Hello From Afghanistan!

Hello Pandas --

How are all of you doing?  I've made it to Afghanistan and I just wanted to say hello.

It was a long journey to Afghanistan.  We flew our plane from Minnesota to St. Johns, Newfoundland, CN, then to near London, England.  The next day we flew to Bucharest, Romania and finally to Bagram, Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is very mountainous and dry.  Some of the mountains that we fly over are 24,000' tall.  That's 10'000 feet taller than the highest mountains of Colorado.  We have been very busy flying almost everyday here.  Our plane has carried many passengers and their cargo to many different locations in Afghanistan.  The roads are in very poor shape here and often the only way to reach villages is by airplane.

Thank you again for the very special blanket.  I have it hanging on my wall and it reminds me of the Pandas and everyone back in the US every day.  I've thought of your class and the special presentation many times since I've been here.

Enjoy your last week of Kindergarten and have a great summer.

Thank you,

Major Jason Ceminsky

Scientists in the Making...

In Science we have been learning a lot about animals - insects, pets, birds, fish, etc. We know that in our own neighborhood there are a lot of these animals, sometimes, we just need to take a closer look. This week we grabbed our clipboards, our pencils, and focused on our eyes, ears, and touch to see what we could discover at Hoover on a Nature walk. Within our 15 minute exploration we discovered 37 birds, 12 caterpillars, 2 inchworms, 6 spiders, 5 butterflies, several insects and 1 dog across the street! Take a look at the our future scientists at work!

Sweet Send Off...

Breaking a Sweat...Breaking a Board

We had a great time today with our Friday Friend Master Winkler. He taught us about respect, focus, and self-control. He was a wonderful speaker and Aiden - one of Master Winkler's students - actually demonstrated how to break a board! He was very respectful, saying "Yes Sir!" and focusing on his Master's commands and directions. I even got in on the action! After listening carefully to Master Winkler's directions, focusing, and getting support from the students, I broke a board! It was quite a great time!

As a group we all practiced our listening skills, our focus skills, and our self-control. We are hoping that this discussion will help us remember to remain respectful of the rules, be a first-time listener, and give our best for the remainder of the school year! 

Just for Jason

Olivia's dad, Jason Ceminsky, is returning to Afghanistan on the morning of Thursday, May 12th. As a class we wanted him to know how much we appreciate his service, his courage, and bravery.
We wish him, and his fellow troop members, safety throughout their tour of duty. May he return home soon to a true hero's welcome.
Hope you take the time to enjoy the video and remember those who are serving our country!

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Wiggle, Waddle, and Witness the Wonder!

So...we are finally learning about animals in Science and we all know that the best way to learn is by experiencing hands-on, real-world learning. Therefore, we decided read stories about animals, do some whole group lessons on animals, write about animals, and interact with animals! Yes, I said it, kindergartens interacting with LIVE animals....scary...yet interesting thought.
Last week we brought in the goldfish to show one example of an amazing creature that may live in the water. One of my student's begged for me to bring in an Anglerfish. I explained that not all fish are exactly friendly fish! We discussed a variety of characteristics about fish - as well as how to care for them, how to feed them, and responsibilities of having a pet like a fish.

We also discussed warm-blooded animals like mammals and birds. We were fortunate enough to have an grandparent bring in an incubator filled with eggs. The incubator helps keep the eggs moist and warm. They were brought in yesterday - just in time because the first egg crack yesterday and three chicks today! My classroom, and the entire dome, was literally alive with the sounds of chirping all day - not only from the chicks, but the students too! Several times I caught them sneaking off to catch a glimpse the latest waddle or newest crack in the egg. Sneaky little detectives they are!

The last thing we investigated was cold-blooded animals. We were scientists as we brought in worms into our classroom. We used our 5 senses to discover unique features about them and also discuss interesting facts.

Overall, we have a good sense of some of the amazing animals that we may see everyday, but we still know there is a lot to learn. As one student put it "We gotta stay in school so we can learn about all this stuff, because t.v. doesn't let you play with everything like school does!"

Until the next adventure....

Happy Earth Day!

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