LAST WEEK OF SPELLING

List #1 -  shout, head, should, perhaps, kite, away, fly, sky, try


List #2 - chickens, backyard, squire, harvest, coop, parson

OUR LAST FULL WEEK OF SCHOOL!!

Miss Feller and I have mixed emotions about next week being our last full week together with your child.  I, personally, am not ready at all to see the year end and this will be our last newsletter posting for the year.  This is also our last week of homework.  Please continue to do raz-kids all summer and even review the spellingcity words that we have done all year.  The kids really do enjoy these websites!


raz-kids.com   
username: careyj  password:  wanax924


spellingcity.com  
username:  scarey1  password:  mollyd

Have a Safe and Fun Memorial Day

Miss Feller and I are looking forward to seeing every single child next week.  We love our teaching time with your child and although break will be for four days, we want to encourage you to read with your child.  If you have access to the internet, you can get on spellingcity.com AND raz-kids from your computer.  Next week's spelling words are posted already.
Have fun!


spellingcity.com - username: scarey1      password:  mollyd
raz-kids.com - username:  careyj

COINS!!

We still have a lot of students who still need to recognize coins.  In order to be ready for second grade, each student will need to recognize the coin name, the value and be able to add coin values together.  Begin with simple combinations and get more complex when going to the store in order to reinforce what we are working on here at school.  One thing that would be great to do over the weekend is to give your child $5.00 ( or even a $1.00) and let your child figure out how many things can be purchased with the amount.  The more advanced your child is, the more difficult combinations you can do with your child.  Include the fifty cent piece with your study at home.


We are counting by 5's, 10's and 25's.  We add pennies to different amounts as well as nickels and dimes to different numbers.  It's often hard for first graders to add one to 35 or even 49.  Have fun!

Spelling/ Homework Resumes This Week!!

List #1 - food, school, book, look, saw, great, before


List #2 - Earth, bird, school, interesting, lawn, draw, across


Homework will be due on Thursday of this week and our spelling test will be on Thursday as well.  Friday is our field trip so we will be gone all day.

Field Trip On Friday!!

Our big field trip will be on this Friday, June 1st.  It is vital that the permission slips come to school by Wednesday of next week or your child cannot come. I hope that everyone will be able to attend and we only have a few children that still need to bring his/her permission slip.  


We're very excited and I am delighted to have your child see "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" in a live performance. Please have your child wear nice but comfortable clothes to the performance in order to give the kids a chance to be a part of a nice theater experience.

THINKING AHEAD

We are approaching our big field trip to Portland a week from this Friday on June 1 to Portland to the play, "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie".  Remember we won't be having school on the Monday of next week due to Memorial Day so we have school on Friday scheduled. 

I have all of the parents signed up for the big day but if you would still like to attend, please call me and I will give you the address to send off for tickets.  It will be a very big day!

Science Continues

This week we will continue our study of plants dispite the short week with Miss Feller.

SPELLING RESUMES THIS WEEK!!

List #1 -  began, before, told, puppy, bunny, heard, play, spray

List #2 - clouds, down, laugh, every, goes, food, broom, paw

OUR TEST WILL BE ON THURSDAY MORNING!!

Swimming Continues!

This week we will continue our survival swim class at the Dallas Aquatic Center.  I have seen a lot of impovement with the children and the kids have been exhausted!!  Thank you for keeping sleep a priority.  On Thursday, the snack bar will be open for purchasing items at the Aquatic Center so you may send money with your child if you wish.  What a great opportunity this has been for the students here at Perrydale.  These kids are much more confident in the water and have gained some skills necessary for water safety!
Perrydale is a great place to learn!!

NO HOMEWORK THIS WEEK

Since the kids will have the added physical activity with swimming this week, we will not be having homework. Next week we may resume spelling but we still won't be having homework during the swimming instruction time.

Oregon Children's Theatre

On Friday, June 1 we are still planning to attend "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie". I now have all of the parents signed up that we have space for so if you would still like to attend, you may call and obtain tickets from the box office 503-228-9571.

Honk

Our field trip to Central High School was a lot of fun!! We made it back for lunch and the sunshine just topped the day off beautifully!!

Swimming Next Week

Your child received a note reminding them to bring an extra set of underwear and socks so that they can use them in the unlikely event of those articles getting lost.  Please also remember to bring a towel. Thank you and here's to water-safe kids!!  HURRAY!

HONK!

Tuesday we will travel to Independence to see the production of "Honk".  This is based on the tale, The Ugly Duckling and we will be returning by lunch time.  Please return the permission slip by Tuesday so your child can attend this fun event.

Strengthing Families

From: Gonzales, Angela <gonzales.angela@co.polk.or.us>
Date: Thu, May 3, 2012 at 11:24 AM

Hello SIT partners! We have a great opportunity for Polk County families to participate in the Strengthening Families Program; a curriculum specifically for families and youth. The class has 3 families currently registered, but we are in need of at least 3 more by tomorrow (Friday, 5/4). Below is a short paragraph that explains the program in more detail. This evidence-based curriculum is highly effective and will be facilitated by three trained parent educators: Betty Sledge (Polk County Child Mental Health - School Based Therapist), Nicole Walker Sundby (Community Drug & Alcohol Prevention Coordinator) and Barbara Spencer (Community member trained in the SFP curriculum). Families traveling from other areas of Polk County (i.e. Central or Dallas) will have the option of receiving one $5 gas card for each session they attend in an attempt to reduce transportation barriers.

The best form of recruitment is making a personal contact with families who you have already established a trust relationship with. Feel free to use the wording below as you talk with them. Also attached is a flyer.

Strengthening Families Program comes to Falls City: 
Are you wanting to improve communication with your child?  Wondering how parents and youth can express their feelings and concerns to one another?  Every family struggles from time to time with these issues, and so we invite you to participate in the Strengthening Families Program (SFP).  Strengthening Families is a seven-week family skills training program (for parents AND youth 10 - 14 years old) that is proven to reduce problem behaviors and improve overall family dynamics. Families will eat a meal together (provided at no cost), participate in break-out sessions (parents together and youth together), and for the last hour work on skills as a family unit. SFP will be held at Falls City Elementary School for seven consecutive Mondays beginning May 7th from 5:30-8 pm. There is no charge for families with Oregon Health Plan insurance. Dinner and child care (for children ages 1-9) are available. Register online at www.preppc.org or contact Angela Gonzales at (503) 623-9664 for more information.

Science with Miss Feller

We will continue to study plants next week and move on to how important plants play a role in our environment.  The kids have been able to experience how plants draw up water and produce their own food through big words like "photosynthesis".  Our planting project has also been very exciting and we are documenting observations in science journals.  It's so great to be able to incorporate so many aspects of learning through one content area!  The connections to other subject areas are endless!  

Math - Multiplication

We have been talking and working on multiplication as "repeated addition" in Singapore Math.  The kids are really getting used to the idea and are doing well with it.  This foundation will be great in helping them piece together more complicated mathematical equations in future grades.

Spelling May 7 - 10

List #1 - rain, tail, kind, day, great, house, feet, leaf, be


List #2 - hard, star, head, instead, mother, father, invisible

SPELLING - April 30 - May 4

spellingcity.com - username:  scarey1  password:  mollyd


List #1 - say, says, we'll, I'm, you've, use, five, old


List #2 - animal, again, about, never, between, Saturday, school

Science Study - Plants

We are continuing our study of plants here in class.  Miss Feller is having the kids do some great projects that we will connect to other learning such as math, reading and writing.  Science is such a great avenue to have learning make sense to each child.  I am very happy to have Miss Feller participate and teach with our class.

SWID - LAST WEDNESDAY

I was so impressed with the thought and attitude our class took while participating in the School-Wide Improvement Day.  What a wonderful place to work!  The kids feel as though they are an important link to the school's attitude and improvement issues - AND THEY ARE!!!  Perrydale is a wonderful place to work and your child makes life here a beautiful experience!

School-Wide Improvement Day - Wednesday

This coming Wednesday, Perrydale will be conducting a School-Wide Improvement Day where the kids get to be involved in creating ideas to make Perrydale an even better place.  I'm not sure how that is at all possible but I am anxious to see how the whole thing works.  Please ask your child how things go and what takes place after Wednesday.  On that day we will also watch the dress rehearsal of the play, Beauty And The Beast.  It will be quite a big day!

Upcoming Events

We have some exciting events that are coming up for you to mark on your calendars.


1.  Please bring the permission slips back for the swimming lessons that will take place beginning May 14 - 24 during the afternoons.


2.  We will be traveling to Central High School to see the production of "Honk" on May 8.  I only have a few spots available so if you would like to go, please let me know.


3.  Looking down the road, we will be travelling to Portland to see the Oregon Children's Theater production of, "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie".  This will take place on Friday, June 1 when we would normally have Friday school due to Memorial Day on the previous Monday.  I have only have 5 spots available for parents to join us on that day and it will be a special memory for your child.  

Spelling Words April 23-27

spellingcity.com  login: scarey1  passwords:  mollyd


List #1 - go, goes, do, does, went, did, sees, saw


List #2 - nice, slice, funny, newest, fewest, wasn't, aren't, don't

5-2-1-0

I'm so impressed with the families that have boarded the health ship through 5-2-1-0!  The students understand the concept and are trying fruits and vegetables more and paying attention to their screen time use and exercise.  Oh what happy kids we have.  Health is so important and I certainly know that if I'm paying attention to what I eat and how much I move, then I feel great!  Thank you for helping your child be healthy from the inside out!

Plant Study

Miss Feller will be working with the kids on many projects about plants.  She has many lessons planned and will begin to teach more and more as the days go by.  She is very excited and I can bet your child will have a wonderful experience.

Spelling April 16 - 19

List #1 - could, would, should, make, made, out, put


List #2 - much, lunch, place, trace, stand, story, study, people


spellingcity.com - login: scarey1  password:  mollyd

Biographies

We are continuing our study of people and biographies.  During class we are compiling a report to present sometime during the week of April 16 - 19.

Hoping for Better Weather!

As we hope for warmer weather I know that the kids may be up a bit later and even more active than usual.  Here's my reminder to remember to continue to allow for good sleep even though it's SO difficult to go to bed when it's light outside!  This is a tough parenting time but rest assured, you won't regret staying the course so that your child is well-rested.  The contrary isn't very pleasant as all of you have experienced at some time or another, I am sure.  GREAT JOB PERRYDALE FAMILIES!! 

5-2-1-0 CONTINUES...

The students are very excited about the new healthy program that Perrydale has launched this week.  Your child may bring back his/her fruits and vegetable log on Monday and receive a new one with the weekly homework.  All of us want to live longer and have healthy hearts!  The kids are only as excited as you help them to be at home.  Thank you for jumping on board this great healthy lifestyle!  You won't regret it!!

April 9 - 12 - SPELLING

This week we will continue growing in our spelling. Please go to spellingcity.com to play games and increase good spelling habits.
login: scarey1   password: mollyd


List #1 - give, live, gave, were, stop, saw, was, jump. good, by


List #2 - children, cold. hello, fall, few, new, knew, many, now,

BIOGRAPHIES

This week during class we will be learning and studying about people who influenced our lives.  We will be compiling information and be presenting reports during class either at the end of the week or possibly into next week.  Each person will do research during class and present a small poster that he/she makes and deliver the report to the class.  I am so thrilled that the kids want to present to each other.  These reports will help them be more and more comfortable being up in front of others.  Keep in mind that everyday the kids stand and share their writing with the class.  They don't even realize that they give mini-reports each day while doing this exercise.  Your child is growing so much!  

Assessments

I am very proud of the students for really focusing in and working hard to improve in reading.  We are not done yet, folks.  We are now on the downhill side of the school year but this is an important time for the children to really demonstrate a lot of growth.  Our hard work is paying off the kids are really flying in their reading achievement!  Please continue to go on Raz-Kids.com as well as do the nightly reading take home books!  Your help will help your child continue to make great strides this year and be ready for second grade!  I am so proud of your child and the hard work he/she is doing!!

Introducing Miss Feller

Hello!
I'm very excited to be student teaching in 1st grade! Previously this year I spent time as part of the 3rd grade classroom at Perrydale and am pleased to be a part of this school community. During the next 11 weeks I will have a variety of responsibilities, leading to three weeks of full-time teaching. I look forward to learning and growing with this class!
-Marisa Feller

SCIENCE FAIR

GREAT JOB to the kids who did a science project at home.  This was not a requirement but those who did it were graded and the experience was very good!  They each did a great job presenting to our class and the displays were highly appreciated by the staff and other students.  I am so proud of our class and the effort that was made by the students and their family.  Thank you again for the time and love you put into this project! 

Launching School Wide 5-2-1-0 Challenge

What is 5-2-1-0 you ask?  Attached is a handout about the challenge that we are pursuing beginning April 2.  For the month of April your child will be keeping track on a log that will be sent home.
Here is what 5-2-1-0 means:

5 - Eat more fruits and veggies  
Goal:  5 servings a day


2 - Keep screen time to a minimum  
Goal:  Less than 2 hours of screen time a day


1 - Be physically active for one hour a day  
Goal:  1 hour of movement a day


0 - Drink more water and less soda and juice  
Goal:  0 sugar sodas a day

Read the handout for more comprehensive information.  Encourage your child to keep track of his/her results!  You'll feel good, the kids will feel good and we all help to reduce diabetes and cancers!  HURRAY!

Testing After Spring Vacation

I will be testing your child's reading progress the first week after Spring Break.  Please take time to read with your child as much as possible during this week.  I will be reading with each student on Thursday, April 5.

Spelling - April 2 - 5

List #1 - they, with, will, want, went, come, when, how, now (REVIEW WORDS)

List #2 - today, tomorrow, yesterday, bird, nest, amazing, where, when

Plan to go to spellingcity.com and have the kids play games and learn the words.
username:  scarey1
password:  mollyd
This site really makes a difference in the kid's spelling knowledge and transfer to writing and daily work.  Please take the time to look at the website.  Thank you!

Spring Vacation

I know that many of you will be traveling over the spring vacation.  I hope that your travels will be safe and chalked full of family memories and experiences.  Please take time to read over the vacation and to write as much as possible.  Having the kids continue with these sorts of meaningful activities will continue to help them grow and learn. Again, I am so honored to be your child's teacher and look forward to greeting each student when we all return from vacation!!  Please take good care of one another!

SPELLING LISTS MARCH 19-22

List #1 - mother, father, has, had, clown, town, fast, doing, help, come, came

List #2 - talk, walk, chalk, watch, catch, crashing, build, building, friend

Bonus:  science

SCIENCE FAIR

On Tuesday, from 4:00 - 6:00 and after school, please come and see the science experiments that the students of Perrydale have created.  Our class has done a Pulley to display, thanks to Mr. Gleason, Cora's dad.  Our class has developed and practiced many simple machines that you can see in picture form at our display.

Please send your child's science experiment beginning on Monday, March 19 and we will have class presentations beginning Tuesday morning right after drop off.  If you would like to stay and watch your child present, please feel free!  These are exciting times for your child!

THE CHAIR IS COMPLETE

Our "School Days" chair is complete with the help of every child in the class.  Thank you to all of the helpers who helped piece it together and for the many small junk drawer items that were sent to school for this project!  You are the BEST FAMILIES!  I adore your child and all of you!  See you at the auction on Saturday!

THURSDAY, MARCH 15 - 100's DAY

On Thursday of this week, we will have our 100th day of school.  Please help us celebrate by sending with your child a sandwich sized bag of 100 things.  Please wait to send the items until Wednesday.  Also, if every child would please bring an ORANGE to school, we will be estimating and counting how many oranges it will take to make 100 sections.  The day will be jam-packed with 100's day FUN!  THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Spelling - March 12 - 15

LIST #1 - day, stay fun, he, she, his, her, mother, father, said
LIST #2 - shrink, brink, new, old, might, sight, bright, help, quiet


BONUS:  today, tomorrow, yesterday

SCIENCE

During our science time at school we will be discussing the Scientific Method for our experiments.  We will first ask a question, predict what might happen, investigate and observe, and lastly, draw a conclusion based on the results.  This is the same method that should be written and accompanied your child's home science experiment.
You may bring your project beginning March 19.  Remember the science fair is on March 20.

SPELLING March 5 - 8

I am beginning to have two lists for the children.  Please select the appropriate spelling list for your child.  This list should be challenging and not too easy.  Many of the children are ready for harder words so I am offering a more difficult list of words for those students.  If your child is a Spoon, Fork or Plate during our Guided Reading Groups he/she should really select List #2.


List # 1 - when, then, with, but, all, were, what, for
List #2 - shade, crash, might, light, right, drink, shrink, where, think,        change
BONUS:  yesterday, today, tomorrow

THE QUILT IS HERE!!!

Please come by the classroom and take a look at our beautiful quilt.  Our class is very proud of it and we have absolutely no place in the school to hang it safely so I am storing it in our classroom.  Please come by and drool.  It is very special as is your child who made it beautiful!  Thank you and we'll look forward to seeing you at the auction! 

Spelling February 27 - March 1

Our spelling words this week will be:


will, still, hill, went, want, sheep, steep, sleep, coat, float, boat, good


Bonus:  March, seventeen, seven


Don't forget about RAZ-KIDS.com for your child.  Log on with the password:  careyj 


The students reading levels are improving at a rapid rate with this program.  Please make time (20 minutes or so) for your child to read at home every night.  Raz-kids.com makes a difference!!

Dr. Seuss Day

On Wednesday, we will be celebrating Dr. Seuss' Birthday.  Please help us celebrate by sending books written by Dr. Seuss to school with your child.  Make sure his/her name is written on the inside so that we can send them the books home with your child.


Oh, and the most important part of the day is that we will have Dr. Seuss' Birthday be PAJAMA DAY too!  

THINGS WE NEED

We are in need of sandwich sized ziploc baggies.  They don't need to be a fancy brand.  



We also need some Clorox Antibacterial Wipes for wiping down tables, computers etc for our room. 


MANY, MANY THANKS!!!!

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29

On Wednesday, February 29 we will have pajama day and celebrate Dr. Seuss' Birthday.  We will have fun in the morning doing our Dr. Seuss hat parade and later have a fun reading time with our Reading Buddies in the old gym reading together in the comforts of our P.J.'s.  What a great day we will have!!

Spelling - Feb. 21 - 24

REMINDER:  We will have school this FRIDAY. FEB. 24. Homework will be due and our spelling test will take place that day.

WORDS:  than, more, what, but, said, with, in, at


BONUS:  President, sixteen, six

Science/Reports

In our class we will be doing experiments using a pulley.  I am looking in our shop for one to demonstrate how "simple machines"  help to make work easier.  Please keep in mind that the science fair is coming up quite quickly.  Please help your child complete his/her science project at home.  Looking ahead to April, we will be doing a Biography Report about an important person in history.  Keep looking to the Blog for more details about that in the coming weeks.

FEB.21-24 AG WEEK

Tuesday - Dress like a FARMER day.

Wednesday - Animal Day - Dress in animal print

Thursday - Cowboy/Cowgirl - Dress like a cowboy/girl

Friday - Ag Olympigs - Dress in Blue and Gold

Math - February 21 - 24

This week in math we will be working on measuring and comparing length, weight and capacity.  We will also continue reinforcing coin values and combinations as well as addition and subtraction facts to 20.  These days are very full of a lot of repetition so your help with consistency is very important and helpful.

Valentin'e Day

Please refer to last week's post on the children's names for the Valentine card sharing.  During our snack this year, we will be have granola with a choice of dried fruit and milk for the snack.  This will be a great time for your child to try new things and gain another serving of fruit and grain in each child's daily health requirements. If your child has an allergy, please send something healthy that he/she can eat in place of the provided snack.  Thank you.

Spelling Feb. 13 - 16

Our spelling will be available on spellingcity.com
username:  scarey1  password:  mollyd

words:  could, had, his, or, day, door, find, were,
bonus:  fifteen,  five

Please also visit the Raz-Kids.com to have your child continue reading at home.  This is making a HUGE difference in your child's reading fluency.  Please log in with the code:  careyj and your child can find his/her good fit reading level.  Believe me, they know how to use this wonderful tool.

Valentine's Day is Around the Corner

As Valentine's Day approaches, please be mindful of the peanut allergies that are evident in our classroom.
I am also encouraging all of you to think of non-sugary treats to share with classmates.  Examples would be a new Valentine's pencil, eraser, little spiny tops, trinkets, hand-written secret messages, stickers, sticky notes, word games, etc.. Clean out your junk drawers and let the kids go wild with the little toys that have been hidden for weeks and even years!  I am really trying to encourage rewards and prizes that are not sugary.

Valentine Class List: START NOW!!
Abraham, Chloe, Christopher, Cliff, Cora, Courtney, Emma, Ethan, Grace, Julia, Kaylynn, Kendra, Kourtney, MacKenzie, Mason, Megan, Mila, Natasha, Noah, Owen, Reece, Sarah, Tayden, Wyatt

SPELLING FEB. 6 - 9/ RAZ-KIDS

The kids who go to spellingcity.com to do the activities really do well on the tests.  If you can, have your child visit.  scarey1 - username
         password - mollyd

Raz-kids.com is a HUGE HIT!!  Please visit and watch the reading growth taking place as I do.  It's fantastic!!
raz-kids.com  login:  careyj

FOCUS THIS WEEK

This week we will be focusing on SHAPES in math as well as continuing to review the Singapore Math method of subtracting and adding numbers together above 10.  


Thank you to those of you who attended the Singapore Math Afternoon Information Meeting.  I hope it was helpful to you.  If you have further questions, please don't hesitate to let me know.


Please help your child by talking about coin combinations up to $1.00.  Some of the children are fantastic with money and can add up coins higher than a $1.00.  Others are still identifying the coin names.  I am trying to solidify these concepts at school and would love for you to carry on with coins at home.  Thank you very much.


Last week we wrote letters to the President, Barack Obama.  The kids asked some interesting questions to him and I am very proud of their efforts.  We are going to continue writing letters to people and become comfortable with the letter format.  If you have any thank you notes that need to be done, please let your child do the writing.  It's a wonderful experience for them to do and it helps them feel special knowing that they have crafted a letter to someone they love. These are heart-felt gifts!

QUILT UPDATE!!

Our class quilt is being quilted!!  A HUGE thank you to Kymberly McIntosh and Marcie Johnson for piecing and sewing the quilt together.  Also, thank you for those of you who sent in money to help with the quilting cost.  It is being estimated to be about $80.00 for the quilt to be quilted and we have received $55.00 so far.  Thank you faithful parents!

SCIENCE FAIR - March 20

You aren't going to believe how quickly March 20 will roll around.  Please refer to the attached sheet for information and ideas regarding the event. At this level it should be very simple.  A display board would be helpful for your findings.  On the board you should have the following:
A question
How you observed and got information
A prediction of what you thought would happen
The experiment
What you found out.
We will be doing a class project as well so please consider doing one of your own at home.
DOING SCIENCE HELPS YOU LEARN ABOUT SCIENCE!!!
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/

SPELLING Jan. 30 - Feb. 2

Go spellingcity.com for a collection of games and activities that will help your child gain understanding of the spelling words.  
username:  scarey1  password:  mollyd


little, are, here, have, by, way, from, said, who, what
Bonus:  thirteen, third

Family Math Afternoon: February 2

On Thursday at 3:45 - 5:00 we will be having a Singapore Information event.  Please plan on bringing your child to participate and become informed about Singapore Math.

AUCTION QUILT

Kymberly McIntosh is doing an AMAZING job with our class quilt.  She is running into a lot of expense in piecing the quilt together. It would really be wonderful if we, as a class could help her out with the cost of batting, material and the cost of having it quilted by a master quilter from west Salem.  If you are so inclined and would like to help her by contributing a small amount of money, I know that it would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you so much and you may talk to me if you have further questions.  GO FIRST GRADE PIRATES!!


QUILT NAME:  Portraits of Perrydale First Graders
                           Class of 2023

HOMEWORK

The grammar homework will be discussing the capitalization of proper nouns.  We will also continue working on contractions, "Bossy e", and "Sleepy e".

In Math we are grouping things to 10 and adding and subtracting two digit and one digit numbers.  I will also be assessing coin combinations.

SCIENCE FAIRE

I am attaching some ideas that you may wish to use as you begin to think about your science project coming up.  Again, we will be doing one as a class and also I am encouraging each one of the children to do their own.  It's really fun and they will always remember the process they will go through to present his/her project.


Science Process:


Begin with a question
Observe and gain information
Make a prediction
Do an experiment
Tell and write someone what you found out

SPELLING JAN. 23-26

This week our list will contain some review words and some other ones we have used during our writing time.  Please help your child by going to spellingcity.com and playing the games to help solidify the words.  username:  scarey1  password:  mollyd

one, two, three, four, take, taking, of, friend, from, this, by, try, could


Bonus:  twelve, second

SPELLING THIS WEEK! Jan. 17-19

We will have fewer words this week due to the shortened week.  Our test will be on Thursday.

SPELLINGCITY.COM  username: scarey1  password:  mollyd

bake, baking, friend, from, what, could, box, me  BONUS:  number, eleven

LOOKING AHEAD TO MORE DATES TO SAVE

On TUESDAY,  MARCH 20, we will be having a SCIENCE FAIRE at school.  Our class will be doing a project as a class and I would like to encourage any of my students to do a project at home to present at the faire.  Some of you may wish to begin the project now.  Our class will be doing a "Simple Machine" project and all of the projects will need to have the following components:


1.  Begin with a question
2.  Observe and gain information
3.  Make predictions
4.  Do an experiment
5.  Tell and write someone what you found out.


We will have an opportunity to present the projects in class for another REPORT credit.  Please try this and have a blast learning!

SAVE THE DATES!!

We will be having a Math For Families Afternoon on Thursday, February 2 from 3:45 - 5:00 pm.  Please plan on attending in order to become more informed about Singapore Math as well as engage in activities with your child.  We'll have two activity sessions so you can attend multiple classrooms with your children.  3:45 - 4:15 will be an informational session provided by the teachers of the Elementary School and then the breakout activity times are 4:20 - 4:40 and 4:45 - 5:00.  I hope all of you are able to attend and that we can answer any questions you may have.

Three-Day School Week

We will have only three days of school together this week.  Please have your child practice reading his/her take home book every night and reture it on Thursday for a book for the weekend.  Another option is to do the raz-kids.com reading on the computer.  Take a peek and have fun! 

EXCITING NEW WEBSITE

I have purchased a wonderful subscription to a website that helps your child with reading.  It is called
RAZ-KIDS.COM and it reaches all of the kids at ALL reading levels.  The kids are able to listen to a story, then read the story and lastly, take a quiz.  He/She will obtain points every time they accomplish each task.  They will be able to decorate a space ship with the points earned and gain reading comprehension and fluency along the way.  It's a win, win situation for all of us!
To LOGIN, type in the username:  careyj.  
THE KIDS LOVE THIS SITE!  Have fun!

Math Focus

This week we will counting within 20 by making 10 first. 


In our Singapore math curriculum, we spend a lot of time thinking in ways that will make math easier as the kids grow.  One of these methods we are working on is grouping things together in groups of 10 in order to add and subtract numerals.  The language we are using is, "The numeral 13 is one ten and three".  As we add numerals together to make 20 and more, we will group the numbers into groups of 10 and then add together the ones.  This is fabulous mental math exercises and will help them so much in later grades if they learn this thinking strategy as second nature. You may help your child by doing simple addition and subtraction exercises using this technique.


We will continue our reinforcement of position and direction as we have done before. 

Spelling January 9 - 12

Reminders:  Go to spellingcity.com for games and reinforcement of our spelling words.
Username:  scarey1  Password:  mollyd

have, having, come, coming, make, making, like, liking, from, friend, were, was  BONUS:  January

Topic: Language, January 9-12

This week we will be studying three concepts at a deeper level:


1.  Some words are spelled the way they sound and some are not. Have and from are not spelled the way they sound.

2.We have a lot of expressions in our language;  have a ball, have a chip on your shoulder, have the blues, have a close call, have a green thumb, have cold feet, have a sweet tooth, etc.  We will be discussing these and making lists of things in our language that funny expressions we use.

3.  When adding -ing to words that end in e, we drop the e before adding -ing.

READING FLUENCY

Our goal in first grade is to guide and teach your child to read fluently, with expression and to comprehend what is read.  By doing so, your child is more likely to have a successful school experience.  It is vital during this first grade year that your child spends a great deal of time reading not only at school but at home as well.  I will be sending books home with your child on a daily basis as long as they are brought back the following day.  Please send the word cards and take home books in the plastic bags to and from school everyday.  We are on a quest for fluency!!  Just watch your child fly when his/her confidence blossoms through reading!  I'm ready to launch each one of them!!  Happy Reading!


For those of you who already are very dedicated to bringing your book bags back,  thank you, thank you, thank you!!  You're on your way to helping your child achieve great success!


By the way, have I mentioned this year being now 2012 how much I love my job!!

Magazines Anyone???

We are in need of magazines for cutting out words and pictures.  If anyone has any old ones you are willing to part with, we would appreciate them very much.

I am also needing medium sized plastic bottles for some word work activities.  The ideal size is not a litre pop bottle but the larger water bottle size.  I think it is 20-24 oz.  Thank YOU!

Math/Language focus this week

We will spend a lot of time talking and reviewing about adding and subtracting as well as using coins while we add and subtract.  I am having the kids work a lot on place value over the next few weeks as well as proximity and direction words.  Use language at home to help your child at school like:  First, Second - Tenth; Above, Below, Behind, Beside, Next to etc..

We will also be making a large list of words that have double letters in the middle.  Please keep a list of words and have your child bring them to school for us to post on our chart.

Spelling Words!

Please go to the spellingcity.com for games and spelling reinforcement.  The words this week will be review words:  can, dog, the, fast, park, as, run, were, was, with, at, his


The spelling lists will be getting longer as the kids improve in their writing and spelling of words.  I am very happy to see the kid's improvement in spelling.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I trust that all of you had a relaxing and wonderful holiday with your family.  I missed your child and am so happy to be with them again!

Please send back the homework and books that were sent home to read over the holiday break.  Thank you for those of you who have done this already.

It's great to be back!

We have a new student names Mila.  We are very happy to have her with us in our class family.  Welcome Mila and her family to Perrydale and our class!!