Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Monday, March 3, 2014
Read-a-Thon & Other Happenings
We made it to another month! Woohoo! Our awesome class read nearly 4,000 combined minutes during the Read-a-Thon. That is such a tremendous number. Did the kids tell you what the "mystery" book was? It was "Detective LaRue," which was a book we read earlier this year while we investigated reading. How awesome are we ; )
Some updates:
1.) With the warmer weather fast approaching, please pack appropriate gear. We'll stay out of puddles as much as we can!
2.) Spelling words are on the right hand side.
3.) Math homework will be a greater than, less than worksheet.
4.) My sister, Miss Dorris, will be volunteering in our room 3 days a week helping some of the kiddos on "ketchup," work. Just another great way to differentiate learning!!
5.) Behavior is continuing to improve! Way to go parents!
6.) We will be celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday with many fun activities, an all school drop everything and read time in the hallway, and a spirit day.
Some updates:
1.) With the warmer weather fast approaching, please pack appropriate gear. We'll stay out of puddles as much as we can!
2.) Spelling words are on the right hand side.
3.) Math homework will be a greater than, less than worksheet.
4.) My sister, Miss Dorris, will be volunteering in our room 3 days a week helping some of the kiddos on "ketchup," work. Just another great way to differentiate learning!!
5.) Behavior is continuing to improve! Way to go parents!
6.) We will be celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday with many fun activities, an all school drop everything and read time in the hallway, and a spirit day.
7.) In math, we are working on greater than, less than, and equal. We also started adding 1 more, 1 less, 10 more and 10 less to any number less than 100. In reading, we are focusing on fluency and being able to read sight words without sounding them out.
Have a great week!
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Update 2/24/14
We're heading into our last week of February! Can you believe it?! The spelling list is updated, and I added a spelling pattern section for all of you to know how we learn some of our spelling words. Some of them seem silly, but they truly work!
Important happenings this week:
1. Regular spelling week, finally ; )
2. Week 3 of Unit 4 in reading. We are starting to talk about using and keeping Earth's natural treasures. Mrs. Strecker borrowed us her rock collection, so be sure to ask your kiddo about their favorite rocks!
3. We are still working on tens and ones in math. We are starting to touch on greater than and less than, working with the hundreds chart.
4. Keep reading for the Read-a-Thon! We are almost to 1,500 minutes in just a few short days. We are trying to be the top class for the prize! We received one clue; a pencil and a sheet of paper. We'll get more as we read.
Behavior:
I would love to hear some positive behavior stories. The kiddos seem to be slowly "getting" the idea of being a boss vs. being a leader, but I never really know how it affects home life. Let me know :D
Important happenings this week:
1. Regular spelling week, finally ; )
2. Week 3 of Unit 4 in reading. We are starting to talk about using and keeping Earth's natural treasures. Mrs. Strecker borrowed us her rock collection, so be sure to ask your kiddo about their favorite rocks!
3. We are still working on tens and ones in math. We are starting to touch on greater than and less than, working with the hundreds chart.
4. Keep reading for the Read-a-Thon! We are almost to 1,500 minutes in just a few short days. We are trying to be the top class for the prize! We received one clue; a pencil and a sheet of paper. We'll get more as we read.
Behavior:
I would love to hear some positive behavior stories. The kiddos seem to be slowly "getting" the idea of being a boss vs. being a leader, but I never really know how it affects home life. Let me know :D
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Professional Happenings
During my free time, I have tried brainstorming ways to bring new materials into our classroom. I've set up several different venues for class income. Here are several links to various projects I've started. Share with your friends and colleagues in support of our class! Thanks for all that you do!
My Donors Choose Profile 
My Teachers Pay Teachers Shop
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Update 2/18/2014
Happy Tuesday!
I hope your long break was as restful as mine! Can you believe that it is almost midterms for Quarter 3? where has the time gone?!
This week, we have/had the Spelling Bee, our Bitterroot Mini Math Olympics, and unfortunately, we had to squeeze a spelling test into a short week. We've been taking our reading series a little slower than other schools, but we still need to stay on track so we can reach our "ending" spot on time. As always, the list is to the right of this post and a few scrolls down.
Our behavior has improved! Maybe it took a little threat of "regular" school versus "fun" school. Remember, I am only disciplining when it is a skill/action that is first grade developmentally appropriate. All kiddos are different, but certain milestones happen during this year for all students. That being said, thanks for all that you do at home to support positive at school interactions (i.e. consistent bedtimes, healthy diets, lots of love, and homework help!)
Math this week is still ten more, ten less, one more, one less. We are learning the math language, two tens, one ones to represent 21. It gives them a sense of what 21 looks like visually to help with harder problems we're getting into.
Reading this week is Unit 4 week 2. Spelling Test on Friday. Our vocabulary for the unit is natural resource, harm, space, cherish and conserve. Our thematic question is, "How do we use and keep Earth's treasures?"
I hope your long break was as restful as mine! Can you believe that it is almost midterms for Quarter 3? where has the time gone?!
This week, we have/had the Spelling Bee, our Bitterroot Mini Math Olympics, and unfortunately, we had to squeeze a spelling test into a short week. We've been taking our reading series a little slower than other schools, but we still need to stay on track so we can reach our "ending" spot on time. As always, the list is to the right of this post and a few scrolls down.
Our behavior has improved! Maybe it took a little threat of "regular" school versus "fun" school. Remember, I am only disciplining when it is a skill/action that is first grade developmentally appropriate. All kiddos are different, but certain milestones happen during this year for all students. That being said, thanks for all that you do at home to support positive at school interactions (i.e. consistent bedtimes, healthy diets, lots of love, and homework help!)
Math this week is still ten more, ten less, one more, one less. We are learning the math language, two tens, one ones to represent 21. It gives them a sense of what 21 looks like visually to help with harder problems we're getting into.
Reading this week is Unit 4 week 2. Spelling Test on Friday. Our vocabulary for the unit is natural resource, harm, space, cherish and conserve. Our thematic question is, "How do we use and keep Earth's treasures?"
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Update 2/11/14
Just a little clarification on the behavior text. We are all trying our best to deal with the crazy amount of snowy days this winter, and yesterday must have been the culmination of that and some lingering behaviors over the school year. I found some resources for those that requested or who are interested.
http://www.pbs.org/parents/raisingboys/
http://www.pbs.org/parents/raisinggirls/
We've really been talking about being leaders vs. being bossy. "Educators sometimes refer to a child's "moral compass"--that personality trait that guides the child's actions. A bossy child usually insists that things be done his or her way, sometimes to the point of intimidating others. Even though a child may appear to have a strong personality, he or she may not be a natural leader. People will usually tire of being forced to comply with a bossy child's wishes." (http://www.papta.org/Page/353)
This will be an important skill later in life. Spending quality time to talk about all of this might make the transition a little easier ; )
Important information for this week:
We will take our spelling test this week on Thursday. Sorry for the confusion! We thought some extra practice for the ir/er/ur would be helpful, and starting a new list on a short week is harder than it's worth two weeks in a row!
No school Friday or Monday. Half-Day Thursday.
Party on Thursday! It sounds like we've got a lot of food for snacks. Thanks for all of your help. I'll try and keep them low on the sugar levels!
http://www.pbs.org/parents/raisingboys/
http://www.pbs.org/parents/raisinggirls/
We've really been talking about being leaders vs. being bossy. "Educators sometimes refer to a child's "moral compass"--that personality trait that guides the child's actions. A bossy child usually insists that things be done his or her way, sometimes to the point of intimidating others. Even though a child may appear to have a strong personality, he or she may not be a natural leader. People will usually tire of being forced to comply with a bossy child's wishes." (http://www.papta.org/Page/353)
This will be an important skill later in life. Spending quality time to talk about all of this might make the transition a little easier ; )
Important information for this week:
We will take our spelling test this week on Thursday. Sorry for the confusion! We thought some extra practice for the ir/er/ur would be helpful, and starting a new list on a short week is harder than it's worth two weeks in a row!
No school Friday or Monday. Half-Day Thursday.
Party on Thursday! It sounds like we've got a lot of food for snacks. Thanks for all of your help. I'll try and keep them low on the sugar levels!
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
100th Day!
Happy 100th Day of School! That is Old Timer Dimock ; )
All of us "old" folk. So morose!
Just kidding!
If only you could really see the detail in some of these outfits! Great work, parents.
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