I am pretty sure I just took a breath for the first time and it is 3:20 pm. Whew! We had a ton of stuff going on this morning…..and we ROCKED it! We had book fair, treasure box, calendar math, snack, centers explanation, whole group reading, centers, small group reading, math teams, small group math lessons, PE, read aloud, lunch, social studies Pilgrim tour, pack up and dismissal…..  🙂

Some things you need to know….

Today was our day for the book fair! If you missed it…have no fear! I am cutting and pasting from the library email so you will know when your Bear can shop again (or shop for the first time)…

Paper bag puppet book reports are due on Friday. This is an easy-cheesy way to get a great participation grade, and learn to speak in front of a group. Let me know if you need a paper lunch bag. I will send another home if needed.

You may start noticing more homework in math. We are working in small groups or Math Teams, and it is coming along rather nicely. I have revamped the schedule and the teams again and in a day or two or “fifty-eleven” weeks, I will get it just like I like it……One of the benefits is that I can work with a small group and really see where they each need work. Please try your very best to return homework the next day. I think the children are having fun in Math Teams and they all seem actively engaged for longer periods, with hands-on materials, which is what I like to see.

Veteran’s Day puppet show and Butch Fuller’s Indian Camp both at Rock Quarry on Wednesday.

No school on Thursday!

Ms. Jane Harvey is interning with us from The UofA for the next two weeks and then she goes back to the University full time. So if your child talks about another “new” teacher, that’s who it is!

Some really yucky grades in Reading come home today! It is a double sided paper with a paragraph on one side and 5 questions on the other. This will be part of the regular Friday testing from here on out. I am dropping this grade for all students, but I want you to help your child read and answer the questions. Practice makes perfect! If your child is a green star reader, I read the whole paragraph and all of the questions to them.  Blue stars and yellow stars read it on their own. This paragraph and the questions are written “on grade level” (you will see a small OL at the bottom…meaning “On Level”). This means that the children in first grade should be able to read and answer the questions with little or no help. Now, don’t panic! We will work on this! 

Happy Monday! Your Bear should be tired tonight….I know I am! Alicia