1st Grade...Here We Come!

I can't believe that another year has gone by so quickly!  I am so proud of each and every one of the kindergarteners for their hard work, excitement and wonderful personalities! 

I leave the school year with one more story to share.  As kindergarten came to a close and we began to pack up our classroom, the students noticed that I had removed a painting of a tree from the hall window outside our door.  I know that they have seen this all year, and even helped rehang it every time it fell when the door was closed too hard.  However, they never asked about it, or what it meant until I took it down and placed it in a box.

I explained that before the school year started, all of the teachers and I painted pictures of trees and wrote one word that we hoped would symbolize our students' journeys in our classroom this year.  Our word was "growth."  I chose this because, to me, kindergarten is when we begin to grow into who we will become as adults.  We not only grew physically, but socially as we entered a place where we did not know anyone else and walked away a family.  We grew into readers, writers, artists, singers, athletes, mathematicians, dancers, leaders, team members and above all else friends.

I want to thank all of the kindergarteners and their families for an amazing year!  I can't wait to see how far we will grow in 1st grade!

A Teacher's Poem

I give you back your children, the same children you confidently entrusted to my care last fall. I give them back pounds heavier, inches taller, months wiser, more responsible, and more mature then they were then.

Although they would have attained this growth in spite of me, it has been my pleasure and privilege to watch their personalities unfold day by day and marvel at this splendid miracle of development.

I give they back reluctantly, for having spent ten months together in the narrow confines of our classroom, we have grown close, have become a part of each other, and we shall always retain a little of each other.

Ten years from now if we met on the street, your children and I, a light will shine to our eyes, a smile to our lips, and we shall feel the bond of understanding once more, this bond we feel today.

We have lived, loved, laughed, played, studied, learned, and enriched our lives together this year. I wish it could go on indefinitely, but give they back I must. Take care of them, for they are precious.


I shall always be their friend.

~Author Unknown

Kindergarten Awards Ceremony

This is a gentle reminder that this Thursday, June 14, the kindergarteners will be honored with awards for their hard work this year!  The ceremony will begin at 9am in the gym.  Your child may wear their uniform or dress up!  Of course, family and friends are welcome to attend!

Following the awards, we will enjoy an end-of-the-year celebration with ice cream in our classroom!  To add to the excitement, Nia will be celebrating her birthday on Thursday, and her family has offered to bring in pizza for the childrens' lunch! 

I hope to see everyone there!  Your children have worked very hard this year and I an SO proud of each one of them!

Mr. Kefgen's Kindergarten had a farm...

E I E I O!!!

We had such a great time on our last field trip of the year at Wolcott Farm!  Our day started out with a kindergarten/1st grade field day next to the pond!

We then enjoyed a delicious BBQ lunch in the shade!  Thank you to Mr. Brooks for cooking over 130 hot dogs for Lighthouse Village!

We had such a nice afternoon exploring the farm and learning about the different animals!

When we finally got back on the bus, we were a little tired...

Thank you to all the chaperones!  We could not have had such a wonderful experience without your help!

Spring Exhibitions

Over the past 2 weeks, the kindergarteners completed and presented their Spring Exhibitions!  They all worked very hard on these and did amazing jobs!  Here are their visual aids and some of the things they taught the class about!

Nia learned about libraians.  Did you that Batgirl was a librarian?

Makyla learned about nurses.  She explained that nurses use tools like thermometers and stethoscopes to check to see if a person is healthy.

Anthony learned about firefighters.  He explained all about his trip to a fire station!

KB also learned about firefighters.  He taught us that firefighters train for over 600 hours before they can fight fires!

Phillip chose to learn about football players.  He told us that most NFL stadiums can fit over 70,000 people!

Caden learned about the army.  He explained that soldiers wear camouflage so that they are difficult to see.

Donovan learned all about gamers.  He taught us that gamers design and test new video games!

Jarvis learned about teachers.  He told us that teachers go to college to learn how to teach different things like art, music and kindergarten!

Daryl learned about firefighters as well.  He explained that firefighters sometimes have dogs to help them rescue people.

Tonia learned about doctors.  She taught us that there are two different kinds of doctors, ones for people, and one for animals called vets.

Gemar also learned about firefighters.  He explained that firefighters wear masks that are attached to fresh air so they can breathe even if there is smoke around them.

Rachel also learned about teachers.  She told us that teachers think hard about what they want their students to learn about, and write them down on paper called lesson plans.

Christain learned about lawyers.  He taught us that lawyers can work and file papers at court buildings.

Ethan learned about zoologists.  He explained that zoologists can work at colleges, museums and forest reserves.

Antoneyo learned about karate masters.  He told us that the Red Tiger was a symbol that represents someone who has earned a high color belt in karate.

Karima learned about ballet dancers.  She taught us that ballet began in Italy.

Amari learned about race car drivers.  He explained that race cars do not have glass headlights.

I am so proud of all the kindergarteners!  Congratulations!