Happy Monday! This is it until 2013. I wish everyone a wonderful and restful vacation. What a huge success the gift drive was this year. I would like to thank Patty Ann for all her hard work handling our classroom donations. Please check out ebytes to see all of the photos taken at the gift drive. We had a wonderful discussion in our class meeting about it, Why Give? It was important for the students to talk about why we do this.
We will be publishing this week in Writers Workshop. I thought it would be best to have their stories available for others to read on Thursday morning. I am hoping many of you can come to our pajama breakfast and Writer's Workshop Celebration. I sent home the letter today.

In Readers Workshop, we are finishing up our Spotlight author study with Amelia Bedelia. The students have enjoyed all of the different adventures she has taken. The students enjoyed working on the IPads this week for our word work. The app we used was Vocabulary Spelling City. We have now covered a, i, o as longvowels with a silent e. Please continue helping your child with the spelling rules. Come is not a long o word even though it ends with an e. I have shown them the exceptions to the silent e long vowel rule. This is the word and how it is pronounced, even though it follows a different spelling rule (one). There are so many exceptions, it is hard to keep all of the spelling rules straight. There are no new Word Families this week just review the a, i, o long vowel silent e rule. There are no new word card words either.Your child is responsible for reading and spelling all of the words on their ring.
I have some Homework Calendar issues. The students are returning their homework with sloppy or incorrect letter strokes. Please check their neatness and if need be, have them redo their work. I am sending home their Handwriting Without Tears workbook. Please refer to that for correct formation.
In science we worked on the stars and constellations this week. I am collecting paper towel or toilet paper tubes to make night sky and constellation view finders. We looked at the meteor shower on the computer because I doubt anyone including me would be watching it from midnight until 3a.m.

Have a great rest of 2012. See you in 2013! Look even Slim is in the Santa Spirit!

Happy Tuesday, now! Sorry, I forgot to post yesterday.Boy, how time is flying by. I can't believe it is almost winter break.

There are a few things I want you to review and work on at home. I also want to introduce you to our new pet hedgehog, Slim. Slim is a whole lot of fun for the students to look at and hold. I have them wearing garden gloves, because his spikes are a little startling.
We are focusing on Realistic Fiction in reading and writing workshop until winter break. We are reading stories that have a made up character in a real setting with real problems and solutions. This genre is tricky because based on anyone's interpretation, most stories could fit into this category. In writing, we are isolating one aspect of the story as fiction. For example this week we only wrote with fictitious characters in our stories but with real problems and solutions.

I am sending home the Unit 4 Checking Progress in Math. I am also sending home the unit 5 Family Letter. The students had a hard time completing the Frames and Arrows portion. Please practice counting backwards by 2's, 5's and 10's. Please also continue working on learning their math facts quickly, so they are not having to count on their fingers. They practiced making number combinations with double dice. Dice are great tools to get numbers from, for basic facts. Then they can always count the dots if they need to. As you can see, this skill is used when completing various activities. The Pringles cans are working beautifully in making a place for our Math Scrolls. The students are busy adding to their scrolls and making them as long as they can. They will not get to bring their scrolls home until the end of the school year. This week we will be studying the sun and stars. Our pajama party will be on Thursday December 20th at 8:15 a.m.. Please plan on joining us only if you wear your pajamas as well.

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I hope you had time to preview Trimester One Report Cards. I will see everyone in February for our second trimester conferences. I am available to answer any questions you may have.
In Reading and Writing Workshop we have begun a Realistic Fiction Unit. This week we have identified which books constitute being realistic fiction or not.  Realistic has been identified as what could really happen. We then extended our conversations into identifying the problems and solutions for our character. We used a chart to help us sort out the components of the books, which we will then use as a structure to help us with writing. The areas talked about were title, setting, characters, problem and solution. Please try to incorporate the same conversations at home with your child when they are reading.
In Math, we have begun learning the quarter hour. Remember telling time by the five minute increment is exactly the same as counting nickels. I try to incorporate as much repetitive experiences to such difficult  concepts. We have been counting by fives for a while. I just put the same skill onto the clock. We are presently learning how to tell time to the quarter hour. Please help your child recognize quarter hour on an analog clock only. They can also review half hour as well. Enjoy the pictures of the students sharing their SPCA information at Town Meeting.

In our Solar System study we learned all about the moon. Ask your child about the moon. The full moon was this past week. It was the beaver moon. It was named after the beavers actively preparing for winter. Please watch our Human Body voice thread project we completed.

We had a great time at the SPCA. They were so appreciative of all of the donations they received. All of things were in giant tubs, behind where the kids were sitting.
My students will be leading the town meeting on MONDAY, NOV. 26TH AT 8:00 A.M. Please join us if you can. Come and hear all that they learned about the animals at the SPCA. This is the only time all year, that they will be doing this.
I sent home a copy of the Gulf Coast newspaper that has the article in it, from when ChikFilA came to our class. Enjoy!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Monday! We again will have a busy week before our Thanksgiving break next week.
We will be going to the SPCA on Wednesday. If you would like to meet us, we will be there at 11:00. We will be eating lunch there. I sent home lunch forms. If you want Sage to pack your child a lunch you needed to indicate so on the lunch form, otherwise you need to send a packed lunch to school.
Our Thanksgiving party will be on Thursday, November 15th at 2:00. Please come if you can.
I think Poetry in the Park was a big hit. I received so many compliments regarding their costumes and their ability to speak loudly and clearly. Thank-you parents, you outdid yourselves!

We will be spending this week working on our human body projects and some pilgrim, native american, and Thanksgiving things. I began a realistic fiction unit in Writers Workshop. Taking information that is true and blending it with a made up story, is how we began. In Readers Workshop our focus is all comprehension.I will be sending home the Math Unit 3 Checking Progress. Please review the necessary skills with your child.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. Help your child remember things they did for our Writing ideas.

Happy Monday! I will see the students on Tuesday. I am at my daughters college doing the Mommy thing and taking her to her pre-op Dr.'s appt. for her tonsils being taken out on the 21st. I'd rather be at school. We have a busy week of assessments. I am retesting quite a few skills, to get updated information before I begin working on Trimester One  report cards. You will be able to preview them by the end of the month.
Book Fair is this week up in the Student Activity Center. Our time to buy is at 1:00 each day. You may come and shop with your child or Mrs. Rauman will be with them to help.
I am assessing the students this week so we will not be beginning any new skills except for spelling. They all received a new November/December note that shows you what skills we are working on in reading.
I can't wait for Poetry in the Park to see which Dr. Seuss character they are dressed up like. They have been writing Poetry. Come and see their scarecrows and poems, acrostic name poems, and shape poems in their journals. We have been busy.
Don't forget about our service project with the SPCA. Please send your donations to school. We will be bringing what we collected to the SPCA within the next couple of weeks.

Halloween was a blast! Enjoy the pictures.

Hi everyone! I'd love to tell you we had a great week but it just hasn't been. Thank-you for all of your understanding and caring thoughts for the Weinman family. I look forward to seeing all of them on Monday. I sent the new words and Homework Calendar home today to try maintain consistency for next week's work.

In Writing Workshop, we continued our work with writing poetry. Some of the areas we focused on were adjectives, powerful thoughts in small poems, shape poems, and reciting poems with a sing-songy voice. We read all sorts of poems. Our favorite writing was definitely the ghost and pumpkin shape poems.
In Reading Workshop, our focus was fluency. We practiced all of our reading by slowing down and thinking about what we are reading, before we read it aloud. Please return your reading bags to school on Tuesday. They will not go home on Wednesday this week but on Thursday Nov. 1st instead. Please check your new November letter for focus skills in reading. Don't forget to log your minutes with Scholastic whether you are on Team Dog or Team Cat.
In Math we introduced the dime. It is getting tricky counting by 1's, 5's, and 10's. Always start with the 10's, then go to 5's and finish with the 1's. Please practice coin combos with the three coins.
In science we discussed muscles, digestion and blood circulation. We learned why each type of cell is important, and what it provides to the body. Red blood cells carry oxygen, white blood cells fight germs, plasma carries food, and platelets help stop bleeding.
I will see everyone on Wednesday for our Fall Festival. Have a happy weekend!

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Wow, was our Friday fun, going to the Homecoming Pep Rally in the High School. We screamed and had a blast!
 We are reading Pattern Books and echoing the patterns. We are trying to be as fluent as we can when reading aloud. Keep adding minutes to your team dog/cat in Scholastic. We are beginning our Poetry Unit as well. We will be reading and writing poetry. Thank-you for sending in a descriptive object for us to use. Describing words and our five senses gives us a starting point for poetry writing. I will be sending home another copy of our Dr. Seuss poem, that the students can read themselves. Please help them practice reading it with expression.
 In math, we began the Frames and Arrows strategy to help us solve number sentences. Counting and reviewing patterns on the number grid, will help us solve what number goes into the frames.

In science, Mrs. Peck dissected a cows eye. We learned all about the lens, pupil, optic nerve, eye lids, and eyelashes. Dr. Aboud and Dr. Nguyen came in with fabulous heart tools and even let us do an ekg for us to see our hearts on the screen. have a wonderful week. We will!

We love Rusty from SPCA. What a wonderful start to our first grade service project. Please send in any of the items needed for the SPCA. There are boxes in our hallway and the other grade levels as well.
  Donate a Dog or Cat Bed

For Our Tummies:	Hill's / Science Diet dry or canned cat & dog food Dog biscuits Cat treats
To keep us clean:	Brooms Dusters & dust pans Large garbage bags Mops Laundry detergent Hand soap & sanitizer Paper towels Cat litter (plain gravel/non-scoop) Commercial washer
To Make Us Feel Safe:	Small animal bedding Blankets Towels Sheets Pillow Cases Crates Feliway refills & plugs
For Play:	For Dogs: Kongs and tennis balls For Cats: Ping Pong Balls, empty paper towel rolls, catnip mice, and tennis balls
To Heal us:	A gently used van for 24/7 emergency care transportation Latex gloves Medical drapes Syringes Wound material

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice long weekend. We had a very busy week even though it was only four days for the students.
Well first and most wonderful was that our compliment chain hit the ground, and we had our first party. The students voted on cupcakes and they were yummy!
In addition to that celebration, we also celebrated the conclusion of our Writing Workshop unit on Small Moments. Please come and read our pieces that we published. We are learning how to really appreciate our classmates work. We fancied up our stories and highlighted the parts we liked with post it notes.
We also began a service project with reading. Scholastic invited us to take part in a Paws for reading program in which Scholastic will donate books. I sent home the user names and password for each child today. The students seem really excited about this opportunity and Sharon Hauser from SPCA brought Rusty to kick off our first grade service project this year for their organization.
In math, we have learned about odd and even numbers. Every number we read about or things we counted, we connected it to either an odd or even number. Please help your child with this at home. It is especially challenging with two and three digit numbers. I would like to thank Mrs. Levitz for being our first game parent. What a delight it was for Johnathon to have mom help us with counting coins.
The picture Lady program began this week. A big thank-you to Patty Ann Hamblen for teaching us about Raoul Dufy. Blue was his favorite color and he loved painting the water. Like us, he learned alot about painting from his friends.

Once again Mrs. Peck came with another organ. This time a heart! It was big and it was a cow's. Ask your child about it. Now it is in our class, to take a closer look. Well this week is just as busy! Have a good one. We will!