Freddie Ray Pumpkin & More Back-to-School Stories

"Back to school, back to school, to prove to Dad I'm not a fool..."

Anyone name that movie? Eh?

Those of you who know that movie are chuckling to yourself and now wanna watch an Adam Sandler movie. And those of you who don't know what the heck I'm talking about probably have a very confused look on your face right now, so I'll move on!

It's back to school time! But this is a different "back-to-school" for me because I've never STARTED a preschool room in the fall time when the school year actually commences. I began my preschool journey in my classroom in February. More than 7 months ago now. And I got the wonderful privilege of having those kids in the spring after some long months of their previous teacher working so hard teaching them.

You can imagine the wake-up call I got after Labor Day with 7 new kiddos, and my class now seeming like babies compared to what I had in the spring and summer. Half of them can write their name and some of them can't sit still for more than 5 seconds standing in line. As you can probably guess, I was absolutely exhausted after the first 2 weeks with a new set of kids. You know what, though? These kiddos are wonderful! Awesome listeners for the most part and little tweaks of stubbornness and sharing skills are necessary, but they are going to be such a fun class this year.

During our first week of the school year, we have a staff in-service. It felt wonderful to be recognized for the hard work and dedication in my new classroom. I love putting in the effort to make the classroom the best it can be!


Our first two weeks were all about "Back to School" and "Apples Aplenty". 
My goals for the first couple weeks are all about getting the kids used to their teachers and the other students in their classroom and how to make it a happy place to learn and have fun!

We do this by concentrating on the R's:

REPETITION of
-RULES
-ROUTINES
-(POSITIVE) REINFORCEMENT

In "Back to School" week, we speak much about the rules of the room, how to be a good friend, and how to be big kids with big brains for when we go to Kindergarten!

I began a new goal this school year of more all-around fine motor projects: cutting, pasting, and writing all included. The more practice, the better! Every other week, we are doing "book cover projects". This week we read the Mo Willems Elephant & Piggie book "Can I Play Too?", which spoke all about how to make friends even with someone that you don't normally play.

I can't wait to see the the progression throughout the year of how the kids do with these "book covers"!

 

We also made our own preschool backpacks and "name crayons"! 



We also did the very cliche, yet still very fun, "Apples Aplenty" week! The kids loved learning about how and when apples grow, how we get them, and the different varieties of apples! 

The kids loved painting their own orchards before we went to visit a real orchard!

 

We also made our own "hallway apple tree" with shiny apples (corn syrup and paint) and apples that have fallen on the ground (with brown pipe-cleaners worms wiggling inside)!



One of the highlights of the week was definitely our field trip to Apple Jack's Orchard in Delano! The weather couldn't have been any better, and the kids couldn't have behaved any better! It was a preschool teacher's dream field trip! Seriously! I was convinced that at least one of our kids would get stung by a bee or have a potty accident on the hour bus ride: but none of that happened! We had a wonderful time!

First, we arrived and had a couple "apple lessons". While we taste-tested the different apples from the orchard, we learned about what happens to apple trees in different seasons. One of the most valuable things we took away was also how to do the "bee freeze"... you don't move or bother them, they shouldn't want to bother you!

 

After the apple lessons and tastings, we got to go on a fun hay ride around the orchard and also got to jump on a ginormous "ground trampoline" with sand around it! Even the teachers and adults loved it! Our trip ended with a nice picnic lunch and a quiet bus ride home to Edina.

 

After a very exciting apple week, the fun continued on Friday when one of my girls found a frog and wanted to keep it and bring it in the show the class.



 

We decided that we all wanted to name it, so we gave our suggestions. After putting all the names in a bucket, we picked a first name, middle name, and last name:

 

FREDDIE RAY PUMPKIN!

So whenever the kiddos find a frog outside, they call it "Freddie Ray Pumpkin"! Love it!

 

Back to our "KID QUOTABLE" fun!

(while discussing our choice for frog names)

Little Girl: "How about Roofie?"

 

(lunch table conversation)

Another Little Girl: "Lorna, are you in booster seat?"

(lunch table conversation)

Girl 1: "You know what I'm gonna be for Halloween? A fairy!"

Girl 2: "I'm gonna be a cheetah!"

Girl 3: "I'm gonna be Cinderella!"

Boy: "I'm gonna be a fat man!"

 

(lunch table conversation)

Girl 1: "Avery, you have a milk mustache."

Girl 2: "I know! I had one at home this morning, too. It was thin and smooth."

(playing in the muscle room)

Little Girl: "Have you ever seen a convertible? I have!"

 

 

 

Summertime Has Come And Gone...

 

Summertime is my favorite time of the year for many reasons... the warm temps, tan skin, sundresses, no frostbitten toes, and also a break from school!

Right?!

Oh wait... 2013 was a momentous year for me. For the first time (since I was the age of 4), I did not have a summer break! From the time I was in Kindergarten, I was so used to getting the summer off. Yes, I worked as a lifeguard and a nanny for a long time, but I don't really count that as work. This summer was different.

After about half of my kiddos (the older ones in my class) graduated at the end of May, it felt like it was summer and celebration time! And therefore, the annual summer routine that has been engrained in me was wanting to be out playing and having fun in the sun and NOT WORKING.

Nope. Not this year. Anne was a full-time working teacher this summer... and the beginning of June was honestly a little sad for me! A bunch of my teacher friends who work at different schools were all talking and posting to facebook how awesome it was to be starting their summer... and then there was me. Sulking in my beginning of summer blues... A few of my big kids left me for the summer to have some time off before starting big kid school, and I was stuck with a couple of older graduates who still were coming to Cradle Club before Kindergarten and also a some younger ones who were moving up to my room from young preschool... Woe is me.

And that was my view during the beginning of June.

But I didn't notice til the ending parts of summer that my views had done a 180.
Yes, it was my first time working a full-time big job during the summer.
Yes, my other teacher friends had the whole summer off.
Yes, I had to train in my "babies" that were new to my room.

And I'm so glad I did it :)

I loved working in preschool during the summer!

Unlike regular schools, I got to keep a few of my "big kids" during the summer months who graduated in May. Those kids were excellent role models for the younger group of kids that moved up in June. The better examples the older kiddos were, the more positive reinforcement and praise they got... which they totally feed off of! They beam when they get the chance to be the older, more experienced ones in the room... leadership skills are fostered that way! So it's definitely a win-win situation.

By now, in September, those younger ones who moved up in June know what the routines are and what I expect in my classroom. Those kids are my examples now! I just got 7 new kiddos last Monday, and they are already thriving because of the great job the others have done with being excellent examples. Can you tell I'm proud of my class? :)

Alright, getting back to summer before I get ahead of myself...

I didn't blog this summer because that was my "summer break" from working. I love blogging about the progress of my teaching journey, but you gotta understand that I had to give myself a break from something! Now is when all that blog-waiting pays off!

So forgive me if this next part seems like some summer blog barf, but I wanna share some of the highlights of my fun Cradle Club summer!

MAY:

"Picnic Pleasures" (picnic week right before graduation when some of my big kids left)

I may or may not have cried when I hugged them for the last time!

After learning all about picnics, we had our own class picnic! Below is picture of a napkin that one of my kiddo's dads left in his picnic lunch! So precious!

JUNE:

During the summer months, we have a field trip every week!

My favorite field trip in June was the Children's Museum! The kiddos loved it!

 
Another fun week was Eric Carle week!
One of the kids' favorite projects was The Very Hungry Caterpillar necklaces! We made these with green-dyed penne pasta, felt and string! Such fun fine motor practice! We also had a great
time trying all the fruits that the caterpillar ate! For this, we made our own fruit kabobs and tried fruits that we may not have tried before.

Like Mother's Day, we had a celebration of our dads during the week before Father's Day! We had an art gallery hanging from the ceiling filled with the portraits we painted of our dads and also had "Donuts with Dad" on Friday! So fun!

"Tastes of Summer"

We talked about lemonade stands and got to taste for ourselves how yummy (and very sour!) lemons are...

We also painted with "popsicles" (aka paint/water cubes)...

And we got to dissect a watermelon!

JULY:

Zoo time came! We turned our classroom into the "Pre-K 2 Primate House" during the week of our Como Zoo field trip!

We had a blast seeing REAL primates at the Como Zoo, too!

"Delightful Dairy"

Since we can't have a week named "Irresistible Ice Cream", we had a week focused on dairy! Dairy choices can either be healthy or not so healthy, but we talked with the kids about making good food choices! When we told them that Ben & Jerry's was coming to our school to show us how to make ice cream, you can just imagine how pumped they were! We explained that eating Ben & Jerry's ice cream everyday is not the best choice for a healthy body, but you can have it every once in a while :)

At the end of July, we took a bus field trip to Stages Theater to see the children's play "Aladdin"! My kiddos sat so nice, and as you'd probably guess, all the little girls were in absolute awe when Aladdin and Jasmine rode the magic carpet and sang "A Whole New World"... Heck, I loved it just as much as they did!

 

AUGUST:

 I discovered one of my new favorite kids places in the Twin Cities: Splash Pad in St. Louis Park! This place is cheap, and so much fun on a hot day! Kate, one of my assistant teachers, and I had as much fun (if not more) than the kids!

Farmer's Market week was a blast as well!

We hopped on the bus again and went to a place I've never experienced before: The Works Museum! Very fun, engineering-based science exploration place for kids!

    

 And then... (drum roll) End-of-Summer Carnival! Once again, I think the teachers may have had just as much fun (or more) than the kiddos! The giant water slide was a new addition this year, and I am so glad I chose to be in charge of that activity! It was awesome!!!

All in all, I think I had as much fun as a teacher can have while still working during the summer! I'll now be back to my regular weekly postings, so check back soon!

My favorite food Mommy makes is... MAC & CHEESE! (And other Mother's Day stories)

Okay, I know it's way past Mother's Day.  I'm over it.  I desperately want to make time now to get this post up for your (and my) enjoyment, so let's get past the fact that Mother's Day was over too weeks ago...
We want to celebrate our moms all year long anyway, right?! Right!

Mother's Day was such an exciting week for my preschool kiddos!  Wednesday is our show-n-tell day, when we normally bring in an item that begins with our letter of the week.  Instead, we decided to bring in a photo or an item that remind us of our mom.  When I explained the idea to the kids, one boy got so excited that he declared to everyone that he wanted to bring in a picture of mommy and daddy's wedding day!  So the next day, guess what we had... definitely 5 or 6 wedding photos because other kids loved the idea so much!  It makes me happy when I see them get so involved and thrilled about what they're doing at school :)

Muffins with Mom!
Friday was our big "Muffins with Mom" celebration, where the moms got to come in to have some morning time at school with their preschooler.  We made a "Mommy Gallery" showcasing our portraits hung from the ceiling that we painted of our moms.  Portraits were done first by choosing a skin color, painting facial features and hair, and then placing on some earring stickers.  On the back of the portraits were some sentences I asked the kids to complete all about their moms!  It was an absolute hit!

 After all the mommies gathered into our room, the kiddos all stood up in in the middle of the room like a stage and sang!  They were so proud and practiced so hard to sing a few special songs for their moms! I wish I could post the video of their beautiful voices because it almost brings me to tears... and I'm not even a mom!

We sang, gave hugs, and then it was time for some MUFFINS!  Fun and tasty treats were had by all.  When it was time to part with their moms for the rest of the school day, each child gave a special Mother's Day present... a "Cooking for Mommy" cookbook!  Inside the front cover that they made, it says:

Cooking For Mommy! 

We thought of our favorite food that our mommies make for us.  Then we wrote down our recipes, just in case you ever forget!
 

(and here they are, in no particular order)

Mac & Cheese

Get mac and cheese.  Bake it.  Put it in the oven.  It stays in there for 2 minutes.  Then it's done, and you can eat it!

PB & J

Get the bread out and get the crust off.  I don't like the crust, so cut it off.  And also put the peanut butter and jelly on.

Pizza

The pizza workers roll the dough first.  Then make it into a circle.  The put special things on it.  Then have the pizza cut.  And also get a tattoo with it.

Mac & Cheese

Put cheese and butter on the noodles.  Then make them hot, and put them in the microwave for 10 minutes.  They are super hot, so you have to blow on them.  Then you eat them!

Chicken & Rice & Beans

Get the rice and beans.  The chicken comes in a bag.  Cook it in the oven-wave for 5 minutes.  Then you eat it!

Mac & Cheese

Put the noodles in the pot.  Then cook the noodles and put the cheese on.  Then eat it!

Cheese Pizza

Put it in the oven.  After the oven, you eat it!

Pizza

Buy dough.  Cook it.  Then eat it!

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Get flour and oil.  Put muffins in the oven.  Wait 7 minutes.  Take them out of the oven.  Then play with me when the muffins cool down.  We eat them!  If Daddy's not there, save him one muffin.

Corn Dogs

Get corn dogs from the fridge.  Get the buns.  Use your hands to eat it.  If it's a corn dog, you dip it in the ketchup!

Noodles

Get the noodles at the store.  Make them with the oven.  You have to wash your hands before you start.  You have to eat them now.

Nutella Sandwich

So first you get the bread, and then you take the Nutella.  And you put the bread over it.  You can fold it or cut it or anything!  You can just eat it!  You don't do anything more!

Pepperoni Pizza

Put it in the oven for 10 minutes.  Put the pepperoni on it.  Then you get to eat it!

Mac & Cheese

Get the water.  Put in the mac and cheese.  The water disappears.  And then you get to eat it!

Homemade Mac & Cheese

Take real cheese and milk.  Put ham in the mac and cheese.  Then take the peas and put them in there.  Then cook it.  And then Mommy cooks something for herself.

Cookies

Put them in the pan.  Then give me a cookie!

Roasted Apples

Cook them and put brown sugar on them  Cut and slice them.  Then we can eat them.

Hot Dogs

Burn it and put it in the oven.  Take it out.  Put ketchup on the hot dog.  Put hot dog bread on it.  Eat it!

Peanut Butter, Banana & Jelly Sandwich

Well, first you buy the bread.  And then you get 2 pieces of bread.  Sometimes you put jelly on it.  And then you put peanut butter on it.  And then bananas.  And then you put the other bread on top.  Cut the crust off before I eat it!

Mac & Cheese

Well, it has cheese and milk in it.  Put the milk in there first.  And then you get the cheese.  You roll up the noodles.  Then you mix it.  And then the milk turns the mac and cheese color!

One of the best moments of the week was seeing how proud the kids felt when they were singing to their moms!  And also seeing the delight on moms' faces when their child handed them the cookbook!  Lots of work to put everything together, but so worth it!

Howdy Partner!

Howdy blog-readers!

As I am typing, I'm feeling the guilt of me going down on my word of writing weekly about my preschool experiences.  But let's face it: life happens. Things get in the way. And as much of a scheduled and routined person as I am, spontaneity and the busyness of life are what makes life LIFE.  So I want to apologize for not blogging for the past few weeks...but then again, I'm not that sorry because enjoying quiet Saturday coffee mornings and road trips with my Tony are a bit more important than maintaining my blogging routine :)

Back to Preschool Talk!
I noticed that my last blog was from March 29!  Holy cow... SOOO much of my and Amy's class has changed since then!

• We switched our classroom arrangement all around, creating a less distracting atmosphere for groups and circle-time and also creating the illusion of more space in the room.  Even though this physical change was triggered by the push to help just one student, it ended up being a very positive long-term change for everyone!
• Our PUB student was asked to leave of classroom, which left us with very mixed emotions.  It was definitely the right decision for the better of the 18 other students, but we also wanted so badly to help this one child.  It ended up being much more than what we at the school could help change within the little one's life... As positive of a change this was to our classroom atmosphere as a whole, I hope this child gets the productive help he needs to change his life for the better.  I know I'll never forget this child.
• I started testing for conferences! It's definitely a lengthier process than testing toddlers because the preschoolers can perform so much more.  I wish I was already a year into my teaching career, so I had tricks up my sleeve already to be able to test my kids more efficiently... but I don't yet.  I need to keep reminding myself that I will get there!  Stop being such a perfectionist, Anne! Grrr! 
• I'm finishing up writing my conference testing notes for each student today, and I have my first ever preschool parent-teacher conferences this coming Tuesday!  I'm excited to actually sit down with the parents for more than 30 seconds to talk about their child, so it'll be an awesome opportunity to connect with each family a bit better.
• This is probably the most stressed I've been since starting my first few weeks.  Assessing the kids, noting all their progress the past 2 months, preparing curriculum for the coming weeks, implementing current week's curriculum, keeping up with all the paperwork, and figuring out everything for my first preschool graduation: it's a bit of a load right now. Just keep breathing. Everything can't be done in one day, but everything WILL GET DONE :) I just need to remember to not show my stress in front of the kids, and just have fun with them!  And that can be a de-stressor in itself!

Alright, on to our awesome, RODEO ROUND-UP week!  Yee-haw!
Even with the lovely April spring snowstorm, we managed to have rootin' tootin' time! Check out our fun pictures from our cowboy/cowgirl photo shoot and our cucumber/toothpick (cactus) project!

I wish I could post our rodeo photo-shoot pictures, but I can't put up pictures of the kids publicly :(
They were all ADORABLE little cowboys and cowgirls!

KID QUOTABLES
(Little boy feeling a little sad during muscle-room time.  Little girl comes over with her friend to make him feel better.)
Little Girl: "It's okay, Henry! We're nice mermaids, and we help boys!"

(table discussion during snack-time)
Another Little Girl: "I was at home watching the baby being borned!  And during the show, they had to cut the mommy's tummy to get the baby out!"
All Kids at Table: ("Woooooah!" "Ewww!" "Owwwy!")
  
(during same snack-time table discussion)
Little Boy: "Hey, did you know that we were all in our mommy's belly before we were born?"
Anne: "You're right, that's where people come from when they're babies!"
Little Boy: "But you know what? I THINK that after I was in my mommy's tummy, I had to come out of here (points to privates) on my mommy.  But I don't know how THAT happens!!!"


I am sooooo not ready to have a Birds & Bees talk with a 5-year-old...