The Legend of the Candy Cane

We read a beautiful story today about the candy cane. Then the children created a poster that shows what the candy cane symbolizes. Please ask your children to share the meaning with you sometime this weekend.

Much Better!

Well we didn't get it filled to the top, but it is MUCH better than yesterday! Thank you to everyone who brought in money.

Penny War

Let's fill this jug up!!! We are seriously behind several of the other classes!
If you have not had an opportunity to bring in some change to help Elaina  PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE do so tomorrow!

2nd Grade Jug

THANK YOU!

Yesterday and today I received the sweetest cards! They are fabulous and I plan to take them with me this weekend and read them again before the big race. (I think the kids may be more excited about the race than me.)  Several years ago I decided that I was going to run a 5K, the only problem was I didn't really care for running. I walked the majority of the race, but I finished. I have since done several more and got this CRAZY idea to sign up for a half marathon! Sunday is the big day so  I will be gone on Friday, but will be back on Monday. Thank you for all of the wonderful cards!

Science Test Coming Friday, September 26!

We are finished with our first chapter in science and will be ready for a short test on Friday. The test will be five fill in the blank questions over the seven vocabulary words and one essay question from chapter one. My suggestion is to read through the chapter once again with your child and then use page A28 as a review. We completed page A28 as a pretest and most of them did fairly well.

Puzzlemania & Hidden Pictures

I am sending home another request from the Highlights magazine company. All that I ask is that you sign and print your name even if you do not wish to order either magazine. If I get enough of the forms returned then I can mail the notices back to the Highlights Company and in return they send me various items for the classroom. I use these items as incentives in our classroom for the children. If you have any questions just let me know. Thank you in advance!

Daily Snacks

Snacks are an important source of nutrition for growing children. Many children and adults feel hungry between meals. Snacks can provide the needed energy required by our bodies. If snacks are healthy food choices, the child will be adding substantially to his/her daily nutritional requirements for nutrients, vitamins, minerals. Children need to be able to refuel throughout the day to maintain energy and focus on academics, and that's where snacking comes in. It's crucial these snacks be health-conscious., Children may also need to fill certain nutrient gaps left by meals. Healthy snacks also boost energy, while sugary treats and other junk food can lead to a quick crash and overeating at the next meal.
Our snack time will typically be sometime between 9:30-9:50. It must be already prepared, something they can grab out of their book bag and HEALTHY. NO DRINKS. A suggestion is small snack size zip lock bag which could be, but not limited to pretzels, popcorn carrots, grapes, granola bar, grapes, etc.
Up to this point I have had pretzels on hand for those who may have forgotten their snack. We are well into the practice of bringing a snack and after today I will no longer be providing a snack for those who may have forgotten. My suggestion is to prepare the snack the night before and put it in the book bag when you put the homework folder away, or have a weeks worth of snacks loaded in a pocket of the book bag.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

My Apologies

I am the first to admit technology is not my thing some days! After going back and checking my blog I see that all of my updates for the year did not post. Each of the different subjects have been updated again. Hopefully, the blog and I will have better days!

Welcome Back

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting twenty-one smiling faces that are my new Darlings! I look forward to an exciting year filled with lots of learning.

Say It Isn't So!!!

We have reached the last week of school. I just can't believe it!

I am not assigning any homework this week. I highly recommend that the children practice math facts & the words in their spelling journal throughout the summer. I know that summer schedules get crazy and before we know it is time to get ready for school. Please make it a point to review these items regularly.

The awards assembly is Wednesday at 1:00 and parents are welcome to attend.

Teacher Appreciation Day

What a wonderful day! A VERY special thank you to the Home & School, and all of the families who brought in lunch and the extremely delicious snacks! My day started with some super special notes from my darlings. It is such a treat to be surrounded by such sweet and thoughtful children everyday.

Earth Day

Thank you to our chaperones. The children had a fabulous time.

Barnes & Noble Bookfair

If you are out and about on Saturday, please make Barnes & Noble one of your stops! Barnes & Noble has so graciously offered to sponsor this book fair. A percentage of your purchase will go to the school library. Each teacher has a wish list of books for their classroom posted as well. I will be sending home a flyer that has the details, be sure to take the ID# (11337631) in with you so we are credited the percentage. This number is located on the flyer coming home. Tell your friends & family. If you can't make it to Barnes & Noble you can shop online.

Happy Shopping!!!

An Unexpected Visitor

We had a bit of excitement after recess this afternoon!! I unlocked the door to the classroom to be greeted by a turtledove. As your darlings know, I don't do very well with things that don't follow verbal directions...i.e. snakes, mice...and now BIRDS! So I slammed the door shut and we went to church! (We had to practice our parts for the mass tomorrow.) Fortunately, Mr. Gary & Mr. Rockers were able to coax the bird to the garden and all is well. It's never a dull moment around here!

All are welcome to attend mass tomorrow. We will be singing a special song. If you can't make it tomorrow we will be singing it at the First Communion mass as well.

Please call to schedule an interview with Father.  

Pretzel Time

To continue our theme of breaking bread, Debbie S. & Debbie K. in the cafeteria helped us make pretzels this afternoon. I will send home the recipe tomorrow. OH MY GOODNESS!

Field Trip!!

Friday we had a fabulous time at Panera! The Darlings were very polite and learned a few things about bread. Hopefully, they talked to you about it this weekend. We will be writing thank you letters to Panera this week.
Speaking of Panera...someone gave me a Panera gift card on Valentine's Day. It was in with all of my Valentine's but lost its way from a card possibly. I've asked the kids about it a few times, but they don't recall giving me one. If it was you, thank you so much! Panera is one of my favorite places to eat and I really do appreciate your generosity. If you could let me know I would like to thank you & your darling for the sweet gift!

A Little Cacth Up!

As you all know my Darling's pulled off the ultimate April Fool's trick on me! It is still the talk of the teacher's lounge!

 

Up close it looks completely harmless, but those that know me...if it's fast and slithery I'm not going to get close enough to see if it is real! All snakes will be treated as real until proven otherwise! The outburst of laughter after my screech was proof it was rubber. I just hope I remember this when 8th graduation comes around...

 

 

Next, on the creepy crawly adventures.... Mike Bernskoetter of Art's Pest Control stopped by to talk to the kids about bugs. He even brought in some Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, and a Tarantula for the Darlings to see.

 

Long Time No See

As you may have heard we had several darlings out sick today.  Strep has worked it's way into our room and we just can't seem to kick it out! I promise to post pictures of my super funny April Fool's trick, a measurement activity & recess creations.

Vocabulary Parade

We will be having the Vocabulary Parade for the school on Tuesday at 8:45 in Msgr. Lammers gym. You are more than welcome to come and watch the parade. It should last about 30-45 minutes since third grade will be joining us.

A Special Visitor

2012-13 2D with Harold

Yesterday we had a special visitor all the way from Idaho! Last year we had a special request from my dad to pray for a friend of his who had recently been diagnosed with throat cancer. So my little prayer warriors from last year made cards letting him know that we were praying for him. This week he made the trip from Idaho to Missouri to thank them personally for their prayers. We were so touched by the gesture and once again in awe of His answer to another one of our prayers! 

Baptism

The Darling's & I went over to church today so Fr. Franklin could talk to them about the sacrament of Baptism. They were able to see all of the key elements that are used in the sacrament so be sure to ask them what they saw & even smelled!

Valentine's Day

I wanted to clarify Friday's Valentine exchange. We will be decorating bags on Thursday to put our Valentine's in on Friday. There is no need to bring in a decorated box, but I have a feeling that some of the children may already have one decorated. If you are bringing a snack or drink, please feel free to send in with your lil darling on Friday morning. We will exchange our Valentine's in the afternoon.

A Visitor!

Today we had a visitor from long ago. Abraham Lincoln stopped by to share some valuable information with the students of St Peter Interparish School. Some of you may know him as Mr. Rehagen, but today he was Lincoln.

Snowflakes

We made snowflakes yesterday as a science experiment. Oh my! Two days off of school and then a science experiment that involved the word SNOW! It was a little crazy but, we all survived.

 
 

 

 

If you would like to try this at home. Go to my science page and I'll have the recipe for you there. 

Catholic Schools Week

What an amazing week! It is always fun to celebrate Catholic Schools week, but last week was definitely a week filled with lots of fun activities. Here are a few highlights from the week...

 

Thank you to my lil darlings for making signs to cheer me on at the volleyball game. I loved them!! I have to track down the camera that has the pictures of the rest of the signs. We'll see who you cheer for in six years. 

T.G.F.M.K Day

This week we are celebrating Catholic Schools Week. While it is the 40^th year we have celebrated Catholic schools, they have been around much longer than that. The picture below is of St Joseph School in Edina, MO. I didn’t attend St. Joseph however; my dad and his siblings tested the nerves and patience of many of the Sisters that ran the school. The school sat empty for several years and time and neglect took its toll on the building. Eventually, the parish had it torn down. It was a sad day to return to Edina and see an empty lot, but with everything that happens in life, there is a lesson to learned …it takes true dedication to support a Catholic education for our children. That dedication comes from parents, grandparents, loved ones and the members of our parish as well.

My grandparents were truly dedicated to St Joseph Church and supported the school in many ways. T.G.F.M.K is an acronym for Thank God for Mrs. Killday. Mrs. Killday (AKA my Grandma) stayed home raising seven children. Their house was less than a block from the school and when a student at school got sick, or was injured they were sent to grandma’s house for the necessary TLC. One of my dad’s classmates went on to become an educator for the Blue Springs school district and part of her job was to conduct seminars for area educators and support staff. In one of her seminars she created this acronym T.G.F.M.K and talked of my Grandma's care for her when she was not feeling well, along with the support and dedication to the children of St. Joseph School, encouraging the participants to be like Mrs. Killday.

I didn’t get near enough time with my Grandma before Alzheimer's but she did teach me a valuable lesson…pray all day, eventually you’ll find what you are looking for and tomorrow is always new day!

I do believe that T.G.F.M.K can have more than one meaning. It also can also mean Thank God for Mr. Killday (AKA dad). While I didn’t have an opportunity to have a Catholic education until I moved to Jefferson City and was able to attend Helias. He has been extremely supportive of my choice to teach in the Catholic school setting. Friday we will celebrate T.G.F.M.K Day with PIZZA for lunch thanks to Mr. Killday.

 Happy Catholic Schools Week!!

 

 

 

Help Wanted!

I am looking for 18 wide mouth quart jars. I would like to do a science experiment with the class, but all of my jars are filled with green beans this year. I will return the jars once we finish the experiment. If you can help me out send a note in tomorrow. Weather permitting we will conduct the experiment on Monday.

Habitat's

A few of my darlings have finished their habitat's. They couldn't wait to share so here is a sneak peek!

A Bad Case of Stripes

This turned out to be a fun writing activity and craft. Be sure to ask your lil darling to give you a summary of the story by David Shannon. We practiced cause and effect, and they did a great job!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!!

As we all know Missouri weather can change rather quickly. Please pay close attention to the weather forecast and make sure your child is ready for any changes the weather may bring.