January is here and now half over as well! With this time of year comes snowmen! Since there is not much snow outside, we will come up with many ways to make them inside! Last week we read the story Snowballs by Lois Ehlert. In it, a group of children had been collecting items to make a snowman. They had so much collected they were able to make a snow family. As a class we made a big snowman out of quilt batting. As a homework assignment, each child will get to make a smaller one at home. Materials and directions for those came home on Friday. These are due back by January 27th. A few have come back and are hanging in the room! Stop by to check these out. They are all so creative and different!

Registration forms for the 2012-2013 school year came home last week. Please sign and return those.

As we move along through our school year, I will be sending more homework. Not only is this good practice and reinforcement of skills we are working on in class, it is also a good time to help you as a family come up with homework routines at home. Find a time and a place that work well for your child to do homework. Have them be responsible in packing it up in their backpack when they are done. Most homework I assign is due back the following day unless I note otherwise. Teaching children routines and organization is very helpful to them and makes things run much smoother for everyone!