Welcome Back

Our transition back to school after a week away has been smooth.  We jumped right back into our reading groups during ELA, and have also begun two new books!  We got a jump start on March and have begun to talk about Leprechauns.  Everyone is trying very hard to stay focused and quiet so a leprechaun might visit our classroom!

We are learning about direction words(on, beside, under, next to) and are practicing spelling our number words. Each student was given a set of words to help them practice at home.

We still love using some of our favorite spaces.  Today the sandbox and the ipads were quite busy!

100th Day

Kindergartners in room 101 celebrated the 100th day of school today!  It was very exciting.  We moved for 100 seconds, scribbled for 100 seconds, worn our 100th day crowns while we made 100 finger prints and strung our 100 bead necklaces.  In addition each student shared 100 small snacks that we used to create 100th day gorp.  Counting by 5's we took 100 pieces and created a tasty treat containing 20 different items!

We are 100 days into the school year, past the midpoint.  Mrs. Parnell and Mrs. Hoyt wish everyone a restful February vacation.  We look forward to seeing everyone in a week when we begin work on our Leprechaun book and our Numba Rumba book.

Mail??

Did everyone receive a letter in the mail this week?  Our postal carrier checked in with Mrs. Parnell and Mrs. Hoyt this afternoon, hoping that everyone got their letter.

Burlington's Post Master was thrilled with our communications and efforts.  Our thank you note will be on display at the Burlington Post Office Feb. 18 - Feb. 22............perhaps you would like to stop by the office to see the photos.

Thank you to our community helper.

Happy Valentine's Day

Boys and Girls in Room 101 arrived dressed in their finest clothes as we celebrated  the 1900's today.

Happy Valentine's Day! What an awesome day! We exchanged our homemade secret valentine's, learned to play some of the games that boys and girls would have played over 100 years ago, and had a wonderful Victorian Luncheon during which we practiced our manners!  Be sure to ask your child how to play marbles, tops and the egg toss (we did not use eggs!).

Thank you for your help in making this day a success.  Your efforts to help your children with their class valentines, secret valentine along with your contributions to our luncheon and assistance in dressing them for the special day were much appreciated!

We even squeezed in trips to both the library and computer lab.  Mrs. D'Elia and Mr. Callahan were so impressed with the students attire, manners, knowledge and energy!

See some of the photos below for a few highlights from the day!

Watch for mail coming home!

Watch for mail at your house!  Students in room 101 wrote letters to be mailed home.  Then we met up with mail carrier, Sue Devlin, who is Pine Glen's mail carrier.  She took those letters and invited us to take a peek at her truck!  We really enjoyed meeting and talking with Ms. Devlin.  Room 101's post office has been very busy with students writing and receiving letters.  Outgoing letters to Principal Lyons have the students eagerly writing too!

Nonsense!

What are we teaching in room 101?.....Nonsense!

Nonsense words, that is.  After working on CVC words that we know, we have begun to have some fun in spelling nonsense words.  It is silly, but wonderful reinforcement to have the children sound out what they hear to spell these words.  We are doing a fair amount of giggling as we create words like  nup, zat and juf.

Have some fun at home........ask your child to spell some nonsense CVC words that you come up with.

When was the Teddy Bear invented?

We learned about the first teddy bear, created as a fun tribute to President "Teddy" Roosevelt in 1904.  This was  wonderful way to begin our study of the Victorian Era.  Mrs. Parnell shared one of her favorite stories, The Legend of the Teddy Bear and then began to read the American Girl story of Samantha, a little girl growing up in the early 1900's.

It is exciting to begin a chapter book.  We look forward to everyday and wonder what will happen next.  Already we learned about the first automobile, the Model T, how children dressed and were expected to behave.  Did you know that people did not have showers in their homes in 1903?

Mrs. Parnell's bears from home.  They have movable legs and arms and wear clothes, just like the first Teddy Bear!

Room 101 Post Office is Open

Room 101 has a new post office that is open for business!  For the month of February we will be working on letter writing.  We will create our letters and sort, stamp and deliver them in the classroom.  Students who would like to can also write to other teachers in the building.

On Wednesday we stopped and spoke to the mail carrier who delivers real mail to Pine Glen.  She was wonderful and informative.  In fact, a special package arrived for us today.  We received a collection of coloring books and a set of stamps so we can mail letters to our homes.  Be sure to watch for them during the coming month!

A special thank you to our postal person, Sue Devlin and the Burlington Post Office for your extra support!

Awesome Aquarium!

We had an awesome time at the New England Aquarium this week.  Students in room 101 said it was the best day ever.  Be sure to read this week's news for some of the highlights!

Groundhog Day

This has been a very busy week.  In addition to our field trip, we began a new month, and celebrated Groundhog Day!  It appears that the groundhog did see his shadow and we are in for 6 more weeks of winter.

Kindergartners in room 101 had some fun with groundhog activities.  We each made our own groundhogs and learned about shadows.  Maybe they will shed a little light on how shadows are made.  Give them a flashlight and see if they can show you.