Pictured: Kindergarten students throwing confetti.

First grade news

Welcome to 2022! With the beginning of a new year and season upon us the first graders have been busy settling into the routine again! We have also welcomed another student to our room which now means there are 43 of us.

In math we have been learning how to subtract, what even and odd numbers are, how to tell time on the clock, and read word numbers. We have also been working on timed tests to get faster at our basic addition facts. Our classrooms have been in a buzz as we count our way to the 100th day of school. Students are looking forward to the fun day!

Writing has been a focus in our room since returning from break. We wrote about our Christmas break and all the things that we did. Last week we read the story Snowman at Night and did an art and writing activity with it. We wrote what our snowman might do at night if he/she came to life. These snowmen did some amazing things like play basketball, eat pizza, watch movies, drink cold cocoa, visit the zoo, and of course even have a snowball fight. It was great to read all their creative ideas and see how the students have learned to write in complete sentences and use describing words.

Reading class has been so fun! The students enjoyed the story of the Interrupting Chicken. After finishing the story, the students had to think if they were anything like the chicken in the story who always interrupted. I have to admit a few of them thought they might be like the chicken. Along with the entertainment of the interrupting chicken story we have been working on reading words that have long vowels in them along with 2 syllable words.

Bible class has taken us through the wonderful Christmas story and now we are learning about Moses and more specifically about the Passover and the crossing of the Red Sea.

In science we have been looking at the landforms and different bodies of water that God placed in our world. It is so amazing to see how God created our world and all the natural resources in it.

Before Christmas break, the first graders had been busy working on a few different crafts. We made Winter Trees out of wooden spools and fabric. The trick to making this project was learning how to tie fabric around the spool. Our fingers were getting tired by the time the 50th fabric was tied on.   The trees turned about wonderful and made great winter decorations. We were also able to hold our annual Gingerbread House building day. Students were able to bring one adult to school for the Gingerbread House building day, and I think there was a lot of finger licking and taste testing of all the yummy candies that we used to decorate the houses. Both days were filled with excitement!

That about wraps up first grade. We hope you enjoyed reading what we have been learning about! We pray this next year is full of blessings and memories for each one of you!

Second grade news

We have been learning a lot in 2nd grade about community helpers.  We read a few stories that told us about people who had made a difference in our world. One was about a man who loaded up 2 burros with books and brought them to people in faraway villages who had very few books. Another helper taught people how to use solar panels to get electricity into villages that had none. Each of those helpers made a difference in the lives of many people. We have community workers around here, too.  We made a list of several workers, and it included firefighters, police officers, doctors, nurses, dentists, garbage truck drivers, mail carriers and snow removal personnel. We are thankful for each of these workers.

For chapel, the second grade class told the story of how God prepared for Jesus to be born throughout many generations.  Before the beginning of the world, God was planning for Jesus to come.  Each of the second graders told a part of the story from the Bible, and each was a step toward the birth of Jesus. Stories were about Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Ruth and Boaz, Esther and David. These and others add to the story of how God prepared Jesus to come into our world. Thank you Second Graders for telling us the whole story!

Kindergarten news

Doing to learn best describes kindergarten.

In math we are learning teen numbers while rainbow writing. Ten frames and rekenreks are helping us do addition, subtraction and skip counting by 10’s.

In literature we are enjoying snowman stories. Retelling the story using key details helps build our comprehension as well as our oral language skills.

Using word families helps us build and read words ending in “at”, “an”, “ap”, and “ad”. We are learning to write and read SO many words!

Also helping us learn are the fifth grade students who come to our room each morning. They help us with science investigations, STEM projects, and playing math games.

We are so thankful for their leadership!

We are also thankful that as we begin a new year we know that God remains loving and faithful. We stand amazed at His promise in Jeremiah 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

The kindergarteners are trusting His promise and wish you a Happy New Year!