from resting all day."
Duck: "I want a piece from the end!"

Red Hen: "Wait! I have something to say! You didn't help me plant the wheat, Cut or carry the grain. I did it all by myself.And now you expect to eat? I plan to eat this bread myself. Next time maybe you'll learn,The things we want, We have to work for and earn."

Barnyard Animals: "They all refused to help, They all refused to help, She ate it by herself, She did it with no help!"

We then invited all of our guests to return to the classroom for some treats - breadsticks, of course! Good job, kids! You were awesome! And thanks to all of you who came - you were a great audience.

Baby Robins

When a robin started building a nest on top of the wreath by our front door, my husband wanted to knock it down. I talked him out of it, thinking it might be kind of fun to watch the eggs hatch and then see the babies grow. Little did I know what a great learning opportunity it would be for my students! I started taking pictures as soon as the nest was done, and each day I would e-mail the pictures to school and put them up on the Smartboard for the kids to see. To take the pictures, I had to climb up on a bench, hold my camera over my head, and snap the picture without seeing what I was getting.

April 30 - the nest is complete,

and the eggs are laid. We "googled" baby robins at school and learned that usually a mother robin lays four eggs over several days time.

Mama spent the next week sitting on the nest, keeping the eggs warm through some pretty cold weather.

Day 1
May 9th - I just took a chance and snapped a picture right after school to see if anything had happened yet, and to my surprise, there were two tiny baby robins. I wondered where the egg shells were, and we found out that the mother cleans out the nest right after the eggs hatch.

By later that night, there was a tiny hole in the 3rd egg. The babies have an "egg tooth" that they use to peck a hole in the shell.

Day 2
May 10th - the 3rd egg hatched during the night. This was taken at about 6:30 in the morning.

By afternoon, the babies were a little bit stronger, but really scrawny and ugly.

Late that night, the 4th egg was beginning to crack.

Day 3

May 11th - early in the morning, all four babies are alive and well!

Aren't they cute??

Mama robin was waiting in the grass with a mouthful of worms to feed the hungry little babies.

Day 4

May 12th - the babies are covered with fuzz, and their eyes are HUGE!

Day 5

May 14th - tiny feathers are starting to grow.

Day 6

May 15th -the nest is beginning to fill up, and wing feathers are growing!

Day 8

May 17th - I finally caught one with its mouth open, and the eyes are becoming little slits.

Ah, one eye almost open!

Mama is very protective late at night, and she lets me get really close without flying away.

Day 9

May 18th - their eyes are all the way open, the fuzz has almost completely disappeared, and feathers are getting bigger and bigger!

The nest is getting crowded!

Mama watches me very closely whenever I come out the door. See the ruffled feathers on her belly? She actually has a bear spot where her feathers separate so she can get her bare skin up against her babies and keep them warmer during cold nights.

Day 10

May 19th - the babies peek out from under mama (about 11:00 p.m.)

Day 11

May 20th - early morning cuddles,

and late night stretches. They are getting so big!

Mama really has to stretch to keep them somewhat covered!

Day 12

May 20 - looks like they might be poised for take-off!

Mama is still ready with more juicy worms.

Day 13

May 21 - hog pile! The tail feathers are in, and the nest is overflowing! It won't be long now!

Day 14

May 22 - lift off! I was gone all day, and when I got home in the late afternoon, I immediately checked the nest. Two birds remained, and as soon as I got close, they both took off. It was so cool to see them fly! One landed briefly in the grass and I was able to snap a quick picture before he scooted away for good. Mama was very angry with me, and dive-bombed me several times as I ducked to keep out of the way.

The nest is EMPTY!

I had the kids predict when the babies would fly, and we made a chart with tally marks of their guesses. Three students guessed the 22nd!
We ALL learned a lot about baby robins!

Now it's time for me to clean up my front entry. :-)