In two weeks we will be having our spring semester Parent/Teacher Conferences. I always enjoy these moments with the parents of my students, to share insights and compare notes about how our little ones are developing and growing right before our eyes. Please be on the lookout for an email from me to sign up for your conference times. Hope to see each of you on February 18, Presidents' Day.
February is National Children's Dental Health Month, so on Monday, February 4th, I will send home a chart for my students to log every time they brush their teeth during this month. Scientists tell us that it takes about three weeks to form a HABIT, so if your first grader does not yet have the habit of brushing without being reminded, maybe this month of "dental homework" will do the trick!
February is also National Black History Month. Throughout the month, we will be reading the biographies of various very courageous African-Americans who stood for what was right during their lifetimes. Hopefully, these lessons will initiate some good conversations at home about what it means to stand for righteousness when the majority of people around you are unwilling to. How to stand alone is a very important lesson that will serve our students all of their lives.
Play is the work of childhood. I have shared that statement with many parents over the years, since early childhood development has been a fascinating area of study for me for the last 25 years. I have found a twelve minute YouTube video that summarizes my philosophy on the benefits and importance of childhood play. Please take a few minutes to watch this video before our conference on the 18th, because I would like to discuss it with you.
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=oiDV6uOY9QI&desktop_uri=%3Fv%3DoiDV6uOY9QI
Spelling Words for the Week:
their, now, angry, angrier, angriest, windy, windier, windiest, hay, gray, away, clay
Spelling Rule: When adding the endings -er and -est to words ending in "y," the "y" changes to "i" first, then the endings are added. The "i" will have the same sound the "y" does in the base word.
Review Week for 12 Synonym Pairs: (matching quiz on 2-8-13)
genesis…………...beginning smart…………....clever travel……..migrate
red………………..crimson forever……...…..eternal sleep………hibernate
warm-blooded……endothermic underwater….....submerged cold………frigid
cold-blooded……..exothermic trail…………….passage blue………azure
Blessings,
Mrs. E
