Snow Day!

Ho, ho, ho! I am sure you are waking up to see the snow and learning that there is NO SCHOOL today. We had lots of fun activities planned for today's Polar Express Day, but this way your child can have their pajama day at home instead of at school! Please hug your first grader for me and tell them I will miss them over break. Please be sure to read each day with your child. Finally, please have a wonderful holiday and celebrate the simple joy of just being together. All the best to your family!

We got a visit from Sinterklaaus today!

Two Days To Go!

Our week continues to take off at full speed. There is so much to do before we leave for break! Mrs. Preston has asked that all Library books be returned tomorrow for our Library time. Please help your child remember to return any and all books. Mrs. Preston will be busy reshelving and getting our fabulous library ready for another semester together. Did your child come home and tell you about the different countries we studied today? We are learning how other countries celebrate the holiday season. Today we learned about Germany and made a symmetry-tree, Holland and learned about Kris Kringle (otherwise known as "Sinterklaas") and Italy's La Befana. Ask your child to tell about each one of these traditions. They even found a treat in their shoes this afternoon...they will have to tell you all about it! Tomorrow we will learn about traditions in Mexico, France and several other countries. We will also be reading the Polar Express! This favorite holiday story is always such fun to read and study. Don't forget that Thursday will be Polar Express Day! Your first grader will be invited to wear their jammies and join us for a day of fun and celebration. More information will come home tomorrow! Get those p.j.s ready! Did your child bring home their marshmallow shooter today? We have been learning about forces and motion and today we tried out an experiment to see how much force it takes to move a marshmallow. It was lots of fun...except that some of us used SO much force that our shooters broke! So much to learn from the experience. Hope you are having a great night. Get ready for the predicted snow tomorrow! Let me know if you need anything.

Blessed

We made it through Monday! I was so thrilled to see all of my kids today. There was much uncertainty as to what they would say or ask today. We were fortunate to have a very normal day. We wrapped up our math test and spent the rest of our time creating projects and enjoying each other's company. As both a mother and a teacher I have struggled to endure the sadness of our country's recent events. I would just like to take an opportunity to reaffirm to my families how much I love and adore your children. It is truly a blessing to get to spend my days with them. It is my honor and privilege to teach them, protect them and love them. Thank you. Have a wonderful night together. Be well.

Today...

Hug your kids a little tighter tonight. Have a wonderful weekend together.

Grinch Day Tomorrow!

Hi families! Did your first grader give you the note about our "Grinch Day" tomorrow? Please help your child remember to wear green in honor of our first grade Grinch Day where we will be celebrating this wonderful, classic tale!

Monday Madness!

Whew! What a day. I can tell the kids are in countdown-to-Christmas mode. We are full of energy. With the end of the quarter quickly approaching, we need to be sure our kids are getting plenty of rest and staying on a regular schedule. In the upcoming weeks we have many assessments planned and it is critical that our kids are here and healthy. Please help your child do their best by keeping them in a routine. Today we learned our new sound "ar"...have your child put on their best pirate impression and tell you our sound. This week's spelling pre-test is coming home today, so please check your child's backpack and start practicing those words. This is our last spelling test of 2012! WOW! In math we learned about 3-D shapes. Have your child tell you about a sphere, cylinder, cube, cone and rectangular prism. Challenge them further by having them go on a shape hunt in your home and see if they can find a read-world example of each shape. I have put 2 new 3-D shape practicie games under our "Math Websites". Have your child practice sorting and searching for these shapes at home. Some upcoming events to put on your calendar: Friday December 14 = MOVIE NIGHT! We will be showing Arthur Christmas Saturday December 15 = SANTA IS COMING TO SUNFLOWER!!!! Sunflower families are invited to come over to school starting at 10am and have their picture taken with Santa. Pictures will be $10 and the lines will be much better than the mall! Hope to see you! Our Winter Party is coming up next week. Be looking for information coming home later this week. Stay warm and healthy as we wrap up 2012 together. Let me know if you have any questions or if I can do anything for you. See you soon!

Best for last...

This was an AWESOME example of our work hitting home and making sense to the kids today: Today was "Sports Day" and many of our kiddos wore jerseys. As we were walking to lunch, a little girl behind two of my boys in jerseys noticed that on the back of one jersey was the number 8 and the boy walking next to him had a 2 on his. She yells "MS. BEVERAGE, A TEN TEAM!!!!!". Yippee!!! By the time I came to pick them up from lunch, a third little boy in our class realized that he had a 10 on the back of his jersey. He got up and ran to sit next to the other two boys to show me they could make an equation. It was PRICELESS!!!!! I love my job. Enjoy!

Book Fair Mid-Week

Hi families! Happy Tuesday night...hopefully some of you were able to attend tonight's Family Night at our Sunflower Book Fair. Don't forget that tomorrow is not only Tie-Dye Day, but it is also "Pastries with Parents". The Book Fair will be open from 7:30-8:30 tomorrow morning for you to attend with your child. Thursday is "Grandparents and Special Friends Day". If your child's grandparent or other special family friend would like to come have lunch with your first grader, we would love to welcome them. We will eat lunch from 10:55-11:25. Let me know if you have any questions. Did your child come home with lots of papers today? We had a desk clean out and several of our kiddos had been storing quite the collection of unfinished work! Your child does not have to finish the work that came home, unless you would like to provide them some extra practice. The papers are sent home more for you to see if your child is completing his or her work during classtime and showing responsibility for handing in the expected work. Be looking for last week's timed test to be coming home. Please help your child continue to strengthen their computation skills by providing them extra practice at home. There are many computation games on our webpage that help with this skill. Many of our kids have commented that these games are "hard"...it is only with practice that their automaticity of these basic facts and their number sense can improve. Thank you for your extra practice at home. It absolutely shows in your child's performance at school. Ask your child to tell you about the word "sequence". Have them explain to you the sequence of a butterfly's lifecycle. We are spending this week learning about the sequence of events in a story and why they are important. Here's a fun skill builder for you to do at home: Provide your child with several photos from different parts of their life (newborn, infant, preschool, present). Have them sequence the pictures in order and then tell about the pictures. Be sure they are using the words "first", "next" and "last" when they are sequencing. As always, email or call me with any questions. Have a wonderful night...maybe I will see you at the Book Fair tomorrow!

Electric Company Shadowbox "CH"

Sesame Street: Charlie's Ch Sounds--A little entertainment with a side of learning...