Welcome back to school and to the Computer Lab. This year, there will be more focus on keyboarding, because it is really important. You need to know how to type well to help you with your school work and to prepare you for when you will be old enough to have a job. Just like anything else you want to learn, typing correctly takes practice. At first, it may seem hard, but that just means you need practice. The more you practice, the easier it gets. Be patient with yourself while your fingers and brain are learning this new skill! Check out some fun typing games on this blog ... look under Terrific Typers.

Testing is finally over! Thanks for your patience while the lab was closed. Just as testing finishes, we find summer is upon us. What are you going to do with your summer? Will you travel, go to the pool, sleep in, play with friends, visit relatives, go to the mountains, go to the beach, have a lemonade stand, go to the library, climb trees, play outside... There are so many fun summer activities. Whatever it is you're doing this summer, stay safe, have fun and we'll see you in August!

Spring is on the way -- hooray! March brings more than just the beginning of spring. March 2nd is Dr. Seuss's birthday. How will you celebrate? Will you try green eggs and ham for lunch? There are some fun Seuss-style activities you can do in the computer lab. These are displayed on the bulletin board ... stop by and check them out, and better yet, try one of them during your lab time.

March 14th Daylight Savings time begins. Remind your parents to set your clocks FORWARD one hour. This helps it stay light later in the day ... which saves energy because we don't need to use our lights as long.

March 17th is St. Patrick's Day. Be sure to wear green!

March 20th is the Vernal, or Spring Equinox. The word vernal refers to spring. The word equinox means "equal night." This is one of two times during the year when when day and night are equal lengths of time. Most of us know it as the first day of spring!!

Valentines Day is February 14th. Remember to tell all the important people in your life that you love them!

February is about more than just Valentines Day. February 2nd is Groundhog Day. Will the groundhog see his shadow? If so, we could have six more weeks of winter. If not, winter should be over soon. The biggest Groundhog Day celebration is in Punxsutawney (that's hard to say!), Pennsylvania, where everyone watches to see if the famous groundhog, Punxsatawney Phil will see his shadow.

Presidents Day is also in February (and yes, we do get a day off school for it). Presidents Day is to commemorate (which means to remind us of) two of our greatest U.S. President's birthdays. Can you guess which presidents? Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12th and George Washington was born on February 22nd. President's Day is set in the middle of their birthdays, on February 15th.

February is also Black History Month. We have an opportunity to learn about the civil rights movement and some important people who changed history.

In February, we also celebrate the 100th day of school. What a busy month we have!