Eric The Reptile Man

              Over the weekend, I was invited to attend a friend's son's seventh birthday party. I was happy to go as I haven't seen this friend in some time. Little did I know it was one of the most interesting parties I have been too! After all the kids ate pizza and cake, we went in the room to discover Eric the Reptile Guy! Eric is a man who travels around the country doing parties, school events and anything else where he can show off his reptiles.
               Eric started off by introducing himself. He told everyone how he has travelled to Madagascar where he was able to meet many new people and discover new types of reptiles. Eric also has a foundation that collects money to help the people of Madagascar that are in need. After Eric gave his explanation of who he was and what his show was about, he was ready to get started!!
               The first animal Eric took out was a tree frog. He told the audience what the tree frog was and then he walked around with it so the kids could touch it. He even put it on someone's head! After that, Eric brought out two more frogs. He put them on the floor and they hopped around. Next came the two snakes. They were huge! It took ten kids to hold one of the snakes. It was very long and yellow. Eric's final surprise was his alligator!! I couldn't believe my eyes when he brought her out. The alligator was so well behaved as Eric was telling us all about her. It was truly a one of a kind experience!

Vocabulary:

attend(verb): to go to
interesting(adjective): exciting
discover(verb): to see
reptile(noun): a cold-blooded animal such as a snake, lizard, turtle, crocodile
Madagascar(noun): an island near the continent Africa
explanation(noun): the meaning of something
tree frog(noun): a type of frog
one of a kind(prepositional phrase): unique

Vocabulary Exercise:
Word Scramble-Use the definitions to help you unscramble the vocabulary words.
1. to see:_____________________ (cvoresdi)
2. a type of frog: ____________ (etre gfor)
3. to go to: _____________ (dtaetn)
4. a cold blooded animal: _______________ (relepti)
5. one of a kind:____________________(eunuiq)
6. an island near the continent of Africa:____________________(rmaacdasag)
7. the meaning of something:___________________
8. exciting: _________________ (ginnittesre)

Grammar Point:
Nouns name a person, place, thing or idea. A proper noun is a type of noun that names a particular person, place or thing. In my story I mentioned the man, Eric and the country he visited Madagascar. Both Eric & Madagascar are proper nouns and require a capital letter.
Activity: Please write a one paragraph short story and include at least 5 proper nouns.

Apple Picking

This past weekend, I went apple picking with my husband. September is such an exciting time of year! I am back to school, the weather is getting cooler and the season will change to Autumn. One of my favorite things to do in September is to go to the apple orchards and pick apples fresh off the trees. This year was the best by far. We went early enough in the season, so there were still so many apples on the trees. Last year, we went later in September and it was difficult to find apples that were still on the trees. This year, it was a warm Saturday for September and the sun was shining! We went down the first row and we were able to get about 10-11 apples. We continued to walk through the many rows that contained various types of apples. We brought home about 50 apples in total that ranged in color. Some apples were all red, some were all yellow and then we had mixed apples that were red and green. I had so much fun picking the apples! When I got home, I made applesauce and apple crisp. They were both delicious! I can't wait to do it again next year.

Vocabulary:

Autumn (noun)--> season, fall (September-December)

orchards (noun)--> a group of trees

fresh (adjective)--> newly made

the best by far (prepositional phrase) --> the very best

difficult (adjective)--> hard

contained (verb)--> included

various (adjective)--> different kinds

delicious (adjective) --> tastes good

Vocabulary Exercise:

Fill in the blank with the correct vocabulary word.

1. Yum! That dessert tasted ____________.

2. When I went to the bakery, they had a __________ loaf of bread that was still warm.

3. If you go apple picking, you will see many apple _______________.

4. _____________ is a season that begins in September and ends in December.

5. My favorite football team has been winning so many games, this year is ________________.

6. Sometimes it can be ______________ to learn a new language.

7. My notebook for class ___________ many important notes.

8. At the grocery store, there are ________________ fruits and vegetables to choose from.

Grammar Point:

Exclamation Point: a form of punctuation used at the end of a sentence to show intense emotion.

                         Examples: I am so excited to go to the movies later!

                                         Wow! I can't believe I won the grand prize!

                                          Ow! I am in so much pain!

Please make up 5 sentences that need an exclamation point at the end.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015 was the first day of school. It is my third year teaching Kindergarten and I absolutely love it! Although it was a hectic, busy day, it went quicker than I thought it would. I was feeling very anxious, but very excited as well. A whole new class to learn about and love. I think my Kindergartners were feeling the same way. Some were apprehensive to leave their parents, but others were just as excited as I was to start the new school year. They came barreling in to the school gymnasium. I lined up my class in a row on the gym floor. When it was time to go to the classroom, the anticipation was building. All 22 students could not wait to see where they would be spending their Kindergarten school year. As they came in, each student received a name tag. I learned all the students' names and we began our day. The students were allowed to play with math manipulatives, color and then we read a story. One of my favorite first day of school stories is called "The Kissing Hand." It is a great book to end the first day of school with! Once the story was over, the students created a take home project for their parents about the story. After that it was time for snack and packing up. All the students packed up and we headed back down to the gym for dismissal. The day went by in the blink of an eye but it was a fantastic day!

Vocabulary:

• hectic (adjective)---> busy
• anxious (adjective)-->nervous
• barreling (verb)--> running to
• manipulatives (noun)--> toys/objects used in math
• dismissal(noun)--> end
• blink of an eye (prepositional phrase)--> went very fast
• anticipation(noun)--> excitement
• apprehensive(adjective)-->fearful

Vocabulary Excercise:

1. hectic                                          A. end

2. anxious                                         B. busy

3.barreling                                       C. excitement

4.manipulatives                                D. nervous

5.dismissal                                       E. went very fast

6.blink of an eye                              F. running to

7.anticipation                                  G. fearful
8.apprehensive                                H. toys/objects used in math

Grammar Point:

Past Tense: The past tense -ed is used when you are writing or talking about something that happened in the past. For example, I wrote "...each student received a name tag." Please write 3 sentences using the past tense.