How sweaters are made...

Today was another enlightening day in Kindergarten. I learn SO MUCH every day!
When the children bring show and tell, we have 2 parts. First, the child tells about what they have brought to share with the class. Usually its standard information: "I got it at _____.  I like to play with it. This is how it works: Its (color) and I like it because _____." etc.
The second part is when the rest of the class has a chance to ask the proud owner questions about their item/ event. I like this part becuse it teaches them what a question is and it gives them incentive to really listen to what is being said, so they don't repeat something that's already been said or asked.
Every year the children seem to have some favorite questions; "Do you sleep with it? Where do you keep it?" etc. This year they have started asking "How was it made?" I'm not sure who asked it first, but it seems to have become a popular question. Most of the time the answer is "I don't know" or they might name what kind of material the item is made from.
Today one student decided to share her white sweater for Show and Tell. When someone asked "How did they make it?" I wasn't prepared for her reply. This is what she said: "Well, you see, first they take the sleeves and glue them to the sides, then they glue on the tag in the back. They build it from fuzzy stuff, so it feels soft and they glue on pretty buttons. Then they take it and spray it with white paint to make it all the same color."
You can't make up a description this good!  I AM glad we do a fibers and fabrics unit in science this year. Hopefully she will have a little better understanding of how clothing is made when we get finished with that set of inquiries! Or maybe she will revolutionize how clothing is made in the future!
The possibilities are endless. :-)

Dry eyes, Wet pants

Today was a dry eye day! My little guy that's been crying everyday finally made it through a day without any tears. (He didn't even need his chart to check off activities today.)  He was so proud of himself and I gave him lots of praise throughout the day. This afternoon I wrote a special note for him to take home and show his mom & dad. She still emailed me to make sure he was telling her the truth....too funny!
I guess being patient finally paid off.

But on the other side of the coin, I had the first 'accident' of the year. One of my quieter little girls waited a bit too long before asking to go to the restroom and ended up with soggy britches. She's such a little sprout that the nurse didn't have any undies small enough, so she refused to put on a dry pair. I finally convinced her to try them on  and she did comply. Let's hope tomorrow is dry top AND bottom!

Adjusting

Today was our 6th day of Kindergarten. I had to miss school yesterday because of an unavoidable appointment. I was pretty nervous to have a 'guest teacher' so early in the year, but it seemed to go fine. I did my best to prepare them for all the things that would happen while I was gone. I think it was harder for me, being absent, than it was for the children. It's amazing how they can adjust to new situations when they need to.
I have one little fellow that has been crying on and off since the second day of school. His biggest concern seems to be how long we will be at school. I made a daily schedule to put on his desk each day so he can mark off each activity as we complete it, and it seems to be helping. He has a visual, and at least he's not asking me every 5 minutes if its time to go home yet. He knows that we have to get to the end of his chart to get to dismissal time. Today he had a few tears early, but most of the day was tear free! I'm hoping this is a sign that he is adjusting to school and will soon be joining the other children to play and have a little fun.
I also got a new student today. She had started a week ago in a Pre-K program in a nearby district. Family circumstances changed and today she entered my Kindergarten room, making a total of 24 students in my classroom. I wasn't crazy about all the work it took to get everything ready for her to blend into our room. It would have been so much easier if she could have been enrolled when the year started and I was doing all of the prep for the children on my class list. But life has a way of throwing us curves, and how we embrace them makes all the difference. So I adjusted my thinking and did my best to make her feel welcome. She seemed to make an easy transition today, and hopefully tomorrow will go just as smoothly.
If it doesn't, I guess we'll just have to make a few more adjustments.