Can't Catch Me!

I'm the gingerbread man!

This morning we read a story about the Gingerbread man and how he continues to run from different animals saying, "Run, Run as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man!"
After we finished the story we took our bathroom break and Marissa found a gingerbread boy popping out from one of our bathroom signs! But we couldn't catch him that easy, when we looked closely at him we found a clue saying:

Run, Run
As fast as you can, 

You can't catch me,
I'm the Gingerbread Man

Look for me where there are lots of books!



So we decided to go back to our room to look in our reading center. Unfortunately, we didn't see any other clues. Mackenzie decided that we should check the library since that also has a lot of books. We all agreed and grabbed our Ranger hats and worked our way down to the library. We discussed how we cannot talk or he might hear us. So, if we were to see the gingerbread man, not to yell out, but rather to stop, look and point so we can sneak up on him. Shortly after arriving at the library we found another clue. This time he said:
I've read lots of books,
But I'm gone, can't you see?
I'm a gingerbread man
And you can't catch me!
Look for me by the friendly face who answers the phone in a busy place.
After some discussion we headed to the Hoover office. There we found:

The secretaries have a friendly face,
And answer the phones in a busy place.
Next, find me by the leader of our school.

We tried to think of who the leader of our school was. One student even shouted out, "It's Mr. Green!" (our school custodian). Although that was a good guess, we decided we should venture off to Mr. Kamphoff's office instead!  This is what we read:

This is the Principal's office.
He is nice, you know.
But he told me not to run,
But to walk, wherever I go. Now go find me where we eat together.

Right away we knew we were headed to our lunchroom. As soon as we approached the door we saw this: 

This is the lunchroom. 

These friends like us a bunch,

And always make sure we have a good lunch.

I'm getting a bit tired as you can see,

Room 220 is where I'll be! 



We couldn't wait to get back to our classroom. One friend made sure to remind us that there was absolutely no talking, and that we should tip-toe just in case he was still walking in the hall to our classroom. When we made it to our room, we searched high, we searched low, but we didn't find him. The whole day we worked so hard to stay quiet and do our job. We thought if we were quiet enough, that he might pop out, or give us another clue.
Toward the end of the day, we realized that we still needed to have snack. So I opened the cupboards to grab our goodies and we finally discovered our last clue! We figured he was probably hiding in there the whole time watching us all day! This is what he said:

I've run and run and I need some rest.
I think this room is the best!

I've left some cookies, for you to enjoy! 

Don't eat gingerbread, Eat Chips Ahoy! 



And we did! Each one of us got to enjoy a small chocolate cookie. We had earned it after our long day of reading about the gingerbread man, hunting for the gingerbread man, graphing if we were a gingerbread boy or gingerbread girl, and most importantly rapping about the gingerbread man! It was too cute not to capture on camera! Hope you enjoy our Rapping Rangers! They can definitely bust a move :)



Our Field Trip to....Hoover!

For the past week we have been learning about bus safety. Today we finished off our unit by getting to  go on a bus to practice the rules that we learned. But, no matter how many times I explained that we weren't actually going anywhere on when we got on the bus, I still had many disappointed/confused friends after we did this drill. I heard:
"Mrs. Rehder, why isn't the bus moving?"
"Can we go to my house?"
"This isn't my bus Mrs. Rehder."
So I explained again that we were just practicing for a future field trip and overall they did an awesome job showing that they are ready to do that! They were sitting on the bus, using quiet voices, exiting out the front, and even jumping out the back safely! Sorry there is no class picture by the bus, but started sprinkling again when we were out there, so we decided to forgo the picture and just get inside!  Hope you enjoy the pictures we could get!
At Home Activity:
1. Try having your child tell you at least 3 important rules to follow when riding the bus.
2. Have them explain to you what the danger zone is.
3. Compare and Contrast: How are rules for the bus similar to rules when riding the car? How are they different?

 Steering Clear of the Danger Zone!

 First Time on the Bus!

Exiting out the Front

Coloring in our danger zone

 All Smiles on the Bus!

 Our Bus Snacks!

Getting ready to eat our buses!



Friendship Salad

We have been learning a lot about being respectful, being responsible, being safe, and trying our best. As a class, we have set up classroom and school expectations for different areas and activities that we will participate in. So to go along with this, today at snack time we made a friendship salad! 

I started off by explaining that the big bowl is like our classroom and that there are many important things that our room needs - especially kind friends and happy days at school.

First I added one can of mandrain oranges saying that these are the sunny smiles in our room. They are the kind kids that share, use their manners, smile, use their hands for helping, etc. The students all shared their ideas of kind kids. As one kiddo put it, "Kind kids are the ones that give hugs to people even when they aren't friends with them."

Then I added some strawberries stating that these are the hard workers in our room. The ones that get their work done, they always try their best, they clean up after each other, etc. They also added in their thoughts of what a hard worker is, such as, "They get their work done even when they want to play instead."

Then I added some raspberries stating that these are the kids who share. They know how to share their supplies, they share at kid time, and they share their ideas.

Next, I added some marshmellows saying that these are the kind words being said in our room. The students all offered their ideas of kind words: Please and thank you and I'm sorry, when someone gets hurt. Or as one student said, "Saying people are awesome!" Yes. that is kind too!

After that we added the yogurt. This is the happiness we feel when we are at school. When we laugh, when we learn, when we dance, when we give hugs, and when we get to play at recess.

Then we talked about the yummy friendship salad we created. How good it will taste and then I pretended to begin to peel the rotten banana.  They yelled "Stop!!!" before I count even get the banana peeled.  I tell them that this is the rotten banana that could cause trouble in our happy classroom.  This might be a banana that calls names, does not share, refuses to do school work, etc. So, we all voted NOT to put the rotten banana in our Friendship Salad! We discussed why the children do not want this banana in their friendship salad and the importance of following rules and having good manners.  

In the end we enjoyed our yummy salad and I think we learned a lot from it as well! Here's to a year of sunny smiles, sweet strawberries, and respectful and responsible raspberries! 

Partner Match Up!

The first activity we did on Monday was partner match. For this we had strips that were a various lengths. We learned how to measure by lining up objects at the bottom and measuring up. As a group we began exploring, trying to find our partners. Once we found our partners we learned about each others favorite pet. After the class had partners, we switched up our strips and played again. Each time we did it we learned different things about each other (practiced saying names, favorite foods, and favorite pets).

 Taniya and Mason Match Up!

 Sam and Mackenzie checking to see if they're a Match.

 Ashlyn and Treyson lining up their strips.

 Avery and Mason line up the strips from the bottom.

 Alex and Treyson line their strips up.

 Getting to know their partners.

Home Activity:

Find things that are similar in length or point out different objects and having your child say what is the shortest, tallest, largest, smallest.

Challenge:

Use a ruler to measure how long something is using inches and/or centimeters. Making sure to emphasize to line up the ruler at the bottom of the object.

First Day of School!

Another digital slideshow by Smilebox

Welcome to the Rainforest Room!