GLOW DAY!!!

 

Today when the students arrived they noticed something a little strange about our classroom.  There was neon stars EVERYWHERE!  They got to play with their busy box at their seat until it was time for the pledge and attendance.  After attendance we took a bathroom break.  Mrs. Laue was very sneaky and I turned on the black lights and turned OFF the regular lights.  The kids were SO excited walking into the classroom and were so excited to see what parts of their outfits glowed.  

Glow day is a lot of fun, but there is still work to be done!  We got started making words right away. First the kids had to add the beginning sound to the rime and then write the words.  They all got a special invisible ink pen, a highlighter, and neon crayons to use. 

We did some rainbow writing and a sight word search next!

Making words with glow in the dark stars was also a HUGE hit!  We were working on words in the -ad family today!

Days like today, it is sometimes fun to just sit back and listen to the excitement and the giggles coming from the students.  

We got to have a little fun today also!  We read the book A Creepy Pair of Underwear (it GLOWS under the black light!) and then the kids got to create their own creepy pair of underwear!  

For math, we did some rainbow writing with our numbers.  We also played a dice game where students roll either one or two dice and color the number that they get.  The kids love this game and playing it with highlighters and neon crayons was an added bonus!  We also had some fun counting and sorting beads onto pipe cleaners!

Glow Volcanoes are always a HUGE hit!  All of my in person kiddos got to make a glow volcano today!  

My remote learners also got to join in on the fun today!  Instead of doing their normal Thursday work, they got an at home GLOW DAY kit with some similar activities and some different activities!

Overall, we had an AWESOME glow day!!!  

Team Spirit Day!!

 

Tomorrow is Class by Color Day and Kindergarten is PURPLE!!!

Spirit Week!

 Today was pajama day and we had so much fun chillaxin in our PJ's!  Tomorrow is wear your favorite sports gear day so I will obviously be decked out in my PACKERS gear!! 

First Week Back!

We have had an awesome  first five days back!  The kids have done a great job adjusting to the new "normal" of kindergarten.  I am doing my best to still provide them with as much hands on learning as I can, while still keeping them safe!  We wash our hands and use sanitizer frequently throughout the day and they even help wipe down their desks and chairs!  I am so proud of how well they have adjusted!  

My remote learners are also doing an amazing job completing their work at home!  I am also super proud of them!  

I appreciate everyone's patience and understanding this past week when hiccups have occurred.  

Welcome Back!

 Hi friends!  Tomorrow starts KINDERGARTEN!  I made a couple videos for you to watch!

Here is a video that shows you how to get our classroom, since your grown-ups can't come in with you tomorrow!

Here is a video of me reading you a back to school story!

I can't wait to meet you all!

Kindergarten 2020-2021

 Hi!  I am Mrs. Laue and I am so happy to be your teacher this year!   Click here to learn all about me! 

I have been busy as a bee getting our classroom ready for you!  Here are a couple of sneak peeks!

I hope you all have had a nice and relaxing summer!  I spent a lot of time fishing with my family at our lake cabin!

I can't wait to meet you and learn all about what makes you special!

Farewell!

Dear Parents/Guardians,
       While our physical school year may have ended a while back, today is officially  the last day of school.  Today I give you back the same child that you entrusted in my care this fall. I give you back your child a little bit taller, a little bit older, and a whole lot smarter.  It has been my absolute privilege to watch them grow and learn day by day.  This year we have lived, loved, laughed and learned together.  We became a family.  The timid and nervous children that walked into my room in August have grown SO much.  It made my day every single time a student persevered to accomplish a challenging task, learned a new skill, and made a new friend.  I watched kids teeter on the edge of frustration and watched as they pushed through and kept going with a bit of encouragement from myself and peers.  They pushed themselves further than I think they thought they could.  I hope they forever keep the grit and determination I saw from them this school year.
     Please know that I will forever be invested in your child's future and would love to hear about or from them as they continue through life.  I look forward to the day when I hear their name attached to a great accomplishment or their name in my email inbox with a message of personal achievement or memory of our time together.  Your child helped me grow and learn this year also, and for that, I will forever be grateful.

Love,
Mrs. Laue

Dear Students,
     I want to start by saying that I have loved being your teacher.   You all made my job so much fun every single day!  There was never a dull moment in our classroom!  Some of my favorite memories are Glow Day, Under the Sea week, and the way you all lit up with excitement when I said I was going to read you a new book, that of course was one of my favorites (because they all seem to be one of my favorites).   As strange as it sounds, I liked when things were hard for you.  I liked it because you guys NEVER gave up.  You believed in yourself and your friends and you helped each other, you encouraged them and you loved them.  Some days were hard, and messy.  That is okay.  I want you to know that sometimes things will be hard and messy.  We learned and grew from all of our hard and messy times and you will continue to learn from hard and messy things.
    If I would have known that March 13th was going to be our last day together I would have hugged you all a little longer and a little harder.  I know it doesn't feel fair that we didn't get to say good-bye the right way.  I am proud of how you all have responded to the curve ball that came our way this year.    I have been teaching for a long time, longer than you have been alive!  This year is one of my favorites because I got to spend it at Clark School for the first time ever and with YOU!  Please come see me when you are a first grader next year!  I will wave and wink when I see you in the hallways and in the community!  Thank you for making this year fly by!  I miss you all so much!

If you would like to share this video with family here is the link:  https://youtu.be/3ib8HW_y1UQ  The video is unlisted so it can only be watched through the above link.  

Class Dismissed!

Week of 4/27

Hey friends!  I hope you have all received Flat Mrs. Laue and that I am able to hang out and play with you all!  I love getting pictures of you and your portable teacher! 

If your child is getting bored with Espark and Splash Learn, here are some other options (If your child chooses these options, you will need to message me and let me know, as I can't check attendance on these sites)

Addition Practice Click Here

Sight Words Click Here

Counting to 100 Click Here

Addition and Subtraction Click Here

Learn to Read Starfall Click Here

FunBrain (Click Here), ABCYA (Click Here) and Math Playground (Click Here) all have lots of options for learning games. 

Please remember that I am required to take attendance, so if you are not checking in with me or turning in a packet I can't mark your child as present for the day.  Some of you have written in a notebook each days activities and send it to me on Friday.  That is fine too.  Whatever is easiest for you, but please make sure you are checking in at some point.  Again, the sites listed above do not require a log-in, so I will be unable to log on and see if your child completes work on those sites.

On Friday, Sobo teachers will be doing a drive by parade at 2pm.  Please remember that your child's safety is very important.  They should not run to the cars in the parade.  Please practice social distancing and keep your kids a safe distance away from the road.  Here is a list of streets we will be parading on.  If you do not live on these streets you may walk or drive to a street we will be parading on.  More information can be found on Clark School's Facebook page.

 

THIS WEEKS LESSONS AND VIDEOS CAN BE FOUND BY CLICKING HERE!

Thursday!

A couple jokes to start our day...

Here is today's story!  I hope you enjoy it!

Happy Wednesday

It looks like technology is going to agree with me this morning!  YEAH!  We are in the process of working out getting supplies back to you.  Be looking for an all call going out sometime this week or early next week with details.  When supplies are dropped off, I am asking for any book that is not photocopied that is in your child's reading folder to also be returned.  There will be a box labeled.  Please put them in a grocery bag with your child's name somewhere inside the bag.  This will help me know who has returned books and who still has books at home. 

Tonight we will do a Zoom Directed Drawing at 6:30.  An email will go out later today with the call details.  I will also send the details on SeeSaw.  Your child will need a piece of paper and a writing utensil.  We will do the drawing together and then they can color if they want to after the call is over.  The last call the kids did a great job waiting their turn to talk and raising their hands!  I was impressed.  Remember the Zoom calls are optional and in no way mandatory!

I have had quite a few messages that kiddos are struggling right now.  There whole world has been turned upside down.  Like I have said before, do what you can and that is fine.  Please remember that we are all in the same boat.  The beginning of next school year is going to be reformatted to help these kids who missed 4th quarter.  The most important thing is to make sure they are doing okay mentally.  Their basic needs must be met in order for any learning to take place.  Reading and/or being read to is the most important thing for your child.  If you are only going to get one or two things done, please start with that!  

As always, if you have any questions or concerns please reach out and let me know.  

Todays Video:

April 16th

A few pig jokes to start the day...

Why do you never share the bed with a pig?

He will HOG the covers!

What do you call a pig who steals stuff?

A HAMburglar

How do pigs get to the hospital?

The Hambulance

Today's story...

You guys are doing a great job!  I am really proud of you all!

April 15th

Good morning!  I hope you are all doing well.  Thanks to everyone for checking in and letting me know how things are going.  Please remember to only do what you are able to do.  It is okay if your kid needs a break after only completing one or two things.  As long as you are checking in and trying, I am marking children as present for the day.  Please reach out and let me know if you need support in any way.  I can't imagine how these kiddos are processing this extended leave from school.  I have been super impressed with the level of commitment from the kids and their grown ups during this challenging time, especially knowing that many of you are also still working either in or out of the home. 

You should have received an email for tonight's Zoom Show and Tell.  If you did not, please let me know asap and I will resend the information! I look forward to "seeing" the kids tonight. 

Here is today's YouTube Video!

April 14th

I am super impressed with how many of you are working so hard every day!  I can't wait to see you all again and give you the biggest hugs!  I hope you enjoyed the story yesterday!  The story of the Three Little Pigs has some amazing fractured fairy tale books to go along with it.  

It is looking like Google Forms is having some issues right now, so if you can just continue to message me or email me when your child completes his/her work that would be super helpful.  I was impressed with how hard some of the kids worked on the websites given.  It is looking like quite a few friends are struggling with rhyming on Espark.  Here are some fun rhyming work out videos, that could also count as part of your child's gym for the day!

Here is today's story!  I hope you enjoy it!

April 13th

I hope you all enjoyed Easter Sunday.  At the time of writing this, I do not have Art plans for the week.  I will make sure to get them to you as soon as I receive them.  

We are required to take "attendance" during remote learning.  I got a lot of negative feedback with the google forms.  Until I can chat with someone who can answer my questions about the issues some of you were having, I am not going to send the link.  Attendance will be recorded by you messaging me on SeeSaw or emailing that your child completed work for the day.  Please limit the amount of time they are spending doing school work to less than 90 minutes per day. It is okay if they don't get to everything, every day. 

We will do another zoom meeting Wednesday night.  I will send an email Wednesday with instructions and some guidelines to help it go a little better than last time.  That was a little chaotic, but I loved seeing their faces and hearing their voices!

Paper packets are available at Clark School Office from 8am to 11am daily.  Please return the previous weeks work when you pick up a new packet. 

Thanks for all you are doing to help support your learner at home.  It is very much appreciated.  As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. 

Click here for this weeks  plans!

Today's Videos

April 9th

Just a reminder that today is the day of remote learning for the week.  I hope you all enjoy the three day weekend!  Next week's packet will be ready to be picked up Monday morning.  Please return this weeks work when you pick up your new packet. 

Today's Video

April 8th

Good morning!  I hope you all got out to enjoy the beautiful weather yesterday!  We will have our next Zoom call next week and we will be doing it Show & Tell style!  More details will come with Monday's blog post!

Here are the videos for today's lesson!

Chick Gallery!

I MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH!! April 7th

Hey kids!  Clark teachers thought we would make you a special video to let you know how much we are missing you!

Here are today's videos to go along with the lessons! 

 

Bunny Gallery

Remote Learning Week 2!

We survived our first week of remote learning!  Way to go to the kiddos and the grown ups helping them along the way! I am blessed with some amazing little people in my life this year!  

This week is a short week as there is no school on Friday.

I would like to do another Zoom call this week and have it be show and tell.  I will be able to mute the microphone of all the kids, and then unmute the person who's turn it is to talk.  I will be sending home a survey later today asking what day/time works best for everyone.  I will try my best to find a time that works for the majority of the kid's who would like to participate.   If your kid is struggling, and you would like a one on one zoom call, please reach out.  I will do my best to accommodate those requests. 

IMPORTANT!! If your child is completing paper/pencil activities, please turn those in when you pick up this week's packet.  The office is open M-TH from 8am to 11am this week. 

This to access this weeks lessons click here! 

Today's Videos:

Remote Learning April 3rd

Happy Friday!  

If you did not receive last nights email with the information for the zoom pajama party tonight, please message me or email me and I will make sure you receive the information.  I did a test run tonight, one thing to take note of, is when joining the meeting you will need to allow access to your microphone and your camera, otherwise I will not be able to see or hear your child.  I will make sure that all kids that join get a turn to talk, but I will be muting the kids when I read the story.  This will be my first time doing a zoom meeting with a large group of small children, patience is appreciated!

I am amazed at all the hard work the kids have put in this week.  Quite a few parents messaged me today that kids were struggling a bit, it is okay and I kind of expected it.  Thursdays are a tougher day when we are in school also.  Please know that your child's mental health and well-being are very important to me.  If they have tried and got even one thing done and you feel they need a break for the day, that is OKAY!  Plans will be adjusted when we go back to school. 

Next week each child should be receiving an envelope in the mail from me.  On the envelope will be a PO Box number in the return spot.  This is my personal PO Box.  If kiddos would like to write back, they can send it that PO Box address. Obviously, this is optional.  I will keep the PO Box open at least through the summer and will respond to any letters received.

I appreciate your support and efforts at home.  I will email out today's attendance survey this evening.  A new packet will be available for pick up at Clark on Monday.  Please turn in this weeks work when you pick up next weeks packet.  If you have any questions, concerns, or if you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask!  After tonight's zoom meeting, I will be turning off SeeSaw notifications on my phone and taking a much needed two day break.  I will email out next weeks lessons on Sunday evening. 

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO ORDER A YEARBOOK!!!!

For today, I just have a quick youtube video and then Mrs. Dobson is our guest reader today!  She loves reading stories as much as I do!

April 2nd - Remote Learning

Good morning!  I have some very exciting news!!!

We will be having a Zoom meeting Friday night at 7!  I just want to check in and say hi to all the kiddos and then I will read them a story.  It should last around 20 to 30 minutes tops.  I will send out an email this afternoon with specific instructions.  I do not want to post the link to the meeting on our public blog.  :) Don't worry if your child can't make the first meeting, I plan on having them weekly until we get back to school.  I am really missing my tiny kinder friends!

Can I just say that I am blown away by how hard these kiddos are working!  I love getting updates on their work and the pictures make my heart so happy!  I checked Espark, Splash Learn and KidsA-Z and I was blown away by how much growth many of them have made!  Keep up the hard work!  Remember the developmental guidelines from the state say to limit their school work to about 90 minutes daily and allow for breaks!  The weather is supposed to be beautiful this week so make sure to get outside and play a little too! 

Today's Video Links:

I love watching the jelly fish, it is so relaxing! Here are a couple more aquarium live feeds you can check out if you would like!

I will email another attendance survey between six and seven tonight for those that prefer to check in that way.  

Spirit Week Pictures from 4/1

Remote Learning Day 3

I am so bummed that school has been cancelled through April 30th.  If you have not filled out the survey I sent you, please do that soon.  From the surveys that have been returned, I wanted to address the amount of time being spent on work.  Illinois guidelines are that kids should not spend more than 90 minutes on school work a day.  If you do not get through all of the tasks it is okay, just let me know what you did get through.  I am working on streamlining the attendance process into a google form that will be emailed out daily (for today's attendance survey click here). 

Zoom Video Call - I am working on getting this set up.  I will make sure to vary the call time each day in hopes to reach the largest number of students over the course of the week.  I am hoping to have our first one done by the end of this week!  In order to participate students will need to go to follow the link provided on the day of the meeting on a computer.  Or they can download the android or iphone app.  They do NOT need a zoom account and when the app asks you if you want to purchase zoom respond NO.  They will still be able to fully participate. 

Today is April Fool's Day! I picked our favorite funny book to read today!

(what is up with these stills that youtube picks for my videos??)

Yesterday's Virtual Spirit Week Pictures!