OH WHAT FUN...
The snow outside is beautiful, and I can only imagine how much fun the boys and girls are having.  Looks like it was perfect for building a snowman! Today has been a day of relaxing for me and life has slowed down now that Christmas has passed.  If you were wondering how our Polar Express Day went, here is a recap...
As soon as the boys and girls arrived in class at 8:00, the gifts starting piling up on the back table.  They were all so excited for me to open each one of them, so at 8:30, that is what I did.  We opened gifts for about 30 minutes, and they were so excited to see all of the things the parents had purchased for the class!  We received tons of class supplies and some great toys too.  There were also all kinds of goodies donated for the party that day and extras to use for snack time in January.  Next, our cadet from the high school, Miss Paige, came over and gave the kids their gifts from her.  More excitement!  They played with her gifts for the next thirty minutes or so and enjoyed each others company.  Once we settled down about 9:40, I read them The Polar Express.  They loved it!  It was so neat seeing the story click in their heads as we read each page.  After the reading, they went outside for recess.  When they came back in, we did a few simple Christmas activities before library.  While they were in library, someone made a surprise visit to the classroom and dropped off bells from Santa's sleigh.  When the boys and girls walked in the class after library, their eyes were huge and they were in shock!  They could hear the bells ringing and knew Santa must have dropped them off while they were gone. For the next few hours we continued with our regular routine and enjoyed lunch and recess.  Afterwards, we settled in the floor to watch the movie The Polar Express.  While the boys and girls watched, I made hot chocolate, with marshmallows, of course.  Once the hot chocolate cooled off, they enjoyed their warm drinks, just like they did in the movie.  The kids were still super happy from all of the exciting events from the day.  After the movie, we enjoyed our Christmas party with lots of junk food and drinks, and it was finally time for the kids to open their gifts from me.  They had been begging me all day, but I told them they had to wait until the afternoon.  I passed out the gifts and they had to wait to open them all at the same time.  When they finally got to open their presents, they were all happy to see a few toys and a special book they knew by name--'Twas'the Night Before Christmas. We had read it a few times in class that week and many of them have some of the lines memorized.  I was happy to give that book to them as a gift, and so happy to see the joy on their faces when they recognized it.  Overall, it was my favorite day of the school year so far.  We enjoyed ourselves and shared many laughs.  My heart was so full of love that day.  I am one blessed teacher!!! 

CHRISTMAS PARTY:

Our party will be December 19th.  We will not have a student gift exchange in our classroom; however, the kids will receive a gift from me. 
This is also Polar Express day in the elementary school and all of the classrooms will read the book, watch the movie, and enjoy hot chocolate.  The boys and girls will also be wearing their pajamas, just like the kids did in the Polar Express. 

LETTERS TO SANTA:
The Letters to Santa will be printed in the December 23rd issue of the Dexter paper.  We were not told when they would be printed in the Bernie and Malden papers, but I would be expecting them within the next week or so. 

SANTA AT THE BANK:
We will be visiting Santa at First Community Bank on Friday the 14th.  Please sign and return your child's permission form as soon as possible. 

BEHAVIOR POLICY REMINDER:
In our class, we use a color coded system:
Sparkle: The child was “caught being good” or recognized for going above and beyond in the classroom.
Green: The child followed school procedures and was respectful to his/her teachers and peers.
Yellow: The child misbehaved after a verbal warning and had recess reduced by 5 minutes.
Red: The child’s misbehavior was severe and s/he missed all recess.

Every student will begin each day on green and will be given one verbal warning before any discipline action takes place. After a verbal warning, if additional rules are broken the student will be moved to a yellow behavior status, followed by red for more severe behavior. At the end of the day, if the student was respectful and well behaved, s/he will receive a green status. This behavior is expected, but also something to be praised. Green means your child did a great job at school and is something to be very proud of by the teacher, parent, and student! If a student has been exceptionally helpful or kind, that child will receive sparkle status. Sparkle is a prized recognition and is intended to encourage the children to demonstrate respect and compassion towards each other. Typically, a child will only receive sparkle once or twice a week, so please praise your child for both green and sparkle days.

LETTERS TO SANTA:

 Der Santa,

I wut a rel four whelr and gas! I wut a rel dog! I am a good boy! I luv Santa!

Lov,

Nicholas

Dear Santa,

I want a dog! Can I have a DS? I wout you to cm to my haws!

Love,

Rylan

Dear Santa,

I wunt a pup.  I was a good boy and I wunt a play bow and erroo.  I love you.  You ar the best!

Love,

Cooper

Dear Santa,

Can I have a DS? I wood like anoher mostr truk! Yoo rock Santa!

Love,

Chris

Der Santa,

Can I have a scootr, ipod, a pet chiwowo, and a barbe?  I have ben a good grl.

Love,

Kerri

Der Santa,

Can I have a mosdr hi dol?  I wot a DS.  I am a good grl.

Love,

Rylie

Dear Santa,

I wot a little pup and a monstr truc!  I luv u!

Luv,

Albert

Dear Santa,

I wnt lagos.  I love Santa.  I have ben a good boey.

Thanks,

Cade

Der Santa,

I luv u Santa Claus. I woyt a chuwowo, ipad 2, borbe, and a borbe hoas.

Luv,

Alicyn

Dear Santa,

I hope everyone is on the good list! I want a jeep that I can drive!

Love,

Jackson

Der Santa,

I wot a DS.  I luv u Santa. I am a good grl. 

Luv,

Gracie

Der Santa,

I love u! I wich u to cum to my hos! Can I hav a furbe and a camru?

Love,

Landri

Der Santa,

I wot a chiwowo and a ipad.  I luv u!

Luv,

Kayla

Der Santa,

I ben good! I would like a toy gun! I ben playing with Kelly!

Luv,

Jase

Der Santa,

I luv u! I woud like a little puppy! I woud like sum mor hamstr stuf!  Can I have a little cabint? Can u try to get this stuf for me? Thank u for getting this stuff!

Luv u,

Bailey

Dear Santa,

Yor the best. Wud you bring me a ipad, ipod, and furbe? I luv you! I like you!

Love,

Jastyn 

REMINDER: