Today was our first club day!

Hi families! Today in first grade we had our first round of Book Clubs. Book Clubs are our guided reading rotations that focus on specific skills. The kids did AWESOME. I am so happy with how hard they worked. Your child is bringing home a special bag tonight. Be sure they share their "Book-in-a-Bag" with you tonight. You will find a letter of explanation inside their bag today. For starters, your child is asked and expected to read the 2 books in their bag each night. You do not have to do anything to confirm they read it, nor does your child have to complete any sort of activity. This may change later in the year, but for now I just want the kids to have an opportunity to read 2 books: (1) that provides a school-home connection with the specific skills we are working on during the week and (2) a leveled reader to ensure that your child is reading a "just right" book, or one they can read with little or no help. In math we reviewed measuring and talked about shorter and longer. Have your child go on a hunt around the house and ask them to find something that is smaller than their toothbrush, or longer than a spoon. Measuring with various units is something we need to master before too long and extra practice at home always helps! Have you looked at some of the online games that are located on our class blog? Your first grader might enjoy trying some of these learning games out. These games also correlate with topics we are working on in class. Check them out! Enjoy this summer-like day. Don't forget to read with your child tonight!

Don't Forget! Library Day Tomorrow...

Hi families! I just remembered that I forgot to remind the kids that tomorrow is Library day for us! Please help your first grader remember to bring their books back so that they can check out some new ones at "Camp Read-a-Lot". Did your first grader come home and show you their new spelling words? We took another practice test today and your child has new words to practice this week. Our story today was "Sad, Sad Dan". Ask your child to tell you why Dan was so sad in the story. Then, have them tell you what cheered Dan up at the end! Did you see the book order that went home last Friday? Be sure to check out some of the super-cool books that are available this month. I will take orders until this Friday. I hope you had a wonderful evening! Talk to you soon...Don't forget those Library books!

Looking Ahead...

This week's Specials Rotation: Monday= B Tuesday= C Wednesday= D Thursday= A Friday= B Hi families! I hope you had another wonderful weekend together. My family enjoyed our rainy few days together and I hope you did too! We are getting ready for another week of first grade. Did your child share their first spelling test with you? I was so proud of them! This was new territory for our first graders and they did so well. From numbering our paper to writing spelling words all by themselves, our kids did great! Thank you for all of your help and support at home. Tomorrow we will have another pre-test, so be looking for a new set of spelling words coming home in your child's backpack. Many of our first graders came to Friday's "Movie Night". It was so fun to see some of my friends at the Movie Night Dance Party. I am anxious to see all of my kiddos tomorrow and hear about their fun weekend. Have a great night and let me know if you need anything.

First Spelling Test Tomorrow!

Oh boy! Tomorrow is our big spelling test. Has your child been practicing their short "a" words? I hope so. This is going to be a new experience for them, but I know they will do fantastic. With almost 2 weeks under our first grade belt, your child has been doing amazing things. I am so proud of how easily they have transitioned to being in school all day, without a Power Pause! Yippee!!! They are troopers. Your first grader has their first homework assignment tonight! We read a story this week called "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse" and we used the story to talk about good choices and not-so-good choices. Tonight your child is bringing home a purple (paper) purse in their backpack. We worked on sequencing the story today and put the events in the order they occurred in the story. Your child was asked to retell the story to you tonight by using the cards in their purple purse. You may need to help your child read aloud the events from the story, but they should be able to order them correctly. If your child completes this activity with you, please sign their purple purse and return it to school with them tomorrow. My friends who complete this homework assignment will earn a special treat. Don't forget that tonight is our Watch Dog dinner and tomorrow is our first Movie Night of the year! We will be watching The Lorax and we will also get to see the super-fun magician, Reggie Reg! It is always a great time! Have a super night!

Sing Along at Home! This is what we worked on today...

Happy Weekend!

Monday= A Tuesday= B Wednesday= C Thursday= D Friday= A Hello! I hope you are having a WONDERFUL weekend! I am getting ready for a second full week of fun and learning. Did your child remember to give you their cookie fundraiser packet from Friday? Has your child been using their new sign language this weekend? I can't wait to hear about everything your first grader did over their first weekend of school. Have a great day.

Getting the hang of first grade...

Hi families! Whew! What a week we have had in first grade. Is your child extra sleepy when they come home? I know I am!! We are working hard already in first grade. I am so proud of the kids as they learn the ropes of being big first graders. With almost one week under their belt, ask your first grader to tell you what they like best about school so far. This week we have been reviewing our Kindergarten skills and working to get to know our new classmates. We have read many stories, created many projects and already learned 2 fancy words. Ask your child to tell you what "fantastic" and "unique" mean. Today in math, we turned "Play"dough into "Tool" dough and used it to create numbers and solve simple addition problems. We read a story about a very unique elephant named Elmer and designed our own Elmer. Ask your child to tell you what happened in the story of Elmer the Patchwork Elephant. We also got to know our class pet, who is unique just like the rest of us! Invite your child to tell you about Rabberta when they get home. We have visited every Special this week. Today we had Library with Mrs. Preston, our new librarian. Be sure to check our Specials rotation on this blogpage so that you can help your child be prepared for each day's Special. Tomorrow is a "D" day and that means we get to go back to Music and PE. Please be sure your child has on their PE shoes! Tomorrow we have our first assembly to kick off this year's PTO Fall Fundraiser. Be looking for the information that will be coming home in tomorrow's Friday folder. I hope your child has had a great first week. I know it is challenging for some of them to get out of summer mode and into school mode. Please help them do their very best by allowing them to get plenty of rest each night. I am here to help! If you need anything, please don't hesitate to call or email. I adore your kiddos! I am so excited to share their first grade adventure with them! Have a great night.

We did it!

Tuesday= A Wednesday= B Thursday= C Friday= D We have one-half of a first grade day under our belt! Yippee! The kids have a wonderful morning. It was so great to see all of my new first grade faces today. The morning flew by. Once we did our introductions and unpacked all of our supplies, there wasn't much time left to do anything else. We had a first grade safety rally about our big-kid playground rules. Ask your child to tell you three rules to keep us safe at recess. Tomorrow we begin our full day and for my new friends who have only been half-day kinders, this will be a transition! We will also begin our lunch routine tomorrow. Please be sure to check the week's menu on the sidebar of this blog. First grade has the first lunch of the day. We eat at 11am. However, we do not have a snack in first grade. During this transition time, if you wish to send a small, healthy snack to school with your child, they will be able to eat it while they work between 2:45 and 3:15. I will provide your child with a bottle of water that they may keep on their desk and refill as necessary. Tomorrow we will also begin our Specials rotation! Be sure to look at our Secials schedule on the sidebar of this blog, too. Tomorrow is an "A" day which means our class goes to computer. On "B" and "D" days, our kids will go to Music and PE. Please be sure to send your child to school in appropriate shoes for PE to keep them safe! We have lots of crafts to make, games to play, friends to make and things to learn this week. Your child will most definitly come home sleepy. Be sure to have them get plenty of sleep in order to help them settle back into our school routine. Always feel free to call or email me with any questions. I am here to help!

'Twas the Night Before First Grade...

Here we go! I hope your new first grader is ready to rock tomorrow on their first day of FIRST GRADE! I am so excited to see all my new friends come walking down the halls. Please don't forget that tomorrow is a HALF-DAY of school. We will dismiss at 11:30 and will not be eating lunch. Tuesday we will get to have our first big kid lunch experience. Be sure to check this week's menu on the sidebar of this blog. We will spend our morning tomorrow learning some of the ropes of first grade and meeting new friends. I hope your child is as excited as I am. It's going to be a great year! See you tomorrow!

What a GREAT Back to School Night!

Hi families! Thank you to everyone who made it to Back to School Night tonight! I was so excited to meet you and your kiddos. I can't wait to get back into the groove of first grade. Don't forget that Monday the 13th is only a half-day. We will dismiss at 11:30 and will not be having lunch. If you didn't get a chance to tell me the size of t-shirt you'd like for you child, drop me an email and I will get it ordered for you. Thank you so much for taking the time to come tonight! See you on Monday! Have a great night.