Reminder!

Just a reminder that we will NOT be back in time for lunch and students need to bring a lunch to school. There is a chance we will eat in the classroom so please make sure that the lunch is peanut/peanut butter free. This is very important!

Tomorrow looks like it should be a very beautiful day! I will be sure to take many pictures and post them here for you to see. 

I forgot to include this on my volunteer letter and am hopeful I can find someone interested---I am looking for any parent(s) (this is especially great for parents that might not be able to come in to volunteer IN the classroom  but would like to be involved) that can assist by working on small projects at home. This may include cutting, stapling, tracing, etc. I would send home all materials needed, directions, and due date with your child. If you are interested in helping me with this, please email me. We do many little "craftivities" to go along with our lessons and any help with the prep work is greatly appreciated!

Thank you!! Don't forget to answer the new poll!

15 Minutes of Fame!

Today was our first "15 minutes of fame" and our star shared one of his passions -how he races Go Karts in MA and NH and won a trophy recently! He even put on his awesome racing gear. The students were so excited and interested and had lots of questions. Ask your child about who our star was today and what they got to hear!

Some Updates!

 

We made a tally chart to find out our favorite colors in Math today!

Hi everyone!
Just a few updates. Tonight, a Math home link was sent home and there is a notice in the red folder regarding this. I will go over other homework that will be coming up soon (Reading, Sight Word, Word Sort) on Monday night at Open House! I look forward to seeing you there. 

Friday is looking good so far for our field trip to the apple orchard! Since we won't be back in time for lunch, please send your child with a lunch and we will eat in our classrooms when we return! I will be in touch tomorrow if I pull your name to chaperone. Thank you to all of you that are interested! I am sorry I couldn't bring more, but stay tuned for our walking trip in the spring when we can bring many chaperones! 

We will be learning all about apples towards the end of this week and next and doing some fun activities in the classroom. Think...yummy smells from a crock pot!

We have been learning a lot about staying focused on our reading, the three ways to read a book, and building our stamina. Students learned that just like someone who wants to train to run a marathon, they have to practice and stay focused and build up their stamina to become strong readers. We have begun reading independently from book bags in our reading spots. While they are reading, I am conferring individually with students around the room. They are doing a nice job and I am proud of them! 

Tomorrow is Gavin's birthday and he will be the very first student to share their 15 minutes of fame! We can't wait to see what Gavin is going to share with us!

Here are some challenge questions! Please ask your child these questions and email me your answers (please email their exact answer). If they get 2/3 correct, they will earn a little prize! :) Answers must be emailed by Friday!

1.  We learned about the five parts to a friendly letter. Please name 2 of these parts!
2. What are the three ways to read a book?
3. Which CAFE comprehension strategy do we use to make sure we understand what we are reading?

Thank you!

Happy Friday!

Reader's Workshop

This week we have started our regular Reader's Workshop routines and things are going smoothly! Right now we are establishing good reading habits as well as learning strategies from the CAFE (Comprehension/Accuracy/Fluency/Expanding Vocabulary) menu. So far the students have learned how to "check for understanding" as well as "cross checking" while we read. We will continue to practice these strategies all year long as well as many others that we will add to the menu.

Today the students shared their favorite book and we made some connections among classmates. Two students even brought the exact same book! We found that some students had an interest in animals, while others liked books about planes or stories by Dr. Seuss! Here are some pictures of students showing off their favorite book to a buddy.

Snack Milk Money/Field Trip

Hi everyone!
I just wanted to make sure everyone understands that if your child is purchasing milk for snack time, they need 50 cents, exact change, daily. It goes down at a different time in the day than the lunch money. The snack milk money has to be daily, I can't take $1.00 (or more) and use it the same way as pre-paying for lunch. The mornings are very hectic so if the children are getting milk at snack time it needs to be the exact change just for that day. Sometimes the children are confused when there is extra money in their binder and they pull it all out and are not able to tell me exactly what it is for. I appreciate your help!


Next Friday, September 20th, we are going apple picking! Next week we will spend some time in an apple unit,doing many fun activities related to apples. Permission slips will be sent home soon. Unfortunately each First Grade class can only take one chaperone so if I get many responses I will have to pull a name randomly!

I will be back to post some more pictures tonight. I have my own daughter's First Grade open house in a bit. :)

Reminder to wear red tomorrow!

Hi everyone!
Just a reminder that tomorrow is "red day"! If your child can wear something red, that would be great! Also, I will be sending home a notice tomorrow asking that each child bring their favorite book to school on Tuesday. If you want a head start at getting that together, you can send it in tomorrow. Thanks! Don't forget to answer my new poll!