Happy Summer!

Hi Parents, I hope you enjoy our "Wonder Project" via You Tube! It was our first attempt at using the ipads on such a large scale. The children worked in pairs to research their symbol on the Pebble Go! data base. They took notes and turned them into scripts for this project. Many thanks go out to our librarian, Randi Groden, for designing this project and working with our class to see it through. Many thanks also go out to Laura Kirk and Diane Horvath for their technological assistance! If you see any of these lovely ladies, please let them know how much you enjoyed the show. End of the year good byes are always difficult. Your child will be bringing home lots of "evidence" from their year of learning in first grade over the next few days. Please take a moment to read through their work with them before filing it away. Your child will be able to fill you in on the details! As summer vacation approaches, start thinking of your plans for summer reading. The children have become accustomed to reading independently (silently!) for 15 minutes, every day after lunch. This "booktime" routine would be a great one to continue over the summer - perhaps extending the reading time to 20 minutes by the mid way point. I have no doubt that the progress each child made this year has a lot to do with our "booktime" routine! Happy Summer! Chris Paget

American Symbol Wonderings

March Conference Survey

What I Love About You...

Here are the photos from our recent Valentine's Day display. Thank you for all of your timely contributions!

 

November Reminders from Mrs. Paget…

*Thank you to all of you who have already placed book orders or sent in donations for Timothy’s Toybox!  To date, we have collected $122 – thank you for the fabulous response!!!  All the book orders placed thus far have totaled just over $110.  When combined with our TTB donations, it puts our class in the 2^nd highest bonus point earning bracket; that means approximately 3000 bonus points worth of FREE books for TTB.  Wow!!  I will be ordering books for approximately 75 children ranging in ages from infant to 16 years using the monies collected from Room 13 as well as the $250+ collected at our Family Literacy Night last spring.  I am sure I will have quite a collection to share with the children when the books arrive.  The children will assist me in sorting the books by age and gender.  I am extending the deadline to Monday Nov. 18^th so if you would still like to order books or make a donation, please do so by then.  Participation in our TTB collection is completely optional.

*Please let me know ASAP if your child will not be in school on Tuesday November 26th. Our 1st Thanksgiving play rehearsals are well underway. Family members of students who will not be in school on November 26th or family members who are unable to attend our play on Nov. 26th, are welcome to attend our dress rehearsal on Friday November 22nd from 11-11:30am. Please let me know if you will be attending our dress rehearsal so I can plan accordingly. Also, please let me know if there will be NO family members present on Nov. 26th…

*Each child will need 2 small snack containers, with secure lids, labeled with their name, to transport food items home from our activity centers on Nov. 26th.   The containers should be big enough to hold ½ cup of relish and/or homemade butter.  Please send containers to school on or before November 26th. 

*We are still in need of supplies for our activity centers following the play on the 26^th.  We are all set for volunteers for this day.

*a small celebratory snack (mini muffins, donut holes…) - enough for 20 students

*3 half pints of heavy cream

*4 bags of cranberries

*4 lge. Oranges

*4 c sugar

Fun ways to practice your weekly word study words!

Here's a web tool I have been experimenting with since my T21 course last year.  I used the site, fotobabble.com, to create the following audio recording of myself explaining 3 different ways to have fun with your child while practicing weekly word study words.  I hope you find it helpful!

Today's Number Screencast

Another web tool I learned about in my T21 course was screencasting.  I used the site educreations.com to create the screencast above called, "Today's Number".  "Today's Number" is an activity the children learn about in the Investigations Math Curriculum. In first grade, there are several opportunities to teach children how to represent a number, such as 12, in a variety of ways.  In this screencast, I will demonstrate how to complete the "Today's Number" activity just as I would demonstrate it to the children during math class.  

I hope you find that this screencast opens a window into a typical math lesson in first grade. As you glance through your child's math workbooks that will be coming home shortly, look for evidence of their growth with the "Today's Number" activity.