Happy New Year From the Smith Elementary K-Crew Girls

Here is some pictures that our wonderful PTO took this year.  We love our PTO at Smith Elementary.  They may be few in numbers, but huge heart, creativity, love for MRSE.  They are the greatest!!!!  We love you Smith PTO Girls. ;-)

Wishing you Happy New Year from the Room 8 and the Smith Elementary K-Crew Girls.

Lisa, Wendy, Megan, Ann, and Kaleigh
The Smith Elementary K-Crew Girls

Kelly and Lisa
Room 8 Tag Team  :-)

Lisa

K-Crew Kids Rock

Merry Christmas from the K-Crew Girls

Merry Christmas from the K-Crew Girls at Smith Elementary in Jesup, Ga.  What a better way to bring in the Christmas break, than with Pajama Day and Tacky Christmas all in one.

Merry Christmas

Wendy, Lisa, Ann, Megan and Kaleigh

Wendy, Lisa, Ann, Megan, Kaleigh and Pam

Lisa

K-Crew Kids Rock

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Christmas is always filled with lots of hustle and bustle and sometimes it's so busy, you have to just stop, slow down and remember what the season is about and all the blessing in your life.  We always are so busy at school trying to put so many activities into just a few weeks.  But......when all is said and done, you are thankful and happy you did, because for some children this is all the Christmas they may have.

Take a look at some of the activities, crafts and work that we completed over the last couple of weeks.

Paintbrush Santas made by cutting white and pink felt the size of the  silver part of the brush (white on the back and pink on the front.  Glue a white pom pom to the top, wiggle eyes and a red pom pom nose.  After all is dry go back with white and red puffy paint and paint on mustache and mouth.  

Loved making the puzzle piece tree this year.  I cut green triangles out of construction paper.  The kids glued small puzzle pieces all over.  We let them dry and then when back the next day and added more making sure all the paper is covered.  After they dried we spray painted them green and then the kids decorated them.  SO CUTE!!!!! 

Now....this is the best of them all this year.  I've made these in the past but this year they turned out wonderful.  Using brown acrylic paint make five or six thumb prints on the balls.  After drying use a red and black paint marker to make the nose, eyes and antlers.  The trick is to use a more of a fine point black so that the antlers will not be too fat.  Love, Love, Love.  The parents loved them.  

Interrogative thinking map

Label the Reindeer thinking map

Label the reindeer writing

Label the Christmas Tree thinking map

Get these labeling pages here.

Merry Christmas

Lisa

K-Crew Kids Rock

Christmas, Christmas All Around

This years seems to flying by and Christmas is approaching so fast.  Christmas at school is one of my favorite times.  It's great to see the excitement of a child, as they see the lights on the Christmas tree, sing a Christmas song or when they make a Christmas craft.  So many of kids are experiencing things for the very first time, and I as a kindergarten teacher get share it with them.  We have been so busy and I know the next 9 school days will be world wind, but lots of memories will be made for some 5 and 6 year olds.
Take a look at some of the Christmas learning and fun we have been having.

 In the last week of November we studied Winter Celebrations around the world.  We had lots of fun and make a winter celebration book with pictures, crafts and information.  The kids loved it, and I including them learned a lot.  We learned about Christmas in Sweden, Holland and Mexico.  We also learned about Kwanzaa and Hannukah.  On last day we talked about the nativity.  That was the first time in 22 years I was able to tell the story of Jesus birth.  It felt very strange but great.  

 This little Santa has been welcoming my K-Crew kids for years.  He usually spends the Christmas season in the hall for all to see, but this year he came in to visit us in our room.  He sits in the room and watches all the boys and girls.  He gets lots of love and hugs.

We wrote about Santa. We labeled the things that Santa has and then went back and described Santa using color words.  The kids used the map to complete their writing each day.

I have not made this Santa in several years, but thought it was time give it another try.  The kids loved making him.  Some of them wanted wear him on their heads like a hat.  My husband then helped me and my short self out and put up all 22 Santas.  Wow! That's a lot of Santas.

I always love our gingerbread week.  I decided this year to make a different gingerbread and he turned out very cute. But.....with 22 kids he takes up two boards.  We used a regular sized paper plate.  Next year we will be using smaller ones.  :-)

Here are some of the big cuties up close.

Here is our gingerbread thinking map.  He turned out cute. The kids loved him.  We labeled him and then they practiced labeling their own gingerbread.  We also used the thinking map to write about our gingerbread man or girl all week. 

 I always love reading all of the gingerbread stories.  They are great to use to talk about the different parts of a story.  Each day I made a thinking map of the story that we read, and then they completed their own independently.

Here is some of my modeled writing.  Yes....I do know how to spell, but I let the kids tell me how to spell the words.  Our rule is...if it is up in the room we have to spell it correctly.  

 Merry Christmas

Lisa

K-Crew Kids Rock

Hide Turkey Hide

It's always so much fun have our K-Crew disguise their turkey's with their families each year.  We always get some of the cutest projects.  I think some of these turkeys are safe from being eaten since they are disguised so well.  :-)  Take a look at their great work.

Lisa

K-Crew Kids Rock

Veterans' Day

We had a great time learning about how we celebrate the lives of Veterans. We learned how veterans are men and women that are serving now or have served in the past.  We then made a thinking map of the things we know about an American Soldier or Veteran.  Take a look at our Veteran/Soldier thinking map, and our great craft that I got from Teachers Pay Teachers (Deanna Jump).

Veterans/Soldier Thinking Map

Lisa

K-Crew Kids Rock