Miss Beverage's First Grade!

Miss Beverage's First Grade!
Soaring like an EAGLE!

Monday, February 28, 2011

Goodbye February!

Monday = B Tuesday = C Wednesday = D Thursday = A Friday = B


We are so happy to say goodbye to February today! We have had enough winter and are anxiously awaiting the warm breezes of spring. Isn't it amazing that we are down to just over two more months in first grade?!?

We reviewed our knowledge of timelines this morning. Our kids worked with a friend to identify and write five things that they do each day. We then took their daily events and put them in order. It was funny to put our daily events in mixed up order, too. Ask your child to tell you what they know about timelines and have them share what events they recorded with their buddy.

We played a George Washington review game today. Our kids are true/false experts. With our buddies from last week, we used the sloppy copy of our George Washington book page we wrote on Friday and put it into final copy form. The illustrations and writing turned out super! The kids did an excellent job of working together to publish their class book. Have your child tell you about the page they worked on.

In math, it was a big review day! Our kids seem to have mastered many things but some are still a little shaky about those Fact Families! Please help your child by having them practice at home. Give them only 3 related numbers and have them write two different math sentences with the numbers. For example: 4, 6 and 10, the number sentences would be-- 4+6=10, 6+4=10, 10-4=6, and 10-6=4.

We got four Flatties back today! I can't wait to see where more of our flat friends have traveled to.


Don't Forget

1. Your child's paper toothbrush is due back this week! Now that February is over, our toothbrush project needs to return to school if your child participated in keeping track of their brushing.

2. Literacy night is Wednesday March 2!

3. Power Drills went home today and are due back by Thursday!

4. Lunch choice for tomorrow is: A = Stromboli B=BBQ Beef Sandwich C=PBJ. The calendars were not ready for us to send home today, so just thought you may like to know. :)

5. Library is tomorrow! Don't forget your books.

6. AR tests tomorrow in center time. Please be sure to book talk!

Have a great night as we bid February farewell!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Valentine's Party Pictures--thanks Katina!

I just received these pictures from our Valentine's Day party! Hope you enjoy them. Please be sure to read today's post about some upcoming events for this week. Remember, PICTURE DAY IS TOMORROW AT 8:45 AM!





Happy Birthday George Washington!

Tuesday = B Wednesday = C Thursday = D Friday = A

Welcome back after a long President's Day weekend! I hope you all had a great time together. After listening to my first grade journals this morning, it sounds like everyone had a nice, quiet break. I am looking forward to warmer weather and healthy kids. March cannot get here fast enough!

A few reminders about this week:

1. TOMORROW (February 23) IS PICTURE DAY! We will have both class pictures and individual spring pictures. A form went home last week. If you have not returned it, please do so tomorrow.

2. Book orders were due last week. I will wait until this Friday February 25 to order, if any of you still wish to send in your form.

3. This Friday February 25 is our next movie night. We will be showing Kung Fu Panda. It is always a good time!

4. Yearbook orders are due by February 28 (next Monday). Please be sure you get your order in by the 28th!


We returned to school today to find that TWO of our chrysalis's' have hatched! We have 2 painted lady butterflies in our room. We are anxiously awaiting our remaining two chrysalis's' to metamorphosis into butterflies. Have your child tell you all about it!

Today we learned about George Washington. Your child should be full of new information and facts about our first president. Ask them to share something new that they learned about the "Father of our Country". In math we reviewed the dollar ($) sign and identified different bills. We also worked at creating a Venn Diagram comparing the one dollar bill and the quarter. Check your child's memory to see if they can tell you something that both of these types of money have in common. They came up with so many similarities! Ask you child to tell you something that is true only about the dollar bill as well as the quarter coin. I was so impressed by their observations and knowledge!

Thank you so ALL of my first grade families for coming to Parent-Teacher Conferences last week! We had 100% turn out! Way to go moms and dads. I am so blessed to have such amazing families and students in my classroom. Thank you for taking the time to come see all of the wonderful things your child is doing in this accelerating half of first grade!

Don't forget about picture day tomorrow! Have a great evening.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

Monday = C Tuesday = D Wednesday = NOTHING, EARLY RELEASE!

What a super-fun Monday! We learned 2 new words today. See if your child can tell your about antonyms (ask them what it is a fancy word for). We also talked about estimation. Check their memory to see if they remember these 2 important words. We used candy heart today to create a graph. Ask your child to tell you about their estimation and their actual number.

Our last party of the year was a HIT! Thank you so ALL of the parents who have made each one of our holiday parties so special. The kids have loved all of the activities and you have helped to create some wonderful first grade memories. THANK YOU!

I hope you are all out enjoying this beautiful day. Don't forget that this is a short week. We will dismiss at 1pm on Wednesday. Tomorrow is Spirit Day! Can't wait to see you all at conferences!

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day evening!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Thursday Wrap-Up

Happy Thursday everyone! We wrapped up another jam-packed day of learning and catch up. Be sure to have your child work through the Question of the Day today. We have been doing a great deal with mixed sets of addition and subtraction and today we went for the ultimate challenge. We started with a given number and manipulated the number through addition and subtraction to get to the final answer. Our kids used many different strategies with their partners to determine their answers. I was so proud of what they could do! YAY!

Today's story was "Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch". Check your child's comprehension of this read-aloud to see if they can give you a summary of the book. They should be able to tell you about two or three different characters in the story as well as the problem and solution.

We used our newly learned word, "perspective" and introduced two new words "self" and "portrait" to begin creating our self-portraits in chalk. The kids are using chalk and learning to blend and shade while creating beautiful portraits of their face. We also took this lesson to learn techniques on drawing the human face. We talked about symmetry, mid-line, and other fancy words to help us begin these fabulous faces. We hope they will be completed for conferences next week.

This week in guided reading, we reviewed contractions. Your child should be able to easily tell you what a contraction is, as well as identify contractions and separate the two words that were squeezed together. We also focused on dental health and teeth. A TIME for Kids is coming home this week about animal teeth. Several of our groups used what they learned about animal teeth and created a Venn Diagram to compare their teeth to animal teeth. Be looking for that to come home tomorrow, too!

A few reminders for our next 2 weeks:

1. Valentine's Day party is MONDAY February 14th! If your child would like to hand out Valentine's Day cards to their friends, please be sure that each member of our class family is included. The children are bringing home a word search with the names of all our class members. Please use this for your list at home while you are creating cards. Just in case you loose your list, our class members are:
Elias
Kye
Dylan
Emily
Baillis
Raeleigh
Sadie
Jackson
Jada
James
David
Cheyenne
Connor
Rosa
Kassidy
Lanah
Kemper
Ms. Beverage

Some other teachers your child may want to include are: Mr. Mortenson, Mrs. VanRheen, Mrs. Neely, Mrs. King, Mrs. Frick, Mrs. Rodriguez, Mrs. Holle, Mrs. Hunt, Mrs. O'Toole, Mrs. Keister and Mrs. Morgovnik.

2. EARLY DISMISSAL on Wednesday February 16. We will dismiss at 1pm for conferences!

3. NO SCHOOL Monday February 21--President's Day.

4. Spring Pictures and Class Picture on Wednesday February 23!

Have a great evening! Don't forget to have your child work on their Valentines!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Tuesday Tidbits

Tuesday = C Wednesday = D Thursday = A Friday = B

Happy Tuesday! We are back and hoping for NO snow days this week so that we can catch up from last week! WOW. What a winter! We dove into learning today just like the penguins we have been studying. We reviewed all of our penguin knowledge this morning and began our final project about penguins. Your child should have a wealth of knowledge about these fascinating birds. Ask your child to tell you five facts about penguins. They could easily tell you more, but see what five interesting things they can teach you. Be sure to check out the new links on our web games for penguin activities for you and your child to play at home.

In math we continue to master greater than and less than, as well as counting to 100 and number relationships. Last week's 100's day was a hit and the kids were surrounded by numbers and counting all day. Who know numbers were such a huge part of our everyday lives?!?! We are beginning to learn about dollars and the dollar ($)sign. Practice this at home with your child to ensure extra success and confidence with these concepts.

We have some visitors in our classroom this month. Has your child told you about our Painted Lady butterfly caterpillars? They are getting bigger by the minute and soon we hope to see their chrysalis's forming! Encourage your child to continue their observations on these little creatures and share their observations with you at home.

Ask you child to tell you about our toothbrush contest! They should be bringing home a large paper toothbrush today. They should put their paper toothbrush in their bathroom and mark off the boxes when they brush their teeth (at LEAST twice each day!). There are 21 days left in February and their assigment is to return their filled out toothbrush to school by March 1st for their dental health prize! Please help encourage your child to participate and demonstrate responsiblitiy with this long-term assignment!

Here are a few reminders for the upcoming week:

1. Have you returned your Flat Stanley paper? Many of our Flatties have already arrived at their destinations. I am still missing addresses for 4 of my flat friends. Please ask your child if they have returned their blue slip!

2. Have you returned your conference confirmation green slip? I am still missing several confirmations. I am so anxious to talk to you about all of the things your child is doing in first grade!

3. Valentine's Day party is MONDAY FEBRUARY 14th! A note with a list of our class family's names will be coming home for those of you who chose to give out Valentine's.

4. Remember: NEXT WEDNESDAY is an EARLY DISMISSAL DAY! The children will be dismissed at 1pm in order for conferences to begin at 2pm.

5. Spring Picture Day is February 23!


I look forward to seeing you all next week at conferences! As always, let me know if you have any questions. Have a great day and STAY WARM. BRRRRRRR!

Sunday, January 30, 2011

REMINDERS!

Happy Sunday evening, families! I hope this message finds you all warm and cozy in our homes as we await this next blast of winter. Just a few reminders about tomorrow:

IT'S 100's DAY!!!!

Don't forget to bring your bag of 100 things (remember they can be 100 different things, or 100 of the same thing!).

Don't forget to wear clothing with numbers, too!


Also, don't forget to return you Flat Stanley blue paper with the name and address of the person you want to send your flattie to.

Finally, if you haven't returned your conference time request sheet please do so ASAP. I am trying to finalize our schedule and am looking forward to seeing each one of my families!

Thanks so much. Stay warm and be safe!

Here is our Specials Rotation for the week, too. Remember those library books on "C" days!
Monday = A Tuesday = B Wednesday = C Thursday = D Friday = A

Thursday, January 27, 2011

The First Full Week of the Year!

Monday = A Tuesday = B Wednesday = C Thursday = D Friday = A


Hello families! We have almost made it to our first full week of school in 2011! No snow days, no holidays, just time for learning and LOTS of catch-up from all of these missed days. Be sure to check tomorrow's newsletter carefully for updates on many of our upcoming activiites. Some important dates and things to remember:

1. Friday (tomorrow) is MOVIE NIGHT! First grade is sponsering tomorrow's movie night. We will be showing Shrek Forever After. It starts at 6pm and ends at 9pm. Hope to see you!

2. Monday January 31 is 100's Day! Can you believe we've been in first grade for nearly 100 days? In honor of this big day, the kids have been given an assignment. They need to try and wear clothes with numbers on them on Monday as well as bring their bag of 100 items (a note went home two weeks ago, with another reminder earlier this week).

3. Conference slips are due back ASAP. I have received almost all of them back, but am missing a few. Please let me know when a good time is to meet and talk about all of the wonderful things your child is doing!

4. Valentine's Day party is Monday February 14.

5. Conferences are February 16-17.

6. No school February 18-21!

Have your child tell you about all of the amazing things we've been learning about in first grade. Here is a list of conversation starter-themes:

*Martin Luther King Jr.
*Penguins
*Venn Diagrams
*Mr. Munch
*Matter


Let me know if you have any questions. Hope to see many of you tomorrow at movie night!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Winter Waddle

Wednesday = A Thursday = B Friday = C


Hello families! Welcome back after our surprise snow days! I hope you all stayed warm with your kiddos and enjoyed a little extra time with them. We braved the cold today and returned to room 111. I was so happy to see my friends walk in this morning with their red cheeks! We did a lot of journaling this morning about our snow days. Then, we read the story The Snowy Day. We used the character in the book, Peter, and compared what Peter did on his snowy days with the things that we did during our snow days. The kids created another Venn Diagram comparing themselves and Peter. It was fun to see what activities they shared with our book character today.

We also read book 2 in the Tacky series. Today was Three Cheers for Tacky. The kids think that Tacky is a halarious character. Ask your child to tell you what kind of an animal Tacky is and what makes him so funny. They may also want to recite the cheer from today's story. Ask them to preform Tacky's funny cheer or his friends' proper cheer. Check their retention of this story by asking them to reflect and re-tell you about it.

We introduced the vocabulary word "FACTS". We began our list of penguin facts, too! Have your child tell you three facts about these unusual birds.

In math, we jumped into learning about 10's and 1's. This is a tricky concept for many children. We learned how we need to group things in sets of 10 and tried to figure out how many 10's are in the number 34, and also how many ones are in that number. Help your child at home by giving them a large group of similiar objects (marbles, Q-tips, cottonballs, raisins, etc.) have them group the items into sets of 10. The left-overs (those that do not have enough to make a 10-set) will tell them how many ones are in their number. For example, if I had two sets of 10 Q-tips each and 6 left over my number would be 24. See if they can group the items and then tell you their number.

Your child is bringing home a Reading Rewards packet today. Please be sure you read it and fill out the enclosed forms. It is a program that helps our kids recieve our TIME for kids magazines at no cost for parents. You do not have to buy anything (yay!) just fill out 7 of the forms. Thank you in advance for your support!

Have a wonderful and warm evening. Be safe if you have to venture out and let me know if you have any questions.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Thursday Tidbits

It's snowing in our classroom! We finished our symmetrical snowflakes and made them "glisten" today. See if your child can tell you what "glisten" means and ask them to tell you what we added to our snowflakes to make them fancy. Today, we read a different version of "The Mitten" that we had read yesterday. We talked about how folktales have been passed down and how parts of the stories get changed slightly when they are re-told. Today we read Jan Brett's version of The Mitten and had a great time finding out things that were the same between the two versions and also finding the things that were different. In order to organize our findings, we introduced Venn Diagrams and the kids created their own Venn Diagram to compare the 2 versions. This is a tricky concept, but they did great. We went on to compare members of our classroom family and look for ways in which we are different and the same. See if your child can remember you how Eli and Kye were the same or different, or how David and Ms. Beverage were the same or different. Continue this at home by having your child create their own Venn Diagram comparing the similarities and differences between themselves and a sibling or parent. It's a great excercise to get your child thinking on a higher level!

In math we continued to do lots of review. Our first grade goal for this quarter is to write our numbers in order to 100. We did some candy cane math to practice and many of our children earned their 100 prize today. Ask your child to tell you about it.

In art we learned about primary and intermediate colors. Check your child's understanding by asking them to tell you about each one.

Tomorrow wraps up our short welcome-back week. Be ready for the cold air that is supposed to be arriving and be sure your kids are bundled up next week!

Have a great evening!