End of the Blog Photos...For Now

Hi, parents!

After some serious time spent trying to upload videos and transfer YouTube files...I am pretty done with the blogging photos and videos.  I know it's only December, but I promise, in years past, I used to post pictures on the blog all the time! I am finding that the classroom Instagram works WAY better for me.  It's more instant, in the moment, and it's a short caption rather than a paragraph. 

I will continue to post updates to let you know what is happening in class, but it will basically be like this-- paragraph form and not listed by month.  I hope that's ok with you! I have better communication via the Instagram anyway. PLUS I can post their faces on the Instagram...which is the best part!!

I also intend on posting any new videos we watch in class on here for easy access to watch at home.
ANYWAY.  I am stoked that we have one week of school left.  :) I'm ready to paint my house and I need the two week break to do it!!

In class have been studying a hodge-podge of hibernation, Scandinavia, and gingerbread things to get us in the Christmas spirit! We have also taken on the service project of helping the Humane Society by donating pet items and making chew toys! I hope the kids take away that Christmas is about giving, not about asking or receiving. They are making so much great progress with counting and naming shapes! Everything is going very well...all because of YOU! Thanks for your wonderful kids!!

Love,
Miss Escalera

NO SCHOOL!

Although we will have to make this day up in May, I am just as excited as the kids are that we have no school today.  Mr. Darcy discovered the fireplace yesterday, so I don't think we'll be going anywhere for the day.  I burned through 5 Harry Potter movies and am watching Narnia as I type...so clearly, being productive is out of the question!

 

IN THE MEANTIME...

I have a few playlists you can play for the kids on YouTube.  See how many of the songs they know! We listen to most of these in class. PLEASE adjust your ad filter at the bottom of the YouTube screen, or closely monitor the programming when you play the playlists. There are ads about ever two videos.

 

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-XvxdaHEDiDsqC6eiLZJluvnHcNItAvU
(Math/Alphabet songs)

 

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-XvxdaHEDiAKaJkpe5hkzIeOr6kI1BZA

(Color Word songs)

The last song on the list is "White" which we JUST learned!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-vannwwn2U&list=RDh-vannwwn2U

Thanksgiving themed playlist with all sorts of stuff to teach about pilgrims.

 

 

Yes, I'm that person.

It's time for another post! I'll be updating the November tab this week as conferences approach...but just a reminder that for quicker access to photos, install the Instagram app and follow us at "missescalera"...we have been posting a lot!

Now for the personal stuff.  As some of you know, I participated in the Mustache Dache this weekend in Seattle.  I'm a big fan of fun 5Ks! The kiddos helped me decide which style of mustache to wear on Saturday by voting...on my hoodie! I needed something funky fresh to wear in Seattle, so I figured why not represent our colorful classroom.  The Sassy One (what the kids named this kind of mustache) won by a landslide, so I rocked it hard on Saturday! I'll tell ya, I haven't been working out since school started, and OH. MY. GOSH. I was feelin' it.  3 miles?! It's been a WHILE!

In other news, it was a big weekend for Mr. Darcy as well! Seahawks Sunday brought us a win, and I think Mr. Darcy had something to do with it! Any time he wears his doggy jersey, we win!!!! And he doesn't always wear it...he can be stubborn.

He also went to his first doggy birthday party. Yup. I'm THAT lady.

Well, I guess I talk about my dog A LOT because during free writing I got a few hilarious responses.  

"Miss Escalera plays with Mister Darcy."

"I like playing with Miss Escalera + Miss Heather."

:D   Just puts a BIG ol' smile on my face!! :D

Change of Plans

Every year, I prep and build elaborate units to teach and I think, "Great! I'll be all set for next year!" And every year, I get excited by new topics and I end up reinventing the wheel.  You know how big my spider unit is?! My BAT UNIT?! (That was one of my favorites).  My pumpkin unit alone usually takes three weeks!!!  But I am my mother's child, and I cannot pick one thing to love the most. :) So here we are, at the third week of October, and all those units are taking a hit.  We will be learning about Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead!


I am so thrilled to teach this unit because I found some really cool stuff to bring in.  I plan on making some Bread of the Dead (attempt number one went south last night...so I'll have to try again this weekend!) I'm also trying to hunt down some pre-made sugar skulls.  If I can't find any made, I'll just end up making them myself and bringing them in.  The wonderful thing about the Day of the Dead is that it is SUCH a happy, festive holiday.  I can't wait to see what our room looks like after we have a happy skull explosion!


In other news, we are having trouble as a class with "me," "we," and "my."  If your kiddo seems like they have it down, KEEP USING FLASH CARDS ON THEM.  Kids often times forget or get nervous during assessments and their minds go blank, which makes them confuse the words. 


Keep doing all that you are doing! I hope you all know how much I appreciate you and how much I love your kids! They are the reason I am so excited to come to work each day! :)


I'll try to upload October photos tonight into the October tab.  Until then...adios!

Hello, October!

Woo! So excited to bring October in! This month we will be learning about pumpkins & spiders.  We MAY even get to bats if we have time.  The wonderful thing about this class is that the kids are so prepared for K, they are able to go into topics deeper.  Although I usually do nocturnal animals this time of year, I'm going to play it by ear.  I'd rather REALLY learn about two topics than kind of learn about 3 or 4!

Please remember that late start Mondays is a regular thing and will continue.  Additionally, remember, no school on Friday! It's a district waiver day, which means I get to come to school and do paperwork/training while the kids get to be home.

THAT BEING SAID... don't let them sit around all day! Here are some youtube videos they can sing along to and practice.

Spelling orange: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfLRyuarDwg
Count to 100: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RhBhzFJ4Ww
Count to 20: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azIG0kLIlgs
Alphabet Rap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDoGSKaRdyE

Conferences in November

I know it's WAY WAY WAY away...but conferences will be November 19-21.  On these three days, school will be out at 12:40, and conferences will begin promptly at 1:00 pm.  PLEASE consider asking for days off from work in advance for one of these days! I am really hoping to schedule as many parents as possible for Wednesday the 19th and Thursday the 20th.  Please let me know if there is a time that works for you to schedule your spot! First come, first serve :)

Also...

Just excited to share some of our work from yesterday. We are so blessed to have a solid block for writing each day, in addition to the writing specialist for 45 minutes twice a week! We are also SO lucky to have a para educator come in during writing to help our friends who need it. We are going to be able to do great writing this year! 

September Came and Went!

GEEZE A LOO, I have no idea where September has gone, but IT. IS. GONE.

I have so enjoyed trying new things with the kids this month, such as the coconut unit! The kids were so engaged and I felt like I could really push them far to write about our topic at hand-- awesome!

We also have enjoyed using GoNoodle.com for brain breaks in the classroom.  Brain breaks last anywhere from 1-3 minutes.  We usually do a GoNoodle activity between each lesson-- so 3 to 4 breaks a day.  Sometimes if the kids are really good, we do them during lunch! Every time we take a brain break, we get one point.  That point helps our class "pet" grow big and strong! This week, we say GOODBYE and GOOD LUCK to Flo Yo, our little monster. We have done Zumba, math marathons, Freeze It, Yoga, and lots of other fun things with her!!

FINALLY, we enter October with the help of Class Dojo.  It's a free app on my phone and can also be accessed by internet! :) IT'S AMAZING! For me, anyway.  Basically it's positive (or negative, depending on how I use it) reinforcement for behavior.  I put it up on the screen during chatty times, like morning work, lunch, and center time.  When kids are doing a nice job, I use my phone to send them a point.  If they are misbehaving, I can also take points away.  The kids just hear the loud "ping" and immediately stop talking to see who got points.  It's awesome!!!!!

Anyway, if you want to see how many points your kiddo made today, check it out!

Download the ClassDojo app from your phone (any smart phone should have it) OR go to www.classdojo.com/parent

Click on the green Create New Account button, then click Parent

Enter the parent code (I sent home a paper with your personal code on it.  If you don't have it, email me and I'll send it to you! jescalera@auburn.wednet.edu)

You should be able to see how good you kid is doing!

 

Please DO NOT panic if you see that your kiddo got a few "red" reinforcements, or were not on task. I try to focus on changing behavior.  For example, if you see 4 reds and 5 greens, it could be that they had a lot of energy in the morning, but then reflected and did better in the afternoon! And THAT is what we are looking for :)

 

Check out the apple pictures under the September tab!

 

Love,

Miss Escalera 

Crazy Coconuts!

Today we are enjoying the world of coconuts! Check back for updates :) In the mean time, here's "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z47NljuPBFE

Please click on the SEPTEMBER tab to see what coconut things we were up to this week! :)

ALSO, if you aren't already using Instagram, I encourage you to check us out! Lots of pictures you can see instantly!

Social Skills & Sneezes

Hi, families!

Social skills are a huge part of kindergarten! This month's focus is kind words. We are also learning to deal with our friends if we do not hear kind words.  When student's tell me someone called them a mean name, or someone made an unkind face at them, I tell them to tell that friend "I don't like that."  I have seen lots of children successfully teach their classmates to be kinder simply by saying those words! :) Today we got a visit from the counselor and she talked to use about filling each other's buckets.  This is a metaphor for keeping each other in high spirits rather than putting each other down. Feel free to check out the following videos for more information!
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaddbqEQ1NE Filling Buckets song by Learning Station

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5R6-2m_qHk  How Full is Your Bucket? Book on Video

Additionally, I am battling the sniffles.  We hand sanitize A LOT but sometimes there is just no way to avoid the germs.  We are in kindergarten, after all! We have lots of snotty, sneezy, coughy, tired friends this week, so please make sure we are all loading up on vitamin C and lots of rest!

=]

PS: I absolutely love your kids.  I can't wait to get to work each day to hang out with them!

Love,
Miss Escalera

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!

Hi, families!!

Last week we explored Pete the Cat and enjoyed every minute of it! Pete helps us learn color words as well as taught us the sight word: love. We were very excited to learn our LOVE spelling song! 

This week we are diving right into the jungle theme. We started with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom today! Tomorrow we will read Chicka Chicka 123 and then Walking Through the Jungle. 

Enjoy the following video...your kids will love singing along! 

Chicka Chicka video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtB5iGHgNVY

We have some awesome photos up on Instagram! Don't forget to follow me at @missescalera! 

Also I made a big boo boo for remind.com!!! Please re text the number using a 424 area code. I think I wrote 425 on the open house paper work!!!

Happy Monday! 

Love, Miss Escalera

Day 1 is in the Books!

Well, folks, I am pleased to report that this was the BEST first day of Kindergarten EVER!
This is how I know:
1) No one cried.
2) No one peed their pants.
3) No one escaped and ran up and down the hallways.
4) And everyone got home successfully!

=) Celebrating all night long!!!  (By all night, I mean until my strict 9 PM bedtime. I'm telling you, Teacher Tired is an entirely different kind of tired!)

Tomorrow, Tuesday, will be something a little different.  Because of full day kindergarten, Washington State requires us to complete something called WAKids Testing.  The kids will be "testing" from the minute they arrive until the minute they leave! The state's goal is to find out how successful pre-school is, and see how prepared kids are when they are entering kindergarten.  We have a group of trained paraeducators ready to go in the morning with centers and fun activities for the kiddos all day so they don't realize they are being tested. 

Thanks for having such wonderful kiddos! Everyone made it to blue today on the rainbow chart.  I think my biggest complaint is "chattiness," and honestly, if THAT'S my biggest issue, we have nothing to worry about! =)

Welcome y Bienvenidos!

Welcome to this year's Kinder Garden!

We have an exciting year ahead with lots of new things to learn-- for both the kids and their families! Thank you for keeping up to date with the blog. You can check in every few weeks for photos and videos of the kids! Please remember that I am expanding this year to include my YouTube channel as well as Instagram.  Staying on top of all the technology can be tricky, but help keep things organized.  Uploading videos and editing takes a while, so I apologize in advance for not updating weekly.  Get set up with http://www.remind.com for updates about the blog and other happenings in K!

1)    Send a text message from your phone to (424) 216-5112.

2)    In the message, type @missescal

You will receive a message back saying you are enrolled in Miss Escalera’s Kindergarten! J



SI HABLAS ESPANOL... 
1) Mande un texto al numero (424) 216-5112.
2) En el mensaje, tipea: @senoritae
Te va llegar un mensaje que dice que estas matriculado en la clase de Miss Escalera!