Happy 100th Day of School!

Happy 100th Day of school! What a week...we have been MAP testing, Kansas Day celebrating, counting to 100 and trying to not get too out of whack with the crazy weather switcheroo. There is no mail tonight, as it was just too crazy today with our 100 day celebration and trying to create our mini Kansas shelters for our unit wrap up. Enjoy your "homework free" weekend but remember to READ, READ, READ together with the chilly air outside. Next week is our kick off to Jump Rope for Heart week and Monday is HAT day! Get out your hats this weekend and wear them on Monday. With our 100th day milestone, we need to be sure our kids are remembering all of the things we have learned the first 100 days. Please help your child succeed by ensuring they are getting plenty of sleep, eating a good breakfast, reading each night and practicing those sight words. Also, please be sure to talk with you child each day about their day and have them tell you at least one thing that happened in their day. It is about time for the first grade shift to second grade and the kids are going to be expected to maintain and strengthen their stamina of learning and positive, productive behavior. If you have not already done so, please be sure to return your conference request form by Monday. I will be finalizing conferences next week and letting your know of your scheduled time. Remember, this is a STUDENT-LED conference which means your child is expected to come with you and lead the majority of the conference as they showcase their skills. It is a great opportunity for you to see their growth as well as gain insight as to how to strengthen other skills. I am looking forward to meeting with each of you at the end of the conference. Let me know if you have any questions or if you need anything. Have a great weekend!

Monday is the New Friday...

Happy Monday, families! So, I had to leave early on Friday and the kids' mail did not get sent home. OOPS! Today you will find your child's Friday folder stuffed full in their backpacks with some VERY important papers inside. Please be sure to look through it carefully. Sunflower is participating in a new program this year to help get more technology into all classrooms. Please read through the School Mall information and do your part to help our kids! Also, you will find a green conference preference sign up coming home. I need these back by this Friday in order to get our schedules set. Remember that this round of conferences is Student Led and so your child will be leading the show! I am offering an additional time and day this year, as I have a conflict on one of the designated evenings. Please return it asap. Thank you so much for you help and support in advance. This is going to be another busy week with Kansas Day on Thursday and 100's Day on Friday. Please be sure to encourage your child to wash their hands and get plenty of rest each night. We want to stay ahead of this icky virus that is going around. Stay healthy and happy.

Don't Forget a Hundreds Day Shirts!

Happy Thursday, families! I am doing t-shirt inventory and only have SIX white t-shirts for next week's Hundred's Day! HELP! We need shirts by tomorrow or Monday so that we can get each child's shirt ready to wear by next Friday! If you have not already done so, please send in a white t-shirt asap with your child's name on it. We will start hand-printing our shirts and it takes a LONG time to make 100 fingers! Thanks again for your support.

UR ER IR - R controlled vowels song!

Friday Wrap...

We made it through our first 3 days back to the grindstone! I hope you first grader wasn't too worn out this week as they transition back into their school routine. Be sure to check those backpacks tonight for some super important mail! Gradecards were sent home today! If you have any questions, of course never hesitate to call or email. There are new homework pages for both Language Arts and math. Please be sure to have your first grader work on their math review. We are gearing up for our big unit test next week and it will help your child if they refresh their brain with the concepts we have been working on all last quarter. Thank you so much for your help in advance! I also sent home a printed report of your child's RAZ-kids progress. If you remember from our meet and greet meeting in the beginning of the year, RAZ-kids is a program we have purchased for the kids to utilize both at school and at home. It is a way for them to not only read online books, but have the opportunity to listen to stories and challenge their comprehension skills by completing quizzes about the stories they have read. We introduced this site in August and it is incorporated into our Daily 5 routine as well. The kids are expected to visit RAZ-kids during read-to-self time and complete assignments. You will be able to see from your child's printout when they have been reading on the site and how they are scoring on the quizzes. As we enter the second half of first grade, I will except many of them to visit more frequently and work to advance through their library. This is an awesome tool that compiles so many components of reading into one site and helps the kids really strengthen their reading skills. I also included another login card for your child on the chance you would find an opportunity for them to read and play at home. Again, thank you for your support and encouragement as we try to build a lifetime love of reading. Have a fantastic weekend together! Hopefully this arctic blast will blow on by and give us a little break! Stay healthy and happy! Talk soon! Looking ahead to next week: Monday= D Tuesday= A Wednesday= B Thursday= C Friday= D

PS

PS...Math homework DID come home tonight! It is worth several special "somethings" if handed in TOMORROW! Welcome back to school!

Law Enforcement Day is TOMORROW!

In honor of Law Enforcement day tomorrow, Mrs. Tann has told us that we are all invited to wear BLUE! Get out your blue clothes and come to school tomorrow to honor and support all of our wonderful law enforcement officers who help keep us SAFE!!!

100's Day Heads Up!

HEADS UP! On Friday, January 30th, we will have been in 1st grade for 100 days of school! Over these 100 days, we have been learning so much! To help us celebrate how smart we are, we will be creating our own 100th day shirt to wear for this exciting day! Please bring to school a plain white t-shirt or an old white shirt that we can turn inside out to paint on. Students need to bring their shirts by Friday, January 23rd. I just wanted to give you a heads up before it sneaks up on us. Thanks for your help!

Oops...

Ok, so I forgot to send the kids home with their math homework...Oops. We were having so much fun celebrating and sharing that it slipped my mind. I will send them with homework tomorrow. One more night off, but don't forget to read! Also, please remember to have your child all bundled up when they come to school. I am trying hard to keep all of my classroom kids healthy! Stay warm! Have a great night.

Kid President AWESOME YEAR Challenge! What's YOUR resolution???

Welcome Back!

Wednesday= A Thursday= B Friday = C Brrrr!!!! Welcome back to a frigid start of 2015! I was so excited to see all of your kiddos this morning. They have each grown a foot and were full of stories and things to share about their fantastic winter vacations. I hope that you enjoyed time with your family, caught up on sleep and stayed healthy! The kids were all a bit quiet today as they readjust to their school routine. I am sure they will be tired after a long day of working and reviewing and creating and playing. We learned the word "RESOLUTION" today and began thinking about goals and resolutions for ourselves in this upcoming year. Ask your child to tell you about their New Year's resolution and WHY they chose it. We watched our friend Kid President tell us about some ideas for New Year's Resolutions...I have uploaded the video so that you can watch it together with your first grader at home. They LOVED him! We will be using our resolution writing for a new year's craftivity. I will be sure to post pictures as soon as they are done. I am sending home math homework tonight for an added review for your first grader now that they are back in the swing of things. Please help them remember to have it handed in by this Friday. I know it is a quick turn-around, but we will be having a test next week and I want them to get their brains back in action. We will not have spelling words this week as we adjust to our routine. Be watching for the Homework Helper to be coming home next week as we get back on track! Stay warm and toasty tonight! Welcome back! I hope your are well and happy.