Memories light the corners of my mind, and what beautiful memories this class made. Even thought our time in the classroom was cut short due to COVID- 19 we persevered and learned at home. One of my special memories of this time was working with my fellow teachers as we helped each other reach out to the children at home. We made videos, read books , sent out packets, and we had zoom meetings with our students.

I want to thank our administrative team for helping us as we navigated through uncharted waters. It was a blessing to see the whole school come together during this difficult time. A special thank you to my parents for helping their children learn at home and for sending wonderful emails and pictures.

We could never have known that time would rewrite the end of the school year in a way that none of us had ever seen before. As we prepared to to say good-bye one last time we celebrated the end of the year in a way that was new to all of us.

The school took part in a special drive through good-bye. As the children picked up their belongings this good-bye was full of smiles, laughter and tears. All in all we did have a wonderful year. Enjoy these pictures of the smiles we left behind, smiles we gave to one another for the way we were.

May God bless you all,

Mrs. Diane

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During this difficult time my coworkers and I have mailed curriculum plans, and made videos of ourselves reading to the children. It breaks my heart that I can’t be with the class, but my colleges and I remain upbeat and hopeful. Our parents are doing a wonderful job of teaching at home. The pictures they send of their children working on the curriculum brighten my day. Parents are the first teachers and now we are returning to their knowledge and care. Parents and teachers working together are important factors in the educational success of their children. Even in the classroom I could always tell the children that had parents who worked with them at home.

I must say the Reduce, Reuse , Recycle unit is a great way to learn at home. The children are learning first hand what items can be thrown away or used again. I know some parents already have recycling containers at their home. Paper , plastic and metal are a few things that we can recycle. In some areas glass is melted down and used again. It is very important for our earth that we all do our part.

Letters and numbers are discussed in the children’s packet with help from our parents. One computer lesson had the children looking for the letter R on the family computer. Learning will continue. The videos we send home help the children with language skills and phonics, and the children love seeing their teacher! Each child is a blessing and each child has a special gift. As parents and teachers we will continue to work together for the educational success of every child.

BOUNCING AND ROLLING

Our first topics were about balls that bounce and roll. One of our favorite balls that rolled was a bowling ball. We noticed that our bowling ball had three holes in it. I was amazed to watch the children as they put their fingers and thumb into the right hole. The class shouted for joy as the pins were knocked down. The children counted the pins that were knocked down and the pins that were left standing. We determined that the bowling ball did not bounce very well, but it was fun to watch it roll. This activity helped your child with counting skills and hand-eye coordination.

DEMONSTRATES POSITIVE APPROACHES TO LEARNING

One of our objectives for last week was - demonstrates positive approaches to learning . I put a small object in a box and then I moved the box back and forth. After I gave the class clues , they had to guess what was in the box. Everyone was thrilled to see that a ping pong ball was in the box! We practiced making the sound of letter P for ping pong and letter B for ball. Our listening skills were getting a work out.

MUSIC WITH BALLS

Mrs. Tipton must have heard that we were learning about balls. When the students arrived to the music classroom we found balls wrapped in velcro. Each child had to take a turn throwing four balls toward a musical banner. The banner was full of music notes. As the ball hit a note the children had to tell the class what note it was. Mrs. Tipton was by their side if anyone forgot what note their ball hit. This activity helped your child learn to read music.

We were thrilled to see the tooth fairy this month. We learned that we need to brush our teeth two times a day for two minutes. The class learned about food that is good for our teeth and food that is bad for our teeth. Each student was thrilled to help with the dental floss. Don’t forget to floss your teeth! A special thanks to Pediatric Dentistry of Texarkana.

Our Valentine Party was a hit! This class practiced name recognition as they passed out valentines. The hit of the party was the ballroom dancing! Costumes for the dance were provide by the home living center. It was very sweet to watch the class as they moved to the music. A special thank you to all the parents for helping with our snacks.

Grandparents Day was a blast! All of our primary classes went on the stage to sing for the grandparents. After we left the stage it was time for everyone to see our beautiful classroom. The children loved showing their work and telling the parents and grandparents about our centers.

We wrapped up the building unit by making buildings out of boxes. Each child had a great time as they pretended to be in various buildings. The beauty shop was a hit with the boys and girls and the automotive repair shop was just the place for a tune up. Anyone who was feeling sick was able to stop by the doctor’s office. letter P was for post office and it was the place to be for mailing those valentines. Your child’s imagination flourished as they took turns moving around our pretend city. Our next unit will have us bouncing for joy as we learn about balls.

We spent the last few weeks discussing buildings. We determined that a building is a place that shelters people or things. Our community is full of all kinds of buildings. They provide a place for people to learn, work, shop or play. We discussed the features that made our building special, and we explored the beautiful buildings on our campus. This class counted doors and windows and we examined the materials that make up the buildings on our school grounds.

We made a special trip to the Middle School as we took a trip back in time to the Colonial Days Living History Project. This activity was a great social studies lesson for the class. We learned how people sewed and cooked during the colonial days. The blacksmith shop was a big hit as we watched the blacksmith take care of his horse. The highlight of this trip was the general store. Each child was able to purchase a piece of candy for a penny.

THE THREE LITTLE PIGS

The kids loved reading The Three Little Pigs. I used this story to teach the children about strong materials for buildings. We learned that that straw and sticks are not good building materials. The smartest little pig used brick for his house and we determined that bricks are one of the strongest materials for building a house. I used props for the children to act out this story. Dramatic play was a hit with this class! As the class acts out this story they are giving their language skills and memory skills a workout!

LETTER S

The letter S box was a hit! I wrapped a box with paper and glued on the letter S. I put items in the box that started with the letter S. The children had to take turns putting their hand in the box and pulling out a item. Everyone was thrilled as they pulled out scissors, suckers, stars and a snake!

TRIANGLES

Builders know that a triangle is one of the strongest shapes. It is used in bridges and roofs. Triangles come in many different sizes but all triangles have three sides and three corners. The class had a blast as we used our bodies to form triangles!

SHAPES

I played music as the children walked around the shapes on my rug. When the music stopped, the children had to stop. When they stopped they had to tell me the shape they were on. This activity helped the children with their listening skills, and shape recognition.