Ocean Animal Measurement
Students used cubes to measure the size of these ocean animals.
The Wolf and the 7 Little Kids
Students acted out the Wolf (Blake) and the 7 Little Kids (Brinn- mother, Jorge, Jayda, Sophie, Michael, Marcus, Ethan, and Andrew- little goats)
Right after we acted the story out, the students went to recess. I overheard them acting out the story on their own!
Australia
After learning about the wildlife in Australia, we used our art skills to draw some kangaroos.
Enjoying a story and snack on the carpet!
Professional Development
Each month we participate in Professional Development in various areas. This month, we participated in PE professional development. We had scooter relay races, played with the parachute, and played soccer with a large ball. Afterward, some of us stayed around to play some dodgeball. It was a great sneak peek of what our PE teachers do everyday with our students.
Assistant Teacher Appreciation
I am so grateful to have both Miss Newman and Mrs. Hartshorn in the classroom helping out. This past week, we celebrated our Assistant Teachers with a pizza lunch. A "selfie photo op" was made available, and Miss Newman and I took advantage!
Music
Students having too much fun in music class. Dance Party and Listen and Move.
Galloping
SHHHH!
Independence Day
While learning about Independence Day and the Constitution, students came up with their own Preamble. All of the answers came from students. I am so proud of what the came up with!
THANK YOU!
Miss Newman, Mrs. Hartshorn, and I are so very grateful for the lovely gifts throughout this past week. We love our jobs and all of the students and families we work with.
Nice Long Weekend
I hope you all enjoyed our last long weekend of the school year. I spent the weekend in San Diego checking on my wedding venue. While there, I travelled around and saw some amazing sights!
La Jolla Beach
These seals are so adorable!
I will share some of my other pictures with the students in class.
Treasure Hunt using Directions (North, South, East, West)
Students were directed to the field and had to do some jumping jacks before they could go to their next clue.
Walking to the next clue.
Our flowers are starting to bud.
Walking to the Nurse's office for our next clue.
Student's received their "treasure" once we followed all of the directions.
Yea! Glow Bracelets!
Earth Day Celebration
We planted Wildflower Seeds to celebrate Earth Day.
Bird Feeders
French Class
Our class has been learning about clothing in French.
Machu Picchu
While learning about Peru, we discovered Machu Picchu and students made their own ruin city. They all said that they wanted to go there!
Race to 100!
They really loved this game! In the afternoon, we played a game to see who could make it to 100 first. Each player had their own crayon color, and would roll the dice. Depending on what number they rolled, they would move that many places. The first person to 100 wins. We didn't have enough time for each group to make it to 100, so we will continue this when we have time.
Kaelyn, Jorge, and Andy
Liam and Owen had a good game going.
Brinn and Sophie, Blake and Cole in the background
Jayda and Alexa
Pollution
This week, we learned about Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling. We also learned what pollution was and what we can do to help prevent it from happening.
We started with a bucket of clean water.
We added some garbage that we could either throw in the trash or the recycling.
They really enjoyed this part! But they didn't want me to tell you that they were polluting!!
Here is what our bucket looked like after we threw stuff away in it.
We then spent time picking out the trash with some tongs. The water still looks yucky, even though we took out most of the trash.
Counting to 100
We practiced counting by 5s, 10s, and 2s.
We got up and moved around while we were counting!
I love our dance moves!
The Lion and the Mouse
This is an Aesop's Fable about a small friend that does a BIG thing.
Students traced their hands to make the lion and the mouse. They could choose to draw their favorite, or draw both.
Reading Buddies
Mr. Posner's class came down to read with our students. After the students read their books to Mr. Posner's class, Mr. Posner showed us how to draw his famous "Posner Cat". He enjoys leaving this cat on our whiteboard while we are out of the room.
Poems
We had some fun during reading groups and played around with a "Green Eggs and Ham" poem. The students came up with such creative ideas for this on their own. Here was one of our favorites:
Spring Concert
Here are some behind the scenes pictures I took at the Spring Concert. The students did such a good job, and we are very proud of them!
Andrew announcing our first song.
Stewart announcing our song.
My Hero
After reading Momotaro- Peach Boy, we drew a picture of our own heroes. After writing in our journals, we drew the pictures on white paper, and these will be coming home shortly.
Butterfly Wonderland Field Trip
Thank you to all of the chaperones for helping us make this such a wonderful day! We had such a great time!!!
Bus Ride!!
While waiting for the movie to start, a gentleman taught us some interesting facts about moths, butterflies, and insects.
A large cockroach
3D Movie about the Monarch Butterflies
The largest moth
A butterfly landed on me.
Maybe next year, we will go to the Odysea Aquarium being built next door.
Stingrays
Thank you Mrs. Bogren for the following pictures, they are wonderful!!
We have Butterflies!!
Phoenix Symphony
Three performers from the Phoenix Symphony came to perform for the students on Monday.
Winnie the Pooh Hum
After reading In Which Pooh Goes Visiting and Gets Into a Tight Place, we came up with our own hum.
Butterflies!!
This morning I noticed we have two butterflies! We are anxiously awaiting the other three's arrival!
Over the weekend, Mrs. Howard and I participated in Grand Canyon University's Run to Fight Children's Cancer. This run is very dear to me since my brother was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma when he was a child. Thankfully he overcame this battle, but I have gone to the run the last 4 years in honor of him.
After teaching students about Japan and chopsticks, I was inspired to eat sushi with chopsticks!
Sophie on the playground.
Field Day
We are Athens and we are ready to compete!
Mr. Gillingham with the torch. (Got the shot right when he turned off the "flame")
Opening Ceremony
Our Torch Runner!
Let the Games Begin!
First Event
Tug of War
PULL!
Relay Race
Shot Put
Hula Hoop Event
Lunch Outside
PUPPIES!!
Mrs. Friedrich's dog had puppies, and she brought them in for all of us to enjoy for a bit!
Caterpillars/ Chrysalis
Monday morning, we came in to see all but one caterpillar in the chrysalis. Myself and some others were able to witness the last caterpillar change right before school started.
The last caterpillar
French Alphabet
Kaelyn, Andrew, and Alexa were the finalists for our French Alphabet game this week. Madame Harris taught the students the French alphabet, and went around the class asking students the letter names. These three students were able to say the whole alphabet in French!! Great Job!!
Caterpillars
We received 5 caterpillars on Monday, and watched them grow over the week. We are hoping that the moved into their chrysalis this weekend.
Look how much they have grown in just a few days!!
I'm a Little Teapot
Students took turns reciting the poem in front of the class.
This Weekend!
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! It was nice to see some of you at the Fun Run. Unfortunately, I hit traffic leaving Mesa Riverview and arrived just as the 1 mile was finishing. I was late since I just finished another run.
Mrs. Howard and I ran the Phoenix Half Marathon! I was so excited that I beat my time from last year. Initially I thought it was by 6 minutes, but I actually finished 9 minutes faster than last year! This was also Mrs. Howard's first Half Marathon.
Here we are at the finish!
Also, on Sunday, I spent the day riding around the beautiful desert. While riding, we stopped at the top of this little mountain and took some time to enjoy the beautiful view. Right after taking this picture, Mr. Worthy proposed to me. It was an amazing day!
Beautiful view of Saguaro Lake
Mr. Worthy and I
Who Took the Cookie From the Cookie Jar
Students chose how many cookies they wanted in their cookie jar and then took a certain number of cookies. Andrew was creative and took half a cookie. We complied each student's page and made a class book!
Rainforest
After reading stories on the rainforest and the animals that live there, students made different rainforest animals. Here are some sloths.
Snakes
Toucans
Iguanas
The Little Red Hen
After reading The Little Red Hen, students were asked if they would her her if she asked. Students worked on coming up with their own response.
Our New Class "Pets"
This week we received ants for our Ant Factory. This picture was taken on Tuesday, our first day.
A closeup of the ants.
They just started to dig their first tunnel.
Taken Friday morning, they are been busy making tunnels all week.
Thomas Jefferson
While learning about Thomas Jefferson, students made their own quill pencils and were able to use them to complete their paper on him.
Feb. 12th- While students did not have school, the teachers were learning about Art. We were given the choice of going to either the Phoenix Art Museum and the Musical Instrument Museum. Kindergarten chose to go to the Phoenix Art Museum. We had a great time seeing some amazing pieces!
We will be learning about George Washington next week in class.
Students learned about Georgia O'Keeffe in Art class this week.
There was a special exhibit on Michelangelo.
Great Hearts Day!!!!
We made friendship bracelets by adding a colored bead that represents a virtue we would like to see in a friend.
The last virtue was one that the student chose themselves.
Ring Toss
Friendship Mix
Pom Pom Relay Race
Students played Scoot with hearts. They went to each other's desks and wrote one word to describe them.
Humility- Stewart is our virtue winner for January!
Abraham Lincoln
We read a book about how Abe would keep letters in his tall hat. We asked students what they would keep in their hats.
Math Game
This was a game we briefly played in class, but is a great game to play at home. It helps the students see if numbers are more than ten together or less than ten. Try playing it this weekend.
Healthy Body
This week we discussed healthy bodies and eating right. To explain why we should eat good foods, we went over the internal organs.
On our way to the Science Room
Arctic/Antarctic Animals
Students made animals found in the Arctic: Snow Owl, Blue Whale, and Polar Bear
100 Days of School!
So much has happened over the last 100 days! We have learned so much, and have come a long way. I can't wait to see what the next few months bring.
Jorge, Madison, and Blake with their 100 Day shirts.
Leighton, Ruby, Baylee, Michael, and Marcus with their 100 day shirts.
Marcus had his named spelled on the front and Arete on the back!
Ethan, Brinn, Amelia, Stewart, Andy, Cole, and Andrew
Sierra, Jonathan, Kaelyn, Alexa, Lyza, and Michelle
Michelle's shirt back
Students wearing their 100 days headbands and reading Mr. Popper's Penguins.
Our Can Donations: We counted all 104 cans in class, but received a few more after school!!!
This is all of the Kindergarten donations for House of Refuge. They were very appreciative of the donations when I dropped them off Friday afternoon. Thank you to everyone for helping us reach our 100 can goal!!
Native Americans
We learned about the different Native American Regions and specifically about the Navajo and Chippewa tribes. Students had the chance to color a part of our Totem Pole.
Babies!
As we discussed animals, one day we discussed babies and mothers. We spoke about how humans and animals grow up to look like their parents. A kitten would never grow up to look like dog!! So, we had students bring in their baby pictures (along with Miss Newman and I). We had a fun time guessing the babies!
Caroling at Health South on Saturday
The Velveteen Rabbit
Jorge and Blake have their stuffed animals with them at recess for the last day of the Velveteen Rabbit.
Our Kindness Elf
Mr. Posner is known to come to our room and draw a cat on the board. Our kind act of the day was to draw a picture of a cat for Mr. Posner
When went up to deliver the cards and our Reading Buddies came out to say hi.
Snowflake
Ugly Sweater Party
Myself, Mrs. Friedrich, Mrs. Howard and Miss Newman with our ugly sweaters on!
Europe- Greece
While learning about Greece, students were able to perform some Olympic style games out on the field.
Celebrations Around the World
The Netherlands- Sinterklaas
Students were able to listen to Mr. Mathot (Ethan's dad) read a book in Dutch. They also ate traditional Dutch food and made windmills.
Windmill
In South Africa, the students were able to wear sunglasses and flip flops.
It is tradition on Christmas Day to go to the beach and have a BBQ. Once the sun goes down, everyone lights a candle and they sing carols.
Jonathan, Marcus and Liam are making their own fruit kabobs.
Rose and Madison enjoying their fruit.
Leighton is all ready to start eating.
Jorge's fruit kabob
Mexico
Poinsettia's were made to represent a Mexican tradition.
The students also tried tamales.
Senses
We learned about the sense of taste, and the students enjoyed trying something sweet, salty, sour, and bitter.
Snowflake, our Kindness Elf
An elf appeared in our classroom on Monday. He delivered snowflakes to all of the students. The students were then tasked with naming him. The students came up with some pretty creative names and voted on Snowflake. He has since visited our room each day and asked the students to perform kind deeds. Snowflake also leave special notes when he sees students perform kind acts.
King Midas
Finger painting with gold paint.
Reading Buddies
Baylee and her Buddy
Jorge and his buddies
Lyza and her buddy
Chick Visit
Thank you to Mr. Glascock and his son for bringing in Chickety, their chick. The students were able to pet the chick and we discussed the different parts that we learned.
It was just sooo cute!
Tallest to Shortest
We tried our best to line up the class from tallest to shortest for our Math lesson.
Book Drive
Thank you to everyone that donated books to Whitman Elementary!! We received well over 500 books. Each student will be able to take home 5-6 books! Each Kindergartener was able to write a note to send to the students. What a great job you did!
Read A Thon
Kindergarten Team dressed as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Class Picture
Frodo
The Lion
The Tin Man
The Tortoise
Our Rainbow Fish Activity
Sorting Goldfish
Counting Fish
The Wizard (Mr. Gillingham) came to read a poem.
New Outdoor Classroom
Sophie's Dad Reading
Our Pumpkin Patch
Stickers to decorate pumpkins.
Picking out their pumpkins.
Decorating the pumpkins.
Enjoying Peeps.
Fredrick the Mouse
Mrs. Higgins Reading
Prep students came to read to the class.
Dorthy and Toto
Amelia Earhart (Miss Pantalena) came to read.
Birthday Celebration
Thank you ALL for making my birthday a wonderful celebration!! I am so very grateful for your thoughtfulness and generosity.
Wearing my party hat and my "It's My Birthday" Glasses.
Learning About Adjectives
Students were given a piece of graham cracker and asked to give words to describe them. Here is their list of describing words.
Playground Expansion
Athenaeum
Students in Athenaeum this afternoon (10/1) were able to see a few different wild birds.
2nd Grade's Charlotte's Web Carnival
After reading Charlotte's Web, the Second Grade held a carnival outside. We made a special trip out there to see the cute animals!
Thank you Second Grade for allowing us to see the animals at your Carnival!
The Tortoise and the Hare
If you walk down the hall, you will see the Hare and quite a few Tortoises. But, shhhhh the Hare is napping!
Thank you to the talented Miss Newman for making the Hare and the tree.
Friday, September 25th In-Service
While students had a half day on Friday, the Archway Arete staff served others by volunteering at Feed My Starving Children. We packed enough food to serve 124 children for one whole year!!
Baylee enjoying a beautiful day outside!
Since we read the Dog and His Shadow this week, the class came up with their own Fable. The Peacock and the Zebra. They were very creative and I'm sure it would have been much longer if allowed them to continue the story. (side note: I apologize for the error. After writing the fable down, I forgot to write "...zebra wanted to go [right], and peacock wanted to go left.")
Cactus Hotel
We read Cactus Hotel as part of our lesson on Arizona. Mrs. Moore (KB) brought in some cactus ribs and a nest that was made inside a cactus. Students were able to get a better understanding of what is inside a cactus and what happens to it when they die.
The nest that was take from the inside of a cactus.
PE
Marcus working hard in PE!
Math: Counting down to Zero
Students were given 5 pieces of Pirate Booty (or other items if not allowed). We started to eat one piece and counted how many were left. We ate one piece at a time. The end goal was that we would have "none left" "zero pieces left" or "no pieces left". We explained that there are different ways to say zero. They definitely had fun with this little snack!
Our New Listening Center
I look forward to using the listening center when we start our Reading Groups after Fall Break!!
Gardening Club
I caught Leo planting during Gardening Club!
Marcus was being silly while waiting to be picked up.
Art Class
Students were carefully listening to Miss Arce-Lindsay's instructions before painting.
Plants
Full Day students each "planted" their own bean seed to germinate. Once they are ready, we will be able to plant them outside in the gardening boxes. Some are growing real fast!
Mexico
We made maracas and then learned the Mexican Hat Dance.
Students got to eat chips and salsa
Core Virtues
Our first virtue award winner for Responsibility was Alexa.
Canada
We introduced the students to Canada while learning about North America. Students were able to try maple syrup and do some "Canadian" Yoga. They did poses like, Brown Bear, Eagle, Otter, Redwood Tree, etc.
Redwood Tree
Eagle
Eagle
Brown Bear
Moose
Moose
Otter
Otter
River
Wolf
Wolves Howling
Squirrel
Mountain
Apples and Johnny Appleseed
Cooking up the applesauce
Full Day students were able to try applesauce while I read a story about the lifecycle of the apple.
Francais
Madame Harris is teaching the students the French words for desk, paper, pencil, and door while using her puppet. The students love him!
Winter and Hibernation
While learning about the Seasons, we spoke about winter. We thought it was a great idea to teach the students about hibernation (although many already knew about it!). We made a cave and read Bear Snores On inside the cave. We had a ton of fun!!
Miss Newman and I are very excited to have our new door sign!
Coco, the Coyote
After taking name suggestions for our class animal, the coyote, the class chose Coco. Here are some of the names that the students came up with. I started on the right side, and towards the end (left), they were looking around the room trying to come up with names.
