Back in Full Swing

     Welcome back.  I hope everyone had a wonderful vacation.  Although I didn't go away, I had lots of fun with my boys.  All the students seem to be well rested and back into the routine, which is good because we are busy, busy, busy.

     We have been reading more Froggy books by Jonathan London.  We read some before vacation and LOVED them so I went to the library and stocked up.  We have TONS and the children are begging me to read them.

      We also got some really exciting news today.  My great friend is a second grade teacher in South Carolina (which is why I "allowed" my daughter Kaycie to go to Clemson because I knew my friend could be there if needed-I actually narrowed her out of state search to the Carolinas ) and her class has agreed to be our PEN PALS.  The children are EXCITED and we are going to start writing ASAP.  I promised that our letters would be ready to mail by the end of next week.  YIPPEE

     February is almost over.  That means spring is just around the corner.  Tomorrow we have library so remember to return those books.  The talent show is this Friday and my understanding is that we have some VERY TALENTED second graders performing.  I'm super excited for that.  Next Wednesday, March 6th, is walking Wednesday, lets win that trophy back.   Friday, March 8th, is our field trip.  We will be back in time for lunch so nothing special needs to be done there.  March 14 is a half day, so mark those calendars.

     As always, never hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns.  Parent/teacher communication is essential and never a bother.

LOVE

      I feel sooo loved!  Being a teacher totally rocks......especially on Valentine's Day when I'm  flooded with so many tokens of love.  I appreciate it all and thank everyone from the bottom of my heart.

Sampling of my goodies

     We read one of my favorite books for Valentine's Day today,  Froggy's First Kiss.  I love the surprise ending.  It's POSITIVELY what I would expect from my sons when the time comes.  HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!!

Valentine's Day

     I hope everyone enjoyed being snowed in for a few days.  I did!  Although, I was ready to head back to school this morning.  We have a lot to do before Feb. vacation.  This week we will be presenting our animal projects to each other.  We will have the spelling test we missed on Friday, on Wednesday.  That gives us a day to review the words in class.  We will celebrate the 100th day of school with some fun writing assignments. And most importantly, we need to decorate our Valentine mailboxes for our party on Thursday.  As with our Halloween and Christmas parties, the children should bring in their OWN extra snack and drink for Valentine's Day.  They should also bring in Valentines to share with their classmates: 6 boys and 8 girls.  Don't forget Miss Dulong our high school helper.  She would make 9 girls.  The students made their own class lists last week but I will send another one home Tuesday to ensure no one is accidentally overlooked.  Please remember NO SWEETS are allowed to be passed around and shared.  So be sure your child's Valentines do not include any candies.

     Congratulations, it seems like my note home last week worked.  Most students are hitting the XTRAMATH hard and scores are rocketing.  Keep up the good work!  There are quite a few first graders that are already on subtraction.  At the rate everyone worked last week,  those first graders will have NOTHING on us!!!!!

Special Guest

       
      On Monday  Danielle, a high school junior, stayed with us for the day as part of a job "shadowing" program.  Teaching is ABSOLUTELY her calling.  She is a total natural.  The kids took to her immediately and we had a great day.  I think staying for the whole day is perfect.  She really got a chance to see what a school day is like.  She said she liked it.  I sure hope we didn't scare her away (hee hee hee).

     The dioramas are coming in and boy are they great.  I'll start posting some pictures soon.  We have started taking the information from the homework sheet and turning it into paragraphs.  It's going SMOOTHLY.  WHOO HOO.  Next week we will be ready to present our projects to the class.

     Our first field trip is coming up.  We will be attending a theater performance at Chelmsford High School the first week of March.  Both the kindergartners and first graders will be joining us.  A notice will be coming home very shortly with all the facts.

     I think we have the hang of telling time.  Keep on practicing.  Money will be sneaking up on us.  Make sure your child already knows the names and amounts of each coin.  It will make their math lives much easier.

     Tomorrow is Walking Wednesday.  I forgot to remind everyone.  I hope we win that trophy back.

REMINDER:  Gym Wednesday, Parent/Teacher conferences Thursday,  Xtramath 4 times a week