Thanksgiving Webcast!

We have been learning about Pilgrims and Native Americans. We received letters from a Pilgrim child and a Wompanoag child. Today we tuned into a live webcast of a Plymouth reenactment. This was a reenactment of the year 1620, when the pilgrims landed on the shores of Plymouth. The children had a great time getting to see the houses, clothes, food, and more of these people of the past. Ask your child what was his/her favorite part of the web cast. What a great experience for our children. It will be one that they never forget.

High Fives and Hollywood Kisses,
Mrs. Freeman

School Wide Reading Skype Challenge!

Last week we challenged our whole school via Skyping from the 1st grade room to the rest of the school in the gym. The Dog House (1st, 5th, and 9th grades) challenged the whole school to read 1 million pages by Easter Break. If the school meets this goal, the Dog House will host a Open Game Night. We also sweetened the pot by challenging Mrs. Sweet. She has agreed to dress up like Hannah Montana the night of the Open Game Night... if we meet our goal (when we meet our goal). Our students and staff is sure this will be a game night that we will never forget. Reading, fun, and Mrs. Sweet as Hannah Montana??? I guess Hannah Montana says it best when she says it will be "the best of both worlds..."

High Fives and Hollywood Kisses,
Mrs. Freeman

Pinchy Is Here!

Our classroom pet is here! He is a Hermit Crab named Pinchy. He is adjusting well to his new surroundings. I have been giving the class clues to what he was. We made predictions. I then took a poll to see what the class thought our new pet was. We recorded our results on the board using tally marks. I can not believe how SMART the class is. Almost all the children figured out what he was. I have to admit we are geniuses here in first grade! We all thought of a name for our new hermit crab. We recorded the names on a piece of paper and drew one out of a pail. Pinchy won! Thank you Giovanni for your entry. The name is perfectly pinchy.

Hollywood Kisses and High Fives,
Mrs. Freeman

We Are Together Again!

I am so excited about this year. The first day of first grade is right around the corner. I can't believe we get to spend another year together. We are going to have so much fun! I hope you all did lots of reading this summer. I sure did. You can never read too much. I have a special surprise for you. I think you are going to LOVE it! So bring your smiles to school with you. We are going to plant them and watch them grow. Yipee...to another year together!

Hollywood Kisses and High Fives,
Mrs. Freeman

Lily our Classroom Bear

We have begun to watch a black bear hibernate live via the internet. Her name is Lily. Lily has had a cub this winter. I keep Lily up all day in our class. Periodically throughout the day the children go and check on Lily. The internet is providing the class with a wonderful learning experience. You can even check on Lily at your house. All you need to do is go to www.bear.org to watch Lily. We have read books about bears and have made coffee bears to display in our hall. The children really love learning about Lily. Sleep tight Lily, it is almost Spring!

Read Across American and Dr. Seuss Week

Read Across America is March 1st- 5th.

We will be participating in many activities during Dr. Seuss week.

Monday: Wear black, white & red and hat day
Tuesday: Crazy Outfit Day
Wednesday: Uniforms with Crazy Socks
Thursday: Who Hair (wild and crazy hair styles)
Friday: PJ's and movie day and Seuss Stew

Second grade will be hosting a Reading Cafe during our 50 minute literacy centers this week. The PreK, Kindergarten and 1st grade students will visit the Reading Cafe on their selected day and enjoy their favorite Dr. Seuss book being read to them by the 2nd graders and a small snack.

Our Growing Tree!

Our growing tree is up and we have marked how tall we are. We are going to check later in the year to see how much we have grown. The children love to see their names on our tree. Our tree will change a lot over the year, just like us. It is going to amaze you how much your child does grow this year. Kindergarten is a big year for growth and maturity. We are very excited to take this journey together.