It's been a while!

     Wow! I can't believe the last time I blogged was before Easter Break!  I hope everyone had a blessed Easter and enjoyed their time with their family and friends!  The kids have told me all about their breaks (well, at least what they remember!)

     Since our last blog, the Firsties had a small Easter celebration in our classroom.  Since the celebration occurred during Holy Week, we definitely kept things centered around the true meaning of Easter.  Here are some photos from that celebration:

The class made these colorful tombs with the help of some wonderful parent volunteers

We passed on the traditional cupcakes and opted for "breaking bread"with round crackers and grape juice, along with some Swedish fish candies = )

The kids seemed to really enjoy their snacks as they listened to the story of Easter.

 Thank you to everyone who contributed to this special celebration of our faith!

     That week was also supposed to be the date of our Santa Barbara Zoo Field Trip, but, well, things didn't go exactly as planned!  There is a saying that came to mind, "You want to make God laugh? Tell him your plans"... well, apparently God didn't want us to go to the zoo that day, but thanks to the help of our AWESOME Firsty parents, we made lemonade out of lemons and headed over to the park for a fun day at the park!  There are too many parents to thank, but I hope each and everyone of them know how much I appreciated their help, enthusiasm, and donations that day!  The kids had a BLAST regardless of the initial disappointment, and it was really due to the ingenuity and flexibility of our parents to help us make the best of things that day.  THANKS A MILLION!!!!

    Speaking of the zoo trip, we did make it there, and we couldn't have asked for better weather!  I understand some parents were sharing photos on the photo stream (an iphone app) all day long, but here are just a few photos from that field trip:

This little fox is apparently native to Iraq, but I wouldn't mind taking him home!

The kids love the train ride! It's our tradition to start off the field trip with this ride around the park.

These lions couldn't get enough sun, and neither could we!

This is my kind of snake...

The two female elephants are 42 years old.  Some of us got to watch them give the elephants a shower.

Some future zoologists

With all of the amazing wild animals around us, this teeny little duckling was a favorite of many Firsties!

Here are some little monkeys visiting the Gorilla exhibit

One of our monkeys hanging around!

Another couple of monkeys

And one more!

They had so much fun they were a little delirious on the ride home = )
***I'm sorry I don't have more photos of other students... I'm sure we will see those in the yearbook!

      We ended our busy week with a special going-away party (complete with Quinn's favorite desserts served on Steeler's plates and napkins, and even Steeler's colored balloons) for our wonderful friend Quinn. Quinn and his family are moving to Pennsylvania, and we couldn't be more jealous of that East Coast state!  They are getting such an awesome family, and we cannot wait for their first visit back!  I'm thinking we need to set up a Skype account in our classroom and Skype with them sometime in the future... = )  We wish them all the best as they begin on this new, exciting part of their life! 

    Next week, along with the week after, are short weeks.  There is no school this Friday, the 19th, and there will be no school on Monday the 22nd.  Teachers will be working on both days to prepare for next year's WASC visit.  We will start off this week with a fun visit from  children's author/illustrator Carol Heyer.  She is the author (and family friend of the Francis family) of the book Humphrey's First Palm Sunday, along with many others!  Check out her website here Carol Heyer .  She will speak to our class about writing and illustrating, and maybe even give the kids a brief drawing lesson!  I'll be sure to post photos about this next week!  

     This Thursday, the students will receive their assignments for their big Social Studies project on our country's national monuments.  Students will pick a national monument out of a hat.  All directions and details will be handed out on Thursday as well.  For those of you who have experienced this fun project with me in the past, you will notice several changes this year.  Look for those changes in the packet to be handed out this Thursday.  We can't wait to see what these Firsties have in store for us this year!  (Emphasis on Firsties, not Firsties Parents... hint, hint, hint) 

     Finally, we are actually out of hand wipes!!! We have plenty of cleaning wipes (Lysol, etc), but we are down to one box of hand wipes.  If each student could bring in two to three boxes, we should make it until the end of the year.  Please help us keep the germs down to a minimum! Thank you!!! 

Until then, enjoy the weekend, and we will see everyone on Monday! 

Take care!

~Ms. Hudson