Friday, September 30, 2011

Yum, Yum Applesauce!

Today we wrapped up our focus on apples by making applesauce. We did a great sequencing activity, learned some new words, did a writing activity, a little bit of graphing and voila! We cooked it all day long, and it was Yum-my! Thanks for sending in the apples!


Don't forget our fundraiser starts today! The kids all brought home their packets to look at. Please only allow them to sell to people they know. With budgets as tight as they are, this really helps raise money for our classrooms, field trips, assemblies and supplies. The fundraiser goes until October 10th, so sell, sell, sell! Thanks for supporting our school!
Have a good weekend.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

IXL


Today we FINALLY got to get on the computers! I introduced the kids to the website IXL, which our school has purchased accounts for. Each student has a username and password, and can access the site from any computer. This is an AMAZING tool for practicing and reinforcing math concepts that we are learning at school. A note with more information will come home today, including your child's log-in information. Please keep this in a safe spot. Practice at home is so much fun for the kids, and really helps them advance in their math skills.


Don't forget, tomorrow is late start. We are making applesauce tomorrow so please make sure you've sent in your apple. Have a beautiful afternoon!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Welcome to First Grade!


Welcome to our classroom blog! I am so excited to have all of your students this year! What potential these kiddos have, I can hardly wait to see what they do this year. This will be a fabulous way for you to stay connected to what we are doing in class this year. I will try to post as frequently as I can to keep you as updated as possible. You will also notice a weekly newsletter coming home on Mondays, which I will post on here as well. Please take a moment to read, it's full of important information.

We've had a crazy few weeks as the kids adjust to first grade. We've been working really hard on following direction, paying attention, and learning how to work as a team. They've been working very hard, and I'm sure they are coming home exhausted! Please make sure they are getting to bed early as they adjust to being at school all day, every day.

Reading homework should be coming home regularly now, except on Fridays. Please take a few minutes to read to your child, as well as having them read to you. I can't stress enough how important it is for the kids to hear good examples of reading. It helps them develop fluency, comprehension, and really boosts their vocab. I know nights are crazy, been even just a few minutes a night will really make a big difference.

We will finally be getting on computers this week, and will be getting our IXL passwords. Please watch for a note coming home towards the end of the week with their login and password. This is an excellent tool for math practice at home. The kids love it, and it will really help solidify their math skills. More information to come...

Please make sure your child is doing their weekend writing homework independently. It is ok to help them with the occasional sounds, but please make sure they are working hard to listen to the sounds they hear, and to write those. This will help them become better writers. The point isn't to have a perfectly written paper, but for them to be doing some writing on their own.

It's going to be a great year! I hope to meet you all sometime soon, if we haven't met already!

Pictures will show up on our blog occasionally. If you do not want your child's picture on our blog, please let me know immediately. If you marked this on your blue form, I will keep their pictures off.

Let's have a great week!

Here is this weeks newsletter for this week:

Clipart courtesy of Scrappin' Doodles