October 4, 2015

 Important Dates and Reminders:
Tuesday: Library
October 5-9: Book Fair
Thursday, October 8: Coffee with Sara Rabbe in the library. Stop by from 7:45-8:15 and introduce yourself. Sara would love to make connections with our wonderful community!
October 12: No school
October 21: Late start. School starts at 8:40 on this day. Students are still welcome to come at 7:30 for breakfast.
October 26:  Author Jarrett J. Krosoczka  is coming to visit!

• Thanks to everyone who has sent in family photos. Our family wall is getting big! Please feel free  to send one in if you haven't yet. I would love to have a photo from every student on the wall. 

Students working on their projects.

 Literacy:
We read one of my favorite books this week! One, by Kathryn Otoshi is about acceptance and
courage. Everyone counts is the repeated phrase in the book. We spent several days reading the book and digging deep into the theme. We watched a video of children acting it out and we acted it out ourselves! Finally, we worked on a project to show how we were accepting to others. I'll get these projects hung up in the classroom this week. Taliah came up with a great quote about acceptance: That's the power of friendship!




There is a book fair this week at school! The dates are October 5-9. Feel free to send in money with your child in a labeled envelope. I will send your child down with an adult  to shop for books.


Math: Wow! We started working with number lines this week. I can't believe how well the students are doing with the tricky concept. We talked about the importance of showing your thinking in more than one way. We call this multiple pathways. The class has been solving story problems by making a representation using circles. But now, they have a second way to represent their thinking by using a number line.


Social Thinking: All of us have an engine. Are engines can be high, low or just right. Becoming aware of our engine, helps us become better learners. We can use our mindfulness techniques to calm an engine that is too high. We can take a movement break to wake up an engine that is too low. As a class, we have worked on engine sorts and now we are developing vocabulary to help describe how we feel when our engine is high, low, or just right.

Wellness: We had Officer Dave come in and talk about safety. He talked about the importance of knowing the names of your parents, phone number, and street address. I was impressed with how many students could answer all those questions! Thanks for coming in Officer Dave!

September 27. 2015

 Important Dates and Reminders:
Tuesday: Library

• Thanks to everyone who has sent in family photos. Our family wall is getting big! Please feel free  to send one in if you haven't yet. I would love to have a photo from every student on the wall. 
• The visit of author Jarrett J. Krosoczka has been changed. He is now coming Monday, October 26. I sent home the order form again in case anyone would like to order his books.
• Sorry for the short update this week! I was away this weekend cheering on my nephew and his soccer team in the big Nashua South versus Nashua North battle. We won!

 Literacy:
We have been working on increasing our independent reading time and also learning how to read and discuss books with a partner. I read books about friendship to the class:

Friends by Helme Heine
What are Friends For by Sally Grindley
 
Math:
Wow! The students are working so hard during math! I see an increase in the amount of independent practice. I also see a huge improvement in how the students share their thinking with a math partner. Here is a picture of some student work. As mathematicians, we want to show our thinking with a representation, write an equation, and have an answer with a label.  

Social Thinking:
We have been focusing on Space Respector and Space Invader. Space Respector is the Thinkable that helps us to defeat Space Invader. Space Invader is the Unthinkable that encourages us to get into other people's space and not respect the bubble around each person.

September 19, 2015

 Important Dates and Reminders:
Tuesday: Library
Wednesday: no school

• Thanks to everyone who has sent in family photos. Our family wall is getting big! Please feel free  to send one in if you haven't yet. I would love to have a photo from every student on the wall. 
• The visit of author Jarrett J. Krosoczka has been changed. He is now coming Monday, October 26.

Routines:
The class is really getting into our routines! Every morning, the students go over the the easel and
answer the daily question. The questions range from do you like white milk or chocolate milk to do like to camp or not? These questions lead to a discussion and sharing during our morning meeting. The questions also help us continue to get to know each other.

 Literacy:
The class is starting to getting into the groove of our literacy routines! I love our independent reading time and seeing how excited the students are about the books they have chose to read! We also learned how to use our large classroom library. We discovered how the books are organized and spent one morning putting books into the correct baskets. We have also talked about the importance of rereading books. Rereading helps us develop fluency and deepens comprehension. The students use reading mats to organize their books as they read. We also enjoy reading with a friend! Books are written so that they will be discussed and enjoyed with others! I know when I read a great book, I can't wait to talk about it with others!

Math:
We've started working on solving story problems! As mathematicians, we have to figure out what the story problem is about (addition or subtraction), write an equation, and then come up with a representation of our thinking. I see the mathematicians becoming more willing to take risks in their work!

Wellness:
This YouTube video has become a favorite this week! Our class can dance!

September 13, 2015

This coming week is a very busy week. Here are some important dates:

Tuesday: The author Jarrett J. Krosoczka is coming to talk to the first graders!
Tuesday: Library
Wednesday: Delayed start: Students are welcome to come to school at 7:30 but they don't need to be here until 8:40.
Wednesday: Picture day!



 Literacy:
We are continuing to develop our classroom routines and build our learning community. It is so fun getting to know the students in our class. One way we are getting to know each other is through sharing what we like. We are working on posters that will be shared and displayed. We are also learning how to choose book based on topics we like. Some popular topics are: weather, animals, Harry Potter, princesses, castles, and dragons.


We love looking at books! We are learning how to read our just right books and talk with a partner about our books. We read in the classroom and we even went to read outside. It's fun to read books anywhere!


Math:
During math time, we are learning the habits that all mathematicians use. So far, we have worked on private reasoning time and representation. The mathematicians have been counting and representing their objects in an organized way. They also have been learning some math games. Through math games, we can build our math concepts and also learn how to work together to solve problems. This week we played the game Double Compare. The students worked so well together! I saw and heard partnerships using kind words and helping each other to add the numbers together.

Wellness:
We love to move during the day and it's good for you too! One of our favorite sites is Go Noodle. It's a great site with movement and calming activities. Check it out! I know you will be glad you did!.

Family Photos

I shared some family pictures with the class today and we thought it would be fun for everyone to bring in family pictures. Please send in a picture of your child with family members or other important people in in your child's life. We would like to display these pictures in the classroom. If your picture is needed back at home, let me know and I can scan it to make a copy for the class.

Thanks so much for helping us create our classroom family.

Big news... an author visit!

We are so lucky to have Jarrett Krosoczka coming to visit JFK! Jarrett Krosoczka is an author and illustrator of many books, including picture books, graphic novels, and chapter books. His newest book, It's Tough to Lose Your Balloon, comes out on September 8.

On September 15, Jarrett will be visiting the kindergarten and first grades. Today I sent home an order form in case you are interested in ordering any of his books. The order form needs to be in by Friday. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Here is the book trailer for It's Tough to Lose Your Balloon.

The first week of first grade!

Hello and welcome back to school! I'm so excited to start a new school year. I usually update this site once a week. During the beginning of the year, I will be posting about the people who work in our classroom and sharing our schedules, expectations, and daily routines. There will also be student work, class videos, and celebrations of our learning.

Some things to keep in mind as we start the school year:

We eat snack in the afternoon. Please make sure to send in a healthy snack and drink for snack time.

Our weekly specials schedule is:

Monday - Gym
Tuesday - Music and Library
Wednesday - Art
Thursday - Gym
Friday - Guidance

A big part of the beginning of school is learning routines and getting to know each other. We are a team and the relationships we build with each other help us to learn and grow. One way we are building relationships is through morning meeting. We are having so much fun with different greetings and songs. Ask your child about our Sunshine Greeting that we did on Friday.


We also have been enjoying the book Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes. We made our own Pete the Cats on Friday. They will be hanging up next week. Feel free to stop in and see them in the hallway!  Here's the song, have fun singing along: http://assetlibrary.supadu.com/images/ckfinder/687/images/Pete-the-Cat/audio/pete-the-cat.mp3

Have a super weekend! I'm looking forward to Monday!