Dear Parents,

Happy Memorial Day (A little late)! As I said in the parent letter that was sent home today, I hope and pray that you had a wonderful weekend and were able to rest, relax, and spend time with family and friends.  Did you go a parade?  Did you go a memorial service?  Was Memorial Day celebrated at your church?  Every year, I am asked to go home to my parents’ church, and play “Taps” on my trumpet, because there is a part of their church service that is set aside to honor those people that have served in the armed forces.  Please say a prayer for those people who are currently serving and encourage your kiddo to do the same.

Planting on Friday went well!  We got all of our sweet potato plants and our carrot seeds in the ground!  We also planted flower seeds in the middle bed.  I will be sending home, next week, a summer schedule to tend the garden.  Please sign up for a week, where you can come a few times that week to check on our 1^st grade bed (And they are now numbered!), water it, pull any weeks in the bed, and just make sure all is well!  Thank you for considering this!  Again, I am hoping that because we are only in charge of one bed, it won’t be AS daunting.  Below are some pictures of our planting! 

Diggin'

Nailing the numbers on the beds....

Plantin'

Carrot seeds...I didn't know they were SO SMALL!

"Dirt Art" as I like to call it....boy, oh boy, were our shoes muddy after planting....!

On Friday, we also read a book that I have been chomping at the bit to read to the firsties…it’s called “Twenty-One Elephants and Still Standing”.  I think it is a fascinating true story about the Brooklyn Bridge.  When the bridge opened in 1883, there were many people who were unsure at how stable and secure and long lasting it would be.  So P.T. Barnum (Yes, as in Barnum and Baily Circus) had the daring (and maybe a little crazy) idea to use his most prized possessions, his elephants, to test the bridge.  And so they walked from Manhattan to Brooklyn….21 in all….across the bridge and it was declared safe and sound (And no animals were hurt in the process!).  AND SO….the firsties were given the task of building a bridge to get all the elephants (well….to be fair, and as I am sure that your kiddo already told you, I couldn’t find enough elephants…so we used other animals and our imaginations) across.  They had to work in groups, which to me is always interesting to listen to and observe.  Below are what they came up with!  

We will be finishing up our geometry chapter in Math this week.  Here are a few pictures that were sent to me that are “found” solid figures at home.  

Continue to have your firstie look for them at home and again, if you would like, send them to me and I will include them in the blog. 

Our balloon POP started today! 

Owen popped the balloon today and it read, “Reading Outside With a Blanket and/or Sunglasses”.  So….please send your firstie in with a blanket and sunglasses (and NO sunglasses aren’t required).  Please also say a little prayer that the weather will be good for this fun little activity tomorrow!  Thank you!

Did your kiddo tell you what was on their desk this morning?  Our theme this year has been following the signs and I thought that this might be a good encouragement for our last days here at school. 

Just as a reminder, our Spelling practice test will be on Friday and our regular test will be NEXT Wednesday.  Our last Memory test will be on Friday.  Social Studies and Math tests on Thursday as well. Whew! 

Blessings on your week!

Miss Gallagher

“Following the Signs”