Back to the Grind of Things...

After taking some time to practice the ISAT Weekly Assessment, we are back to taking this test every Friday. It covers some of the topics/reading words we have been studying through the week. When the test is given, I read the entire story with the children and then read each question out loud for them to follow along. I always encourage them to go back and reread the story to confirm their comprehension questions, especially because the fill-in answer is worth two points.
We had a long talk today about trying our best, but knowing our self worth is not tied into what percentage our graded test shows. My students who typically do well on tests, but not necessarily today, were able to laugh at themselves when we went over the mistakes that were made. I encourage you to go over the test with your child, they will probably already be able to correct their mistakes.

Christmas Program!

Our Christmas Program is this Wednesday, December 9th at 7:00 pm. Our music teacher, Mr. Davito has been working hard with the children to present a great musical. The children have been asked to be in the old gym at Blue Ridge High School by 6:45 pm.
I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night!

Math Test

Our first subtraction chapter test will be this Thursday...we will review in class on Wednesday. Please go over any homework/classwork with your student, especially this week, so they will be prepared for the test.

To Live Like A Pilgrim...

This student is ready to shake!
We have been studying the pilgrims and the children were very interested in the life of the pilgrim child. We decided to combine a science experiment with social studies and look at what happens when you shake heavy cream from the prospective of the activity being a common pilgrim child chore. Beforehand, the child made predictions about what they thought would happen, and then....after about 20 minutes of shaking.....wrote down their discovery. Above, two boys are sharing the shaking...

Not a great picture, but this group did a great job working together during their experiment.
They are noticing their cream is changing properties.
The final product....smeared on a piece of homemade bread....
Everyone game the project a 'thumbs-up'!
A sample of our prediction chart.

Quarter Report Cards

Report cards for the first quarter were sent home. It will show that your student's grades are lowering somewhat compared to the first half...I know this because all of my students' grades lowered a little. Please remember that the first half involved a lot of kindergarten review and covered very basic skills. Now the students are working hard at an authentic first grade level, which is more difficult. I am happy to discuss your child's report card with you (just give me a call at school and I will get back to you), but at this time I am not concerned with any percentage drops, as it is very normal at this time of the school year.
Your children are doing well!
If you want to help your child in the classroom, please practice reading, handwriting, and talking about math problems at home, in line somewhere, or in the car.

Spelling!

I am really proud of my class and their effort with spelling! This week and last, I had many 100% on the spelling pretests...with others only missing one or two. The words are difficult and the children practice (and study with homework) to learn these words. They are doing a great job!

Halloween!

Our students came to school in their Halloween costumes! Everyone looked great!

After the parade (rained out and held in the gym), we went to our classroom for a quiet-down movie, and then to the gym for party games. Above, the children were waiting in line for their turn to race a marble, on a spoon, down to a cup.

Mr. and Mrs. Wills planned and carried out our games...thank you!

Mrs. Wills took the students' estimates on how many candy pieces were in the jar. The winning guess won the whole jar!

The pinata was a huge hit!

Here, it is close to breaking...

Candy Frenzy! Thankfully, the candy was prepacked in baggies so every child could grab one.

Thank you to all of our family helpers who sent items in and/or helped! I think the students had a great party!

Although we were robbed of a pumpkin decorating award, we drew names and two students were given them to take home.

Friday's schedule

Happy Halloween!
Friday will be a busy day for us...the children can come to school in their costumes (please no masks or heavy/cumbersome props)...the Halloween parade will begin at 9:00, we would love for family members to be spectators! In good weather, we will start at the school and walk to the nursing home...if the weather is bad, we will parade ourselves around the gym!
Our class Halloween party is scheduled to begin at 11:00...I'll send home reminder slips on Wednesday for any party commitments you may have made....parents are welcome to attend...it is at your discretion whether to bring a younger sibling.
Students will be dismissed at 11:45...lunch will not be served at school.

Oops!!

Apparently, I made a rookie mistake....I sent the orange "respect" shirts home but they are actually supposed to stay in the kids' lockers and put on for the "GOTCHA" parties while they are at school.
Our first GOTCHA party is this Friday, October 23.
So....please....take pity on me and send the shirts back to school...I am begging!
(The students will take them home at the end of the school year.)
Thank you!

Stressed....

Yes...if a 100% is scored on the spelling pre-test, they do not have to take the test at the end of the week...not a big deal, really, they will just sit at the back table and draw a picture...
However, when the children saw their test scores today, I had two boys in actual tears because they each missed one word...I did give the 'feel good' speech... that it is okay....this is just a practice...but they still took it pretty hard.
I would love if you could pass the thought along....

Peer Tutoring

When a student is done with his/her math work for the day...and it does not have any mistakes....they are deemed an 'expert' and can circulate the classroom to see if any of their classmates need any extra help.

Handwriting is a lot of work!

It takes a lot of effort to get those letters formed correctly....
and facing the right direction....
and to have the correct pencil grip....

Monday Night Update

Today I sent home our new spelling list. By the results of our pre-test, we are going to have to work hard to master the words. Please practice writing and spelling the words at home so your child will have an advantage in the classroom.
Wednesday is our library check out day. Please return books by then.
Wednesday is an early dismissal day...11:45....lunch will not be served...but we will have our classroom snack :)
I send math homework in their binders when we are going over a concept that gives the students, in general, some difficulty. Please go over the sheet with your child to clarify misunderstandings. Sometimes the students don't want to mention that they are confused during the lesson (which I understand), but they might be willing to confide in a family member.
You have great children, thanks for sharing them with me!

Reminders

Wanted to remind you that Wednesday is our library day! Please have students return their books so they can check out new ones.
Friday is the "Knight Walk"!! Our class will be bussed to Bellflower and will participate in the walk from 9-11:00 am. We would love for parents/family members to meet us there and cheer the children on as they walk 1.2 miles! Keep your fingers crossed for a 'rain-free' morning! (Please send your child in sneakers.)
When we return from our field trip....after lunch...we will take our spelling test. I have been really impressed with the students' spelling test scores! Thank you for having them write their words five times each on Thursday nights...I believe it really helps!
Our words this week are:
pin
win
hit
sit
miss
kiss
sad
map
be
ride
Also...due to the Homecoming festivities, we will dismiss early on Friday...at 1:30.
Have a great week!

Open House

Thank you to everyone for coming to Open House! I loved meeting and visiting with the families of my first graders!

September 10

We have a spelling test tomorrow, Friday:
man, ran, cat, can, hat, up, mat, down
The students are taking practice sheets home today.

The forms for the "Knight Walk-a-thon" are due tomorrow... this is a fun activity and a great way to raise monies for the school!

Thank you to those assigned to snack this week! Everyone has loved them! By the way, it was kindly pointed out to me that I forgot to tell you how many students we have in our class! I am sorry! We have 21 students.

Library

WHOOO-HOOOOO!!
Our first grade class is THE ONLY CLASS IN THE WHOLE SCHOOL who returned all of their library books this week!!!!
Mrs. McCoy has promised each of my students a "Gotcha" card for their fabulous effort!
I am beaming with pride :)

Show and Tell

We had a great turn out for "Show and Tell" today! We saw pictures, vacation journals, various rocks, science kits, mobiles, a laughing mechanism.....and, unfortunately, one very dead wooly worm. What makes it worse is that the poor thing was living when he arrived at our classroom this morning....even worse is that our 'show and tell' is in the afternoon (and of course, he still had to be shown!) so he had to wait until late recess for a proper burial....which he received....complete with a few comments from the bereaved. He was put to rest under the large tree outside our window.....grave was decorated with leaves....I have found our class very much into pomp and circumstance :)
I am hoping next week's "Show and Tell" will not involve any requests for CPR!!!

Thursday

The kids are excited to have "show and tell" tomorrow (on Thursdays)! We have talked in class about not bringing in toys/stuffed animals, but rather something interesting such as a rock, leaf, small collection, picture of them doing something special or of their family, etc...

Don't forget that Friday is our school pool party, in the afternoon. We will walk over after lunch.

Busy First Week

Our class has been busy getting back in the routine of school...
We journal every morning and today's question was, "So far my favorite thing to do at school is...." We had several entries that mentioned P.E., some that mentioned becoming a better reader, and I loved the one that said, "getting a drink of water." This student must be easy to please :)

I was teaching a lesson to everyone on the carpet today and one child raised his hand and asked, "Mrs. Bode, how long have you been teaching?" I replied, "How long do you think?" His response: "About seventy thousand years."

I am really enjoying getting to know your children, they are fun and have a great sense of teamwork. They are seated in groups, they came up with their own group names, and have group captains that will rotate weekly. The captains take their jobs very seriously....they collect papers to turn in, they pick up supplies from me and deliver them, they make sure everyone is on the same page... and if someone needs help, they ask the captain first. Fabulous!

We posted classroom jobs today...everyone has a job to keep our class running smoothly. Ask your child what job he/she is assigned to. These will also rotate weekly.

Please help your child read a book....any book....at least one book...each night. We've talked in class about asking an older brother/sister, babysitter, grandparent, parent, etc. to read to them. Also, it is great for your child to practice reading to you. In class, we have been practicing "reading to self", with success strategies such as pointing to each word as we read. Ask your child to show you what it looks like.
Thank you for sharing your children with me!

Before and After the First Day!

This is how the classroom looked before the children walked through the door. A little welcome message on the board, the desks were ready, and I was anxiously waiting....
The table had name badges for the students to clip on, they seemed to work pretty well today.
Look at my desk! So beautiful!
And then the school supplies arrived....
I promise my desk is under there somewhere!
My students helped me put away some things and then I spent time after they went home to organize some more. The kids and I had a great time pretending it was Christmas with so many packages! Thank you to the parents for sending in our supplies!

Work in Progress

These are classroom pictures from yesterday, when I was busily getting the room ready for the students tomorrow! I converted a chalkboard that I won't need (I have a whiteboard on the other side) into a wall of popcorn words.
Popcorn words are sight words....the 100 most frequently used words in first grader texts. We will do a lot of journaling in my class....they can use the popcorn words as a reference instead of waiting for me to come help them spell...so they also practice self-reliance.
The literacy area is starting to be done...today I put some finishing touches and I will add more display books, that we will read this week,in the morning.
Still looking messy from this vantage point, but it is all straightened out now and ready for my students!
I've since added binders, journals, and name tags to the desks...and now they are just waiting for a first grader to sit down and begin learning!

The classroom

This was the classroom when I first walked in...in June. My mom was in town so she was able to take a quick tour.
Now the floors have been waxed and are extra shiny. The desks are in and set in groups. The posters are down and I am trying to organize....Riley tells me I need a theme, but for this year, it might just be primary colors....however, I did get a Mary Engelbreight (sp?) calendar that I love.
This classroom is larger than the ones that my children have been in....school starts in less than two weeks so I am trying to get it all organized so I can breathe a little before the rush.
I'll post pictures when it is all ready.