Happy New Year!

Here's the whole crew right before vacation.

Hopefully, everyone will make a New Year's resolution to read 15-30 minutes every day in 2008! Remember, kids, the more you read, the better you read!

Happy Holidays!

The last day of school before vacation is always a very busy one! We all dressed in our favorite red and green clothes, and we even got to wear Santa hats, reindeer antlers, and bells.
We started off the day by listening to the high school choir as they caroled in the commons area outside our classroom. They sounded really good!

We got to sing along on "Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."


Then, our 4th grade buddies came to play a math game with us.

It was fun to practice the addition strategies we have been learning.

We brought the game home so we can play it with our families during vacation!

After playing the game, we shared stories with our buddies.

The lunchroom was full of red and green!

What a good lunch! We even had Christmas cookies!

Thanks to everyone who contributed this week to the food drive. We took a walk through the office to see the huge pile of food. Our class didn't win the prize for bringing in the most food, but we sure helped.

Have a GREAT vacation, and come back to school in January all ready to begin a new year of fun activities in First Grade!

Fitness Friday

By Friday afternoon, the kids are really ready to burn off some energy and have some fun with all of the fitness activities set up in the gym by the Phy. Ed Department. They rotate through many different stations, so everyone can work up a sweat.

Volleyball: My camera wasn't fast enough to get the ball before it went flying!

There it is! Hit it back!!

Bowling: These big pins just don't want to stay up!

Catch: It's way harder than it looks to catch that little ball. At least it won't get lost!

Jump rope: It's hard to see with the hair flying!


Trampoline: How high can she go?

Crab walk and gymnastics: This is really good exercise!

Climbing wall: Hang on tight!

Oooops! Sometimes we need an ice pack.

We ALWAYS need a drink when it's all over.

Book Buddies

We are very fortunate to have a wonderful group of adult volunteers who come to school every Thursday morning to read with first graders. Some are senior citizens, some are 1st grade parents, and some are community members who just love helping kids. Each class has an assigned time, so the volunteers read for 20 minutes with four different groups of children in about an hour and a half. They are amazed at the progress these little readers have made already! The kids really look forward to Thursdays!

Sometimes the volunteer reads to the child.

Sometimes the kids read to the volunteer.

Some parents even bring their pre-schooler along to share in the reading time.

So many good books, so little time! It's hard to quit after just 20 minutes.

Reading is so much fun!

Thanks, volunteers!

November Students of the Month

Congratulations to our November Students of the Month!

Way to go, kids!

Dress for Winter!

Winter is here, and the snow has finally arrived! What a job, getting 23 little 1st graders ready for outside play (and you think you have a mess in your entry-way??). Please be sure kids are prepared every day with warm jackets, snowpants, boots, hats, and mittens. They will be playing outside every day unless it's below zero, and it's cold and wet out there without the proper clothes!

What a lot of "stuff."

Don't forget the boots.

These mittens look warm!

All bundled up with a warm hat, and a big smile, too!

Almost ready - just one more mitten to go.

Snowpants are required for sliding on the hill.

They also keep the legs warm and dry!

It's hard to keep them right side out, though.

Lots of snowpants are really similar, so it helps to label all outerwear to avoid mix-ups. One little boy has a piece of red yarn tied to the buckle on his strap, and when I found them lying on the floor, he knew immediately that they were his. Great idea, Mom!

Practice zipping, too, since I only have two hands!

Winter is fun, but it's also a lot of work!

Habitat Dioramas

Diorama Day was a huge success! The kids (and their families) did a great job designing and sharing dioramas of the forest, wetlands, ocean, and desert. The ocean seemed to be the favorite habitat. The dioramas will be on display in the 1-3 Commons area through the end of November, so stop by and see them! Thanks for all of your help!

Students of the Month

Each month, 3 students are selected as Students of the Month and awarded with a special certificate by Mr. K. The selection could be based on good reading, great at Math facts, neat printing, good attitude, sharing with others, good friend, great listening, etc. Congratulations to the September and October winners! Keep up the good work!

September Students of the Month

October Students of the Month

4th Grade Buddies

We are very lucky to have a class of 4th graders for our buddies. We get together with them several times a month to read, write, and chat. It's lots of fun to show off our new reading skills with our buddies!

They are good listeners while we read.

They help us if we get stuck on a word.

Sometimes they read to us.

We are thankful for our buddies!