Happy Monday!

Here is to our last week of September! Happy Monday everyone! I am not sure how the end of September snuck up on me, but it certainly did. Wow. Did you see your child's mail from last Friday? We have a FIELD TRIP THIS THRUSDAY OCTOBER 1! I felt like October was SO far away, and here we are with it right at our heels. Permission slips to our fall field trip went home last Friday and we need them back asap. We leave first thing Thursday morning and will return to school around 1:30. Your child will need to wear their new gray Sunflower t-shirt from our Constitution Day celebration and bring a SACK LUNCH. I am so sorry that we just got the forms back to send home...no one can believe how quickly time has gone. We are going to the butterfly pavilion and pumpkin patch to learn more about butterfly lifecycles and springboard into our second quarter science standard of learning about plant lifecycles. It is supposed to be a beautiful day to be outside and we are excited! Thank you so much for your quick return of the slip and payment. Conference time request forms also came home last Friday. Please try to return your preference times asap. I am trying to accommodate everyone's schedule and am anxious to talk with each of you about the amazing things your child is doing in first grade thus far! Let me know if you have any questions...Don't forget your field trip form!!! Thanks so much!

Beginning Middle and End (Classic Sesame Street)

Sesame Street - "Six Kids Subtraction"

Sesame Street - Kermit tries to talk about subtraction

City Hall Field Trip TOMORROW!

Happy Thursday families! Just a quick reminder after this whirlwind week that tomorrow Friday September 25 is our WALKING field trip to City Hall. A second reminder note is coming home in your child's backpack tonight. If possible, please have your first grader wear their new Sunflower t-shirt. Since we will be walking to City Hall on Main Street, comfortable walking shoes are a necessity. We will leave the building at 8:35 and be back at school in time for lunch. If all goes according to plan, we will get to meet our Mayor (Mr. Morrow). I have asked the kids to have some "thinking" homework tonight. Talk to your child about an idea they have for what Gardner needs. Some ideas we came up with this afternoon were: A splash park, Pet Store, Movie Theater, and my favorite-a Dairy Queen. We have learned a lot about leaders, responsibility and rules and we are taking our knowledge to the next level to see these same concepts in action in the real world. It will be an extra "Fun Friday". Also, tomorrow night is our Sunflower Movie Night. We are showing a classic: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Doors open at 6pm and the cost is $10 per child or $15 per family. Hope to see you there. Has your child come home talking about the "Sinister Subtractor?" We have spent our week learning the concept the minus...Check your child's understanding to see if they can explain subtraction to you using their "math talk". I will upload a few videos to help them along, if needed...otherwise, it can be for pure entertainment. Have a great evening. Stay healthy and rested. Let me know if you have any questions!

Learning Celebration TOMORROW!

We made it through Thursday! Did your child come home and show you their RED folder? I had many friends who were ready to read already today and move on to a new book. I wanted to let you all know that TOMORROW is our annual LEARNING CELEBRATION. It will be a very off-the-wall day as we celebrate and focus on our awesome country and Constitution. Your child will be getting their NEW Sunflower T-Shirt tomorrow when they come to school (shhh, it's a surprise!) and we will all be wearing our shirts together to celebrate our day. Please make sure your firstie comes in shorts, pants or a skirt so that they can put on their new shirt when they arrive. The shirts they receive tomorrow are given to us by our AMAMZING PTO and we will be wearing them throughout the year on field trips and for other events, so keep it handy! Thank you PTO! We have been talking about the significance of the equal sign in math this week. Ask your child to tell you what "equal" means. Quiz their understanding by asking them if equations such as 9+1 = 8+2 are equal or NOT equal. (Hint: they will have to dive a little deeper into the equation to find out...we have worked on this all week...heavy stuff!) Has your first grader come home talking about the stinky /I/? Don't forget that we will still squeeze in a spelling test tomorrow, so be sure to practice those words tonight! Finally, has your kiddo talked to you about R-E-S-P-E-C-T? We have been focusing on character traits this week and the past two days have spent lots of time on respect. Ask them to tell you about the 3 ways to show respect. Then, encourage them to practice these ways at home! Have a great evening!

Sesame Street: Learning RESPECT with Elmo and the Big Bad Wolf!

Midweek Check-In...

We made it through our Wednesday! The kids did an amazing job with our safety drills today. Be sure to talk to your child about today's events and have them tell you what they learned. We learned about being TRUSTWORTHY and also learned about R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Have your child tell you about these two very important character traits. Check their understanding to see if they can give you an example of each trait. Did your child tell you that they have FINALLY brought home their R.E.D. folder??? Yippee! R.E.D. ("Read Every Day") folders are finally making their appearance in tonight's backpack. These are the daily reading folders that were discussed at Parent Involvement night. Thank you so much for your patience while I have been working at individually reading and working with each kiddo to get them started in the right place for them. Remember, when your child feels confident with their book and are ready to read it at school, send it back and they will read it with an adult here at school. Once they read it with fluency they will earn a sticker on the story and get a new book to take home. These RED folders will be used and checked all year. Thank you for setting aside a few minutes each night to listen to your child read and strengthen their developing decoding and fluency skills! Finally, DON'T FORGET! Tomorrow (Thursday) is PICTURE DAY! Be sure to have your child bring their best smile to school and if you would like to order pictures, please return the slips that were sent home last week. Thank you so much for your amazing kids! Enjoy your night together.

Quick Mid Week Check In!

Happy Wednesday morning everyone! I wanted to give you a quick reminder of several things that are happening today and tomorrow. All week we have been focusing on SAFETY! We have been doing great at practicing our fire drill, severe weather drill and this morning we will be practicing our intruder drill. I know this can be a little unsettling for us as parents. I promise you that I will make this morning's drill as peaceful and un-nerving as I can. You may want to follow up with your child today after school and ask them about today's drill. I am also going to use a some instruction time today to review stranger danger, as we have reviewed fire safety and severe weather safety tips this week as well. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call me after school or email me this afternoon. On another note, don't forget that TOMORROW is PICTURE DAY! An order form went home last week, but if you need another one drop me an email and I will see if I can round some more up from the office and get them sent home today! Have a great day! See you soon!

Learning our 10-Teams!

Happy Friday!

What a WONDERFUL week we had in room 111! Thank you so much to everyone for sending in a delicious snack to help us celebrate our ABC party. Our potluck party was a HIT. Thank you for making it so special for our kids. Don't forget to check your child's Friday folder tonight and help them complete and return their Math Homework. You will also find their FIRST spelling test and second math quiz inside. Please be sure to ask them how they have filled someone's bucket this week. I have to tell you, this is a PRECIOUS group of first graders. I love them so much, already. Enjoy your 3-day weekend. Be safe and be happy. See you back on Tuesday, ready to learn!

Color Your World With Kindness--A great video to show how filling someone's bucket makes all the difference! The kids loved it!

We learned about PLURAL today! Ask your kids to tell you about what it means...this video might help them remember!

How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids

Wednesday Check-In...

Happy MID-WEEK families! Just checking to be sure you have had time to go through last Friday's mail. Did you find our ABC potluck note? It came home last week on yellow paper. This Friday, we are planning on having an ABC celebration and I have asked each student to help by bringing in a snack or food item that begins with the first letter of their first name to share with the class. For example: BETSY would bring butterfingers, Addy could bring Apple slices...Hudson could bring Hershey's kisses, etc. We are going to have a class alphabet celebration on Friday...I just wanted to make sure that each of you saw the note and left yourself time to grab something for your child before Friday. They do not know about the party yet...it will be a surprise, but I will tell them about it tomorrow. Also, fundraiser packets are due to come back to school tomorrow. Please try to remember to send your packet back asap. Have you been practicing your first set of spelling words this week? Our FIRST test is on Friday. It was brought to my attention that the spelling contract I sent home on Monday did not match the original words posted. Oops. I am so sorry for the miscommunication. Our words this week are: a, at, cat, tap, map, man, ran, can, the am. They will do great! Thank you for all the support at home. Has your first grader come home talking about being a bucket filler? Ask them what it means to fill someone's bucket. Today we did an activity where we filled other people's buckets and while we did that, our buckets were filled too. Invite your child to tell you about this activity. I loved it! Has your child talked to you about math "PARTNERS" and math "SWITCH PARTNERS" or the ole' switcheroo? Your first grader has 2 vocabulary cards they have created in their backpack and they have been asked to explain what the terms "partners" and "switch Partners" mean in our math talk context. Please allow your child to become the teacher and let them teach you about these key math conceptual terms. Language is HUGE in first grade math...thank you for helping your child find success and master these necessary foundation skills. Have a great night! Get ready for a 3-day weekend...No school next Monday. Don't forget your POTLUCK snack to share on Friday!