Junior Achievement Day in Kindergarten...

Today we had a day of fun with a representative from Junior Achievement. Mrs. Boggs came to talk with us about how to earn and save money. She read several stories to us that helped us understand what it means to be a "volunteer" and what it means to "trade". We learned about "earning" and "saving" money. She brought along several activities to help as well. We ended our session by getting a certificate that lets everyone know we did a great job! Mrs. Boggs shared that by earning our certificate, we might be able to get a college scholarship from Junior Achievement. Isn't that great? Thank you Mrs. Boggs for taking the time to help us learn.

Special Visitor: Senator Carole Pankau...

Our class was invited to Springfield, IL (our state capital) to participate in the Illinois Tech 2008 Conference. We were to share with our senators and state representatives some of the fun and exciting things we do with technology in our classroom. Unfortunately, the conference was canceled due to construction at the capital building. Senator Carole Pankau, didn't let the cancellation stop her from finding out how we use technology. On Friday, May 16th she came to our school for a visit. Mrs. Blakely explained some of the many things we do while several children shared with her what they know about using EasyTech, Microsoft Paint , our New Zealand Blog buddies at Manaia Kindergarten , Nutkin's Blog and other programs and web sites. . We think she was impressed and we were very proud to share what we know.
Thank you Senator Pankau, you're welcome back anytime!

Thank you Mr. & Mrs. Grills for sharing your photos with us for our blog! Thank you Dr. Shelley for stopping in to share what we do in our district. Thanks to Miss Kelly and Mrs. Kajpust for your help as well.

Field Day '08...

Last Thursday we participated in Spring Trail's 12th Annual Field Day events. We jogged, jumped, tossed, tugged and more. Everyone tried hard to do their very best! We had a great time:

Thanks to all the parents for helping out!

An Octopus in Kindergarten...

Today we had a chance to see, touch and hold a real octopus. In fact there were three of them. Mrs. Blakely surprised us by bringing them to school today. You can see how excited we were:

Thanks Mrs. Moeller for your help with the photos.

An Octopus is Amazing....

We learned some very interesting things about the octopus. Here are a few things that we know about these amazing animals:

• An Octopus can squirt black ink because they are afraid and they want to escape their enemies


• They have 8 legs


• They have 240 suction cups on their legs


• Their legs are called tentacles


• They have big heads


• They can change color for protection


• They are really smart, they can take the top off a jar to get at food


• They like to eat crabs


• Their bodies are squishy because they don't have any bones


• They can live in small spaces


• They use their siphons to go fast to get away from enemies


• They use their siphons to clean out their dens

We watched some really cool videos about how smart an octopus can be. Check them out:

• The Octopus vs. Mr. Potato Head (he also opens a jar in this video)
• Octopus glides through a plastic tube
• Octopus escapes through a small hole
• Octopus vs. Shark

Visit Enchanted Learning to find out more about the octopus.

Check back soon to see what other wonders we are learning about.

(flickr photo courtesy of: Sabinche)

Extra Time in the Gym...

We have not been able to have our time in the Computer Lab for several weeks (the "big kids" are testing). One day we decided to use that down time to go into the gym. Miss Frandsen's class joined us in the gym. We ran laps around the gym, stretched and did "warm-ups". Then we had "Center Time" in the gym. We gave each other rides on the scooters at the "Scooter Center". We shot hoops at the "Basketball Center". And we jumped rope at the "Jump Rope" center. We rotated through all the centers. Then we played a game called "Sharks & Fish". We got to run all over the gym as little "fish" and try not to get caught by the "sharks". We had so much fun!

Happy Mother's Day...

Wishing each and every mom a very restful and

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Lunch in the Lunchroom...

In preparation for part of what we will do in First Grade, we got to try out eating lunch in the lunch room last Wednesday. We had the choice to have a school lunch... hot dogs, beans and applesauce; or to bring a cold lunch from home. The lunch mom came to our room and picked us up, just like she will when we are in First Grade. Then we went into the lunchroom to eat. It was fun!

Field Trip Video...

We had so much fun on our trip to the Shedd Aquarium. Mrs. Blakely took lots and lots of pictures. Some of the photos are in this video...it's a tad long, but there were so many wonderful underwater wonders to see there. ;-)
If you have never been to the Shedd, it's a "Must See" if you are ever in Chicago, IL.

The Shedd Aquarium...

As part of our Sea Life unit, we took a trip into Chicago to the Shedd Aquarium. Both classes met early in the morning to spend the entire school day at the Shedd. We had plenty of parents on board to help chaperon. Miss Frandsen's Kindergarten classes went too. We arrived on time, no traffic delays, and went right in to see the Dolphin Show. It was so exciting to see all the great tricks the dolphins have been trained to do. We got to explore the Shedd and then got to eat lunch in the "Munch Room". We had time for more exploring. We saw a diver feeding fish, including parrot fish, rays and sharks. The Shedd also has an area with fish from lakes and rivers. We got to see snakes that like to live in the water. We also saw seahorses, otters, and one of the newest members to the Shedd family, the baby beluga whale. It was a baby boy and his name is Miki. Learn more facts about the Shedd's Beluga whales.
There were so many wonderful and fascinating animals to see there. We have lots of photos to share. The video of our trip will follow soon....so check back.

The Dogfather pays us a visit...

A few weeks ago, The Dogfather made an unprecedented visit to Spring Trail to help us with our fundraising. He brought along with him his delicious beef, hot dogs and sausage! As always everyone enjoyed the food and fun times with Spring Trail families. We know this was a lot of work and we really appreciate your willingness to help us Tony!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Thanks Mrs. Borczak for taking the photos while I was busy slicing buns! ;-)