Kids Teaching Kids

The pictures above are of two students who were working on spelling. One of them is being the teacher while the other one writes short vowel and long vowel words...(and "said" because that's tricky.) I am always so happy when I see students so willing to help others. Research also proves that the best way to remember something is to teach it to someone else!

We just took a test today for our Earth and Sky unit, and I was impressed! First graders understand a lot more than I ever did at their age about the cause of day and night and the seasons.

In math, we are continuing addition and subtraction practice...more to come in the newsletter but this is something that would be good to reinforce at home.

Can you believe it's less than two weeks until spring break?!?!?! Wow!

Presidents Day

Happy Presidents' Day! See you Tuesday!

Happy Valentines Day!

Wow, what a gorgeous day it is today...unlike last Monday when the kiddos were snowshoeing!

Thank you so much for sending in Valentines Day goodies! Today we decorated Valentine bags, graphed candy hearts, made inferences using a wordless book called The Secret of Love, played Valentine Bingo and had an awesome Valentine party! Everyone had so much fun passing out Valentines and having such yummy snacks! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Remember that Wednesday is early release at 12:30 and that there is no school next Monday for President's Day!

I hope you all have a wonderful evening feeling the love of your families and friends. I felt SO loved all day just because of your kids! They were so happy to give me gifts and Valentines, and most of all, a lot of hugs!!!! They are so sweet and awesome!

I will be out three days this week!

Ahh I have so many pictures to share with you but they are on my school computer and I am at home! I will try to get those posted next week so you can see your kids being amazing as usual. In the meantime, check out this picture of our first walking field trip to the ponds last September! Doesn't it make you long for green grass and sunshine?! Also I can't believe as I was looking through these pictures how much the kiddos have grown...and how many teeth they've lost!

Snowshoeing on Monday was very fun for all of the kids! Thank you so much to our steadfast volunteers who stood outside in the VERY heavy snow and wind on Monday and fastened buckle after buckle on the snowshoes for child after child. Many of the kids had never been on snowshoes before, and they came in tired, soaking, and hungry but very happy!!!

This week I will be gone for the rest of the week. Originally, I did have one sub who was planning to come in all three days, but he had a family emergency and will not be able to come. So every day will be a bit of a challenge since there will be a different guest teacher every day, but all of them are great!

Thank you for the couple of families who sent in snacks! We go through snacks quickly, though, so if anyone else can donate, it would be greatly appreciated!

Have a great week and weekend, and I will see you on Monday!

Reminders

Please remember early release Thursday at 12:30. Also FYI, I will have a sub on Friday the 21st and Tuesday the 25th.

It's not a bad idea to send a change of clothes to school for very wet and snowy days. Sometimes, even wearing snowpants, the kids get wet and are uncomfortable the rest of the day.

Thanks for being awesome!

Partner Reading in Walk to Read

Welcome Back!

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season! The kids came back excited to see friends and talk about their holiday break, and we are already back in the swing of things.

In Walk to Read, we will be continuing our study of long vowels (long o this week) in phonics. I am transitioning to more and more independent reading since these kids are ready for it! Please continue to ask students about what they read at home because reading comprehension is key!

In math, we are working on measurement and ALWAYS time, money, addition/subtraction, and number patterns. We will probably have our next test next week.

We are beginning a unit called "Earth and Sky" in science, so pointing out features of the earth and the sky would be helpful, specifically, landforms and the sun and moon, including the position of the sun and moon at different times of the day. We have already covered the reason for day and night on Earth, so ask your child what causes day and night. Next week we will discuss what causes the seasons.

Please let me know if you need anything and happy January!