The Best Part of Kindergarten...

At the end of the week, I asked the children what were the best parts of kindergarten this week . Here are their responses:

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Our First Week

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In the News

Wow, only the second day of school and these Connected Kinders made the news! Click here to view the clip. And, there is even more media coverage.  Click on the link below to see the Billings Gazette article and website video.
Donated iPads augment kindergarten classroom

I think I can!

We read the book The Little Engine that Could the first day of school. Below is the video presentation of the book. The Connected Kinders have an "I can" attitude that will allow us to do great things all year! Enjoy the book and message again and again by clicking here.

First Day Ever

We had an exciting first day of kindergarten. We were busy! I think we were all a little nervous for the first day...even the teacher...but the day was a great success. We started the day getting to know each other. We sang a song called "Hickety Tickety Bumble Bee." Then, we made a book using the song. The book has each kindergartners name in it and their fabulous illustrations. We also read a book called Kindergarten Rocks!

 I'm sure you heard, we had three recesses. One recess is in the morning, one at lunch, and a last in the afternoon. The kids had many opportunities to play and make new friends. Later in the afternoon, we read the wonderful book The Little Engine that Could. We discussed how an "I can" attitude will help us in kindergarten. We made an "I can" train out of shapes. The children did an excellent job following directions. I hope they showed you their train and letter in their backpack. Since our train was made of shapes, we also used the ipads to play the app Jr. Bingo. With this app, the kids have to identify shapes to try and make a bingo. It was a great day!

Welcome and Introductions

Welcome to Kindergarten! My name is Mrs. Niemeyer and I am so thrilled to be your kindergarten teacher! It is going to be a fun year full of lots of learning and new adventures. I want to know ALL about you, but first I'm going to tell you a few things about me. I was born and raised in Wyoming. I am from a family of teachers. My younger brother teaches 8th grade history. My mom is a literacy coordinator, a coach for teachers and my dad just retired after 49 years in education. I love them! I went to college at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln. Go Huskers! I have a Master's Degree in Education with an emphasis in early reading. I have taught in Billings for 12 years. In those years, I have taught Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, Reading Recovery, and I have been a Math Instructional Coach for teachers. I am so excited for my first year at Eagle Cliffs in kindergarten. What a special year of firsts! I am married to a wonderful man, Travis. He is the principal at Newman Elementary. We have two amazing kids. My oldest, Layne, just started kindergarten this year. He is giving me an all new perspective on this special year. My daughter, Jensen, is a spunky two. It will be a fabulous year of learning and growing. Again, I am so excited to get to know each and everyone of you!