Good Feelings!

We spent a few minutes making valentines for both our pre-school and 5th grade reading buddies that we see each month.  The little ones were thrilled to open their mailbox to find notes to each of them.  Above is the valentine they made and presented to us.  It's wonderful to see the care and consideration displayed between our classes.

During our Valentine's Day party we enjoyed ice cream sundaes, read our valentines, and played Four Corners.  I did not get all of the "Good Things Your Classmates Say About You" lists back in time to type them up for Valentine's Day but I will get them done over vacation.  I love reading them.  This group is generally so kind and considerate to each other but I think the lists serve as a good reminder to think of the positives in others instead of the negatives.  

For Black History month we finished our "I Have a Dream" writing after watching an excerpt from MLK Jr.'s speech on Youtube.  These children have some wonderful dreams for our future.  
  
In Science we have been talking about matter.  We have categorized objects as solid, liquid, and gas.  One of our Friday centers is weighing the mass of different items using a triple-beam balance.  The students love being scientists.

I hope you all have a wonderful vacation with your families!
 

Let it Snow!

I hope everyone arrived home safely last night.  It's a great weekend to snuggle in and play some board games.
 One of our student's siblings came in to show us how to make snowflakes.  The kids took right off with it and many kept making them right through recess.  You can see some of their creations below.  You can see some of the real flakes falling in the background!

We also had a visit from Mrs. Shipley's pre-schoolers for Reading Buddy Time.  It was wonderful seeing our second graders working with them.  Mrs. Shipley and I are always amazed at how seriously they take their job and how considerate they are with their little friends.  Mrs. Shipley has a mailbox in front of her room for letters to her students.  We have plans to write to our buddies next week and drop the letters in the "mail".   See photos below of some of us with our reading buddies.

Yesterday was the 100th Day of School!  The kids were thrilled to see a streamer banner decorating our doorway.  It was fun to walk through it all day.  We also worked on rewriting questions to form complete answers with a "100 Days of School" booklet and we performed a short play, "The 100th Day Mystery".  It was a day of fun and hard work.

     Flat Stanley went home yesterday with his journal.  Students should write in the journal every day and return it on Monday, along with Flat Stanley.  We will mail both out to our family or friends on Monday.  If you have not sent in the stamps and address please send it ASAP.
Have a great weekend!

Clash Day!

      Below are a few photos I took of the children on Clash Day during Catholic Schools Week.  I think it was a very popular day!

     We are doing a little experiment with evaporation.  Which container will evaporate more quickly; the one that is open on top or the one that is covered with plastic?

Flat Stanley is Here!

         
       Next week we will be starting one of our favorite language arts units- Traveling with Flat Stanley.  The students will be creating their own Flat Stanleys and sending them to a friend or family member for an adventure.  You will receive more info on Monday about this fun activity.  We will have no reading test or spelling words this week.
 
         
     Catholic Schools Week was a lot of fun and very high energy.  My next posting will have a few photos of Clash Day but you can check out the ones from the whole school on the DeSales website.  We climbed halfway to our goal of $4000 for our sister school in NYC.  We are still accepting gift cards on Monday if you haven't had a chance to send one in yet.  Thank you for helping us support others in need.

                We have started a new chapter in math- Money.  Students will be expected to count mixed coins as well as add and subtract monetary values.  This is such an important life skill.  You can help by emptying out your pocket or coin purse at the end of the night and letting your child count up the change.  What an easy way to get proficient in counting coins!  
     To go along with our money unit, every year I set up a class store for the students to purchase trinkets.  It is great motivation to learn about money.  If you have any small toys or trinkets that you could donate we would love to use them.  Those McDonald's toys you get in Happy Meals are perfect for this activity.  I supply the money and the students count out change to purchase their choice of toys.