Bye-Bye November!

Happy last-day-of-November! We were busy again as usual today. Be sure to have your child tell you about our "Special Gift" writing. This week we read the story of King Midas and the Golden Touch. Today we watched a different version of this classic tale. Ask you child to tell you about both versions by comparing them. Have them tell you what was the same about our story and today's movie, and what was different (there were MANY differences). We have spent our week learning our 10-teams in math. Your child should be able to tell you with automacity their 10-team facts. If they seem to struggle for you, please provide them with extra practice at home. Our 10-teams are: 9+1, 8+2, 7+3, 6+4, 5+5, etc. The understanding of these number relationships will help your child greatly in the months ahead. This week we have also been talking about wants and needs. We've been busy making our "WANT" lists for the upcoming holiday season. Next week, we will focus on NEEDS. Have your child tell you what is on their want list. Do you remember that next week is the Sunflower Book Fair??? It is going to be a great Book Fair and we have special events each day to show our Book Fair spirit. Mark your calendars for the upcoming themes next week: Monday= Crazy Sock Day Tuesday= Wear Sports Clothing Wednesday= Tie Dye Day Thursday= Hat Day Friday= Pajama Day. Please be sure to read the note that went home earlier this week from Mrs. Preston giving more information about the specials events and themes of the week! Finally, in an effort to go green Sunflower is no longer sending home paper newsletters. If you have not signed up for an email version via Skyward, you can access the link on the Sunflower webpage or click on the following to read up on all of the upcoming events: http://www.usd231.com/webschools/Forms/main.aspx?menu=6_000 Have a super-duper weekend! Enjoy the forecasted beautiful weather...winter is just around the corner!

Back to work!

Welcome back after a long Thanksgiving break. I heard all about everyone's holiday and it sounds like a wonderful time was had by all. Your first grader should be very tired today after being back business in room 111. We were busy writing and sharing about our holiday, writing Silly Sentences, learning about our new sound (SH), learning about "setting", creating our Thanksgiving setting, working on our 10-teams in math and making Native American False Faces as we learn about symmetry!!!! WHEW! What a day. Be sure to ask your child to tell you about the words "setting" and "symmetry"...we also learned 3 of our fancy words today. Be sure to check and see what they are. Encourage your child to use this fancy vocabulary in their conversations at home. Are you working on 10-teams at home? I have added several new Math Games to our website. Be sure you check out 10-team math shoot. We are working hard to have the kids recall their 10-teams (1+9, 8+2, 7+3, 6+4, 5+5, etc) with automaticity. Extra practice at home helps a great deal. We will be learning how to play this new online game later this week, but you may want to give your child a headstart by trying it at home. Do you remember that the Book Fair is next week? It is a wonderful way to get a jump on holiday shopping, while supporting our amazing library. I hope to see you there at one of the fun events planned. Tonight is Gardner's lighting ceremony at Cornerstone Park. It is set to begin at 7. Bundle up and come on over. Sunflower's choir will be preforming with the other elementary schools in town. Let me know if you have any questions or if you need anything this week. Please be sure your child sticks to a good sleep schedule to keep them healthy. Welcome back!

Harvest Festival = HUGE HIT!

What a WONDERFUL day we had in first grade! Today was yet another reminder of how much I have to be thankful for. Getting to work with this bunch of kids is such a blessing. Our harvest festival was fabulous today. I can't thank all of you for helping to make it so successful and smooth! So many parents and grandparents donated their time to help us with our activities, as well as provide LOTS of yummy snacks! Be sure to ask your first grader what their favorite activity was from today's festival. There were so many to choose from! I am sure you have seen your child's bag-o-goodies they brought home. Don't forget to help them water their bean and pumpkin plants. We have been working on this experiment for several weeks. It would be so fun for them if their plants grew! Please take note that when your child waters their plants, the excess water WILL leak out the bottom! Be sure to put them on a plate or you will have a big mess! :) (I learned this from experience!) Have your child tell you about our Southwest Native American pinch pots. Hopefully your child's got home in one piece. We have been busy, busy, busy as you can see. But, we are FULL of knowledge. While you are waiting for your turkey to cook this year, be sure to have your first grader retell the story of the first Thanksgiving using the bracelet they made today. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family. Take an extra moment to love on your amazing first grader. There is so much to be thankful for! Be sure to check the blog over break...I am going to upload some new pictures (finally!). Stay healthy and happy.

Short Week Ahead!

Monday= D Tuesday= A Happy Sunday! I hope everyone is healthy at your house tonight. Do you remember that we have a short week this week? We will be here only on Monday and Tuesday to allow you to spend a little extra time with your families this Thanksgiving. Has your child been talking about Native Americans? We have been learning about different regions and studying the ways of life within the regions. Be sure to ask your child about our class totem pole and making pinch pots on Friday. We will be learning about the first Thanksgiving throughout the next two days and talking about being thankful. Don't forget that our first grade "Harvest Festival" is this Tuesday from 12:30-1:30. We are still looking for volunteers to help out and run a station. If you are available, let me know and I will put you to work. Thank you in advance for your help. I am also asking for volunteers to send in goodies (popcorn, pumpkin muffins, veggies, etc.) for our Festival. If you could send in snacks, we would love that too! Stay healthy this week. Let me know if you need anything!

Monday= C Tuesday= D Wednesday= A Thursday= B Friday= C Happy Sunday, families! So sorry for the lag in updates. Last week was seemed busier than usual in first grade and I couldn't get ahead of myself. We are moving at a crazy pace gearing up for our Thanksgiving break next week. There is a lot to work in and we are working fast and furious! Thank you to all of the families that came to our annual basket auction on Friday night. It was a night of fun, great chili and treasures. Thank you so much to everyone who donated to our Gardner Bucket-o-Fun Basket. It was a hit! I am looking for several volunteers to come in next Tuesday November 20 to help me with our Harvest Festival. We will be opening up all 3 first grade classrooms with different stations in each to celebrate the harvest and all that we have been learning about so far this quarter. If you could help, I need extra hands from 12:30-1:30 on the 20th. Let me know ASAP if you are available! We had almost 100% turnout for last week's Power Drill. Thank you so much for helping your child return their homework. A new Power Drill will be coming home tomorrow so be looking for it in their backpack. It's hard to believe that this will be our last full week of school before Thanksgiving break! We'll be busy, but brilliant! Have a super night!

Back to Normal!

Monday= B Tuesday= C Wednesday= D Thursday= A Friday= B Happy Sunday, families! I hope you remembered to set your clocks back an hour. I know our kids could use that extra hour of sleep after all of the activities last week! This week we are back to normal with no parties and no trick-or-treating, we should be okay! Last week was full of fun and it was busy, busy, busy. I am looking forward to a little back-to-normal for a while. This week marks our 10th week of first grade, if you can believe that! As you will remember from our conversation at Conferences, your first grader will be bringing home their first Power Drill tomorrow for homework. It is due by Friday, but if your child would like to hand it in early I would be happy to take it. Don't forget that this Friday is our anual Chili Cook-off and Basket Auction. We are still taking donations for our "All About Gardner"-themed basket. Thank you so much for any contribution you can provide. This week we will be focusing on the -ng digraph. We are also going to be working hard at adding THREE numbers together in math and we rely heavily on our 10-teams for this skill. Please help your child find greater success by working with them at home. We only have TWO full weeks before our (early) Thanksgiving break is upon us. Amazing! Have a great night. As always, let me know if you need anything!