Postcards

Today was exciting because Brandon shared with a us a postcard he recieved from his uncle in California.  It was  a response to the postcard he had sent after hearing the story The Jolly Postman read by Mrs. Cleland.  Brandon shared with us where his uncle lived on the postcard.  Brandon said his favorite part was getting mail!  We talked about how the postcards we send were pictures of Michigan and the postcard he received back was a picture from California where his uncle lives.  How neat! 
In the picture above is Brandon after he shared his postcard on our Smartboard.

Learning Notebooks

The children have been very excited to work in their Learning Notebooks.  They are excited to have a place to record their ideas and then share them with each other.  This week during one of our literacy stations we were responsible for retelling the story and then they drew the characters and labeled them in thier notebooks.  We have also written lists, as well as recorded what we observed with the weather during calendar.  We have been working on adding details to our writing and making our illustrations colorful!  Check out some of the work in our kiddos Learning Notebooks above!  We are finding that these really help children see the many purposes of writing as well as improve their ability to communicate through writing.

INCREDIBLE KIDS!

WOW!  It was so wonderful being able to honor all of the children in our class last night at the Troy Community Coalition Meeting.  We really do have incredible kids and families!  I am so proud of the way they have grown up and matured into "almost" first graders.  I am so lucky to get the opportunity to be their teacher and I love watching them grow as learners and people.  They work really hard on improving them self and being THEIR best!  It was so wonderful the certificates they received and that they were able to be recognized in such a positive way.  What an honor!  For those kiddos who were unable to attend you will receive your certificate in your folder today.  Way to go kids!  We are proud of you!

Celebrating Dr. Suess

Yesterday we ended our celebration of Dr. Suess by making hats like Cat and the Hat.  We also did many fun activities on the Smartboard. We even got to explore Suessville on the laptops with our 5th grade buddies!  We liked hearing all of Dr. Suess' funny rhyming stories.  Happy Birthday Dr. Suess!

You can continue the celebration this weekend at Troy High with the musical performance of Suessical!

I am going to be taking my own children on Sunday to the 2:00 matinee performance.  I have heard it is fabulous.  Check out the link!

Suessical the Musical at Troy High

Boulan Buddies Visit!

Today our Boulan Buddies came for our usual Friday visit.  Our buddies are here for about 45 minutes.  During this time we did 3 centers.  We searched through magazines to find pictures of healthy and unhealthy foods to cut out and glue onto our chart.  We also played a addition and subtraction game with a mouth and "teeth." (marshmallows) :)  Lastly we were strengthened our fine motor skills by making math patterned bracelets/necklaces.  Our Boulan buddies helped us at each station with these different games and tasks.  Thanks buddies!!!!

March Family Project

Your child brought home a family homework project for the month of March.  Our school wide theme this year for reading month is, "Reading is Fun Under The Big Top."  We will be celebrating reading month through buddy activities, sharing favorite books, games, read ins and more.  We use this theme to decorate our halls and classrooms for conferences, open house and Kindergarten round up.  We are asking you to help your child pick their favorite book and illustrate the main characters on their "Carousel of Characters" paper that was sent home.  They can also tell us where the story took place and why they love this story.  We will share these with each other as they are sent back to school.  Remember you can help your child complete this project!  We look forward to hearing about books that your kiddos enjoy!  Please let us know if you have any questions about this project. 

Mrs. Cleland...Mystery Reader!

Today Mrs. Cleland surprised the kiddos by being a guest mystery reader!  They were so excited and surprised.  Mrs. Cleland read The Jolly Postman.  This book is fun to read because each page is a letter written from one fairy tale character to another.  For example, the bears write goldilocks to wish her a happy birthday.  Mrs. Cleland also brought in Michigan postcards for the kids to write their own letters on.  They will be coming home in their folders!  Thanks Mrs. Cleland for making learning so much fun!