It has been a great start to the new year. Your child will naturally be tired over these next few weeks as he/she adjusts to a new school year. It is important for you to establish routines at bedtime and for your child to get a good night's sleep.

It happens fast

It has been a long time since my last post and I apologize for this! This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending my daughter's college graduation. This moment came very quickly when I reflect over her academic career. It seems like just yesterday that she was in first grade! 

When you spend a year teaching children, your hope is that they have learned academically as well as socially. I have witnessed some great interactions among the students lately. They know that their first grade year is coming to an end. The same kids they see each day they may not see over the summer break. They are using the I messages they learned over the year, they are trying to encourage one another, and they want to see their classmates be successful. This is what a community looks like! It takes time to build but in the end is worth it. The year happens fast!

National Crayon Day

This morning when I was watching the news, I learned that today is National Crayon Day. They showed several children coloring with crayons and when some of the kids were interviewed about why they liked crayons, they responded as follows: "I love coloring.", "It lets me use my imagination!", and "I like all of the colors." At the end of the day, I shared that it is National Crayon Day and told the kids they were going to celebrate by coloring with their crayons any picture they would like. The enthusiasm level was amazing! Their comments: "This is the best day ever!", "Look what I made!", "I love drawing!" 

I guess a simple thing like coloring can really brighten your day!

Recipe for Pineapple Cream Dip

Superkids

It has been awhile since my last post and I apologize for that. As you know, we adopted a new language arts curriculum this year: The Superkids Reading Program. I was reflecting on the name of the program last night as well as our monthly staff meeting where we discussed feedback. While this may sound trivial, I think ALL of your kids are SUPER kids. They come to school ready to work and usually pretty happy. One of the best parts of teaching is watching kids make connections. Yesterday in our writing we began to talk about following directions. Some of the kids were quick to point out that adults have a lot of directions. We talked about this and then played a game to show why following directions is so important. Don't be surprised if your child says to you "directions" next time they are asked to do something. Thanks for sharing your SUPER kids with me!

The first teacher

Your child meets his/her first teacher the moment he/she is born: YOU! From day one your child is learning through your words and actions. When you invest in your child's education you send the message that school is important. Thank you for being a partner. I truly enjoy the time I have spent with those of you I have had conferences with. I look forward to seeing the rest of you tomorrow and Thursday!

Accountability

There are many ways to hold someone accountable. It is important for children to learn what accountability is and why it is important. One area of accountability in the classroom is academic. I recently printed out what each child has completed on the IXL math app and highlighted areas where each student could improve on a particular concept. I handed these out and explained that we have to do our very best in all areas of work and sometimes that means going back and trying again. After a productive conversation, the students were excited about improving their scores. Today while we were working, one of the students said, "Wow my brain is working really hard!" I responded with, "it feels good to be accountable doesn't it?" His response, "yeah and I am the one who did it". Students who are held accountable are the ones who are going to achieve more and continue to work harder.

Follow our class on Twitter

Our class is on Twitter. This is another fun and easy way to see what's happening in our class. If you have a Twitter account, you can follow us @MrsA1stGrade.

Unit 10 spelling

Our next spelling test will be March 2nd. We are working on contractions with this unit. Here is a list of the spelling words:

couldn't

didn't

wouldn't

can't

haven't

weren't 

won't

aren't

don't

t

Using -er and -est

Today we learned about -er and -est. We read a cute story about three pigs named, Pig, Pigger, and Piggest. There were some elements similar to the story of the Three Little Pigs. The students loved the story and thought it was gross that the three pigs ended up getting married at the end. Ask your child to retell the story in their own words.

What stuck with you?

At the beginning of the year, we used to end the day with the question: What stuck with you? The students would share one thing that really stuck with them that day. Yesterday, one of the students asked me if we could start doing this again. Today we ended our day with what stuck with them. Some said Jumprope for Heart, some said recess (I usually make them stick to academics), but many of them said either ST Math and the play they read in Superkids. When I probed more about the ST Math, several of them said they were happy that they worked through a challenging problem or they moved to a new level. It is so wonderful to see the students persevere through challenges and not give up. This is so intrinsically rewarding and what sparks more learning!

Jumprope For Heart

Math apps

We added a few new math apps to our iPads today: Sumdog, Flash to Pass and Number Pieces. These have all been added to your child's math folder. I have encouraged your child to spend 15 minutes a day practicing math apps to become more fluent in his/her addition and subtraction to help meet the math goal.

Ask and you will receive...

...so this morning I asked the students how many of them read over the weekend. All but 3 students raised their hands. THANK YOU parents for reading with your child!! The next thing I asked was what was something new they learned. One girl raised her hand and said. "I learned that I have better fluency when I practice reading." WOW!! What an answer and yes this totally made my day. 

Welcome to my blog

Welcome to my blog! I hope you will find this a fun and informative way to stay in touch with what is happening in our classroom. I encourage you to visit this site several times a week for updates and pictures.