IRI - check!

I have been dreading the state IRI for awhile now, especially since the winter IRI did not go well. Our kindergarteners in the winter scored an average of 44% and the state average was 75%. Needless to say we had a lot of ground to make up. We worked really hard and yesterday they took the spring IRI - they each left the room one at a time as I crossed my fingers and prayed for each one individually. With kindergarteners each day is different and they can test great one day and terrible the next so I just wasn't sure after a four day weekend how they would perform and I was nervous. I knew that they knew their stuff, we've drilled and practiced and drilled and practiced and drilled and practiced! But whether or not they would prove that they knew their stuff when tested would be a different story.

After the test was finished and all of them were back in their seats ready to keep learning I breathed a sigh of relief - it was done! There was nothing more I could do now to make their scores reflect what they know.

I anxiously awaited their results and received them around 2:00 pm. I remember closing my eyes as I opened the attachment that held their scores, took a deep breath and then eagerly scanned through the results. I have to say that my immediate reaction was one of disappointment. I was foolishly expecting all of them to get a 3 (which is the highest score) - not because I personally wanted to look good but simply because I knew that they could, each one of them has proven in the past few weeks that they are capable of a 3. However, much to my dismay 3 of them scored a 2 and one of them scored a 1. I overlooked the fact that 80% of my class scored 3's which is amazing. It was also frustrating that the three that scored 2's came within a few points of scoring a 3. MAN!!!!!!!!

In hindsight I know that if they were to test on Wednesday some that scored 3's could easily get 2's and so on. Who knows? The scores are what they are and I'm proud of them all for doing their best.

And thank you to the parents who worked with your child at home in preparation for this test. Your efforts definately paid off. And I have to say that I'm glad it's over! At least until next year!

Mother's Day Gifts

So - this year I was at a loss for a Mother's Day gift. I was late in thinking about it and was stressed last week when I only had one day to figure something out. However, the lovely website "The Crafty Crow" (one of my faves) gave me some great ideas for homemade Mother's day gifts and they were adorable. I then only had to purchase some small matchboxes and some ribbon because I had plenty of scrapbook paper of my own. The total of this gift out of my pocket ended up being around $7.00 total. Incredible!! I think this just may be a staple gift for years to come. And their school pictures fit perfectly in them.

Happy Mother's Day to my kinder moms!! Thanks for all that you do!

Hoedown in Melba

So - Last night I spent the evening watching my cute little kindergarteners dressed up in their western finest perform in the spring program. The theme was western and man was it upbeat and lively. When you came in the doors you were greeted by the 5th graders doing line dancing and loud western music - it was great. There were plenty of cowboy hats, bandanas and overalls to go around and if you were to look closely you probably saw each foot taping to the upbeat tempos that resonated through the gymnasium. It was a sight to behold. The set design was great and the kids had so much fun performing. I was very proud of them!

Easter Egg Hunt

I'm all about Easter Egg hunts - anything that's fun and makes people happy!! We didn't have a specific time period set out in our monthly schedule for an Easter egg hunt but my room mom and I decided that it would be a fun thing to do. Unfortunately it rained outside so our hunt was inside - but the kids really have a good time.

There were plenty of eggs to go around and we keep finding hidden eggs around the classroom even this week.

Empty Easter basket

Logan found one!

Jeff can't reach!

Telissa's stash!

The Things They Say

So this morning my students were coloring a worksheet on the letter "Jj" and one of the boys says to me, "Mrs. Franklin guess what? My grandpa can't play with me anymore." To this I responded, "well, why not?" and he says, "because he has diarrea."

Today we were standing in line for music and one of my students asked whether we were going to music or P.E. I told him that we were going to get to go to music today and to this he replied, "Ahh man, I'm never going to be a music teacher."

A few days ago during the morning journal writing the class seemed fairly quiet which is nice in the mornings. However, one little boy broke the silence and with complete seriousness said these words to the other students sitting at his table, "hey guys, guess what? My mom doesn't know that I turn into a werewolf at night." And instead of laughter (except from me) the other students go into what they turn into at night - it was quite comical. We had everything from clowns, black ninjas, vampires, bats, spiderman and spongebob.

Haven't had some funny ones in awhile so it was refreshing to hear them today chat about cute little innocent things.

Kindergarten Catch-up

Sorry I haven't posted anything since Valentine's Day. Life somehow got in the way and my "free-time" was rendered more useful elsewhere.

However, we have been having classes regularly and we have been learning quite a lot. I've been focusing the majority of my attention on preparing them for the spring IRI and making sure they are confident with their abilities to be able to survive first grade.

I will be posting some pictures of our Easter party and any other fun activities that we do this spring.

Valentine's Day

We've accomplished the celebration of our first Valentine's Day at school. I had forgotten that Valentine's Day was never a big day for this little guys until this year. It was a lot of fun to see them open their valentine cards and gasp at the candy that came with practically every card (who started that tradition?) - anyways it was a fun afternoon full of candy, cards and games.