Dear Parents,

Good day!  Did your firstie tell you what they got to see and pet and hold yesterday?  Mr. Rich Herzberger brought in ducks and chicks for the all of the kiddos to hold and look at.  They were pretty cute and the firsties that chose to hold a chick, were SO gentle.  I so appreciate that we have so many people in the congregation that are willing to help out and have the students here, experience new things. 

Today we learned about how Jesus is a SUPER HERO!  We heard the story about how Jesus raised His very good friend, Lazerus, from the dead.  We learned that Jesus has power, even over death….and the firsties reminded me that we already knew that because He Himself, rose from the dead. Ha. Jesus is kinda like a super hero because he rescued us from our sin-sickness and praise God that He did!

 Check out this fun song….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwTqbkkAZ2A

We are learning about goods and services in Social Studies.  If and when you are out and about, point out to your firstie, what goods and services are.  When you are able to point out real-life applications to them, it helps to make things more real and more meaningful.  It gives what we are learning in school, a purpose.  

Thank you for helping to prepare your firstie for our spelling and memory test in the morning!

Blessings on the end of your week!

Miss Gallagher

Dear Parents,

Happy Monday!  A brand new week given to us by God the Father…..hmm…..what will you do with it?  How will you impact the people around you?  

Last week, I had a new experience!  Miss Jo, the kindergarten teaching assistant, brought in her rather large pet cockroach, named Gloria.  I have to say, that I DID NOT pet it and when she brought it in later for the firsties to see, most of them didn’t pet it either.  It doesn’t bite, but I still couldn’t get over touching or holding it.  It was a pretty “Sciencey” and kinda cool….but don’t tell Miss Jo I said that….ha. :)

The firsties have been studying time in Math.  Do you have an analog clock at home (a clock with hands)?  We have been learning about the difference between the minute hand and the hour hand.  We only have been studying time to the hour and to the half hour. Please practice with your firstie at home!  If you don’t have an analog clock, please let me know and I can send one home that has move-able hands.  We also have been learning about digital clocks.  I am sure, though, that you have a digital clock or two at home or even a watch.  We have just briefly touched on elapsed time but again, that is something that you can review with your child.  

Yesterday was the Fine Arts Fair and below are the pictures of the first grade projects.  ALL of the students did a terrific job and there was a nice turnout as well.  

Noah's Picture

Addy's Painting

Andrei's bird sculpture

Wyatt's camping scene

 Today we had our author visit!  Jeffery Schatzer was very entertaining and interesting.  He read a few of his books to us today, one published and one unpublished (though I should say…he didn’t really read them, he recited them since he knows them by heart).  He grew up around here and now lives up near Traverse City.  If you weren’t able to purchase one of his books today, they are available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon. 

Finally, as I am sure you already know…each of the students at Trinity, were given a sapling to plant in honor of Earth Day. 

Blessings on your week!

Miss Gallagher

Dear Parents,

Happy Thursday!  The sun is shining and what a beautiful day!  Praise the Lord for ALL of the blessings that He gives us!

Yesterday, during our Prayer Partner Activity, we learned about the next mission of the month (well…month and a half).  We are going to be sending money to the Seminary, in order that the Chaplins that serve overseas, can provide Bibles, little cards with Scripture verses on them, even popsicles!  (Sometimes, it is the little things that the men and women serving overseas are given that they appreciate SO much!)  If you are able, please send in donations to give to this great mission.  

In Religion, we learned about Jesus’ parable of the rich fool. We talked about how Satan tries to entice us to be greedy and not be satisfied with what we have. We talked about the “Greed Monster” and how he tries to steal our joy and our love, our patience, our kindness, etc…  Being thankful and grateful for all that the Lord provides for us, isn’t always easy, especially in our consumer-driven society.   How can we avoid the “Greed Monster”?  Praying for guidance is always a good way to start.  God promises to be there for us and help us!

We continue to work in groups and they are doing well with this!  We have been reading the play “Henny Penny” and even though they were in small groups, I didn’t assign them “parts” to read….and then I stepped back and watched to see what they would do.  Lo and behold….there was NO arguing (in ANY group)!  They figured it out on their own!!!  I have to say, secretly inside, I was like a proud mama.  Lol!

Also, today, we (as a class), came up with some killer tongue-twisters using our spelling words!

There will be a Math test tomorrow and our regular spelling and memory tests will be happening as well.  Please make sure they are studying as hard as they can in order that they may be prepared for all of these tests.  Thanks for your help with this on the home front. 

I hope that you are able to get outside today and enjoy all of that wonderful thing that we haven’t seen in awhile, the SUN!
Blessings!

Miss Gallagher

Dear Parents,

The weather is finally turning!  Yea!  I hope that you are able to get outside and enjoy God’s wonderful and beautiful creation!

I don’t know if your firstie has told you but we have started to write in a journal and some of their writing has been quite interesting to read!  The minds of 6/7 year olds…… Oh my. 

Here is an example of our journal from yesterday….

(the words that are misspelled are nauseous and “pukey”)

As they are writing more and more (we try to journal several times during the week) they are putting their spelling words to good use! They are applying their knowledge (limited, right now, yes….) of grammar; punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.  We will continue to practice writing to strengthen these skills that they are learning.  

We are learning about Jesus’ teachings and today we learned about the parable of the rich young ruler.  We talked about what this man had and what he wanted.  We also spoke about how we really are able to get to Heaven….though the grace of God and only because of Him and what He did for us.  

In Science we have been learning about weather and today we talked about clouds!  The firsties drew pictures of different kinds of clouds and precipitation in the air, and they really did a great job!  Watch for the pictures (they will be coming home tomorrow) and ask your firstie to share the labels with you.  

Finally, here is a little  (or a lot) sparkle for you, because who doesn't need some sparkle to brighten their day?

(It is seriously one of the biggest bows I have ever seen.....I LOVE IT! )

Blessings!

Miss Gallagher

Dear Parents,

Time has escaped me!  First of all, I can NOT believe that we are already in the 4^th marking period!!!  This year has positively flown by and I have so enjoyed my firsties; how much they have learned and how much they have grown. 

More recently, though, I had every intention of posting our St. Patrick’s Day party pictures and fun, but again, time just escaped me.  So even though they are a few weeks old, here they are! 

 The firsties had loads of fun making a “leprechaun trap”, going on a scavenger hunt to find out where he “hid” the gold, listening to a story, and graphing using Lucky Charms.  Many thanks to Mrs. Samborn for all of her hard work that she did in creating this fun party for the kiddos.  

3^rd marking period report cards are coming home today.  They don’t need to come back signed, but are just for you to have an update on where your firstie is.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me!  Thank you!

We have been learning about Jesus’ miracles in Religion class and learned (or heard again) about the feeding of the 5,000 (well, there were actually more than 5,000!).  Ask your firstie about how willing they were to share the little bread that I offered them, with the 2^nd grade class?  And then the 3^rd & 4^th grade classes?  (They actually weren’t too keen on the idea and thought that they wouldn’t have much left for themselves if they shared with some of the other classes.) Jesus showed how powerful is He by not only providing the people there, the food that they needed to nourish their bodies, but also He provided the food that they needed to nourish their souls. He sat with them and talked with them and taught them about how much God loves them.   He does this for US too!  He gives us what we need both body and soul.  Praise the Lord, for His goodness! 

We are in a new chapter in Math!  We going to be studying and learning about measurement!  I am excited to be doing something a little different and I think the firsties are too! (A few of them said today….This is fun! Ha.)

We are also learning about nouns.  We learned that a noun can be a person, a place, or a thing.  Talk about this with your firstie.  Point out what nouns are wherever you are!  I think that they will be surprised at how many nouns they already know and how they are surrounded by them. 

The rest of this week should be somewhat normal (whatever that is....!)

Blessings!

Standing on the amazing promises of God,

Miss Gallagher