Mommy Spa is one of the events I most look forward to in kindergarten. The students work so hard to make sure the moms are the main attraction and this year they really succeeded! Moms were treated to nail painting, hair styling, massages, makeup, snacks and some special interview questions with their children. While the moms did get some crafts that we worked pretty hard on the main gift was time spent together!

We really enjoy our Fun Friday activities. This month’s Stem Friday just happened to fall during Read Across American week so we decided to build Cat in the Hat towers! Each group had a stack of red plastic cups and white index cards. Their challenge was to build a tower- tall or wide- it didn’t matter as long as they worked as a team. There is always one group that takes off really fast but eventually all of the groups get the idea. We had a lot of fun and also learned about persistence and regrouping after a setback. It can be hard to admit that your plan didn’t work out and even harder to try someone else’s ideas.

We did it! We made it to the 100th day of school! And we celebrated big! On our 99th day of school we dressed up as if we were 99 years old. We played bingo and even had a birthday party for ourselves. Then, one day later, we celebrated all things 100. We wore our Froot Loop necklaces that had 100 pieces of cereal on them (sorted into groups of 10 by colors of course). We wore our special 100 Days of School shirts and did 100 exercises with Jack Hartmann. We counted how far 100 steps would take us- almost to the cafeteria if you were wondering. That afternoon we broke into groups for our 100 Day stations. The class had so much fun working together to show off their knowledge of the number 100!

My class has worked so hard to get to the point of being able to write down their ideas. We are finally getting the hang of it! This week the students wrote their first “essay” about plants. We gathered our ideas using an idea web on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday the class created their rough drafts and on Thursday they got together with a partner to do peer editing. I loved hearing them share their ideas with their partners. After hearing some constructive criticism the students went back to their tables to make changes to their papers. On Friday they presented their papers to the rest of the class. We will keep working through this same process for the rest of the year. Eventually the students will be writing two to three sentences instead of filling out a sentence frame. It is so fulfilling to see their progress and pride!

Every year the St. James classes choose a community service project. This year the kindergarten classes chose to serve the Children’s Advocacy Center of Texarkana. We bought bags and hygiene items so that every child that comes through the center can have something that belongs to them. Once all of the items were gathered the students worked hard to fill each bag with a toothbrush and toothpaste, a comb, a towel, washcloth and deodorant, and a small fidget toy. It was so rewarding to see the care that each student put in to make sure the bags were complete. Altogether we filled 100 hygiene bags!