Totally Tuesday

Today was Tuesday and it was a wacky day.  We had 80 minutes of specials this morning in PE.  We also went to the computer lab.  While in the computer lab we learned about needs and wants.  We will continue to look at this topic in social studies over the next few days. 

I did get an email today about the missing word family for the spelling homework this week.  I will correct that matter tomorrow and have learned that it is not a good idea to work on schoolwork when you have a temperature.  I hope that everyone will be understanding with my error.

After lunch we worked on a special surprise project that will be going home later this month. While students were working on this project I also worked on some PALS quick check screenings.  The results of these will be coming home with interim repoorts next week. 

Later this week we have The Brain Show on Thursday at 9 AM and again Thursday night.  I will be out of school on Thursday for some professional development, however I hope to make it back at night to catch the show.  Hope to see you there.

Out Sick Today

I am sorry to report that I am out sick today.  Mrs. Murphy a wonderful and VERY experienced retired teacher was in my classroom today.  I know that it is very difficult when I am out, but please understand that I do try not to miss unless I am really sick or I am in professional development. 

Tomorrow we have extended specials from 8:55 - 10:15.  Our schedule is going to be a little strange for the rest of the day, but it will be a great day!

We have The Brain Show this Thursday at school.  Our class will be going at 9 AM.  There will also be another show in the evening if you would like to come and see what it is all about.  It is a lot of fun and hopefully I will see many families there.

50th Day of School

We have made it through 50 Days of School!  YEAH!!!!!!  We had a great Sock Hop and enjoyed yummy Root Beer Floats.  Thank you to all of the parents who came to help and dance with us.  I really appreciate all of the help.  Our day would not have been as much fun without you!

Looking ahead to next week.  Our big performance is on Tuesday at 9:30 AM.  We hope you can make it!

I'm Back!

For some of you I am sure you thought I have fallen off the planet, however I am still here.  I spent 3 days last week in professional development with teachers from our building, our district, and the rest of the first grade team.  We are tackling some new math materials and a new way of teaching and learning called interactive notebooks.  We will be using these new things in our classroom in the next few weeks. 

I also had a chance this past weekend to go to Richmond and participate in the 8K race.  It was a lot of fun and hope to do it again next year.  My husband ran the entire 26.2 and I got to see him finish in just over 5 hours.  I understand from several students that they also had family members who ran on Saturday.  Way to go to all who participated.

Looking ahead to this week we have the 50th day of school on Thursday.  We will be celebrating in 50s style with floats at 2pm, and dancing around 3pm.  It will be a lot of fun and we hope that you can join us for some dancing.

Report cards should have come home today.  If your child didn't bring it home today, please give me a call in the morning at school and I will reprint and send home another copy.

What to do Wednesday

First I must say thanks to my wonderful parent volunteer for coming today to help with our Take Home Tuesday on Wednesday.  I know we were a day late, but with all the celebrations on Friday and Monday I had to spend some fun times with my own children. 

We practiced making patterns in math today.  Each student had to make 3 types of patterns in math class before completing a worksheet that will be coming home next week for everyone to see.  In reading we have practiced making sentences using some of our sight words.  We are trying make sure everyone knows how to write complete sentences and knows how to use their sight words as well.

Take Home Tuesday Delayed

Due to the carnival, Halloween, and being a mom this weekend, Take Home Tuesday will be delayed until tomorrow.  I am sorry for the delay, but with little ones sometimes a mom has to be a mom and not a teacher. 

We have had a great few days to start off our week.  We have been in school 40 days so far and we have learned so many things.  Sometimes they learn from books and sometimes they learn from everyday items, but there is always learning going on at KGES.

We are working on patterns, sorting, and classifying.  On Monday we sorted and classified candy that was leftover from our Fall Harvest Party.  It was a lot of fun hearing why they students classified they candy the way they did.  We also made patterns with the candy.  It might be something you could try at home with some of the loot the kids bring home from all the Trick -or- Treating.

Jumpstart Read for the Record

Got an update in my email this week from Jumpstart Read for the Record.  We were part of 2,184,155  people who read the book Llama, Llama Red Pajama on October 6, 2011.  What a cool thing to know our class was part of this number.  YEAH for READING!

Thank You Thursday

Thank you to Ms. Haff and my parent volunteer who came by to help out today.  We cut our pumpkin open today and I pulled out all the seeds for our class to count.  It was a hard job, but we made groups of ten and then counted all of the groups.  I believe the grand total was 858 pumpkin seeds.  We also learned that we were able to fit about 2 gallons of water inside after it was cleaned out. 

I am looking forward to tomorrow and seeing all of the costumes everyone will be wearing.  I will be a running fairy and hopefully I will be able to improve my race timing this weekend :-).  Hope to see everyone tomorrow at the party.  Feel free to wear your costume as long as it is kid appropriate.

Tune in to Tuesday

Sorry I did not make it here last night.  Between being a Mom and a teacher often has me up very late grading papers and other school related tasks.  I got into such a grading groove last night I never made it over to the blog.

Tuesdays in our room are always busy days.  Today was no different.  We began our day with our push-in reading groups.  One of our para educators was out today on a field trip with another grade that she covers so I got to teach her group.  The group that I normally work with worked on a word building game I taught them yesterday.  They really seemed to enjoy it and all asked when they could play it again. 

We put our scarecrow together today.  I have our boots for Chrysanthemum (the name they voted on) sitting by the front door to take to school tomorrow.  We also started working on a story to go with our scarecrow.  The class is very excited about this story and will be anxious to share with families on Friday night at the carnival.

We also spent some time checking to see how accurate our predictions were about our pumpkin were.  Today we learned that our pumpkins do float and that everyone in our classroom including the adults who were present are smaller around the middle than the pumpkin :-). 

Tomorrow we will have fall rotations from 1 - 3 pm.  It should be an exciting time for our students to do some great activities with the other first grade teachers. 

Friday will be our party and it will begin at 1:35 (right after specials).  Students may wear costumes to school and bring masks and hats to put on at the party.  Please feel free to join us for the party and parade. 

Dates to Remember

This coming week we will be doing a lot of exciting things in our classroom. Please keep this in mind when picking out clothes for the day :-)

Monday - pumpkin predictions and paintings
Tuesday - pumpkin measurements
Wednesday - extended specials at 8:55 - 10:15, first grade fall rotations 1:00 - 3:00
Thursday - pumpkin math (involving pumpkin seed counting)
Friday - party and parade starting at 1:35.

Parents are always welcome in our classroom and we LOVE volunteers. If you would like to be part of one of these events, send me an email and I can give you more specific information.

I also hope to get some pictures uploaded this weekend. When I do I will post a link here.

Enjoy the fall weather and read a great book outside while having a picnic.


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Tasty Thursday

Today we had a lot of exciting things in our classroom.  We were visited by a teacher cadet from KGHS.  Our very own KGHS has class that allows students to come to observe veteran teachers and learn a little more about the field of education.  Our cadet has a mom who is a teacher at our KGES.  I think she will have a lot to tell about our visit. 

After specials today we made several batches of popcorn.  We tried out three different methods of making pop corn.  We made popcorn using a hot air popper, we made some using a hot oil popper and one batch in the microwave right off the cob.  It was a very yummy snack that is also very healthy for us to eat.

Wet Wednesday at the Westmroeland Berry Farm

Today we had a wet but fun day at the Westmoreland Berry Farm.  Thank you to all of the parents who came with us on this field trip.  I am very thankful for all of the help and support in keeping our students safe and dry.  While we seemed to have missed the warm sunny weather by about 24 hours we managed to have a lot of fun.  The staff at Westmoreland Berry Farm did a great job trying to keep us dry and entertained.  Everyone had a great time selecting their very own pumpkin to bring home with them. 

Our flat friends joined us in the pumpkin patch for some photographs.  We will be writing about this exciting day tomorrow and Friday.  We are going to be constructing a book with all of our Stanley journal entries.  Stanley will also be visit everyone's home in the next few weeks.

We also began to make our class scarecrow for the fall carnival.  We have to write a story to go with it.  We will keep everyone posted!

Training on Tuesday

Today we visited the computer lab and learned about the life cycle of a plant.  After we watched a short video about the life of a plant we all got a chance to use Kid Picks to create our very own pumpkin patch drawings.  We are really hoping the rain stays away tomorrow for our trip to the patch at Westmoreland Berry Farm.  We will be going no matter what the weather is doing outside.  I have encouraged all students to wear boots and raincoats with hats. 

This afternoon I also got to do some learning.  I attended a training session to learn more about our new email system.  I can't wait to use the information I learned today.  It is amazing how much more we will be able to do with the new email system. 

Dress for the weather. 

Monday, Monday

Today staff members in KGCS got a new email system.  We are still trying to get a few kinks worked out but please know that our email addresses have not changed, and we SHOULD still be able to get all emails from parents.  If you send an email and and I don't respond within 24 hours, please feel free to leave a comment here.

We began a new story in our literature book.  We will be enjoying a special treat later this week.  It has to do with the story we are reading. 

Our field trip is still planned for Wednesday even if it is raining.  We will not refund money for students who do not attend because of the weather.  We will only provide refunds for students who have a doctor's note upon their return to school.

Too Much to Do Thursday

Today was Thursday and we simply had too much to do today.  This morning we had reading groups with all the para educators who help us each morning with reading skills.  One of our para educatos was absent, which would normally mean that one group would have to double up or one group would need to work on independant work.  We were really lucky to have a parent who stopped by to volunteer and willingly jumped into the hot seat and worked with some students on reading.  Thanks so much Mrs. D. for all your help this morning. 

After our reading groups we managed to complete our reading and phonics tests and many of our students did very well on this test. 

Our student of the week shared his talent with the class today.  With a little adult supervision he made us some YUMMY Pumpkin Pie Dip.  What a great way to tell us about himself.  If you are interested in the recipe his mom says you can find her recipe here on a blog where she contributes recipes often. 

We also have been working on the beginnings of our year long Flat Stanley project.  With the help of one of our parents our Flat Friends will be joining us all year long on many adventures.  Yesterday we began the writing in our Flat Stanley Journals and today we put our first sentence on our good paper.  This project will go on all year long and you can stop by and see this work in progress if you come to our classroom.

Next week is Red Ribbon Week.  The guidance office is sending home more information that you should get tomorrow. 

Tomorrow is our extended special and I will be in a meeting of the Academic Success Team for the remainder of the day.  If you need to change your child's bus or dismissal, please call the office because I will not be near my computer. 

World Record Wednesday

Today we participated in Michelle Obama's Jumping Jack Record.  Our class did jumping jacks for 1 minute this afternoon.  I have downloaded the forms that we need to submit to certify that we jumped and I will be submitting that this weekend.  We had the great pleasure of completing our jumping jacks in the company of Mr. Monroe.  He happened to come by for a quick visit so we asked him to take part with us.  Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time and were pretty tired after all that jumping, but YEAH for our class for participating. 

The Field Trip is next Wednesday.  If you have not paid for the trip yet, please do so before Monday.  We have to provide final numbers to the Westmoreland Berry Farm and the bus garage. 

Thanks to all who have sent cereal in for the cereal drive.  We are still collecting and it really does go to a great cause.

Thanks!

Fall Festival, Columbus Day, and Tricky Tuesday

Wow!  What a great way to start a week.  I got to see some of my speedy students at the KG Fall Festival Race on Sunday morning.  Great job for all who came out and participated.  Also two speedy students in our class came in in the top 3 runners in their age groups.  Great work!

On Columbus Day we learned some more about this important explorer.  We read some nonfiction books to learn some facts about his trips and his ships, but we also read a fiction book that said his cat had a lot to do with making the trip possible.  The kids thought this was pretty funny.  They were not happy to learn that the first trip took 72 days and the ships had no bathrooms.  All in all most of them said they would not want to take a trip that lasted 72 days for any reason.  Some even said it took too long to get to Fredericksburg by car :-)

We had a tricky Tuesday that had us moving all around.  We visited the computer lab and with Mrs. James' help we took a math quiz with the CPS clickers.  This quiz will not be counted, but it was really good to see what they know and don't know about numbers.  In the future we may take another quiz using the CPS clickers that does count for a grade, but not yet.

In library the students checked out some great books and learned some more about Columbus Day.  Students have also started moving around the room for centers during reading time.  This does require that students take on some more responsibility for their learning, but I know that they can do it!

**I am sorry this didn't get posted last night, however sometimes being a mom has to take some priority over being a teacher.  Hope to be back on schedule for the rest of the week.

Jumpstart's Read for the Record

Today our class has become part of world record.  October 6th is Jumpstart's Read for the Record.  Millions of people all over the world spent time reading this year's book Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney.  We read the book and have been counted in this year's record.  If you would like to take part with your children tonight, please check out how you can also be included in this record by clicking HERE. 

We are also looking at being part of Michelle Obama's Jumping Jack record next week as well.  It sounds like it will be a lot of fun and we can all use a little extra time to jump around and get our wiggles out.  If you want to find out more about that record, click HERE.

Tomorrow is the last day to order books from the Scholastic Book Clubs.  If you would like to order please do so before 4 PM tomorrow so that I can finalize the order tomorrow night. 

Friday is also an early dismissal day at KGES.  Please make sure someone will be available to get the little folks off the bus at the earlier time.

Don't forget we have school on Monday even though it is a holiday.  Attendance is important.

Picture Day!

Today was picture day. Everyone looked great. We took some pictures in our classroom also. I also stayed after school to help Mrs. Koepfinger with running club. It was great fun for everyone (nearly 100 students).

Don't forget Friday is early dismissal.

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Tricky Take-Home Tuesday

Today was a busy day.  We had our push in reading groups this morning, followed by whole group and more small group reading time.  We practiced rhyming words today in class.  Sometimes this is a little bit difficult for our students.  However, this is a super easy skill that you can practice just about anywhere with no supplies needed.  Give your child a word and then ask them to supply a word (or two) that rhymes. 

We also had computer lab with Mrs. James today.  She showed us a movie using Brain Pop Jr. about trees in the forest during the fall.  We also practiced using the CPS clicker game to answer questions about the movie.  We will be using this fun interactive game a lot during the school year.

Library was our special today.  Students have been checking out books and getting to know our new school librarian.

We sorted our own papers for Take-Home Tuesday today.  Our parent volunteer had a last minute emergency and I really wanted papers to get home to you today so I had the students help sort the papers.  It was interesting to hear the students telling their classmates that they needed to write their names neater.  It is something I often tell the class, but sometimes when they hear it from a friend, it sinks in and they actually start to write a little neater.  Here's hoping it works.  :-)

Tomorrow is picture day at KGES.  Students will be photographed for the yearbook even if you do not wish to purchase pictures for yourself.  Our scheduled time around 9:15.  Please make sure that if you wish to purchase pictures the money is at school before 9 AM. 

Mega Monday

Mondays are always crazy days because kids (and sometimes the teachers) still want it to be the weekend.  We cram a lot of activities into Mondays at school.  Today we also got to have our second extended special day.  Our class had art, but had a substitute teacher.  Many of the students finished their assignments and had time to draw some extra pictures for family members. 

New homework sheets went home, Math Super Stars went home, a PTA fundraiser packet went home, and some other exciting items as well.  Please take a few minutes to look at the papers in your child's Blue Flower folder and remove all the papers that do not need to be returned to school.  Tomorrow is Take Home Tuesday so make sure to check out all the papers that your child has been working on in class.

Please send in Field Trip money as soon as possible.  If you plan to attend, please don't forget to send in your money as well. 

Thanks for all your help keeping up with all the paperwork of 1st Grade!

Updates

Tonight I have updated my web page with the October Homework and October Specials Schedule.  The October lunch menu is available on the school web page.  I also uploaded this week's newsletter. 

Enjoy!

Finally Friday!

We have made it through the first month of school.  I can hardly believe it went by so quickly.  When we return to school on Monday we will be entering the month of October.  In October we begin working on addition and subtraction facts and many other exciting things.

Newsletters, field trip forms, and book club forms, and new homework sheets went home this week.  I know it is a lot to keep up with, but with a little help from home we can teach organization skills to our future. 

On Monday we have extended specials from 8:55 - 10:15.  This does make for a long afternoon and we will be doing several activities to keep everyone moving and involved in learning. 

PTA is still trying to get more parents to join.  If you are interested in joining and have not done so, please click here for an application.  The PTA does a lot of wonderful things for our students during the school year.  Their Math Super Star Program will be starting next week and it is a wonderful way to extend the math we learn at school and challenge students to think outside the box.  In addition, students who complete the sheets can earn some extra prizes. 

Book-It!  will also be starting next week.  This program is sponsored by Pizza Hut and offers a free personal pan pizza to students who complete their reading log for the month.  No extra forms will need to be completed, just the reading log on the back of the homework sheet.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. 

Enjoy your weekend!

Thursday

Today we had another fire drill at school.  We have one fire drill a week for the first month of school.  This helps boys and girls to learn the routine and proper fire drill behavior.  We are getting much better at lining up for the fire drill QUICKLY and QUIETLY.  This is often hard for first grade to remember, but safety is the most important thing to learn. 

Homework is due tomorrow.  It would be helpful if parents check behind the first grade students to see if they have completed all of their work and have included their names on their papers. 

October homework will go home tomorrow and the September logs will be collected.  Please take note that we are now asking that the five rhyming words are in ABC order.  This is a change from the month of September.

New specials calendars and lunch menus will also be going home.  Hopefully, we won't miss any more days for a while.

Our first student of the week paperwork will be going home tomorrow with one lucky student.  I am looking forward to learning more about each and every student.  Please make sure to help your child complete the paperwork and return it to school on time. 

Upcoming Events

We will be sending home Field Trip Permission Forms tomorrow.  First grade will be visiting Westmoreland Berry Farm in mid-October.  We will need parent chaperons to join us.  Please send a note if you are interested in joining us. 

School Pictures will be taken next month on October 5th.  These are also the pictures that are used in the KGES yearbook, so even if you do not wish to purchase a picture package for yourself, please keep in mind that these pictures will be representing your child in the yearbook. 

We will also be having an early dismissal next Friday October 7th, so please make childcare plans now.

Have a great night!

What is in a snack?

Each day our class has snack at 11:00.  This is before students go to the lunchroom for lunch.  Several students have brought money to buy a snack from the cafe' however it is not possible for students to visit the cafe' at this time to buy a snack.  I do not have the ability to purchase snacks to keep in our classroom for students who do not bring snacks from home.  PLEASE send snacks with your children so they have something to eat at this time.  Everyone's brain and body needs a refill by this time.  Some healthy snack ideas include popcorn, goldfish, fruit, wheat thins, or fresh veggies.  Please make sure to send spoons, straws, ect. with your child.  Mrs. Burrell (from the cafe') does not allow students to get spoons from the cafe' during our snack time.  Students are able to get water from the fountain if they do not have a drink. 

If you are sending snacks for birthdays or any other reason, please make sure they arrive at school early in the morning so they are ready for us at snack time.  Our schedule is very tight and we quickly move from one activity to another.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let me know right away.  My school email is up all the time, but it often sends parent emails to the spam folder.  If I don't write back within a few hours, try leaving a comment here and it will show up in my personal email which does not usally move stuff to spam.  I check it often as well and will respond as quickly as I can.

Happy Birthday Johnny Appleseed

Today we celebrated Johnny Appleseed's birthday.  According to the book we read by Steven Kellogg in the year 1774 John Chapman was born.  Today we know him as Johnny Appleseed.  We enjoyed reading the tall tale about his life and talked about how the truth is stretched in tall tales.  After the book our class enjoyed some apple slices.  Yum!

In math we finished Topic 1 today with a test.  I hope to get them graded tonight and returned tomorrow, but no promises.  As I walked around the room during the test, it looked like everyone did a great job.

We enjoyed being outside for recess today.  Hopefully we will continue to have nice weather for a few more weeks.  Please know that we go outside for recess as long as it is not raining/snowing and the temperature is above 40.  I highly encourage all parents to send their children in appropriate shoes everyday so no one gets their toes injured on the playground or in our classroom.  In addition, flip-flops are not permitted per the school dress code. 

Tomorrow is Take-Home Tuesday.  The white envelopes we have had in years past are no longer being made, so please take time to look at the papers that come home in the Blue Flower Folder tomorrow.  We are still trying to locate another company that makes a similar product. 

Enjoy your night and possibly an apple to celebrate Johnny Appleseed!

Newsletter Link

If you want to check out my newsletter before Monday, please visit my website http://www.mrsrichard.org/ or click here.  Hope your weekend is great.  Feel free to try to squeeze some extra reading time with your child.

Finally Friday

What a week we have had in first grade.  I was out of my classroom yesterday afternoon and most of the day today.  I was able to give the reading test and the spelling test before going to my meeting today.  However, when I got back to my room at the end of the day, I found my newsletters had not gone home today.  I hope to post my newsletter on my web page later tonight.  The paper copies will be going home on Monday.  Sorry. 

Thankful Thursday

Thankfully today held no extra excitement or drills.  Thankfully my students came in ready to learn.  Thankfully my class was on thier best behavior.  Thankfully it is Thursday.

We did a trial run with our para educators for our reading groups.   It will be an busy in our classes first thing in the mornings, but I think we can get it done.  It will be VERY important for students to be at school on time in the morning and in our classroom.  Our push in reading groups begin at 8:55.  Every student will be in a reading group with an adult for the first 25 minutes of our day.

Today was busy and I left for an appointment at 11:30.  I am positive that my class did a great job this afternoon.

What A Day

What a day we had today.  Bus evacuation drills, fire drills, our first extended special, rain... need I say any more?  I am not sure why everything got scheduled on the same day, but it did.  We tried to make the best of it.  I know that not everyone had a good day for behavior, but I am thankful that we all survived :-)

If you child didn't have the best day today, I am hopeful that a more normal schedule tomorrow might help everyone to stay on GREEN!

We did finish our PALS tests for all students who were in school.  My class is doing an amazing job completing these tests.  As soon as I finish the testing I will send home the results.

What's New at School?

Today we continued to work on completing our PALS testing.  We are almost finished.  I really hope to finish them tomorrow so that we can get back onto our regular classroom activities. 

Some parents are probably wondering what is all that talk of PALS tests and what does it mean for my child?  The PALS test has several parts.  There is a spelling test that is given to the entire class at the same time.  The rest of the parts of 1st grade PALS are given one student at a time on the computer.  Yep that is right, on the computer.  I call one student at a time to the computer and check letter sounds, sight words, fluency, and comprehension.  I have been really lucky to have one of our para educators help out with the rest of the class while I am giving each student my full attention at the computer. 

Students also got to enjoy the computer lab today and practice some typing skills (so we can log on to the computers faster).

Please don't forget if you have any questions about our class send a note or email and I will get back to you right away.  If you don't hear back within 24 hours it probably means that your email got caught in the school's spam filter.  Leave a comment here and I can contact you directly.

Thanks for all those who are checking out my blog!

Busy Monday

Today was a very busy Monday in our classroom.  We began PALS testing today.  Everyone who was in school today took the PALS spelling test this morning and were checked on sight word knowledge.  Some students were also checked on letter sounds.  Those who were not checked on letter sounds will be checked tomorrow.  Students will also be checked for fluency and reading comprehension tomorrow. 

We began our new story in our reading book called Sam and the Bag.  It is a fun story about cats.  If you did not read it yet, plan to do so before the week is out.

In math we practiced making numbers to 12 using a 10 frame and two color counters.  Please help your child to improve their one-to-one correspondence at home by having them count objects and touch them at the same time.

We also have two classroom birthdays to celebrate this week, a fire drill planned, our first extended special is planned for Wednesday, and tons more :-)

Newsletter

Here is the link to last week's newsletter in case you didn't get one in your child's folder last Friday.  I will be posting more about our school day today later tonight.

Newsletter

Technical Difficulties Repaired

My apologies to my all parents who are checking out my blog.  I have been experiencing a lot of difficulty getting an Internet connection at home this week.  I think it has repaired.  The culprit was my new laptop that I got this summer did not like the cable router/modem.  I think all the parts are working and communicating as they should, which should make it much easier and for me to connect and upload to my blog. 

This week we have PALS testing starting up, an extended special on Wednesday, and I have to be out of school Thursday afternoon for an appointment.

Have a great week!

Shoe Tying and Word Families

This morning we continued to work on word families during our reading and language time.  We read a fun book about a little girl who wanted a pet bat.  Each time we heard a word in the -at family we had to stand up.  We got quite a workout standing and sitting, and we learned a lot of words in the -at family.  We learned that in word families everyone in the "house" has to have the same "last name."  Students also had to write one word in the -at family for each year they were old.  Some lucky boys and girls only had to write 5 words while some who were not so lucky had to write 7 words.  It was a real challenge for some while others were able to do it quickly without much guidance. 

A tip for the homework, the rhyming words should look something like -at family, fat, sat, cat, mat, chat.  If you are not sure what to do or need more help, please send me an email or give me a call so that I can help.

This afternoon we read a book called What Will I Do If I Can't Tie My Shoe?  In first grade students should be able to tie their own shoes without help.  If your child is not able to tie their own shoes yet, please practice with them at home.  One student (who has tie shoes) said "My dad says I don't have to tie because he does it for me.''  I must admit that as a parent, sometimes it is faster to do the tying and get out the door, please know that it is time consuming at school when 10 -12 students need shoes tied at one time.

Fire Drills and a Guest Reader

Yesterday our school welcomed our new Assistant Princpal, Mr. Scott Elchenko to KGES.  At out meeting with him afterschool he mentioned that he has taught K and 1.  This morning I saw him in the office trying to get moved into his office so I invited him to come read to our class.  He was very glad to come and get to know our class and read a wonderful book (The Giving Tree) to our class.  The students really seemed to enjoy getting to know him a little better and I know he probably enjoyed the break from all the meetings he has had to jump right into upon arriving yesterday. 

We also learned how to put poems into our Poetry Journals and how we can sort words and pictures in our Word Study Notebook.  These might sound like simple things, but it is important for us to learn these procedures now so that as we add more to these notebooks during the year everyone can do it quickly and correctly.

For math today, we were able to visit the computer lab for the first time this school year.  Thestudents got some instruction from Mrs. James (our computer whiz).  We learned appropriate ways to use the school computers.  It took many students quite a while to put thier numbers in and get started.  If your child cannot recite their login numbers to you from memory, they should spend a few minutes nightly practicing these numbers.  They don't have to write them, but must be able to enter them on a numeric keypad.  Calculators are great for this practice.

This afternoon we also were able to experience our first Fire Drill.  We did a great job lining up and getting to the blacktop quickly and quietly.  I hope we continue to do such a great job with this each time that we practice it this school year.

If you are interested in being a guest reader in our classroom, please send an email and we can set up a time for you to visit and read us a good book.

New Week, New Routines

I started this week with a great email from from a teacher in another state whose class found my class website with her class in a search.  What a great day to start the week.  I love to hear about people who check out my website and this made my Monday morning.  They even sent me a link to a really neat money link.  I can't wait for the money unit to start so we can use it!

We began to use our Reading books this morning.  This is a new experience for our class and they rose to the challenge.  We also learned about our student dictionaries.  We spent a long time this morning looking for our words we learned last year.  We also looked for our new High Frequency Words in our dictionaries.

Homework went home today in our Blue FLOWER Folders.  If your child did not bring it home, please send a note right away.  I also sent home some old social studies books that you can keep at home as a extra something to read if your child forgets their reading book at school.

Week One and a Newsletter

Well, we didn't quite finish the first week of school the way I had wanted to, but I did enjoy the extra day off getting things organized for our journey that will really begin this week.  I am thankful that no one was terribly injured as a result of the flooding in the area.  I am also thankful that we only lost our power for a brief time from this storm.

If you haven't checked out my website yet, please try to do that this week.  It has a lot of information about our classroom and everything that goes on there.  I was able to spend most of today updating pages and getting it ready for this school year.

If you have an email address you would like me to have, please take a few minutes to complete this quick form if you haven't done so already. 

I am also including a link to my newsletter which was to go home on Friday, but will now go home tomorrow.  I hope it is helpful and answers some of the questions you might have.

I am hoping that this week brings no new natural disasters to the state of Virginia.  :-)

Learning the Rules

Sometimes learning new rules is hard work.  Sometimes even with warnings we don't always have our best day.  It is important to remember that there is always tomorrow.  Today was one of those days. 

We are still trying to get everyone back into school mode.  We read Splat the Cat this morning and we wrote some sentence on the white board about what we learned from the stories.  If you haven't checked out any of the Splat the Cat books, you might consider looking for some at the library.  Spat and his pet mouse have a lot of adventures that many first grade students can relate to.  After we wrote the sentences, we looked at the capital letters we used to begin these sentences and talked about how letters and numbers fit on the lines on our papers.  When you are working with your children at home it is important to remind them to start their first names with an upper case letter and use lower case letters for the rest.

We also enjoyed Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse.  We talked about rules and why we have to follow them and when we don't follow them we get ourselves into trouble.  My goal is to help boys and girls learn to make good choices during our school day.  We made an owl book about making good choices.  Hopefully good choices will soon start to become second nature to our first grade students. 

Tomorrow is Friday which means that we will have made it through 4 school days.  Look for a newsletter to come home in your child's Blue FLOWER Folder tomorrow.  Homework will be starting next week.  Spend some time this weekend getting a place ready for your child to work on homework.  It will make homework a whole lot easier.

Routines...

I have always been told it takes 20 days to build a habit.  We are on day two of learning some first grade routines.  It is always challenging at the start of year to help our new students learn the routines of a new classroom and for some of a new school.  We practiced a lot of our routines during these first two days of school.  Not because they are fun and exciting, or because they are super educational, but because learning them now will help us to have more time to learn later this school year. 

We continued to learn about Chester from The Kissing Hand.  Today we talked about the setting of this story and how we could relate to some of the feelings Chester had about the first day of school.  We read a second book about Chester today.  This book was called Chester and the Big Bad Bully.  Our class will continue to talk about how we can be a good friend to one another.  We have some other books that we will read during the school year to reinforce friendship.

We also began to do some of our beginning of the year assessments.  Our school is very lucky to have a number of para educators who can assist the classroom teachers in getting these assessments done in a timely manner.  Please don't be alarmed if your child tells you they had to take a test at school.  We are not taking them for grades, but to help us to learn where to begin with instruction.

First Day in First Grade

Today I got to meet all of my new students.  I am happy to report that all of my new students made it to school and stayed on green all day.  I hope to be able to report that everyone stayed on green everyday during this school year.  It was also really nice to see some of my students from the last few years stop by and say hello.

We spent some time today getting all of supplies put away and labeled.  We also read the Kissing Hand and made Chester puppets.  We will be working on some retelling of this story in class later this week.  Please ask your child if he or she can tell you about the Kissing Hand.

Homework will begin next week and more instructions will be coming home about how First Grade Homework is handled will also be included in the packet.  If you really want to get your child into school mode, pull out their Kindergarten sight words for them to practice right now.

Lots of forms need to be turned in to the office at the start of the year.  I know that it is not any fun to fill out all the papers, but it really is helpful to get all of this information from parents right now.  If you child does not know their lunch number yet, it is important to practice it each night. 

If you have questions, please feel free to send a note or email me yrrichard@kgcs.k12.va.us

Giveaway

One of the teachers I feel like I know has the most amazing blog.  She always posts wonderful ideas and is always willing to share her creativity with the rest of us.  She is also quite the bargain shopper and because of that she has decided to do a giveaway.  If you are interested in entering check out her blog - http://bainbridgeclass.blogspot.com/  and see for yourself what an amazing mind she has.  I am really hoping that I can win, but I know that whoever does will enjoy them.

New Math

While it might be the weekend, a teacher's work is never finished.  While driving to the eye doctor yesterday, I worked on organizing some of the new math teacher's materials into the very nice folders provided by the company.  It looks like there are a lot of materials provided to make a teacher's life easier and make learning more fun.  While I won't know what the kids really think about it until we actually get started, I know it looks like they had teachers in mind by making the teacher books small and light. 

I also know that some of the materials I found while stalking some teacher blogs this summer are going to make learning really fun.  Let the learning begin!

New Roses

Yesterday I got to meet many of my new students at the King George Elementary School Open House.  It was great to see so many familiar faces and some new ones as well.  I also got to see a lot of my students from last year who stopped by to say hi!  One even brought me an adorable hedgehog to add to my ever growing collection.  :-)  I know it is going to be an amazing year and we are going to do wonderful things together.

Today I am going to get name tags out on all the desks and try to assign numbers to my students.  Elizabeth (my daughter) is going to come by and help to put away all of the supplies that the students brought to school yesterday.  I hope to even get a chance to explore our new math series.  It is going to be a busy day here, but I know it is going to be a great school year!

New Students and Open House

Tomorrow I will get to meet all of my new students.  I wish I had been able to call each of the families today, but there are only so many minutes in the day and making sure our classroom is ready for  learning has been my number one priority.  Well that and attending all of the meetings that have scheduled for teachers.  I am glad that I have had the chance to come in early and work on my room or I would have been really stressed with missing school on Monday due to the hurricane.  I must admit that I am also glad that power has been restored at my house and at the homes of most of my friends.  For all those who have not been lucky enough to get their power restored, I hope it is restored for you soon.

I know that we are going to have a fabulous school year together and that we will be able to grow together as the year goes on.  Please let me know right away if you have questions or concerns.

Professional Development and Hurricanes

I have been spending the last two days at a professional development conference.  I must say that for the first time ever at the start of a conference I was instructed about what to do should we have another earthquake.  I am glad to report that we did not have to evacuate for an earthquake.  I listened to the information that was presented to us and felt good knowing that our school is already doing almost all of the things they suggested.  I also was reminded how difficult it is to sit still for hours on end without moving and being actively involved in a the lesson.  I am looking forward to meeting with my grade level team and trying to implement some of the other things that was presented.  I know that if we work together as a team we can help our students to have an amazing school year.

After the conference, I joined almost every other person in the Fredericksburg and went to buy supplies and groceries for the hurricane that is expected to reach Virginia this weekend.  I am very hopeful that it is not as bad as they are predicting.  When Isabelle came several years ago we lost power for almost a week.  I don't want that to happen because I have too much school stuff to do this weekend.  With the earthquake earlier this week, I think we have had enough excitement.

Earthquake!!!!!

Today was a WILD day.  I went to school as planned and made tons of progress on my classroom.  I got to have a nice lunch with several members of my first grade team.  An EARTHQUAKE occurred this afternoon about 60 miles or so from our school.  I was standing in my room talking to a team member and an the room started shaking.  At first we thought it was workers on the roof and then I quickly noticed that my truck was parked outside my window was shaking violently.  We quickly moved to the doorway of the cubbie room and waited for the building to stop shaking.  Everyone is safe in my family and at school.  I hope everyone else is as lucky as we were.  I also think that in addition to all of our other drills we practice regularly we will need to add earthquake drills to the list.

Classroom Set-up

I spent most of today at KGES working on getting my room ready for students.  I have managed to get most of the boards done.  They need a few finishing touches, but are looking good.  I also got the peasure of meeting several of our new teachers that have just joined the KGES family.  Right now I am trying to get some of my calendar math stuff printed.  I know that it will be worth it in a few weeks when everything is at my fingertips and my classroom is filled with students who are eager to learn.  I hope to get some pictures taken as soon as I have everything put away and cleaned up.

Blogging and a Webpage

This school year I will attempt to keep up with my web page (www.mrsrichard.org) and my new blog.  I am hoping that I can quickly post things to the blog for parents to see right away and keep the web page for weekly updates.  I also hope to involve some students in writing entries on the blog as the year continues.  Wish us luck as Mrs. Richard and her class of Roses grows into a whole new direction onto the world wide web!