Letters To Soldiers

Good Morning! This year for Veteran's Day, our class drew pictures and wrote letters to my cousin who is currently stationed between Iraq and Kuwait. He shared the letters and candy with his other soldier friends. He received his package already and his letter back to our class is below!

1st Graders,

Hello I want to thank you for you letters and pictures you sent to me. I am doing fine over here just counting down the days to come home for Christmas. It is always nice coming back from a mission and having packages waiting for you. I hear that it is starting to get cold there and it is here also. My job over here is to guard semi trucks full of supplies for other solders all around Iraq. It is starting to get into the raining season over here so instead of snow it just rains and its really cold at night. You will have to let me know of some questions that you have and I can answer them for about Iraq or Kuwait. Most the people here are pretty friendly and fun to talk. Once again thank you for all the support.

Many Thanks,
Michael

Animoto.com

World Hello Day

Saturday is World Hello Day. World Hello Day has been a wonderful opportunity for our class to learn about different cultures and about the value of simply saying "hello". World Hello Day began in 1973 in response to the war between Israel and Egypt. The goal is to promote peace through increased communication, simply by asking people all over the world to simply say "hello" to ten new people. But why stop there? Go out of your way to talk to people you wouldn't normally talk to or see if you can learn to say hello in a different language.

The students and staff at Big Woods have been learning to say "hello" in different languages. To celebrate the day, I made a short little video for the Big Woods Buzz which features classrooms around Big Woods saying "hello" in different languages. Hope you enjoy the video!

Pennies, Nickels, and Dimes... OH MY!

The past two weeks we have been practicing counting combinations or coins using pennies, nickels, and dimes. This skill can sometimes be tricky for students. Here are three simple things you can work on at home to help your child develop money sense:

1. Talk about how many pennies are in a nickel and dime, how many nickels in a dime, and how many pennies, nickels, and dimes in a dollar.

2. Find some loose change and have your child practice counting different amounts of money. While counting change, ask your child if they can make trades, and encourage them to explain their thinking.

3. For a fun activity, click here. A new link will appear on your computer with a counting coin on-line activity!

GERMS!

This week our theme in Health is Staying Well. We have been talking about how germs spread, the importance of washing our hands, and overall how to stay healthy. The students had a lot of fun with looking through the Scrub Club website with me. They also LOVED the germ video we watched! Hope you enjoy the links!!

We Are Becoming Sign Language Machines!

We have been working hard on our sign language skills! We have learned some basic phrases as well as colors, animals, foods, and commands. Since October was Disability Awareness month our class learned how to do the Pledge of Allegiance in Sign Language and were featured on the morning announcements! WE HAD SO MUCH FUN! Click below to watch the video Ms. Brown created for us!