Year of the Ox- Happy Chinese New Year

Family Snowman projects

We read the book Snowballs in class and the students were asked to decorate snowmen from everyday material laying around the house. Families were encouraged to work together for the final product. They were cute! Thank you for your time. I hope your family had as much making them as we had listening to the story behind them.

Where were you?

Where were you as the 44th President of the United States took the Oath of Office? I was sharing the moment with my first grade class. It was our lunch time but we came back to the classroom and celebrated this historic moment together.We watched as the past presidents took their seats. We talked about the crowd of people gathered in Washington D.C. for this special day. After Vice President Biden and then President Obama took their oath we cheered and celebrated with red and blue Jello topped with whipped cream and patriotic colored sprinkles. It was a day for all to remember. Thanks to my awesome Yahoo group of teachers we even have a keepsake of the day. A teacher suggested each student have a picture of them reading the January 20, 2009 newspaper with the flag in the background. I must say they are adorable! I was so lucky to spend the day, and everyday, with the future of our country.

It has been quite some time since my last post and I apologize. With 2 kids and all the commitments with school I have been so busy. I promise to do better. I hope all of you attended at least 1 of the Funding Crisis meetings this past week. Volusia County Schools are known for their fantastic education, programs, and sports. The meetings were held to let parents know how the state funds our county education budget. Dr. Smith, the School Board, and our teacher's Union, VTO, worked very hard to ensure no salary cuts or loss of teacher jobs. 13.7 million is a lot to trim from this year's budget and the proposed $37-$44 million next year is frightening. I am pleading with you to please write your legislators and ask them to make education a priority in Florida!
So what has been going on in the classroom? We wrote snowman stories and they are hanging in the hallway. We are discussing various addition and subtraction strategies. We leaned about needs, wants, goods, and services. Sometimes the needs and wants got a little confusing-don't worry we talked and they understand. I know what you are thinking, why didn't we have that lesson before Christmas. :) We observed some race cars in class and wrote about our experiences in our science journals. I have finished the DRA tests and high frequency mid year check. Check back soon because tomorrow is a day for the history books.