Ghosts and Goblins, oh my!

Happy Halloween!  Today I am reminded of a fun book a colleague gave me a few years back, This is the Teacher about a teacher who is ready for school to begin.  However, by the end of the day, with all of the mishaps and adventures, the teacher is... all ready for bed.  I would like to recommend that the author write a sequel about the same teacher on Halloween.  Oh the sugar, sweets, excitement, and adventures that ensue in any classroom on Halloween. 

Please note, this is in no way a complaint, as I myself get just as giddy as the students.  Gooey treats, spooky art projects, learning disguised as halloween games...  I love watching their faces and hearing their excitement as they make pumpkins using 2-D shapes, mix a pumpkin snack by following 2 step directions, read and sing a pumpkin song that has wow words, and so on.

This is the first time I can recall students wearing costumes to school.  It went quite smooth.  We had a parade through the first grade wing to show off our spook-tacular disguises.  Pictures will be posted soon.

Yummy snack idea: Mix together pumpkin pie filling and whipped cream. Place a dallop of mixture on a graham craker.  Freeze for 1 hour.  Mmmm...kid (and teacher) approved.  (Source unknown.)

Meet Ms. Hoscheid

Ms. Hoscheid is a student intern.  She is working diligently to earn her bachelor's degree from Black Hills State University (my alma mater!).  We will be co-planning and co-teaching together during the course of the school year.  The program is intentionally designed to increase student learning in the classroom and provide both the student intern and the clinical faculty opportunities for growth.  Only the best graduate from BHSU - Go Yellow Jackets! 

It has been a joy getting to know Ms. Hoscheid and watching her blossom in our classroom.  She is a native of South Dakota, growing up in the state capital of Pierre.  She is an intern for the Rapid City Rush and has exciting stories to share about working with professional hockey players!  This summer Ms. Hoscheid worked for the YMCA summer program and has a plethora of experience to draw upon in regards to field trips, arts, crafts, and much more.  Ms. Hoscheid has taught us about sink and float this month.  We look forward to learning from her great ideas in November!

Catching up

School has started!  It was such a busy and exciting time that I forgot about my blog.  Our classroom is bustling with 25 Mighty Knights, who are thoughtful, insightful, and eager to learn.  In the first few weeks of school we talked about our role in the classroom and school community.  To culminate our discussions and learning we created a class mission statement and motto:
     **Think for ourselves.  Learn by trying.  Live like Mighty Knights.  Smile and have fun.**

A brief recap of the first 7 weeks of school (in no particular order):
*Bucket filling*Dream catchers*Hopes and Dreams for 1st grade*Goal setting*Building stamina*Read to Self*Read to Someone*Work on Writing*Combinations for 5*2-D shapes*3-D shapes*Small moments*Sink and float*Heroes*Recycling*Milk Jug Igloo kick-off*Schema*Comparing numbers*Kevin Henkes*Character traits*Singing*Class pet: Snowball*and much more...