Party Update

Mrs. Rivera's Fall Class Party

 

October 31, 2016 

 

1:00 pm

 
** Please note that children are not permitted to wear their Halloween costumes to school on Monday, per the school policy. 

 
Our class party is sure to be a fun time with games, projects and snacks. 

We will play Fall Bingo (with candy corn as markers) , pin the spider in the spider web,  create a fall beaded necklace and craft a bookmark. 

 
You will receive a permission slip on Monday to select the snack items that you are ok with your child having. If your child has allergies and cannot enjoy the snacks that we are providing, please consider  sending in a snack with them. All permission slips must be received by Friday October 28, 2016. For safety concerns, if your child has not returned their permission slip, they will be unable to participate in the snack portion of our party. 

 
The items that we will have are: 

   Fresh Apple Slices, Fresh Seedless Grapes, Krispy Kreme Glazed Donut, Branch’s Candy Corn (used in game), Popped Corn – Pre popped & packaged,  Capri Sun Roaring Water Juice,               

 Pepperidge Farm Cheddar Gold Fish Crackers, Kirklands Apple Sauce Pouch, & Harris Teeter String Cheese. 

 
Your child will bring home a Jack-O-Lantern bag to use for trick-or-treating or as a library bag, the bag will contain several treats - the only edible item is a Ring Pop which you can remove if not appropriate for your child. 

 If you're interested in volunteering during the party, please reach out to Heather Norman, Heather.Norman@hotmail.com . 

 

Party set up will happen while the class is at recess and the party will start at 1:00pm when the children return to the classroom. 

 

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the classroom fund, your donations helped to ensure a great party for our class. 

Thank you!
Mr. and Mrs. Norman

Weekly Update

Check Out Our 1st Grade Symbaloo Page:
Our Technology Resource Teacher, Mrs. Clark, compiled a Symbaloo page for us! Symbaloo is a visual bookmarking tool that makes it simple and fun to organize multiple websites.  Our 1st Grade Symbaloo has links to a variety of sites that cover multiple disciplines...everything from Mouse Skills (check out "Bees and Honey"...I played it last night!), to science, to math, and holidays.  Our Symbaloo sites are a perfect "something more" to supplement your child's weekly homework.  You can access it via the "online resources" page of this blog.  You can also access it by going to the Pinebrook Homepage.  Once there, click "First Grade" under the "Classrooms" tab.  Look to the left under the heading "First Grade".  At the bottom of that list, you'll see "First Grade Symbaloo."  

Field Trip:
Our 1st grade field trip to Claude Moore Park and Heritage Farm Museum will be Wednesday, November 2nd.  If you haven't done so, please return the permission slip and payment as soon as possible.   I'll post some information next week about dress and lunch, and send a reminder or two home before the trip.

Fall Party:
Please mark your calendar for our Fall party on Monday, October 31st from 1 - 2:15 pm in our classroom.  All families are welcome to attend!  (NO costumes, please.) A food permission slip will be going home this week.  Please sign and return it as soon as possible.  Your child will not be able to eat any of the party food unless I have his/her signed permission slip.  

  Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will talk about characters in fiction stories.  We will discuss character traits, different types of characters (humans, animals, non-living things), and how characters evolve in stories.
• Writing:  We will respond to various writing prompts and self-chosen topics.  We will continue to work on letter formation, capital letters, punctuation, and spacing.
• Math:  We will finish our patterns and sorting unit.
• Science:  We will finish our pumpkin investigations.

Thank you for all you do!  As always, comments, questions, and feedback are welcome.

Enjoy the crisp Fall weekend!  (Crisp.  I love that word.)  

Weekly Update

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for the well wishes regarding my son.  He is feeling much better.  It's amazing what antibiotics can do. 

Remind:
Thanks to the 18 of you who have signed up for my Remind messaging service.  I'm loving it!  It's so easy to send you a text when I need to send along a quick note.  FYI: You can send me a message via the Remind app too!  When you click on my class, you'll see "Send a message, photo, or voice clip" at the bottom of your screen.  Touch there, type your message, and hit send.  I'll receive the message on my phone (just like a text) and can easily respond.  The only drawback to Remind?  Each message is allowed a limited number of characters, which means I have to choose my words (and emoticons) carefully!  I know you'll be surprised to hear, but brevity in writing has never been my strong point.

Field Trip:
Our 1st grade field trip to Claude Moore Park and Heritage Farm Museum will be Wednesday, November 2nd.  Information letters, permission slips and chaperone interest forms went home in yesterday's folder.  Please kindly return the permission slip and payment as soon as possible.  If you are interested in chaperoning this trip, please kindly return the chaperone interest form as soon as possible.  Please contact me with any questions.

Pumpkins:
If you haven't yet sent your child's small ("pie-sized") pumpkin for our pumpkin investigation, please send it Monday...we will be using our pumpkins that day.

 Fall Party:
Please mark your calendar for our Fall party on Monday, October 31st in our classroom.  All families are welcome to attend!  (NO costumes, please.)  I will send a food permission slip home before the party.  My awesome room family and I thank you for the party donations.  Your funds will be put to good use, they plan for our class celebrations.  :)

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will explore setting in the books we read.  The setting is where a story takes place.  We will identify settings, and talk about how settings can enhance stories.
• Writing:  We are changing gears in writing.  We will take a break from focusing on one type of writing for several weeks and instead, we will explore grammar, punctuation, and the elements of a top-notch "1st grade" sentence.
• Math:  We will continue our patterns and sorting unit.
• Science:  We will learn the life cycle of a pumpkin, and we will begin our pumpkin investigation.  During our pumpkin investigation, we will observe, measure, and experiment with our pumpkins.

As always, your support is appreciated and your feedback is welcomed.  

Just a few notes

Good Evening!
I just wanted to remind everyone to send in a small pumpkin by Friday for next week. Next week is sure to be a fun week. We will be beginning our Pumpkin Investigations Unit.

Also, Please check your child's backpack tomorrow for their RAZ information. They will need it to log in from home. I have updated the information on my resource page as well in case you need it and misplace the form.
I will also be sending home field trip information tomorrow. Please make sure you are on the look out for those forms as well.

Finally, thanks to those of you who signed up for my Remind.  If you didn't sign up on Sunday, please do so now.  You can find all the information by scrolling to the post below.  I gave 5 paws to all students with a parent who already signed up.

Thank you!
Kristen

Calling All Volunteers!

Happy Monday!

Now that we are finally in the swing of things and the reading assessments are complete (Phew!), we are ready to welcome our volunteers. There are plenty of opportunities for you to volunteer. I have created a sign up for the days and times needed. The sign up goes from now until Winter Break. I will send out the last half of the year after break.

How to sign up:
We're using SignUp.com (the leading online SignUp and reminder tool) to organize our upcoming SignUps.
Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:
1) Click this link to see our SignUp on SignUp.com: http://signup.com/go/m6N3aZ
2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.com.
Note: SignUp.com does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.

Also,  PTA is running a program called Volunteer of the Month! Every month your name could be drawn to win fantastically fun gift cards for Game Stop, Target, Toys R Us and more!  Simply put your name in the jar when you check in to volunteer at the front office. Each month they'll draw winner.  This is our way to say thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers.

Hope you are enjoying this beautiful fall day with your children. I look forward to seeing them tomorrow.

Kristen

Remind App

Hi Everyone,

I'm checking in on a Sunday to let you know that I am going to start using a new communication tool called "Remind".  Some of you are already familiar with this tool.  Mr. Thiessen uses it to communicate with the staff and I find it to be super convenient.  It just occurred to me I can use it as a teacher too!  :)

Remind is a messaging service which allows me to send you a short, quick group text message any time of the day.  It works with iOS and Android platforms, and it works on multiple devices (phones, computers, tablets).  I plan to use it for messages such as "Don't forget tomorrow is PJ day!" or "Box Tops and Labels for Education are due tomorrow"...quick and easy things where a text is faster for me to send and faster for you to read!  You can download the Remind app for free...search "Remind" in the app store; the icon is a blue background with a white cloud that looks like a speech bubble or a thought bubble. 

When you sign up for my Remind class, you are added to my contact group.  I am the only person who sees your information; members of the group cannot see each other's names, phone numbers, etc. If I send a message to which you reply, I am the only person who sees your response.  When you sign up for my Remind, you can choose whether to receive the messages as a text or as an email. Personally, I receive messages as texts and recommend this delivery method.  When your child leaves my class at the end of the school year, you can remove yourself from my Remind class.

To join my Remind class, please click this link.  You'll need to provide your name and phone number:

https://www.remind.com/join/623866?utm_medium=ios  then type in @krivera1st
You can also join my Remind class by texting @krivera1st to 81010. That will let you receive my messages as a text.
Open the app and Type in @krivera1st to join my class

 Please let your child know when you've joined.  I'll give 5 Puma Paws to any kiddo with a parent who joins my Remind.

While I've been using Remind for quite a while as a staff member, it's new for me as a teacher.  I apologize in advance for any hiccups as I get this going, and I thank you for your patience with me!

Please let me know if you have any questions.  I hope you're enjoying the long weekend!  Tell the kids hello for me!

Kristen

Party

Thank you to everyone who sent in  their $20 donation for our classroom parties this year. I have sent all the money to Mr. and Mrs. Norman who are heading up the parties. Our first party will be on October 31st. They will be sending more details out soon. If you haven't sent in your money it is not too late. Please send it in with your child and put Mrs. Normans name on the envelope. Payments can also be submitted via PayPal to heather.norman@hotmail.com. For accounting purposes, it will be helpful to include your child’s name in the memo line.

Thank you everyone! This is a team effort. We wouldn't be able to have these parties if it wasn't for the donations from all of you and help of the Normans planning them for me. I am lucky to have such a great support group this year!

3 weeks to party time!!!!

Weekly Update

Hi Everyone,

Before we start our long weekend, I'm passing along your weekly update.  Today, I'm going to prove to you that I can write a short weekly update!  :)

Decoding Strategies Series:
This week, we studied the decoding strategies good readers use when they come to tricky words.  I published a short post each day highlighting the strategy learned that day.  If you missed them, please scroll down to see these posts.
Important Information About Written Homework:
Your child completed his/her first written homework sheet this week.  Our written homework will always be the same:  in addition to nightly reading, your child will spend one night practicing writing each of our words of the week 3 times.  He/she will then use each word in a sentence.  There are 5 words of the week.  Please note:  our 5 words of the week are in your child's agenda.  He/she writes those 5 words in the upper right corner of the agenda each Monday.  Those are the words your child should practice writing for written homework.

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will examine the differences between fiction and non-fiction texts, and explore ways to determine whether a text is a fiction or non-fiction selection.
• Writing:   We will finish learning the routines and procedures of Writer's Workshop as we explore the idea that "writing is just telling on paper".  We will begin to wind down this first writing unit. 
• Math:  We will begin our patterns and sorting unit.  In this unit, we will talk about ways to sort objects (using attributes like color, size, shape, and thickness).  We will talk about how to extend and grow patterns, how to isolate a pattern unit, and how to label patterns.  We will predict what comes next in repeating patterns, growing patterns, and number patterns.  We will solve word problems with patterns.  This unit will last approximately 2 weeks.  You can help by helping your child identify patterns in the just be as excited as a 6-year old, and that may just be why I always say 1st graders are "my people"!!!

Have a great weekend!
Kristen















       

Strategy of the Day: Skip the Tricky Word and Read On, Then Come Back

Hi Parents!

It's the last installment of the Decoding Strategy of the Day series.  

Decoding Strategy of the Day:  Skip the Tricky Word and Read On, Then Come Back
This strategy is similar to using context clues to figure out the definition of an unknown word.  It will help your child figure out a tricky word by using words around it.  If your child is reading and comes to an unknown word, you can prompt your child by saying, "Skip the word and read on."  Have your child read to the end of the sentence.  By reading to the end of the sentence, your child will hear the other words in the sentence, and may get a context for the unknown word.

The strategy in action:
In this example, pretend your child is trying to read the sentence, "Billy found his lost dog."  Your child comes to the word "found", but can't decode it.  Prompt him/her by saying, "Skip the tricky word and read on."  After "found", your child will read "his lost dog."  Now your child knows the dog was "lost".  Go back to the tricky word.  Tell your child to look at the first letter and get his/her mouth ready.  Tell your child to go back to the beginning of the sentence.  Now, he/she knows 2 things to help decode the tricky word, namely, that the dog was lost, and that the unknown word starts with "f".  These 2 clues will very likely help your child read "found" independently!

Thank you for reading my posts this week.  If you have any questions about any strategies I've described, please contact me!   Kristen

Strategy of the Day: Look at the Last Letter

 

Hi Everyone!

We're closing in on the end of the Decoding Strategy of the Day series.  I hope you are learning some valuable information to help your child during his/her at-home reading!

Decoding Strategy of the Day:  Look at the Last Letter!
Looking at the last letter can seem counterintuitive to decoding an unknown word...how can looking at the very last letter in the word help your child read the word?  If he/she can't read any of the parts that come before the last letter, what good will it do to look at the end of the word?  Well......

Do you remember when I started this series on Monday?  I wrote that all good reader strategies are predicated on the idea that good readers constantly monitor what they're reading.  They ask themselves, "Does it look right?", "Does it sound right?", "Does it make sense?".  This strategy -- look at the last letter -- is a prime example of a "monitoring strategy".  Simply put, it's a strategy you can use when your child reads something incorrectly but doesn't seem to notice he/she is wrong.

The strategy in action:
Follow along while your child reads out loud.  When your child incorrectly reads a word with an ending, stop him/her.  Prompt your child by saying, "Look at the last letter.  Does that look right?"  For example, pretend the sentence reads, "Billy looked for his cat."  Your child reads, "Billy looks for his cat."  It doesn't matter which sentence your child reads...the words make sense to his/her ears whether he/she says "looked" or "looks".  However, when you stop your child and say, "Look at the last letter.  Does that look right?", you will prompt your child to monitor his/her reading.  Your child should recognize that he/she said "looks" (which ends in "s"), even though the word is "looked" (which ends in "ed").  The 2 endings have completely different sounds!  When your child thinks about making an "s" sound for a word that ends with a "d" sound, he/she should recognize, "No!  That doesn't look right," therefore, "No! That doesn't make sense!".  Your child should look at the last letter, go back, and reread the sentence with the tricky word.

I'll close this series tomorrow with the last strategy:  Skip the tricky word and read on, then come back.

Thank you!

Strategy of the Day: Look at the First Letter and Get Your Mouth Ready

Hi Everyone!

Decoding Strategy of the Day:  Look at the First Letter and Get Your Mouth Ready!
Sometimes, when a new reader is decoding a tricky word, a simple but effective strategy is to prompt him/her by saying, "Look at the first letter and get your mouth ready!"  The first letter of the word is (obviously) a powerful clue in decoding the unknown word.  When a child gets his/her mouth ready to say the first sound, it often leads to him/her saying the entire word.  It's sort of like being "on a roll".  

The strategy in action:
When your child comes to an unknown word, you can prompt him/her by saying, "Look at the first letter and get your mouth ready."  Review the first sound in the word to be sure your child knows it.  Is it one letter?  Review the letter's sound.  Is it a chunk?  Prompt your child by saying, "Look at the beginning of the word.  Look for chunks you know."  Encourage your child to reread the sentence that contains the tricky word so when the word comes, he/she will be ready with the first sound. Rereading the sentence will also give your child a context for the unknown word, which often leads to correctly decoding the word.  Combine this with the "Check the Picture" strategy to further increase your child's chance for success!

Decoding strategies can be used in isolation, or can be combined with other strategies.  Remember -- strategies increase your child's chance for reading independence!

Strategy of the Day: Look for Chunks You Know

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to Tuesday's edition of the Strategy of the Day!

Decoding Strategy of the Day:  Look for Chunks You Know!
We use the term "chunks" in school a lot!  Chunks are 2 or 3 letters that blend together to make a sound.  Chunks can be made entirely of consonants (some examples: "br", "ch", "sh", "fl"); entirely of vowels (some examples: "oo", "ea", "ou"); or a combination of the two (some examples:  "ed", "ing", "ack").  Many chunks are also small words hiding in big words (some examples:  "in", "an", "at", "and").   At school, we "chant the chunk charts" each day.  We practice saying the letters in the various chunks, along with the chunk's sound, over and over and over and over and over.....and over again!  The kids become very familiar with these chunks over the course of the year. 

The strategy in action:
When your child is reading a book and comes to a tricky word, you can prompt him/her by asking, "Do you see any chunks?" or by saying, "Look for chunks you know."  If YOU see the chunk before your child does, wait to see if he/she notices it. If your child needs help to locate the chunk, you can use your fingers to frame it, or you can cover up the rest of the word to isolate the chunk. (Chunks can be found at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of words.)  If you notice the chunk is a little word inside a bigger word, you can say, "I see a small word hiding in this big word."  

Learning to read can be challenging!  Remember to praise your child's effort.  Slow and steady wins the race.

See you tomorrow for another Strategy of the Day!

Strategy of the Day- Check the Picture!

Hi Parents!

Welcome to a little mini-series I'm calling "Strategy of the Day."  This first post will be a bit longer than the others since I'd like to give you a bit of background information today.  

This week, our class is studying the various strategies good readers use to decode (or read) "tricky" words.  We call these "decoding strategies".  Each day, I'm going to highlight the decoding strategy learned that day so you can use it at home to help your child when he/she encounters a tricky word.  I know it's hard to resist, but please do not simply tell your child the word he/she is trying to decode.  This only creates dependence on you!  Instead, it's important for new readers to have decoding strategies to problem solve difficult words.  When you know the strategies your child has learned, you can encourage his/her use of these strategies, instead of simply telling him/her the word.  

A couple of other things to note:

1.  Employing decoding strategies doesn't make new readers dependent on the strategies, nor does it stifle their reading growth!  Rather, employing decoding strategies encourages independence, promotes reading growth, and increases young readers' confidence.   As their reading ability grows, they naturally dispense with the strategies they no longer need.  Just think....when was the last time you used a calculator to solve 2 + 2?  You can't remember!  Why?  Since you don't need the "calculator strategy" to get the answer, you simply don't use it!  Reading is the same way....once new readers no longer need the strategy, they stop using it.

2.  All decoding strategies begin with the idea that good readers continuously monitor their own reading.  They listen to what they're reading.  If something doesn't look or sound "right", or if something doesn't make sense to their own "good reader" ears, they stop, go back, and try again.  "Trying again" often means using a decoding strategy.

With that, let's get started.

Decoding Strategy of the Day:  Check the Picture!

Pictures do more than simply decorate the pages of the book!  When your child comes to a tricky word, encourage him/her to check the picture for information to help decode the word.  It's that simple!

The strategy in action:
Pretend the book your child is reading shows the characters drinking milk and eating cookies.  The accompanying text says, "Billy ate the cookie!"  Your child comes to the word "cookie" and can't decode it.  Prompt your child by saying "check the picture".  Since your child just read "Billy ate all the", he/she will be prompted to look at the picture of Billy to see what's in Billy's hand.  He/she will see that Billy is eating a cookie.  Your child will (ideally) finish the sentence by correctly saying the word "cookie".  You can even ask your child, "Does that make sense?"  (Remember: good readers are always monitoring their own reading to ensure what they're reading makes sense!)  Don't forget to praise your child for decoding the tricky word!  

Please let me know if you have any questions about this strategy, or any of the information you read in this series.  I truly welcome your feedback.

Please check back tomorrow for the next Strategy of the Day.

Meet Our Room Parents!!

Meet Mrs. Rivera’s Class Room Parents:

Brett & Heather Norman

 

(Jacob Norman’s Parents)

 

Dear Fellow Classroom Parents,

We are excited to be classroom parents for Mrs. Rivera; she’s a pretty fantastic teacher who is clearly invested in the growth and development of our children!  We all got lucky to be in such a wonderful classroom.

Please allow us to introduce ourselves.

We are Brett and Heather Norman, the proud parents to 3 awesome children; Lindsay (19), Katie (14) and Jacob (6).  

As our children grow older, we realize that there is a very narrow window of opportunity when your children want you to be active and present at school functions and when they just wave to you in the football stands from a distance - only acknowledging you when they need money or a ride home. We stepped up into the role as class parents in order to spend a little more time with our son.

Brett is a Pre-Sales Engineer at Oracle and his interests include hiking, camping and kayaking. His lovely wife volunteered him for his role as classroom dad and he couldn’t be more excited about that. That’s me…. I’m Heather, the lovely wife, and when I’m not bossing around my husband, I’m the Chief Nursing Officer at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Northern Virginia in Aldie and share the same outdoor interests as my husband in addition to crafting and reading in my spare time.

We look forward to getting to know you and your children over this school year.

October 31^st is the classroom Fall Party – that’s our first project to tackle together and right around the corner. I’ve begun pinning fun activities for our children on Pinterest and starting to get organized with everything. I wanted to reach out for a little help from you and ask that you please save the date on your calendar if you have some free time to volunteer in the classroom during the party. More details to follow….

I’m a nurse and I’m not professionally good at asking for help or fundraising, I actually really dislike asking people for things ……  so, please accept this as my humble attempt.

 

In addition to your time, I would like to ask you to consider making a donation to the classroom funds if your family budget will allow for that. Our balance is currently $0 .

The classroom will have 3 parties this year and will purchase a gift for Mrs. Rivera during Teacher Appreciate Week. The scale of each party and classroom gift will be dependent upon the classroom budget. ( I will be sharing the accounting balance monthly with Mrs. Rivera and would be happy to have full disclosure of the finances with all parents as well.)

We have 21 children in the classroom and if each family is able to donate $20.00, that would give us $420 to spend through out the year.

 

Proposed Spending:

Party 1 =  $123    ( aprox $ 5.85 per child)

Party 2 = $123     ( aprox $ 5.85 per child)

Party 3 =  $123     ( aprox $ 5.85 per child)

Teacher Gift = $50

 

If you’re able to make a contribution to our classroom account, please send a check to school with your child made out to Heather Norman. For accounting purposes, it will be helpful to include your child’s name in the memo line. Payments can also be submitted via PayPal to heather.norman@hotmail.com  - If you prefer to contribute with your time or in other ways that’s great too! Keep your eyes out for a sign up list for things that would help make the parties a great success and tons of fun for our children.

We greatly appreciate your generosity and support.

 

Respectfully,

Brett & Heather Norman

 

Weekly Update

Hi Parents!

Hooray for cooler weather!  Hooray for rain!  Hooray for hot chocolate, which pairs perfectly with cooler weather and rain!  

I finished administering the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) to the kids this week.  Can I just say?  WOW!  Based on where these amazing readers are starting, the sky is the limit by June!  With ALL beginning-of-the-year testing finished, I can finally say......Let's get this 1st grade party started!  :)  

Here's your weekly update...

I'm Writing a Blog Mini Series Next Week!
Next week, we'll study the various decoding strategies good readers use when they come to "tricky" words.  I will write a short post each day, in which I explain the strategy highlighted in school that day.  My goal is for you to have useful tools when helping your child read tricky words at home.  If you and I are employing the same language and the same "helping strategies", your kiddo's reading will just take off! Here's a preview of the strategy I'll highlight each day:

• Monday:  Think about the story.  Check the picture!
• Tuesday:  Look for chunks you know!
• Wednesday:  Look at the first letter.  Get your mouth ready!
• Thursday:  Look at the last letter.  Does it make sense?
• Friday:  Skip the tricky word, read on, and come back!

I'm excited about this!  Our entire Pinebrook team is always looking for ways to connect our instruction at school with what you're doing at home.  I look forward to your feedback about this "mini series"!  :)

Homework Begins Next Week:
On Monday, your child will receive his/her first written homework packet.  Actually, it's just one sheet of paper, but for some reason, I'm in the habit of calling it a "packet" and don't see myself changing!  What can I say?  I.  Am.  Getting. Old.  (womp, womp)  Anyhow, in an effort to make homework both meaningful and manageable, our 1st grade homework will be the same every week.  Students will be required to read (as usual) each night.  Students will be required to practice writing our weekly sight words one night.  This means the only change to your child's existing homework routine is the addition of written homework (the sight word practice) one night each week.  You choose the night that works best for your family's schedule! Homework packets will go home on Monday and are due back on Friday.  There's a much more detailed explanation about homework on the homework packet itself. Please read through it Monday and let me know if you have any questions.  For those of you looking for a little something "more", please refer to the "online resources" page of this blog for some extra practice and enrichment ideas.  *Please note that your child will write our weekly sight words in his/her agenda each Monday.  I will also post the sight words on my blog -- look to the right under my picture.

Scholastic Book Fair:The Scholastic Book Fair will be held at school this week.  Students previewed the Book Fair on Friday.  Students who bring money may shop at the Book Fair next week during recess.  If your child plans to bring money for the Book Fair, please send the money in a sealed envelope marked with your child's name, my name, and "Book Fair" on the outside of the envelope.  If you would like to attend the Book Fair to shop with your child, our Family Shopping Night will be Tuesday from 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm.  *Please note:  Book Fair purchases are optional.

First Grade Math Night:

First Grade Family Math Night is next Wednesday, October 5th from 6-7 pm in the Pinebrook cafeteria.  Come to play some fun math games, and leave with instructions for how to play at home.  Siblings welcome! My family will be there, and I look forward to seeing you!

 

Shoe Tying!
Please help keep your child, our classroom, and our school safe by helping your child practice tying his/her shoes.  5 Puma Paws to any student who can demonstrate the ability to independently tie his/her shoes!  (Students may demonstrate during recess!)

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will begin to learn the many decoding strategies good readers use when they encounter tricky words.
• Writing:  We will continue learning the routines and procedures of Writer's Workshop as we explore the idea that "writing is just telling on paper".
• Math:  We will finish our first math unit about number sense, counting, and comparing and ordering numbers.
• Science:  We will talk about the relationship between the Earth, Sun, and Moon. 
• Social Studies:  We will talk about Fire Safety.

 Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.