February is the shortest month but it is packed with so many special events!
Here are a few of them:
Fire House Visit
We had a wonderful trip to the West Pierce Fire Department. We were warmly received and shown throughout the facility! We got to see the living quarters (The fish tank was a favorite!) and the dorm rooms, and then to the garage to see the trucks! It was a great day topped off with hats! 💖Thank you to our chaperones who help make these trips possible. 💖
I Love a Parade!
Lunar New Year. The children brought in a favorite stuffed animal to symbolize the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Others carried musical instruments to accompany us on our journey. We traveled throughout the school. Many classrooms invited us to march into their rooms.
100th Day of School!
We had plenty of fun all day to celebrate this milestone of our year.
100th Day Fashions!
Thank you for all of your hard work helping the children create a fun item of clothing to wear!
The children used 10-ten frames to count out 100 beads, and then string them to make their necklaces.
100th Day Snack
Thank you for your contributions! This was a somewhat time consuming experience so we had to start during our quiet period...thus the mood lighting. But happily, we all made it through the line before we had to leave for Music. Here we are selecting 10 pieces of 10 items for our 100th day snack.
Building with 100 Cups
This was such a favorite, we kept the cups out for 2 more weeks.
In the days preceding, we decorated our bags. It was great fun learning how to cut out hearts.
Many of the children experienced their first school Valentine's Day and proclaimed it to be the "best day ever!"
The children have been enjoying learning basketball skills. I stopped in a couple of times to dribble to the fun music, and was able to catch some pictures.
Compassion and Coins
Ainsley Wade is one of our classmates. This makes our contributions to the Make-a-Wish Coin Drive very special to us. We hear a lot about Make-A-Wish sending families to Disneyland, but more often than not, it is as simple as Ainsley's parent's wish....to make their backyard safe and accessible for Ainsley so she could once again swing ...her very favorite thing to do. Thank you all for your coins to help their next wish come true....making another family's wish a reality.
Spelling a Different Way
1st grade families may notice that "spelling tests" are not a consistent part of our week. Spelling is part of our curriculum but this is not something that is really developmentally appropriate. Our occasional tests are good practice for next year, and are an opportunity to show we can write a simple sentence and remember punctuation.
In the meanwhile, we DO practice spelling by building words using letter cards. It is a much more developmentally appropriate practice and is a more tactile and kinesthetic activity. Even Kindergarten partcipates.
But keep practicing those spelling words.....you never know when the next quiz will be!😉
As part of our study of the 4 seasons, we have been looking for signs of spring.
The rhododendrons by the school office door have already bloomed! We are watching as the tulips come up and we are seeing birds search for new nesting spots. I trimmed my forsythia and brought some branches in to class to force into bloom. We looked at the buds..the green and swollen tips showing something was in progress. The children were so excited and watched it all day! A few blooms did open by the end of the day. I hope we see more on Monday!
But this is a great activity that you can continue at home. Watch for geese returning, buds on branches, snowdrops, hyacinth and daffodils appearing in yards and your local stores! And if you see a yellow blooming shrub, chances are, it's a forsythia!
Next month we look forward to fully welcoming Spring!
Have a wonderful weekend,
