Happy Happy Halloween!

We had such a fun Friday investigating our ENORMOUS pumpkin! And a BIG thanks to Mrs. Russell for cooking two delicious pumpkin pies for the children to taste!!!

READING
This week we will focus on the letter "i" as in "insect." We will spend Monday talking about spiders and how it is NOT an insect. Tuesday we will talk about insects/bugs and the children will "Build A Bug." The rest of the week we will talk about ladybugs, caterpillars and many, many more icky, sticky, creepy, crawly insects. Our word wall words for this week are did, in, it, this, and sit. Please make sure your child is able to read these word upon sight for the unannounced word wall checks we will be having this nine weeks.
LANGUAGE
We will learn rule 9 this week~Some words name things. (nouns) We will continue practicing all previous rules learned so far this year. Remember, we will have DOL daily grades on their sentences each Friday.
MATH
We will spend Monday doing some fun Halloween math activities/games and start Ch. 7, More Subtraction Concepts on Tuesday. The children will be introduced to related addition and subtraction facts and counting back on a number line. Please continue Math Facts In A Flash at home through Renaissance.
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES
We will study lots of interesting facts about spiders and other insects along with starting some fun November themes such as scarecrows, Thanksgiving, Veteran's Day, and Career Day. What a busy, busy month we have ahead of us!

THE BLOUNT BOOK FAIR HAS ARRIVED!

Parents, the book fair is located in the library all this week. The children were allowed to preview the book fair on Friday to see what all they can purchase. They were so excited and eager to shop right then. I loved watching them make connections with some of our classroom books and chapter book read alouds!

The children will only be allowed to go this week if they have money. There are lots of great books and other items such as small toys so please talk with your children about what they can purchase. I will not be with them so they will be shopping on their own. Please remember to send their money labeled so it does not get lost or misplaced. Parents are welcome to come and take their child to the book fair. The best time to do this is right after our lunch which ends around 11:30. However, if you cannot make it then, just come when you can!!!

Have a safe night trick or treating~I cannot wait to hear about the children's costumes!

RED RIBBON WEEK

Monday ~ "We Are Proud to Be Drug Free" Our class will make a red chain and sign it to hand outside our classroom door to show we are DRUG FREE!

Tuesday ~ "Sock It To Drugs and Slip Into Good Character" Children wear crazy socks and slippers.

Wednesday ~ "Hats Off To Not Using Drugs" Children wear their favorite hat.

Thursday ~ "We Are Too Cool To Do Drugs" Children wear their sunglasses.

Friday ~ "Team Up Against Drugs" Children wear their favorite team's jersey.

Is everyone ready to start our second nine weeks of school?

READING

Our letter for this week is "w" as in "wind." We will talk about the four seasons: fall, winter, spring and summer. Our word wall words are we, was, don't, off, and right.

LANGUAGE

Children will be introduced to rule 8 ~ The names of holidays begin with capital letters. Please continue to review rules 1-7 as they will still be expected to correct sentences with the previous taught rules.

MATH

We will finish Ch. 4 and test this week and move right along to more Subtraction Strategies.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES

We will wrap up our "pumpkin" unit this week! Thanks to Reagan's mom for donating a pumpkin that we will carve and investigate on Friday! :)

REMINDERS AND IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

Nancy's Italian Ice will be on sale tomorrow so bring in $1.00!

Library Day is Tuesday ~ don't forget to bring your book!

Report Cards will come home on Thursday ~ remember to sign and return!

Have a happy week ~ Kristin :)

Let's go picking in the PUMPKIN PATCH.

Now we're jiggling the old gate latch.

Gate swings wide and we step inside.

Pumpkins spread like an ocean tide.

You take the one like a fat balloon.

I'll take the one like an orange moon.

Hike to the house in fifty paces.

Then we'll carve out the pumpkin faces.

Just a preview of our day at the Pumpkin Patch. More pictures to come...

READING

This week we will focus on the letter "t" as in "turkey." We will share what we already know about turkeys and learn some new interesting facts! Our word wall words for the week are: at, that, open, old, many.

LANGUAGE

The children will be introduced to rule 7 this week, The names of months begin with capital letters. We will continue reviewing rules 1-6. The children have also been introduced to ABC order in their library lessons so I will reinforce that skill in the classroom each week with different activities.

MATH

We tested last week on Ch.3 and the children are ready to keep moving forward. They are catching on quickly to subtraction! We will begin Ch.4, More Subtraction Concepts. Look for a review sheet to come home the night before the test. "Zero the Hero" will be visiting this week for the fourth time this year and I am always curious to see what he brings, be sure to ask your children about this!

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES

We will spend the rest of this week and next week talking about PUMPKINS. We will talk about the life cycle of pumpkins, bring in our favorite pumpkin recipes to make a class book, have an art activity, and we may even get to taste something pumpkin flavored! :)

REMINDERS

Spirit Night @ Burger King (Chantilly) this Tuesday, Oct. 18th.

This Thursday, Oct. 20th is our FALL FESTIVAL, 4:30-7:30. I hope to see you there!!!

Signed papers will go home on Thursday, Oct. 20th.

Picture money is due by Friday, Oct. 20.

Spirit Night @ Nancy's Italian Ice is Wednesday, Oct. 26th.

Report cards will go home next Thursday, Oct. 27th.

Box Tops are due Monday, Oct. 31st.

Deadline for the Just Give Campaign is Tuesday, Nov. 1st.

PTA meeting will be Tuesday, Nov. 8th.

There will be NO SCHOOL (HOORAY!) on Friday, Nov. 11th.

Happy Fall Ya'll ~ Kristin :)

It's Raining, It's Pouring!

I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend despite the rain!

Look who came to read to our Firsties Friday morning! Dr. Barbara Thompson read Llama Llama Red Pajama and the kids LOVED it!!

We spent terrific Tuesday talking about Christopher Columbus, the famous explorer, who sailed around the world looking for "treasures." The children themselves became explorers today and brought back some of their very own "treasures." Of course, the most popular treasure was GOLD, but some children brought back sea horses, swords, and silk. I love a first grader's imagination!!!

READING

We will spend this short week focusing on the letter "n" as in "nest." The children will identify characteristics of birds, particularly a nightingale. The word wall words for this week are an, and, once, or and round.

LANGUAGE

The children will be introduced to grammar rule 6 ~ The names of the days of the week begin with capital letters: marvelous Monday, terrific Tuesday, wonderful Thursday, thrilling Thursday and fantastic Friday

MATH

We will finish Ch. 3, Subtraction Concepts this week. Look for a review sheet to come home the night before the test. I hope everyone is able to access Renaissance at Home, where your child will be able to practice their Math Facts In A Flash. Memorizing these will be very rewarding for the skills to come!

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES

We will finish October with some fun Halloween/pumpkin related activities and be ready to start November with some more fun fall related themes!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

Oct. 17~Fieldtrip to the PUMPKIN PATCH

Oct. 18~Spirit Night at Burger King (Chantilly Pkwy)

Oct. 20~Blount Fall Festival at Thompson Park 4:30-7:30

Oct. 26~Spirit Night at Nancy's Italian Ice

Nov. 1~Deadline for Just Give Campaign

Have a Happy Happy Week!

October is finally here!

A BIG THANKS to all our mom's that came on Thursday to take the class to lunch while I enjoyed Teacher Treat Day! What a treat!!!

LANGUAGE

We will begin learning rule 5~The names of specific places begin with a capital letter. We will also continue reviewing previous rules. Daily grade on Friday so make sure you are going over the sentences that come home each day.

READING

This week we will learn the letter pair "th" as in "the." The children will work on some activities related to their name. The word wall words are the, now, ask, every, and how.

MATH

We are finishing up Ch. 6 this week. Look for a review sheet to come home the night before the test. This is the last chapter practicing addition facts. We will continue to review throughout the year. Our next chapter begins subtraction and we will spend the next few weeks on this skill and then we will move on to mixed addition and subtraction.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES

We will spend most of October talking about pumpkins and other fall related themes.

REMINDERS

October 6 ~ Signed papers

October 10 ~ No school for the children!

October 11 ~ Spirit Night @ Jason's Deli

October 17 ~ Fieldtrip to the Pumpkin Patch (info coming home soon)

October 18 ~ Spirit Night @ Burger King (chantilly location)

October 20 ~ Fall Festival from 4:30-7:30

October 25 ~ Spirit Night @ Nancy's Italian Ice

November 1 ~ Deadline for "Just Give Campaign"

Have a great week and enjoy the weather! Fall is here!!!