Monday, January 25, 2010

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Hey Good Looking Kid! Fun with Poetry!

January 25 - 29, 2010

I hope everyone had a nice weekend! We went to the Public Library and came home with so many good books to read. I even checked out a stack to bring and share with all the children in our classroom. I just love visiting the library! We will start this week off with a fun and exciting day.......Hip! Hip! Hooray! Tomorrow is the 100th Day of School!!! Can you believe we have been in school 100 days? I can't! We will have lots of fun celebrating and learning new things that all have to do with the number.......you guessed it........drum roll please......100!!

I hope you enjoyed reading your child's poetry journal with them. We had the best time acting, singing, choral reading and just playing and being silly with our poem this week. The children will get a new poem tomorrow so be sure and send their journal back to school tomorrow. It will come home every weekend.

SPELLING
The spelling words for this week are listed below. We will work on different activities each day using the words to give practice and exposure to the words. The day's spelling activity should be coming home daily, just like DOL. The spelling grade on the report card will be an average of all the tests given during the nine week grading period.

WORDS FOR NEXT TWO WEEKS

Words for January 25-29
went, sent, ant, bend, find, mind, kind, want, sand, spent, lend, friend
Spelling words that end in nt and nd.

February 1-5
fast, last, nest, must, most, step, stamp, still, stop, study, past, mast
Spelling words with initial or final st.

READING
Our whole group sound for this week is /o/ as in otter. Our writing job will be related to various topics that begin with the letter Oo. We will also be doing a few writing jobs related to 100, and we'll even draw a picture of what we think we will look like when we are 100 years old!


MATH
We will begin Chapter 15 on Tuesday. Monday we will be visiting our 100th day math stations. Homework for math will be lessons 15 in the Practice Math Workbook. Look for the review sheet to come home the night before we test.

LANGUAGE - (DOL)
We have covered rules 1-15. I will introduce Rule 16, Compound words, Monday. We still continue practicing Rules 1-15 in sentences each week. Firday’s DOL will be taken for a daily grade as usual.


A Few Reminders:

*We have been asked to remind parents not to drop off students before 7:20 am.

*Tomorrow we will be making our 100th day of school celebration snack mix. Please send in the snack item IF you received a note last week. Not everyone got this note, so don’t panic.

*Renaissance Learning’s Home Connect feature is now available! This feature will allow parents the ability to review your child’s progress in the AR program. Look for that information tomorrow. I think you are going to love this!!

COOKIE DOUGH FUNDRAISER UNDERWAY
Catalogs and order forms were sent home Jan. 19 and orders with payments are due Feb. 3.
• Please help your children with their sales efforts and do not allow door-to-door selling without supervision!
• When returning your order, please use the large envelope provided ~ return the top copy only of your
completed order forms, along with check(s) made payable to Blount PTA.
• Extra order forms and catalogs are available in the school office
• Don’t forget to let you child select a prize goal and then indicate their prize choice when your orders are turned in.


****Classroom Needs****
Thank you to Jenky Fields for sending in white bags for our valentine party. I picked up the rest of them this weekend while I was out. We are in need of Clorox wipes. I am trying really hard to keep our room clean, and free of germs. We have been using the Clorox wipes pretty regularly lately.


FUTURE DATES TO KEEP IN MIND
January 26 -Library Day. Please be sure to send books to school if they need to be returned. If you are still reading, they may be rechecked.
January 25th – 100th Day of School Celebration
February 12 – Valentine’s Party - more information to come soon
February 15 – No School due to Presidents Day


With a 10 cent pencil you can write down some million dollar ideas!

Have a wonderful week!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

January 19-22, 2010

I hope everyone enjoyed the nice long weekend! We had such a fun time sharing our January Family Snowmen on Friday. You all did a fantastic job and the children were just precious telling how they made them. We only have four days this week, so we will be very busy learning lots of new things! I hope you enjoy the new pictures!

SPELLING
The spelling words for this week are listed below. We will work on different activities each day using the words to give practice and exposure to the words. The day's spelling activity should be coming home daily, just like DOL.

WORDS FOR JANUARY

Words for January 19-22
Spelling plural forms of words.
ropes, bones, kites, bees, cakes, boxes, foxes, roses, snakes, shoes, books, frogs

January 25-29:
went, sent, ant, bend, find, mind, kind, want, sand, spent, lend, friend
Spelling words that end in nt and nd.

February 1-5
fast, last, nest, must, most, step, stamp, still, stop, study, past, mast
Spelling words with initial or final st.

READING
Our whole group sound for this week is /l/ as in letter. Our writing job will be related to various topics that begin with the letter Ll.


MATH
We are in Chapter 14. Homework for math will be lessons 14 in the Practice Math Workbook. Look for the review sheet to come home the night before we test.

LANGUAGE - (DOL)
We have covered rules 1-15. I skipped Rule 12, but I will introduce that rule Tuesday,"A verb is a word that tells what is happening or what already happened." These rules can be found in your child's take home notebook. Thursday we usually have a worksheet related to the newest rule introduced taken for a grade. Friday's DOL are sentences from Monday-Thursday for a grade. We still continue practicing Rules 1-15 in sentences each week.

Remember that 2 sheets of notebook paper are to be coming home daily now. However I still find papers in desks because they failed to get packed up despite my reminders at the end of the day. One sheet is morning work (DOL) with Spelling Practice on the back and the other sheet is reading dictation with our math warm up on the back.
Please let me know if you have questions about any of the work we are completing in class.

A Few Reminders:
*I placed our Scholastic order. Hopefully our books will be here by the end of this week.

FUTURE DATES TO KEEP IN MIND
January 19 -Library Day. Please be sure to send books to school if they need to be returned. If you are still reading, they may be renewed.
January 21 - Teacher Treat Day
January 22 or 23 – Word Wall Check for words beginning January 5 through January 22.
January 25th – 100th Day of School Celebration - more details to come soon!

Kindness is like a boomerang! It always returns!

Have a wonderful week!

January Beginnings! Fun in Room123!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

January 11 -15, 2010

What a nice surprise to have an unexpected long weekend. I hope you stayed warm! We did very little, which was nice. I am ready to see all my sweet friends in the morning, we have a lot to learn!

With the day off, we are behind on graded work for DOL, Spelling, Dictation and Math. I plan to make these up Monday, so if you need to look over the materials be sure to do so before then.

READING
Our whole group sound for this week is /y/ at the end as in fly.

MATH
We will test on Chapter 13 on Tuesday. Expect a review sheet to come home tomorrow night. Then we will move on to Chapter 14. Homework for math will be lessons 14 in the Practice Math Workbook. As always, look for the review sheet to come home the night before we test.

LANGUAGE - (DOL)
We have covered rules 1-15, skipping Rule 12 for now. These rules can be found in your child's take home notebook. Thursday is usually a worksheet related to the newest rule introduced and Friday's DOL is sentences from Monday-Wednesday for a grade.

The class is doing well since switching to notebook paper. You will notice that 2 sheets are coming home now. One sheet is morning work (DOL) with spelling on the back and the other sheet is dictation with a new math warm-up on the back. If you have questions about any of our new procedures or academic activities please do not hesitate to ask!

SPELLING WORDS FOR JANUARY

Words for January 11-15
late, gave, cone, line, snake, feet, jeep, use, bake, tame, sleep, cave

January 18-22:
ropes, bones, kites, bees, cakes, boxes, foxes, roses, snakes, shoes, books, frogs

January 25-29:
went, sent, ant, bend, find, mind, kind, want, sand, spent, lend, friend

A Few Reminders:

*Our class took the STAR Reading Test last week. I will send the report home this week, it does not need to be returned. This report will give you information on your child’s reading level and reading range. I’ll make new library cards for the class so they will be able to choose books on their level
*I sent Scholastic order forms home last week. You may order online or return your order form and money to me. Deadline for Scholastic orders is Tuesday, January 12th.

FUTURE DATES TO KEEP IN MIND

January 12- Class Library Day. Please be sure to send books to school if they need to be returned. If you are still reading, they may be renewed.
January 12 PTA Meeting
January 18-No School
January 21-Report Cards and Teacher Treat Day

When time runs short, remember this verse: "You will always find time for the things you put first."

Have a great week and stay warm!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Terrific Tuesday!

We had a wonderful day in room 123 today! If your children are half as tired as I am they will sleep really good tonight!:) I wanted to hear all about everyone's holidays so this morning I asked the children to share something exciting they did and/or some of their favorite presents they received for Christmas. Here is what they had to say:

Emily ~ ipod, ipod docking station & earrings
Joshua B. ~ ipod, Nerf gun & lots of coloring stuff!
Catherine ~ Nintendo DS & I went to a hunting camp and watched a ball drop on New Year's Eve!
Emma Garrison ~ AU earrings, Bendaroos & Hello Kitty slippers
Jinwoo ~ I went to Korea!
Mary Lawson ~ trampoline, 2 cameras (one is a video camera) & a bike
Alex ~ roller skates, a 2 wheeler bike & Nerf gun
Richard ~ I went to Georgia and I got a Nerf gun and a Wii game.
Samara ~ visited family in Georgia, a motor scooter & new tennis shoes
Joshua W. ~ remote control car & guitar
Amelie ~ I went to Disneyworld, then to my Grandma's house in Florida, (she has a dog) and she gave me a candy jewel factory.
Isabella ~ I visited two states (Colorado & Wyoming) got new slippers and an umbrella from China.
Carey ~ Zhu Zhu pet, Nerf gun, and my grandparents came to visit!
Miller ~ A lump of candy coal from Santa. (for real Mrs. Wright):) a green car that swims in water and jumps 6 feet in the air & a BB gun.
Kaitlyn ~ My grandma gave me a DSI, we visited family in North Carolina and did sparklers on New Year's Eve.
Kody ~ a PSP, rip stick and a new playstation game
Rondarion ~ a dirt bike, phone & a touchscreen ipod
Sarah ~ 2 new movies, (Swan Lake & Princess & the Pauper), a Webkin & paper with new crayons
Emma Grace ~ a trampoline, a pink scooter and a new Barbie (with a purse & shoes:)!

It sounds to me like everyone enjoyed the holidays with family and friends and got plenty of surprises! I loved listening to all of the stories today! Children are so honest! They are the complete reason I love teaching first grade!

We are having Class Pictures taken on Thursday, January 7th. Students must wear uniforms. If you would like to purchase a picture they must be paid for in advance. $12.00 made payable to Southern Photo.

Many children brought in new supplies today. THANK YOU! However some of us could still use some new items. If you have not already please check with your child and see if they are in need of new supplies. Also, if your child's take home notebook is torn please get a new one and transfer everything in it. Please do this by Monday. I emphasize daily the importance of taking care of our things and the children do a really good job at this. However everyday wear and tear just happens and when the children have a torn up notebook it effects how they treat their papers, etc. In the same manner, when their supplies are neat and organized, and notebooks remain clean, they have tremendous pride and take care of them. Thank you for your quick attention to this matter.

Please continue to watch the news and check the MPS website about school closings due to the weather on Thursday & Friday. As of today no definite plans have been announced.

Every child should have brought their library book home today. I will be expecting the children to take a minimum of 4 AR tests a week. Also, the children will be taking the STAR reading test this week. The STAR test helps me determine what level books your child should check out. I will be increasing reading levels and the children will get new library cards indicating their new level next week. I will also send you a parent note detailing their STAR results.

Stay warm and let me know if you have any questions!

Monday, January 4, 2010

Happy New Year!

Brr!! I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays! I am looking forward to seeing all my sweet first grade friends in the morning! Second semester is here! This half of the school year comes with more responsibility for the children as we are working hard to prepare them for second grade. We will begin writing on notebook paper, taking a minimum of 4 AR tests every week, as well as having a spelling test each week. I know 2010 is going to be full of excitement, fun, and lots of new learning in our classroom!

READING
Our whole group sound for this week is /e/ as in engine. I sent home writing portfolio notebooks from the first semester before the holidays. These are for you to keep, we will begin a new writing portfolio this week.

MATH
We are on Chapter 13 in math. This chapter is addition and subtraction facts to 12 and adding 3 numbers. Homework for math will be lessons 13 in the Practice Math Workbook. We will finish up this chapter and test probably Thursday. Look for the review sheet to come home the night before.

LANGUAGE - (DOL)
We have covered rules 1-13, skipping Rule 12 for now. I will introduce Rule 14 and 15 Wednesday. These rules can be found in your child's take home notebook. Thursday is usually a worksheet related to the newest rule introduced and Friday's DOL is sentences from Monday-Thursday for a grade.
*We will begin using notebook paper when the children return to school.

SPELLING
Each week there will be 12 spelling words. Your child will be responsible for copying these words on Monday. (I will also update this site each week with the words.) We will do different activities each day using the words, these activities will come home each day. (similar to DOL) On Friday we will have a test on the words for the week. There will be a space on the second semester report card for the spelling grade. The spelling grade on the report card will be an average of all the tests given during the nine week grading period.

This week we will focus on words with the long o sound. We will also recognize do & you as sight words on our spelling list.

This week's spelling words:

go note bone
so robe stove
no do hope
home you cone

FUTURE DATES TO KEEP IN MIND
January 4-Teacher In-service
January 5- Students return to school
January 12 PTA Meeting
January 18-No School
January 21-Report Cards and Teacher Treat Day

We will rotate to Music for three weeks with Mr. Darby. I will be taking the children outside – when weather permits.

Have a wonderful week and bundle up!!

Sunday, January 3, 2010