Class Trip - Children's Museum and Como Zoo

We headed to St. Paul last Wednesday for our First Grade Class Trip to the Children's Museum and Como Park. We had a beautiful day, and the kids were all very excited.

Are we there yet?


Some of the girls took advantage of the long bus ride for a little hair-styling.


Looks good, Lauren!

Finally, we made it. We listened to instructions in the Big Room at the museum. There were only three main rules - stay with your helper, walk, and have fun! Each child was assigned to a group of 3 kids and an adult, so the groups were free to explore the galleries on their own. Our volunteers were fantastic, and everyone had a really good time.

The kids listened carefully to the rules, and they were really good at following them (well, most of the time).

Who do you stay with??

Creative play is encouraged in all of the galleries, and the following pictures show just some of the activites available.

Making paper

Blowing giant bubbles

Doing business

Building

Driving?? Yikes!

Performing Pretending

Dressing up Shopping

Constructing

Jousting

Exploring in Earth Works

Face painting

And eating lunch!

After lunch, we got back on the bus and headed to Como Park, where we had just time for a quick tour of the zoo. The animals were all outside enjoying the bright sunshine, unlike last year when we had to skip the zoo entirely due to rain. Unfortunately, the batteries on my camera gave up so I didn't get very many pictures.

The lazy sloth was sleeping.

The monkeys were jumping all over the place!

The bison was keeping the grass trimmed.

And the giraffes were hanging out in the shade

That's when my batteries died - end of pictures, but not end of trip. We had a much quieter ride home, and I'm sure the kids slept well that night. I KNOW the chaperones did! Thanks again to all who volunteered, and thanks, kids, for being on your best behavior!

April Students of the Month

Congratulations to our April Students of the Month, Dominic and Bryan!

Way to go, guys!

Visit from Charlie

My little grandson, Charlie, turns one on Sunday! To celebrate his birthday and also Mother's Day, my daughter, Jenna, paid a surprise visit to school on Friday (and brought me a special treat - a Caribou coffee dark chocoate mocha - yum!). The kids have heard stories about Charlie all year, and also seen pictures of him, so they were very excited to meet him in real life.

He hung out at Centers,

checked out the desks, went with us to lunch, and...

went outside for recess!

The kids loved taking him down the slide,

and they were so careful with him (don't worry, Jenna and I were standing close by).

Happy Mother's Day!

April Students of the Month

Congratulations to Tre and Drew, April Students of the Month!

Keep up the good work!

Cock-A-Doodle-Doo, Barnyard Hullabaloo!

The big day of our concert finally arrived on Tuesday, April 19th! The kids have been practicing for weeks, and they were very excited to get to perform their songs for an audience. We walked to the high school in the morning for one last rehearsal on the stage in the auditorium. The rest of the day went by pretty slowly, but at last, it was 6:45.

We met in the cafeteria,

and put on the chick and rooster headbands.
Look at those excited smiles!


Ashlyn even got a new haircut for the occasion!


Is it 7:00 yet?

Finally, it was time to line up,

walk backstage,

and line up on the risers. Then...

the curtains opened!

It was so much fun to sing for a full house!
Whew! Before we knew it, it was all over! The kids waved and bowed at the very end when the audience clapped. The whole show was very fun, and everyone did an awesome job! I'm afraid I couldn't get pictures during the actual performance since I was a little busy playing the piano. However, a DVD was made and if you would like to purchase a recording of the whole concert, you can order one for $8.00. Get your orders in as soon as possible. Forms were sent home last week, or contact me at school and I will send you one.Thanks for coming to the show!

Concert Rehearsals

The big night will be here soon! The 1st and 2nd grade concert, "Cock-a-doodle Doo, Barnyard Hullabaloo," is Tuesday night, and the kids have been practicing very hard for weeks, learning songs, practicing dances, playing instruments, and making headbands. Last week, we had an all-1st grade rehearsal in Mrs. Zillgitt's room on Thursday, and then a 1st and 2nd grade rehearsal at the High School on Friday. We'll practice one more time on Tuesday, and then...SHOWTIME!!

We all lined up on the risers in Mrs. Z's room.

We had to wear our headbands, too. The boys are roosters and the girls are chicks. The speakers practiced speaking into a fake microphone. We'll have a real one at the HS!

We have to speak slowly,

and clearly!

Some of the boys are "lonesome cowboys."

Yeehaw!

Here we are on the HS risers. It was fun!

Please plan to come to the performance on Tuesday, April 19th, at 7:00 pm. The kids need to meet in the HS cafeteria at 6:45. Hope to see you all there!