Wrapping up in the LAND DOWN UNDER.....

We were so happy to see your children this week. We missed those that didn't make it back until later in the week. We have been busy wrapping up our Australian theme and can't believe it is almost over.

While we have been busy practicing our Australian dance which is full of animals, settlers, Aborigines and prisoners.....we have also been finishing up our Australian animal stories based on the popular book, "We're Going On A Bear Hunt". The children have also been working in their theme notebooks and finishing up their "Australian Learning". 

We are in the "editing" phase....

Once the rough draft is edited, we will work on our final draft!

In math we are reviewing many concepts, including time and money, in preparation for our fourth quarter assessment. These kids are so bright...it is exciting to see all the concepts we have covered come together at this time of the year. The results of the assessment will let us know what we need to focus on as the year comes to an end.

In social studies we have been finishing up the Australian animal presentations. Take a look at the pictures below. Your children have grown tremendously. They are quite the presenters. 

In TNT this week we played BODY TIC TAC TOE; always a favorite. Each child was given an "x" or an "o" to wear around their necks. As each student answered a question about Australia correctly they chose a spot on our grid! The first team to get three in a row won! This was a great way to review at the end of a unit. We all had so much fun!

She is thinking.....does she know the answer?????

YES! She strategically takes her place.....will the "X"-Rays win?

NO....the D"O"ughnuts win the game!

We had so much fun at the International Festival on Wednesday. We tried to take many pictures to share with you (A special thanks goes out  to Mrs. Adams who was our volunteer and helped take pictures during the dance). It is so much fun to tour the other classrooms and see what other students are learning about. We enjoyed having visitors come to the first grade. We cannot believe another festival has come and gone. 

Singing with Mrs. Haskamp

Visiting Kindergarten.....they have grown so much in a year!

Getting ready for the Australian dance!

Visiting PreK.....Miss Gibbs was a wealth of information!

The NATION of Australia!

The settlers build their home....

The prisoners behind bars....

SPELLING

Phonics Skill: controlled vowel- "ir" and "ur"

New Spelling Words: shirt, girl, first, circle, dirt, curve, sure, turn, hurt, burn
Challenge Words: earth, Easter, fantasy, April
Surprise The Teacher ????????????

REMINDERS:
 Friday April 5th, Children's Literature Festival at Rockhurst University-a permission slip came home this past Tuesday. Please let us know if you did not receive it.

Tuesday April 16th: field trip to the Anita B. Gorman Conservation Center-the permission slip for this will be coming home soon.
 
***Theme pages from our Australia unit will come home early next week.  Please praise your child, they worked really hard.  If there are unfinished social studies or math pages due to all of our snow days... they can work at them at home for fun.  

Thank you once again for your help with your child's Australian animal. It is always fun to have them on display in our classroom. Have a wonderful Good Friday and a beautiful Easter weekend! We will see your children Monday when we start our next unit: Fairy Tales and Folktales.
Love, Sara and Melissa