Happy Weekend!  Happy (almost) October!

It's been another terrific week!  We finished our Leader Books, started our Daily 5 literacy routine, got everyone logged onto our laptops at the same time, had our first STEM lesson, and learned how to make revisions in our writing.  Whew!  We're looking forward to a great four-day week-we'll meet our first Wednesday "Mystery Reader", do some more observations and an experiment for our STEM question, and continue our work with place value and comparing numbers, as well as continuing our awesome work in writing and reading!

 We learned about hypothesis, observation, and conclusion this week, and formed our own hypotheses about why leaves change color in the fall.  We'll be making more observations of "our" tree in the next few weeks and doing some reading and experiments to find out the answer!

We also read several versions of The Three Little Pigs as we learned about text-to-text connections.  Ask your first grader which one was his or her favorite!

Thank you to everyone who ordered books last time-we earned enough bonus points to get over 20 new books for our classroom guided reading library!  The next set of book orders went home today and are due on October 9th.  Our classroom code is H63NZ.

The kids really enjoyed some of our math games this week-you can find links to some of the sites we use in the Links bar to the right.

Homework folders are ready to go home on Monday!  I will send a cover letter explaining how our homework system works, and you can use the First Grade At a Glance document I sent home earlier to see what is due and when.

 Short Vowel Bingo!

Congratulations to Ella and Molly on earning the privilege of taking Darla and Kola home for the weekend!  We can't wait to read all about their adventures!

Congratulations to Elliott for earning a spot in the Quality Work Showcase!  Her careful work and many details in her writing and her illustrating are impressive!

Be sure to check the Upcoming Events list for some additions!

I'm looking forward to finishing my fall cleaning and visiting my horse at his boarding barn this weekend!  I hope you have a wonderful end-of-September!

:)
Becca

Hello!

Happy Autumn!  I hope you all had a chance to enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend!

We enjoyed another busy week in first grade!  We met our student intern, Miss Mooradian, who will be with us twice a week until December.  Mr. Carrigan was another guest who is learning how to be a teacher.  He will visit us for 2 more Friday mornings.

Parent volunteers will be scheduled starting in mid-October.  We will be in need of extra hands on Wednesdays for our STEM lessons and Project Days.  I will be finalizing this schedule and sending it out in next week's blog.  :)

I am still waiting for homework folders to be laminated...in the meantime, please encourage your first grader to read at home and tell you about his/her learning.  When we do have homework, it will be a menu of 20 different activities from which your child can choose 15/month to complete.  Homework menus go home the first week of the month and are not due back until the beginning of the next month.  Reading folders go home weekly and are due back the following week.  The directions for each can be found on the front of the folders.  :)

Congratulations to Molly for having 2 pieces of work in the Quality Work Showcase this week!

Congratulations to McKenzie and Jordan for being selected to host Darla and Kola this weekend!  A few families have asked about Kola's name...it isn't Ko-A-la.  Rather, "Kola" was the name of a bear in a story I used to love as a little girl in the anthology pictured below.  Kola is also the name of a tree. :)  I will try to find time to read the story to the kids this week.

The Upcoming Events page has been updated-be sure to check it for information about the teacher workshop day/holiday weekend, fall pictures, and other dates to remember.

Thank you for returning Eagle News on Mondays and library books no later than Thursdays. :)

Thank you for sending a spoon or fork if your first grader needs one to eat his or her snack.

Thank you for sending a written note if your child will be picked up-I have to send the note with the child to dismissal if s/he is not usually picked up on that particular day.

Thanks for reading the blog!  Have a terrific week!
Becca