Precious Preemie Clothing Drive in Full Throttle!!!

Hey Nation of Firsts!!!!  I am pleased to tell you, we have passed our goal of 155 baby items!  We are currently at 160!  Yippeee!!!!  So EX.C.I.TED!  I could sing!  But I won't, because I love you all so much and I wouldn't want you to not like me anymore.  Again...I digress....


Check out these AWESOME photos of what's "hangn'" in the Firstie hallway!!!!

 Let's fill it up Lakeview!!!!

Look at these super cute little cutie hats!!!

I want one!!!!

The Precious Preemie Clothing Drive is a service project of the Firstie Nation and the Learning Readiness Classes of Mrs. Teske. This is the 3rd annual Preemie/Newborn Clothing Drive!

We will be collecting clothes sizes preemie-3/6 months until Nov. 19th.

On Nov. 20th, we will pack up my supa fast, supa cool Traverse and head out to Avera McKennan Hospital In Sioux Falls, S.D.  We will host a baby boutique, where bed rest mommies and NICU parents will have a chance to pick out baby items for their precious baby, for when they are ready to go home.

This is a melt your heart kind of experience.  My senate members...my community...my family...THANK YOU for supporting us!

SMOOCH!!!

President Varpness and the Senate!

Hey Cats and Kittens!

50th Day of School Daddy-O!

 In the Nation, we try to find as many cool dress up days as possible.  Enter...the 50th Day of School!  Half way to our supa cool 100th day party!  We needed to throw a shout out to the 50's!  When I "strolled" on in, my senate members looked at me and said, "Are those your jammies?"  (50th Day was also Red Ribbon jammie day.) Ummmm....no.

Here are my two favorite chick-a-dees, rock-n-rollin' in our 50's throw back apparel.

  (Do ya dig?)

Soooo...many of my firsties had no idea of what the 50's were, so we needed to take a trip..."Back to the Future."
Few of our 50th Day activities...
-50's vs. Now Anchor Chart  (I made cards with pictures of cars, t.v.'s, children, diners, from the 50's and today.  Firsties sorted them on the anchor chart.
-HULA HOOPS!
-Pandora 50's Music
-50 snack sort

My pretty mommy when she was a bitty baby girl in the 50's.

Punky Painting....so fun.  (See the jammies?)

On the look out for the Candy Corn Bandit!  (He stole our candy corn and hit the road.)  We learned about predictions and let our predictions lead us through the clues...back to our CANDY!!!!

(Candy Corn Bandit is an original work of Abby Mullins...Inspired Apple.)

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Seasons of an Apple Tree

The Firstie Nation has been learning about 

APPLES!!!!!

This is our apple tree through the seasons project.

Senate members made the blossoms, fruit and leaves.

#johnnyappleseed 

 Apple Tree in Winter

Apple Tree in Spring

 Apple Tree in Summer

Apple Tree in Fall

Let's Get This Party Started

My Lifeblood...

#try.it

Can of Worms?

Happy cloudy Tuesday Firstie Nation!
I think I may have open a can of delicious worms!  The last couple years the Nation has been working hard to create young scientists.  Now, normally President Varpness searches the recesses of her magnificent brain for scientific explorations.

I think she may have been replaced by a brighter star!  One of my senate members came to school one day ready to take over.  (mutiny?  maybe.)

Here's the scoop....
Miss Nething (Firstie Senate Member) came to school with 17 apples and an experiment in her magnificent brain!

Firstie: "Mrs. Varpness I brought 17 apples.  I want to experiment on them.  I want you to make slices in the apples and I want to see if we can squeeze them hard enough to get apple juice."  (enter human apple press)

President Varpness:  "O.K. but, you will have to introduce it to your students.  What will be your question?"

Firstie:  "What will happen when we squeeze apples with slices in them?"

President Varpness: " Got it!  Then what?"

Firstie:  "We will test it.  We will squeeze so hard that juice will come out."

President Varpness:  "What is your hypothesis?

Firstie:  "I think we will get juice!!!!!!"

President Varpness:  "O.K.  You will need to have a record sheet to record your conclusions."

Firstie:  "I already know what I want you to type."

President Varpness:  I am teary already!!!!  LOVE.HER!  LOVE.THIS.LIFE!

subjects

SQUEEZE!!!!

Conclusion?  Ask a senate member!!!

The senate members were so excited!!!!!  Oh.My.Word!!!!

Anyway...back to the worms.  My senate members were so thrilled for little miss!  Many a senate member, was already plotting their science experiment.  I welcome it...as long as they are planned out like my replacement.  (I'll giver her a few years.)

Have a terrific night in the Nation!

Hugs and High Heels!

President Varpness and the Senate 

A Good Day to...

CATCH UP!

#veryfarbehind
#iworeoutapairofheels

This time of year is crazy busy fun in the Nation of First!  We are busy becoming BIG, experiencing life as a Big kid and learning that the president of the Firstie Nation has BIG plans for us everyday! Sometimes they are BIG TIME tiring.  AMEN!!!

SCI FRI FUN

 What do you get when you combine jello, baking soda, water and glitter?

Answer:  Crazy First Grade Fun!

 I froze the firstie crazy fun potion in ice trays....

The senate then got to spray a vinegar, dish soap combo on their cute little ice cube!

You know I had to pink it up for the ladies and blue it up for the fellas!

I wish you could have heard the giggles, oohs and ahhhs!!!  #lovethem

(For more details on this experiment my good people of the Firstie Nation....Grab a firstie and ask away!)

(Found at the kindergartensmorgasboard/Fun A Day)

Rain Clouds

In honor of our yucky rainy week and freezing cold (o.k. maybe not freezing cold...but I am the president so get used to my bad relationship with cold weather...specifically....that awful word...WINTER!)  We decided to make our own rain clouds in the classroom...with a dash of GLITZ!

We read a little story named "Rain."  We learned about how clouds are made and why they rain.

Pretty cool!  

As a wrap up, I always ask what was AWESOME about what we did?

I had many different comments about colors and the food coloring.

One senate member said that he learned....not to mix 2 dark colors...turned dark too quick!  

He thought that was Not AWESOME!!!!  

That guy was paying attention!!!!  WIN!

THEN THIS!!!!!

#mrs.magnuson.got.a.hold.of.the.shavingcream

Groundbreaking ceremony for the new Lakeview Elementary Wing!!!!!!

(Firstie Nation will have a new home next year.)

(#losingmyview)

The senate is full of AWE.SOME.NESS!!! 

Can't wait to see what next week brings!

HOMECOMING!!!!!

Have a terrific week in the Nation!

Hugs and High Heels

President Varpness and the Senate

Sci Fri Fun

Hey there Firstie Nation!!!!  I hope everyone is having a crazy good time in the Nation!  We had some crazy good fun this week.

Writer's Workshop

Label the Teacher

#giggle.mrs.varpness.is.silly

Walking Rainbow

(color unit)

The 411 of Firstie Nation

 Firstie Nation Fan Wear

Our first science experiment of the year!  Woot!  Woot!

This week the senate learned their color words and what happens when you mix certain colors.

We began our scientist journey...

Question:  What will happen when you add dish soap to four different colors of food coloring and 1/2 cup of whole milk.

Hypothesis:  It will bubl. (It will bubble.)

It will explod.  (It will explode,)

It will mix.

Test:  Students were given a bowl of milk with four different colors of food coloring.  Then a drop of dish soap was added by q-tip to the center of the food coloring drops.

Conclusion:  Ah!  You'll need to ask your firstie for that info!

COLOR MANIA
(Not my original idea...thank you to internet inventor...sorry, not sure where I found this.)

Color Me Happy!

People of the Nation...

Back to School time is a very important time to build a classroom community.  One of the ways we do this is by ingraining the importance of respect and love for their fellow Firstie Nation members.  We use may different books and activities, but I thought this one was pretty neat.

  The Crayon Box That Talked...

By Shane DeRolf

 What are those colorful pointy things?

Why...they are crayon hats of course!

Ms. R is rockin' this summer's hottest trend....purple crayon!

(She is my own barbie doll!  I'm so lucky that she has the excitement for silly!  Ms. R fits right in!)

Sleep well and dress better.

President Varpness and the Senate of First

Firstie Nation Revealed!

Hey good people of the Firstie Nation.  We are up and running!  Today marked the AWESOME first day of First Grade!  I am so excited about this new year...I could EXPLODE!  My Firsties came to school today with new pencils, notebooks, crayons and back packs!  The enthusiasm could be felt miles away!  Boy do I revel in the energy that comes of f these wee ones.  Can you say...."In my element!"  Man I love this life!


Anyway....
I snapped some pictures of the nation!  ENJOY!

My first day of first grade!

This little cutie is my student teacher this year!

Love.Her.Already!
This little sweetie's name is Ms. R and she is a student at SMSU!  It is my pleasure to have her in the Nation this year!



Firstie Nation Revealed!  2014

Wanna catch the fever of the Nation?

This year the Firstie Nation will have their own fan gear!!!  Can you say  COOLEST shirt... EVER?  Let me know if you want to become a citizen of the Nation of First!!!!!


Needless to say...
I'm a tired, but very happy president!
Sleep well in the Nation!