Thanks Sergeant Velasco!

We had a very special opportunity to have Alex-Ann's dad, Sergeant Velasco join our class last Thursday for a Memorial Day lesson. Ms. Grisham, our student teacher did a lesson on why we celebrate Memorial Day, and then the kids got to meet two Sergeants in the Army. They talked about some of the jobs that they do, showed us some of their cool gear, and even gave out pencils and lanyards. Taryn even got to try on the parachute pack, but had to promise not to pull the cord! ;-) After the visit, the kids did a great job writing letters to the men thanking them for all of their hard work, and for visiting in our class. It was a great experience for the first graders, and we really appreciated their willingness to join us for an afternoon. Thanks so much!

Going on a Bug Hunt

This month we have been learning all about insects. We have learned about their three body parts, the head, thorax and abdomen, and that all insects have 6 legs. We have just started talking about insect habitats. Today we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and get outside. We went on a bug hunt! Each child was armed with a pencil, clipboard, report paper, and magnifier. Their task was to find a bug (preferably and insect) and observe it to see what they could find out. They then wrote their report with the help of a few insect books from our library, and will report to the class what they found. It was a great activity and we learned a lot!

April Good Citizen Assembly

Congratulations to our Good Citizens for the month of April!

1st Grade Music Program

Thanks to everyone who came and participated in our music program. The kids had a lot of fun learning about the beats of music, and getting ready to show all of you. They were all so tickled that parents came to watch them perform. Thanks for supporting your kids!

Math Dash

We had some extra time at the end of math today, so I had the kids playing games to help them with their math facts. I bought a math board game a few years ago, but just recently opened it up. It is such a COOL game! It's called Math Dash, and ours is addition and subtraction. They also have different levels of it, with different skills. It's such a great game because you can play with 2-8 players. I'm trying to figure out how to make a version that the kids could take home for the summer. If you are interested, you can view/purchase it at Amazon by clicking HERE. This is a great way to practice learning and remembering math facts, especially as they get into multiplication. Knowing your multiplication facts can make math so much easier as the kids get older, and if they know their addition and subtraction facts, multiplication facts will be easier to learn. Here are a few pics of the kids playing today.

Class Reminders

I'm sorry it's been so long since I have posted. We have been swamped! Here are a few announcements and reminders for this upcoming week.

• PTC Meeting Tuesday at 3:45- We have lots to talk about, and will be setting a plan for next year, so please join us!
• Country BBQ day is Tuesday May 19th. Lunch is early and begins at 11:15.
• We have started our memory book for this year. We have a spot for a small (wallet size) picture of your family if you'd like to include it, otherwise the kids will just draw you. Send it in ASAP if you'd like. We will be making this page next Wednesday.
  
• We have a new student teacher who has joined us for the remainder of the year, so please welcome Ms. Grisham into our room.
  
• If you haven't returned Zoo permission slips, please do so ASAP. We are going to be busy in the next few weeks, and need to buy tickets.
• Have a good Friday, and hopefully we'll see some more sunshine!
  

Happy Mothers Day

I hope all of our Moms had a great mothers day, and enjoyed their treats. I even heard that people are already trying recipes, so have fun! We sure had fun making you presents. Hopefully you all felt a little spoiled last Sunday!

Happy Monday!

• Our May Newsletter is coming home today. Make sure to read it, as it has some important end-of-the-year information and dates.
• Our final book order is coming home today. May and June are included, as are Seesaw (K-1) and Firefly (Pre-K). Don't forget to have your kids reading at home this summer. This is a great resource for cheap books at their level. Book orders are due back by May 18th.
  
• Field trip permission slip is coming home today. Make sure to return it by May 20th.

Farm to Market Day

Wednesday was Farm to Market day here at MES. This was an event that Sodexo put on for our school. It was a way of bringing some agricutlure and knowledge of food into the classroom. We each visited 4 stations in the gym, and then got to have a great lunch from the A-Z salad bar. They brought in a fruit or vegetable for each letter of the alphabet, and the kids did a really good job of trying out new things. It was a fun day and we learned a lot about where our food comes from, and ways we can eat healthier.
Our first station was to meet some Pygmy Goats. We learned all about them, and what they can do to help us. We got to pet the baby goats, and even got to put in our suggestions as to what the babies names should be.


Then we moved to a station where we learned all about the food pyramid. We learned that we really need to strive to have 9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Learning about the food pyramid this week, we now know that we should aim for 3-5 servings of vegetables, and 2-4 servings of fruits each day. How can we help make sure that our kids are eating healthy?Our next stations taught us about what kind of foods are grown or made in Oregon. We got to make a "live necklace," which includes a bean that will sprout and grown if kept in the sunlight. Once it sprouts a couple of inches, it can be planted and will continue to produce beans.

At our last station we learned out to make healthy smoothies for a great and easy snack. Check out the quick and easy recipe below, and see what other fun and healthy things you can add.

Strawberry-Banana Smoothies

• Strawberry Yougurt
• Frozen or Fresh Strawberries
• Ripe Banana
• Little Bit of Milk

Put ingredients in blender and mix until well blended.
Variations:
Add different fruits, yogurts, and juices for different flavors.

PTC Bingo

PTC Basket BINGO is tonight! Please join us for some family BINGO fun, tonight starting at 7:00pm. We've got a great list of prizes this year, including our Green Galore basket, which turned out AMAZING! We hope to see you there! This will also be the last night for picking up cookie dough. If you haven't gotten yours yet, stop by and pick up your products from 6:00-7:00pm before BINGO. Thanks you to everyone who donated to our basket. It will be one of the best to win!