Enjoy your break!

There is no school December 24th-January 4th.  School resumes January 5th.  Have a Merry Christmas and see you in the new year!  :)

Merry Christmas!

A slideshow by Smilebox

Grinch Cookies

We had to improvise the "hearts".  :)  Thanks to everyone who brought in supplies!  Here is the recipe if you want to try at home.

Star of the Week

#staroftheweek pic.twitter.com/YYDUbH2jkd
— Mrs.Piltz' Kinders (@MrsPiltzK) December 22, 2014

Christmas Projects

A BIG thank you to Miss Heather and the 4th grade helpers for coming in to our class and helping put together lots of Christmas projects this afternoon.  The kids had a great time - we hope you enjoy them!

Thank you for the Books!

A huge thank you to United Way of Yellowstone County and First Interstate Bank for coming to our class this afternoon.  They read us the story "The Hat" by Jan Brett, and then presented each kindergartner with their own copy to take home.  We were also joined by Brenda Koch, who is the Executive Director of School Leadership Support. The kids really enjoyed this!

Winter Program 2014

A free slideshow design by Smilebox

Pajama Day!

On Tues. December 23rd we will have a visit from Santa, make Grinch cookies and watch The Grinch (cartoon version).  Kids can wear pajamas, if they'd like.  However, we will still go outside for recess so be sure they have snow gear and boots.  Thank you!

What Should We Name Our Elf?

Created with Padlet

Star of the Week & Student of the Month

#studentofthemonth pic.twitter.com/xvNJD2VpTd

— Mrs.Piltz' Kinders (@MrsPiltzK) December 15, 2014

#staroftheweek pic.twitter.com/pkV7MisDS3

— Mrs.Piltz' Kinders (@MrsPiltzK) December 15, 2014

Coding

To celebrate the Hour of Code, we are using Kodable (a free app) in our class this week to begin learning how to code.  The kids are really enjoying this challenging problem solving activity!

Reindeer Live Webcam

You can watch a live webcam of reindeer and read reindeer facts at Animal Planet!

Reindeer Facts

Fun Gingerbread Activity

Cute activity to make an Elmo gingerbread man online.  http://www.sesamestreet.org/games/art?c=xmas&t=xmas

How Candy Canes Are Made

Today we were using Wonderopolis to wonder about candy canes.  They have this cool video showing how candy canes are made by hand at Disneyland.

Skype with Children's Author in England

We just Skyped with children's author Jonathan Emmett, who talked to us from England!  He read his story The Santa Trap.  The kindergartners loved his story and the beautiful illustrations.  Check out his website for more information about Mr. Emmett, and for more stories & games.

Practicing teen numbers

Heights Middle School Ideas

We are brainstorming ideas for the new Heights Middle School name, mascot & colors.

Stars of the Week

#staroftheweek pic.twitter.com/oUgxIjhjt2

— Mrs.Piltz' Kinders (@MrsPiltzK) December 8, 2014

#staroftheweek pic.twitter.com/clNWF6BEbW

— Mrs.Piltz' Kinders (@MrsPiltzK) December 8, 2014

Gingerbread Story Retells using the Shadow Puppet Edu App

Today we used the app Shadow Puppet Edu to create "puppet shows" of a retelling of the gingerbread man story.  The kindergartners illustrated their own puppets.  The students who finished their shows published them to their Kidblogs.  You can watch them if you have QuickTime player installed on your device or computer.  They really did a great job, especially considering this was their first time using this app!  Here are a couple of great examples.

Gingerbread Activities Online

Click the image below for a great collection of online learning games and activities with a gingerbread theme.

Gingerbread Stories

After reading Deanna Jump's Gingerbread Man story, where they keep their cookies in a jar, we talked about where we would keep our cookies.  Check out our Kidblogs for our stories about where we would keep our gingerbread boys and girls!

@KidblogDotOrg after reading @MrsJumpsClass gingerbread jar story. pic.twitter.com/RdZwFzY78K

— Mrs.Piltz' Kinders (@MrsPiltzK) December 4, 2014

Winter Concert 12/18/14

Our Winter Concert will be on December 18th at 9:00 and 1:15.  Parents and families are encouraged to choose only one time to attend (because of space issues).  Our kindergartners are singing songs from Frozen.  Students are encouraged to dress nicely and can wear Frozen costumes if they have them.

Gingerbread Science

Today we conducted an experiment to answer the question "What would happen if the gingerbread man tried to swim across the river?"  We found these great printables at the blog Babbling Abby.  The kids had to predict what would happen, then write and draw their predictions.  We put a cookie in the water and observed what changes happened, then recorded our observations.

Friendship Feast

We had our #friendshipfeast last week! It was really nice that everyone helped bring food. And the parents were nice. Brayden

— Mrs.Piltz' Kinders (@MrsPiltzK) December 1, 2014

The Gingerbread Man Story

Gingerbread Men

If you didn't have a chance to decorate your gingerbread boy (or girl) over the Thanksgiving holiday, you can finish and send in any time this week.  Have fun!

Star of the Week

#staroftheweek pic.twitter.com/aIvGYeiqGH
— Mrs.Piltz' Kinders (@MrsPiltzK) December 1, 2014