Last week was a difficult week for our nation. The Boston Marathon bombing and the West explosion gave me a brief feeling of despair. Fred Rogers, a personal hero of mine for the last 50 years, encouraged me this week with his wise words "...look to all the helpers...(in a disaster)." The first responders and brave individuals who put others before their own safety give us hope and encouragement. My prayer is that if/when we are called on to do the same, there will be no hesitation on our part. It is true that tribulation brings us closer to God and to each other, and it makes us feel stronger to face troubles in our lives. I deliberately chose not to mention the disasters of the week in our classroom, but I asked God to show me how, under heaven, I could make this a positive experience for my first graders. He answered me this morning in our worship service.
Brady is a kindergarten student in West, Texas. He is being raised by his grandparents who were watching a fertilizer plant fire with him from a large window in their home. The subsequent explosion has sent them all to the hospital with possible vision loss. Brady was sent to a hospital in Dallas where he has been accompanied by his kindergarten teacher and her husband (members of my church) for the last week. I will ask my first graders to write cards and draw pictures of encouragement to Brady as he courageously faces what few people his age ever have to. So Monday morning, our first graders will be invited to help take part in making the world a better place.
If you need any help organizing your research for the science fair project, please contact Tenille Shaw. She is ready to give information that will help you understand the scientific method which scientists use to test ideas. (First graders will only be responsible for a part of the scientific method.) Right now is the time to enlist her help. Please do not wait until right before the fair to ask for information from her.
Spelling Words for the Week:
warm, walk, give, cloud, loud, proud, found, ground, sound, mouth, south, out
Review Week for these 12 Synonym Pairs: (Quiz on Friday, April 26th):
brisk-quick story-yarn food-chuck oviparous - egg-laying stop-terminate
change-transformation climb-ascend climb down-descend clean-tidy
run-flee end-conclusion weatherman-meteorologist
Blessings,
Mrs. E.
