Spring is in the air!

The energy was running high this week as we prepared for a much needed break!  We hope everyone enjoys your break.  Safe travels to all who are vacationing somewhere!  Now, sit back and take a peek at all we accomplished this week!

In language arts we integrated our Australian theme into several activities.  The class has learned so much about Australia and all the amazing animals that inhabit the country.

Matching Australian animal facts with their picture.

Mrs. Waller is guiding the class through a writing activity with their Australian animals.  This activity was inspired from the story, "We're Going on a Bear Hunt".  They have to use what they know about their animal and share how they'd find their animal in Australia. 

Brainstorming ideas is an important part of the writing process.  Here the class made a list of all the obstacles they might come across in Australia as they hunt for their animal.

Here is the list of adjectives they could use to describe their animal and/or the land/water.

Now the "magic" is happening.  Their creative juices are flowing!

This guide helps lead the story process so it follows the original "bear hunt" story.

We wrote in our jumbo journals this week about the Great Barrier Reef.

Maya is practicing her spelling words on the shamrock.  Then she'll record them in ABC order.

Kate is reading in her guided reading group.  She's also trying to identify long vowels in the words she reads.

Lamar is working with the hundred board.  Putting all the numbers in order.

Great number sense Lily!

Sophie is reviewing calendar skills with the class.  She notices how many weeks are in March and that the 30th and 31st don't fit on the calendar.  We learned how and where it all fits in on the calendar.

Oscar's number scroll!  He's up to the 1000s!!

Way to go Holden!  That's a lot of number writing!

Sophie is counting money after she grouped it according to each value.

Mrs. Waller rolled the money dice and whatever amount it landed on the class then had to make that with coins.

We reviewed double digit addition and used a highlighter to show we always start in the ones place when we add.

We worked in pairs with hundred boards to find the missing numbers. One student selected a number and wrote it down. The other student had to "GUESS THE NUMBER!" The person guessing would ask questions such as: Is your number greater than 50?, Is your number odd?, Does your number have a 5 in the tens place? The person asking the questions eliminated the numbers until finally, they could guess the number. Have you ever played GUESS WHO? This is the math version. A fun game of logic!

In class we've started sharing our reports and our animals.  This was our second opportunity to do research and write a report and then share it with the class.  These animals are amazing thanks to the first graders hard work and their parent's help at home! 

Frill-necked lizard, dingo and great white shark

Emu, Tasmanian devil, and blue-tongued skink

Wombat and duck-billed platypus

Salt water crocodile and red kangaroo

Sugar glider and galah

Wallaby and echidna

Fairy penguin and flying fox

Black swan and the thorny devil

Koala and the kookaburra

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL!!!

We're getting ready to do our parade of animals.

We're excited to share with everyone a fact about our animal!

Making a peace round with the 2nd graders to show we want peace for all in our world!

We're HAPPY!!

At the end of the festival we all sang and danced to the "Happy" song. 

Look at these great dancers!

Happy dancers!!!

Break it down Carmen!

You've got the moves Lamar!

Charlotte's grandma, Charlotte, came in this week to help out in the class and read a story to us.  THANK YOU!!!

Hands-on-science was VERY "hands on" this week!

"Bouncy Before Break" was the name of this week's hands-on science experiment. With warm water, glue, borax and a drop of food coloring we made our very own bouncy balls. Most of us were successful but a few were not....so we have sent the directions home for you to try it out over break! It was so much fun! We had a "bouncy" time!

 

Mrs. Wyllie gives Jackson his glue.

Sofia stirs her glue!

Almost there!

Kate and Oscar roll their glop into a ball!

FINALLY-we're bouncing! If you look closely you can see Elizabeth's yellow ball!

Spelling Words- Week #19 March 24-28, 2014

Phonics Skills: controlled vowel- “ir” and “ur”

1.       shirt

2.       girl

3.       first

4.       circle

5.       dirt

6.       curve

7.       sure

8.       turn

9.       hurt

10.    burn

Challenge Words

11. flower

12. shamrock

13.

14.

“Surprise the Teacher Word”

15. ???

Community Learning Opportunities at St. Paul's!

Technology and Your Child

·        ECC-3^rd grade parents, Tuesday, April 22^nd, 6:30 PM

·        4^th – 8^th grade parents, Tuesday, May 6^th, 6:30 PM.  

During these events Drs. Kevin and Natasha Burgert will address the challenges of parenting in the online space.  They will describe sites commonly used by our children, discuss health consequences that arise from unrestricted or unmonitored internet use and finally, suggest practical ways to guide and monitor your child's online life. 

This presentation was so successful at one of our other independent Kansas City schools that we wanted to make sure it was available for our parents.  Please mark your calendar for one or both of these dates and plan to attend.  It’s important for you and your child.

If you plan to attend, email Linda van Thullenar at Lvan@speds.org so we can make the necessary seating arrangements.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sun Safety and Healthy Nutrition – Re-Scheduled for Monday, April 28th, 4:30 PM

St. Paul’s ECC parent and pediatric dermatologist, Amy Nopper, will provide helpful information about how we can protect our children from the damaging effects of the sun and still be able to enjoy outdoor activities.

Protective and attractive hats with the St. Paul’s logo will be on display for purchase.

Margo Humenczuk, a pediatric nutritionist, from Children’s Mercy Hospital will also be here to share nutrition information and resources to help our students develop lifelong healthy eating habits.

Head into Summer armed with information and solutions for keeping ourselves and our children healthy and safe. If you plan to attend, email Linda van Thullenar at Lvan@speds.org so we can make the necessary seating arrangements.

Enjoy your spring break!

We'll miss our sweet first graders and look forward to seeing them back at school on Tuesday, the 25th!

Sara and Carey