Two weeks of fun wrapped up in one blog!

Hi everyone! I know it has been a while since my last blog posting.  I typically don't write a blog update over a four day weekend, especially since us teachers need to get out and have fun every once in a while, so a-camping-I-did-go! = )  Yesterday proved to be another busy day in the life of Ms. Hudson, doing something I love (other than teaching, of course)- baking cupcakes!  I was asked to bake cupcakes for a friend's baby shower, so of course I did!  This time I baked chocolate mint cupcakes, lemon blueberry mint cupcakes, and, the show-stopper, strawberry cheesecake cupcakes!  Those were tricky, but boy were they worth it!  Here's a quick pic of the yummy treats:  

Ok, now that you know why your blog-posting-teacher has been a bit behind, on to business!  

The Firsties have been busy learning about their presidents in honor of President's Day.  First, we learned about Abraham Lincoln.  At this point, your Firsty can tell you that he was our 16th president and that he worked hard to keep America united.  They also know he was president during the Civil War... we obviously don't go into too much detail about that war, but the Firsties know it was a very sad war fought right here in our own country, and that it had to do with slavery.  We are in the middle of learning about our first president, and they will know some neat facts about him, too, when we are through our presidential packet.  

In Math, our Firsties have been learning about place value.  We work with tens rods and ones cubes to practice this concept.  We know that ten-tens makes one hundred, and we know that a number in the tens place secretly means a bigger number, while a number in the ones place is boring and just means that number. For instance, the 9 in 93 does not just mean 9, but it secretly means 90, while the 3 simply means 3.  Here are some snapshots of the kiddos practicing with our math manipulatives:

In Religion, we have been learning about Lent, which started with Ash Wednesday.  The Firsties did a wonderful job trying their best to keep their ashes on their foreheads.  Here is one very faithful student:

 

Then, we moved right along to Valentine's Day!  We had such a great time celebrating, although we were a little pressed for time when it came to delivering our valentine's to our friends = ) Oh well! Here are some lovely photos from that day:

 The class has been learning about estimation, so we had a fun estimation activity on Valentine's Day featuring items in a jar.  The class separated into groups and the group members had to agree on an estimation of the number of items in the jar (using numbers you can skip count to by ten's)

 Our wonderful Valentine Party Parents supplied the kids with some awesome heart frames for a decorating activity!

 They also supplied us with some very delicious (and pretty healthy, but don't tell the kids) treats!  Ask Mrs. Simanek what the secret ingredient was for the cupcakes, and those strawberries are not dipped in white chocolate, but vanilla yogurt!  Yum!

 What's next, you ask?  Well, coming up this week, we have Meet the Masters with Mrs. Alikian and Mrs. Leff. They are teaching us about the artist Gauguin.  Dr. Seuss Day is officially this upcoming Saturday, March 2nd, so our school will be celebrating it on March 4th.  We decided to celebrate it on the 4th, as opposed to the 1st, since this Friday is not only a half-day, but it is also... OUR FIRSTY MASS!  Hopefully you spotted an invitation to this mass in your child's backpack somewhere!  If not, please join us this Friday at 8am in the church for a First-Rate mass!  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make sure your child is NOT late that day!  If for some reason they are late, take them straight to the church.  We will be in the church by 7:50 at the latest.  Please make sure your child is in appropriate church uniform attire- no shorts, no pants with holes, hair brushed, etc.  We are hosting the mass and we want to look our best for God! And, if your child has a reading part, please make sure to practice their part with them every night. Thank you!

In other news, the Firsties have earned another Popcorn Party!  Hooray! What perfect timing?!?!?  We will celebrate our Popcorn Party on Friday during the last hour of our school day (again, don't forget, it is a half day!)

And finally, a BIG HUGE CONGRATULATIONS goes out to the Tomich Family!  Their family has been blessed with a beautiful baby girl, Olivia Grace!  Hunter seems THRILLED to be a big brother again! Alright Chalovich's... you're next!

Take care everyone, and have a great rest of your weekend!  
~Ms. Hudson