Fall 2009

We have been busy celebrating fall in our Kindergarten classroom. Before we cleaned out our pumpkin to make a jack-o-lantern, we each estimated how many seed would be inside the pumpkin. After we estimated, we took turns cleaning the seeds and 'guts' out of our pumpkin. That was so much fun. Even Miss Amy took a turn! After we cleaned the seeds, we counted them. There were 557 seeds in our pumpkin! And we counted them all! We went on a scavenger hunt that took us all over our school to find our 'treasure' at the end. It was fall treat bags! Mrs. Burris came to our classroom for Agriculture in the Classroom. She talked about pumpkins. Did you know that 90-95% of the pumpkins processed in the United States are grown in Illinois and Miss Terwelp grew up in Morton, Illinois, the Pumpkin Capital of the World? How cool! We made no-bake pumpkin pie that we got to eat! It was YUMMY! The last part of our fall celebration was listening to a storyteller. She told us stories about scarecrows and spiders.

September in the Kindergarten

September was a busy month for us. We went to the apple orchard, enjoyed some great weather outside, talked about soybeans for Ag in the Classroom, and fed our pet turtle, Scooter. Along with all of that, we learned to read some new words and play new games.

Curtis Apple Orchard

We took our first field trip in September. We visited Curtis Apple Orchard. We learned about the jobs of honeybees and how apples are grown, picked and made into cider. We played in the maze, saw the goats, and chose a pumpkin to take home. Also, we got to eat apple donuts and drink apple cider! What a great trip!

Beginning of Kindergarten 2009-2010

Welcome to a new year of Kindergarten! I hope you enjoy our class blog. I will post pictures and information about what we are doing in Kindergarten to help keep you up to date. Our blog is a great way for out of town relatives to keep up with your kids too! I am looking forward to a great year with your kids! Enjoy the slideshow! ~ Miss Terwelp

"The Big Box" written by Judy Nayer

Approximately two weeks ago, we read the book "The Big Box" written by Judy Nayer. The story is about a group of children who have a big box. They use the box to create something different for each letter of the Alphabet. For example, the letter 'b' was a boat and the letter 's' was a sandbox.
Today, our "The Big Box" homework was due. Our assignment was to use a box to create something else. We really had to use our imaginations! Today, we shared our box projects with the class. We each had a chance to sit on the teacher chair to talk about our box and then we had time to roam around and look at the other boxes in the classroom.
We hope you like all of our hard work!

"Earth Protectors"

When the Little Theater on the Square came to do a play called "Earth Protectors", we learned all about how to be an Earth Protector and help the environment by remembering to "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rethink. Earth Protectors!!!"

March Madness

March has definitely been a busy month for us. We had Ag in the Classroom, went to the dentist office, played outside on a few really beautiful days, and were visited by the Little Theater on the Square who did a play for us entitled "Earth Protectors". The countdown to the end of school is upon us. We are trying really hard to practice being First Graders!

February Fun - Beginning of March

February brought a celebration of all the people and things we love. We went to the FFA petting zoo at the high school and saw lots of cute animals. On March 2nd, we celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday with Read Across America Day. The Cat in the Hat visited us, we had guest readers from the high school, and participated in the Great Book Giveaway.

University of Illinois Physics Van

Today, the University of Illinois Physics Van came to visit us. It was so COOL! We learned about all kinds of scientific things. We learned that when you cool a balloon with liquid nitrogen, it will shrink. As it returns to room temperature, it will expand back to it's original size. We also learned that 'for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction'. When you let go of a balloon, the air goes out one direction and the balloon goes the other direction. A fire extinguisher can be used to push a person on a cart. It is really loud! And, when soapy warm water and liquid nitrogen get together, THEY EXPLODE!!! Make sure to watch the video (sorry there is no sound but you can watch the soda bottle filled with liquid nitrogen inside the garbage can EXPLODE!!! IT IS AWESOME!!! What a great way to learn about science.

University of Illinois Physics Van video

Let's Make a Cake

In Math and Reading, we are talking about doing things in sequential order. What comes first, next, and last or first, second, and third. What better way to learn to follow directions in the correct order (and what better tasting way too!!) than to make a cake.
First, we gathered our ingredients and tools that we need to make a cake.
Second, we read the directions.
Third, we mixed the ingredients and poured it into the pan.
Fourth, we baked the cake.
Fifth, we put frosting on the cake.
Last, we ate the cake!!! Yum yum yum! We are great bakers!

The 100th Day of School

On February 4th, we celebrated the 100th day of school. We brought in collections of 100 items. We counted them out into 10 groups on 10. We counted by 1's, 5's and 10's. We wore 100 day crowns. What a great day!

Scooter/Ag in the Classroom/Bulletin Boards

Scooter is our class pet. He is a turtle. Miss Terwelp has had him for 12 years!!! We got him out to feed him. He eats lettuce. We were able to pet him if we wanted, but you must wash your hands after touching him! He even tried to escape.
Mrs. Burris came to do a lesson on corn for Agriculture in the Classroom. We learned about the different types of corn, the products made with corn, and then we got to eat corn chips. Yum, yum!
When it was very snowy outside, we made snowflakes. We also traced a few of our classmates to make people to put up a big bulletin board in our hallway.
For Groundhog Day, we talked about shadows. The groundhog saw his shadow, so six more weeks of winter. Yuck! We saw our shadows, too, and traced them.

Sock Hop and Races

January has been a pretty busy month, including a few snow/cold days. We had our 2nd quarter reading incentive reward-a sock hop- where we danced with scarves, did the Hokey Pokey, and danced with partners. When we got a little crazy from being inside so much, we had races in our classroom. January brought us A LOT of indoor recess/play time. The Douglas County Health Department came and showed us how to wash our hands to get rid of the germs. We squirted "germs" onto our hands and then washed them. After we washed, we held our hands under a black light to see the "germs". Did you know that you should sing the alphabet all the way through while you scrub your hands?

Merry Christmas 2008

Because school was cancelled due to some icy weather the week before Christmas, today we were able to celebrate Christmas at school. The kids exchanged gifts with their friends. Everyone loved their gifts!