Here is today’s “school at home” video from Mrs. Kuiper. Make sure to scroll down to see the funny picture of Ada taking Giggles and some beautiful Saint Patrick’s Day artwork by your classmates!
Ada and Giggles:
St. Patrick’s Day Creations:
Here is our read-aloud for today! It is Dog Breath by Dav Pilkey. I hope you enjoy it as much as Ada did.
I love you so much! I can’t wait to see you all in 26 days!
Here is our second “school at home” video from Mrs. Kuiper. Make sure to watch the whole thing and listen for your special challenges today. Like my shirt says, I truly am the LUCKIEST TEACHER EVER to have you all as my students! Parents, please send me photos of your child with their special St. Patrick’s Day creations. I would love to post them on the blog for all of their classmates to see.
Example of craft:
Here is our read-aloud for today! It is chapter 5 and 6 of The Absent Author by Ron Roy.
I here is another special read aloud for Saint Patricks Day! Check out Pete the Cat The Great Leprechaun Chase by James Dean.
I love you so much! I can’t wait to see you all in 27 days!
Thank you so much to everyone who attended parent-teacher conferences this week! It was so nice to be able to meet with you and share your child’s great progress so far this year.
A manila envelope came home with your child on Friday (or I dropped it off to you) full of learning materials for the coming weeks. Please be on the lookout for daily blog posts with videos and updates from me if you’d like to use them to support your child’s learning in the coming month!
CELEBRATIONS:
Camp Read-A-Lot – This week at Camp Read-a-Lot learned how to go fishing with our snack and visited other “campsites” (classrooms) to read with other classmates!
OUR LEARNING:
Reading – We practiced being smooth, fluent readers by reading aloud to other classmates this week. We also reviewed important reading strategies with our CAMP mnemonic (Comprehension, Accuracy, Meaning, Pictures).
Writing – We explored writing poetry this week by trying out a different type of poetry each day! We wrote analogies, acrostic poems, I AM poems, and more.
Math – We began Unit 6 this week by learning about how to organize and sort data into pictographs, bar graphs, and more. We also learned how to compare data by using words like “more” and “fewer.” This is the unit your child will be working on at home in the coming weeks!
Word Study – We learned a few more vowel teams this week: EW and UE. Keep practicing using those vowel teams while students are writing at home in their journals
UPCOMING DATES:
Monday, March 16
First day of “School at Home” videos from Mrs. Kuiper.
In light of Michigan’s school closures, we teachers want to support students’ learning at home as much as possible over this next month. With that in mind, two important things came home with your child yesterday:
“School at Home” Folder – This folder contains specific learning materials and schoolwork directions for students to complete both online (on MobyMax/RAZ Kids) and on paper (math pack, book reports, reading logs, etc.)
Baggie Books – This bag is full of 10 books for your child to read and use over break (I wish I could send home 40 books per child during this break!!) Please return these back to school when we resume.
Please keep a close watch for blog notification emails throughout our break. My goal is to make daily morning videos for students to encourage them to complete their “school at home” work each day. I will also be sharing read-aloud videos and other announcements or challenges on the blog. Thank you for partnering with us to support your child’s learning at home during this unprecedented time. I’ll miss your first graders SO much!
Thank you so much to all of the parents and grandparents who volunteered in our classroom this week! Here is the sign up for next week.
Most of the items have been donated for our Camp Read-A-Lot snacks. However, we still need someone to sign up for peel-apart licorice, mini chocolate chips, and mini marshmallows. If you would like to donate one of these items, please sign up here.
Here is this week’s parent-teacher conference schedule:
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to Bryson for never being afraid to make mistakes!
Mystery Reader – This week Aaron’s mom was our first mystery reader. She read The Circus Ship! We loved hearing the story.
Our next mystery reader was Emma’s mom. She read There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow! We loved hearing the story.
Camp Read-A-Lot – Students enjoyed making a campfire as their camp snack this week!
OUR LEARNING:
Reading – Students practiced their expression as they read by changing their voices when they see an exclamation point or question mark at the end of a sentence, when different characters are talking, and when the font in their books is different sizes. At the end of the week, students got to show off their skills by reading a book to Miss Raisch’s class!
Writing – We wrapped up our persuasive writing unit! At the end of the week, students got to send their favorite letters. If your child decided to write to you, I strongly encourage you to write them a letter back!
Math – Students took their math test on Unit 5! They all rocked the test. On Monday, we will begin Unit 6, Comparisons and Data!
Word Study – Students learned about the vowel teams oi and oy that make the same sound. They also learned about the vowel teams ue and ew that make the same sound!
Check out this article about the super moon on Monday, March 9th! It’s a great opportunity to extend the learning in STEAM and kids can use their binoculars!
Thank you so much to all of the parents and grandparents who volunteered in our classroom this week! Here is the sign up for next week.
Thank you, everyone, for getting your conference slips back to me! I will be posting the schedule on our blog next week to remind you of your time slot.
To celebrate March is Reading Month, we will be doing Camp-Read-A-Lot in first grade. Part of our reading camp will be eating yummy camp-related foods while we read once a week. If you would like to donate an item, please sign up here.
CELEBRATIONS:
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to Kinsman for always choosing kindness!
Lost Tooth Club – Will got an award for joining the lost tooth club!
Mystery Reader – This week we had four mystery readers! Our first mystery reader with Colton’s mom, she read a Narwhal’s Otter Friend.
Our next mystery readers were Alyssa’s mom and dad, they read Part-Time Mermaid and The Great Puppy Invasion.
Our last mystery reader was Dominic’s dad, he read Dragons Love Tacos.
OUR LEARNING:
Reading – Students were reminded that they need to keep track of who is talking in their books as they read. They also learned ways to figure out the meaning of tricky words as they read.
Writing – Students continued writing persuasive letters! At the end of this week, students will be given envelopes to send their letters to whomever they chose to write to.
Math – Students learned how to add and subtract multiples of ten using a number grid.
Word Study – Students learned that the vowel teams ou and ow both say the sound found in cow or cloud. Then, we learned that the vowel team ow can also say the sound found in know.
Thank you so much to all of the parents and grandparents who volunteered in our classroom this week! Here is the sign up for next week.
Please sign and return conference time slips to school so by Friday, February 28th so I know if you can make your assigned time or if I need to reschedule you.
CELEBRATIONS:
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to Aaron for always focusing on being the best HE can be.
Lost Tooth Club – Olivia and Colton both got an award for joining the lost tooth club!
Birthdays – Last week we celebrated Allison and Kashen’s half birthdays!
Mystery Reader – This week Jacob’s grandma surprised us as a mystery reader. She read Bears Don’t Read! We loved hearing the story.
OUR LEARNING:
Reading – Students learned new comprehension strategies! They learned to monitor their comprehension by asking, “Am I getting it?” and to make a movie in their mind, especially when reading books with fewer pictures.
Writing – Students began writing persuasive letters. This week we wrote a persuasive letter to Mrs. Nienhuis and Mrs. VanKoevering to ask if they could teach us some new recess games and rules!
Math – Students began solving story problems with 3 addends. They can do this by using “mental math” or by adding 2 addends together to make a group of ten and then adding the last addend.
Word Study – Students learned that the vowel teams ai and ay both say the long a sound. We also received a post card from our class mascot, Rasheed!
Thank you so much to all of the parents and grandparents who volunteered in our classroom this week! Here is the sign up for next week.
Scholastic book club orders are due February 28th! Scholastic is doing an amazing deal where our class gets 100 extra points towards books for every $10 order this month.
Slips with spring parent-teacher conference times will be sent home on Monday. Please sign and return these to school so I know if you can make your assigned time or if I need to reschedule you.
CELEBRATIONS:
Mystery Reader – This week Carter’s grandma surprised us as a mystery reader. She read a book about puffins and gave each student a photo of a puffin to take home!
Valentine’s Day Party –
Thank you so much to all of the parents who made our last party a success! Here are some photos from the party.
OUR LEARNING:
Reading – Students learned new strategies to solve hard words. They can think about what word would fit there, break up long words by covering up part of the word with their finger, and use words they already know.
Writing – Students published their book reviews and shared them with the class. You can find videos of your child sharing here!
Math – We began working on Unit 5! Most of this week was spent reviewing subtraction story problems.
Word Study – Students began learning about the vowel teams ee and ea that say the long e sound. We built words together using those vowel teams.
