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!