Winter Party and More!

Wow, I can't believe we only have 1 week left, and it is off to a great start! Our elf, Efis, brought us a note with a special treat. We also practiced our place value skills by decorating a tree with Trix cereal.

We will take our ES challenge for our math facts on Wedneday. Please have your child study tonight and tomorrow night.

Our class party is this Thursday. Please join us if you can at 11:00. Also, don't forget to send in $2 for pizza. We need it by Wednesday. In case you need a reminder, here is a link to the wiki for the winter party.  http://lpmiller0521.wikispaces.com/Winter+Party

On Friday, we are going to wear our pajamas and watch the Polar Express!! Friday is a half day, so make sure you have plans for a noon dismissal.

Thank you so much for all do!! I hope you have a wonderful holiday and enjoy your time together.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It is hard to believe we only have 3 more weeks until winter break. The next few weeks are going to be really exciting and busy!

Please make sure your child brings in their wrapped cereal box by tomorrow. Secret Elf starts this week and everyone needs a box.

Your child's new Star Reading Report will come home in their weekly work folder on Wednesday. It is yours to keep. Please use it to help your child pick just right books at home. You can also change your child's reading level on the bookmark I gave you at our conference. Just use a Sharpie to underline their new range.

Please encourage your child to test on at least 1 Accelerated Reader book per week. They will test on books they have read at home. Please write down the title and author of the books they read in their folder, so I will know what test they need to take on their test day. Their test day is written on their AR folder. On their day, they will just put their folder on their table. That is how they let me know they need to take a test. Friday is our open test day, so anyone can test. Please let me know if your child cannot find their folder, and I will make them a new one.

The photo site has been updated. Thanks so much for all you do!

Important Info

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! We have a busy week and a half coming up. Please visit our class wiki to learn more about a special activity we will be participating in next Tuesday. http://lpmiller0521.wikispaces.com/Stone+Soup

Please visit the EPGY page on the blog to learn more about Stanford Math. Your child's login, password information, and a link to the website can be found there. Stanford Math offers a wonderful opportunity for your child to practice their math skills at home. Please have them complete at least 1 session per week.

We are in need of baby food jars and mason jars. Please send them our way if you have some you can spare. 

I don't want to overwhelm you with sign-ups or information, but I know many of you need to plan ahead. Therefore, I have already setup the wiki for our class winter party http://lpmiller0521.wikispaces.com/Winter+Party and for our secret elf fun http://lpmiller0521.wikispaces.com/Secret+Elf. The wikis have more information about these activities.

Please continue having your child practice their math facts each night. We will test on the 5 facts on Friday. The biggest fact on the test will be 5+5=10, but they should study and practice all the way up to 10+5=15.

With the Thanksgiving season approaching, I want to let you know how thankful I am for you and your wonderful children. It is a joy to spend each day with them. They make our classroom a magical place.

Pumpkins!!

Happy Monday,

Our main focus last week in language arts was our pumpkin book reports. On Monday, I worked with each student independently to help them pick out a book for their report. After reading their book, they created a story web. From their story web, they focused on the physical traits and character traits of the main character. They then transformed a pumpkin into their character. They did an amazing job! On Friday, we started our writing for our reports. We will finish it up this week and take an AR test on the book we read. Their fabulous pumpkins are below.

Make sure to check out our class photo site for pictures from our first class party. Also, please feel free to add any pictures you may have taken. Thank you so much for helping with the party and sending in the items we needed. I had many students tell me it was the best day ever!

We are going to get focused on our math facts again this week. We will have a fast fact test on the 4 facts this Friday. The biggest equation on the test will be 4+6=10. However, I would like them to study all the way up to 4+10=14. 

Have a great week!

Happy Fall Break

Dear Parents,

Thank you so much for meeting with me before fall break. I really enjoyed getting to talk with each and every one of you!

The next 9 weeks of school tends to really fly by. It is full of holidays and excitement. Our class will have a fall party on October 31st at 10:45. We would love for you to join us if you can! Here is a link to the wiki for more information http://lpmiller0521.wikispaces.com/Fall+Party. We will be having pizza, so please send in $2 for your child.

We are going to continue focusing on reading books that fit like a glove. Your child has their own personal book bin where they keep their books that interest them and are in their reading range. They get to pick books from our class library, but I also want to encourage them to bring books from home. Please make sure their name is in any book they bring from home. Some of you have asked about recommendations for books, so I have a list going on our Scholastic site. I plan to add more over the next week.

For the second 9 weeks, we will be covering pumpkins, U.S. symbols, and the election. If you have anything to share with the class on those topics, we would love to have you. Just send me an email to let me know.

I am still in need of dozen-sized egg cartons, so feel free to send your empty ones my way. Also, if your child gets a subscription to any magazine (Highlights, Lego etc.) and you want to get rid of their old issues, we can use those as well.

For the next 2 weeks, I have some pumpkin activities planned. We will need help with some supplies. If you would like to help, just send me an email and let me know how you want to help. We will need 20 mini pumpkins (the kind you get in the grocery store), 2 medium sized pumpkins, 1 can of 15 oz. pumpkin, 16 oz cool whip, and 1 vanilla instant pudding.

For those of you who are chaperoning on our field trip, please send in a copy of your insurance information and your driver's license. The school has to have it on file. Thank you so much for volunteering your time!

Thank you so much for all you do! We can't do it without you. You guys are amazing!

Here is what fall break looks like at my house!

Last Week Reminders

Dear Parents,

I just want to remind everyone conferences are this week. Please let me know as soon as possible if you cannot make your conference, so we can reschedule.

Book orders went home last week. There have already been some orders placed! Please place all online orders by October 10th. Paper orders should be turned in by this Friday. I want to make sure their orders are back when they return from fall break. Also, the holiday order forms will be coming out before we know it. I have had many parents in years past want to order gifts for their child. Just send me an email to let me know if an order needs to be kept secret from your child. Thank you again for ordering from Scholastic!!

The awards assembly for the first 9 weeks will be Thursday morning. There is more information about the time on the newsletter. At Campus School, awards are given for perfect attendance and citizenship (E's in all classes including support). For perfect attendance, you must be here everyday and not have any tardies or early dismissals. There are also 3 individual awards given out each 9 weeks. One child is selected from every class by their teacher for Campus Tiger Pride, Personal Best and Most Improved. I will send you an email to let you know if your child is receiving an award.

I am so proud of the work they have done this 9 weeks. They have been so eager to learn! I can't wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for us. They bring so much joy to each day we spend together.

The photo site has been updated with last weeks pictures!

Hopes and Dreams!!

At the beginning of the school year, we discussed the many things we would be learning in first grade. We used the smart board to sort the topics by subject. Then they used a graphic organizer to pick several areas that they were really interested in learning. After they finished organizing their thoughts, they picked the area that was the most important to them. We then went through the writer's workshop process to write our hopes and dreams in complete sentences. The photos below show how we will display them in the classroom for the rest of the school year. These are also on our photo share site.

Estimation Jar, Fast Facts & Compliment Party

Dear Parents,

A little over 2 weeks ago we started the estimation jar. The estimation jar will go home with a different child each week. We will go in reverse abc order. When the estimation jar comes to your house please fill it with something that can be shared with the class. It can be candy, treats, erasers, goldfish etc. Do not put over 120 items in the jar or less than 17 items. Please do not let your child count the items. You will have to count, so they can still participate in class. The estimation jar will normally go home on Friday. Please send it back on Monday. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays we will observe the estimation jar. On Thursdays, we will write our estimates in our mystery math journals and justify our guesses. We will count the items in the jar and order and compare our estimates on Fridays. This week our jar is coming home today because I was not here on Friday.

This is the estimation jar.

Here is our winner from the first week. She got to share her winnings with the class and take the rest home to her family.

Our Fast Fact test this week will cover the 2 facts only. We take our test on Friday. 2 + 10 will be the highest fact we will cover. Please make sure to study with your child every night. Your child will have a note in their agenda if they did not pass their 0s and 1s test. They will get to retake this test on Wednesday.

They earned their 10th compliment today!!!! We will be having our first compliment party of the year on Friday. They will get to end their day with a movie and popcorn. If you have a G rated movie we can borrow, please send me an email with the title of the movie. They will get to vote on which movie they want to watch. I will send you an email back if they picked your movie.

Thank you so much for all you do. I have an amazing class, and I enjoy each day I get to spend with them.

Picture Day and Fast Facts

Don't forget picture day is tomorrow. Our class is scheduled to take our pictures first thing in the morning at 8:15 am. If you want your child to take a picture, make sure to return the form below. It came home in your child's folder on Monday. The form must be completed with payment, or they will not get to take a picture. They do offer a make-up day later in the fall for those students who need to retake their picture. 

We have been working on our addition facts in class. This Friday they will take their first fast fact test. The test will only cover the 0 and 1s addition facts (0+1=1 etc.). The highest fact we will cover this week is 1+10=11. The test will have 20 problems, and they will have 2 minutes to answer as many problems as they can. To help your child build their fluency, practice with them at home using flashcards. You can make a set using index cards or buy them at the Dollar Store. Next week, we will move up to our 2s fast facts. 

We have been working on our farm writing!

High Frequency Words and Dolch

Yesterday, I added a new label to your child's binder. The back pocket is now for their high frequency words. In this pocket, you will find words that your child needs to read every night. Please help them practice, so you can monitor their progress. I will go over their words with them again the following Monday. Cards will be taken out as they learn the words. In addition, I will be adding new words for them to practice. Every child's words will be different. This is based on their individual needs. Some of you will find that your child does not have any words. That just means they already know the words we are studying this week. 

In your child's folder, you will find a copy of their Dolch list. This is your copy to keep. The words that are highlighted are the ones they already know. Each group is broken down by grade level. They are not expected to already know all the words on this page. However, I have them read for me until they begin to miss several words. This allows for me to see how I need to differentiate my instruction. Please don't be overwhelmed by this list. This just gives us a place to start. 

*The Dolch words are the 220 most frequently found words.  Students who learn these words have a good base for beginning reading.  Many of these words cannot be sounded out because they do not follow decoding rules.  These words must be learned as sight words. (Jan Brett Dolch Word List)

Scholastic and Wishes!

Our first Scholastic book order came home today. Visit the Scholastic tab on the blog to learn more about ordering online. Our class earns a free book for every order placed online. If you don't feel comfortable ordering online, you can still send in the completed order form with a check made out to scholastic. No cash please. Please submit all orders by September 7. 

Our class wish list is posted on the door outside of our classroom.  Our list consists of items we would like to have for our class. It is completely optional, but if you would like to help, just take the star that has the item written on it you would like to donate. Our class was so excited to get a soccer ball from our list earlier this week. It has already gotten lots of use on the playground!

Their weekly work from last week came home today. It will always come home on Wednesdays unless we have a holiday or something special happening at school. Make sure to sign the weekly work signature sheet. As always, thanks for everything you do at home!!

Share Bag and More!

I hope you all had a wonderful start to your week! The share bag went home for the first time today. When the share bag comes home with your child they need to pick one item to bring to school the following school day to share with the class. The item must fit in the bag and follow school rules (no toy weapons). It is very important that they return the bag the next school day because the next child in line is eagerly waiting for their turn. 

Don't forget to sign-up to be a mystery reader. We love having our loved ones come read to us. You can find the sign-up info at http://lpmiller0521.wikispaces.com/Mystery+Reader. 

Our class has about 20% participation in the CSPN support drive so far. Check out the envelope that came home last week for more information. If our class gets 100% participation, we will get a blue jean day!! It only takes as little as a dollar to show your support for our wonderful school!

Friday we are having our first Snazzy Snack. Our Snazzy Snacks usually tie into something we are studying.  Please let me know if your child has any food allergies or restrictions. Visit our Snazzy Snack Wiki to get more details about our snack for this Friday. http://lpmiller0521.wikispaces.com/Snazzy+Snacks 

Your child brought home a new poem today. Make sure they practice every night!

Weekly Work

Your child brought home their weekly work today. Remember, the papers on the keep at home side are yours to keep. Once you finish reviewing the papers on the return to school side, make sure to put them back in the folder. Also, sign and date the weekly work signature form. Please do not put any other questions on this form. You can put those in their planner. 

Today we learned about the left and right brain. They will be bringing home their brains tomorrow!

Our day ended on a wonderful note! The students beat me in the points today, so they got to vote on what we did for the last 5 minutes of our day. They chose drawing on the white board!