Pumpkin Patch Fun!!!

Happy Veteran’s Day!

I hope everyone enjoyed the early dismissal on Friday and the “no school” holiday on today!  We slept in and stayed in our pajamas most of the day!

Students may purchase Nancy’s Italian Ice on tomorrow since Monday was a holiday.  As a reminder, I will be taking a half day tomorrow.  Mrs. Martinez, {a former Blount second grade teacher} will be in room 121!  :)

In Reading, we will focus on the letter “c” as in “cat.”  Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner we will also spend this week and next talking about the Mayflower, Pilgrims and Native Americans.  But most importantly we will give thanks!

In Language, we will begin learning rule 6 {Some words name things. ~ nouns}  The children will start identifying nouns in their DOL sentences by drawing a line under them with a blue crayon.  A noun names a person, place, thing, or animal. 

In Math, we are still working our way through Ch 5, Related Facts {fact families}.  If all goes well the test will be Friday so be on the look out for a review sheet to come home Thursday. 

Progress Reports will come home on Thursday.  Please remember this means we are halfway through the nine weeks.  If you are concerned about a grade, please know your child will have almost four weeks to work on bringing it up.  :)

On Thursday, the lunchroom will be serving a yummy Thanksgiving meal ~ turkey and dressing so if you haven’t had the opportunity to eat with your child or just need an excuse to eat with your child we would love for you to join us!  Our lunch time is from 11:10-11:25.

Congratulations to Josh for making the 25 point club! 

Have a great week and please contact me with questions or concerns!

Kristin :)

November Already!

Can you believe that November is already here? I love this month and have so much to be thankful for at Blount Elementary.  A big thanks to everyone who was able to attend the fieldtrip on Friday.  The weather was perfect, the children’s behavior was perfect and it was a great way to start November.  Please check back later in the week to see our Pumpkin Patch pictures.  :)  I got some good ones!

I am thankful for all the precious children and their families in room 121.  On Thursday afternoon I was presented with a gift card to Chappy’s from PTA for having the most children attend the Spirit Night at Chappy’s on Monday!  And let me just say that the Thomas family started out their weekend celebrating a much loved dinner at Chappy’s!

Don’t forget that Tuesday, November 6th is the ONLY day for first graders to purchase the grade level t-shirt.  The students may wear these every Tuesday and we will also ask our students to wear these on future field trips! 

Remember that Friday is an early dismissal day.  Blount will be releasing students at 1:10 so please make sure you have made arrangements for your child.  Enjoy an early start to a long weekend because there will be no school on Monday in observance of Veteran’s Day!

The PTA meeting scheduled for Tuesday, November 6th has been cancelled!

In Reading we will focus on the letter “h” as in “hippo.”  We will focus on mammals and their habitats.  I hope by the end of the week your children can recall that mammals are animals that have a backbone, can breathe air, can give birth to live babies, and have hair or fur.  Ask him to name some of the mammals we talked about this week and what habitat they live in.

In Language, we will continue learning rule 5 {A sentence that asks something needs a question mark at the end.}  Last week, every sentence we wrote ended with a question mark.  This week, their DOL sentences will contain asking and telling sentences and the children will be expected to sort them appropriately.  Please go over these each night as it will be taken for a language grade on Friday!

In Math, we will continue with Ch. 5, Related Facts using the Fact Family.  A fact family is made up of 3 numbers that make two addition sentences and two subtraction sentences. 

Ex.  2, 3, and 5   {2+3=5, 3+2=5, 5-3=2, 5-2=3}

The Kindergarten and First Grade Community Service Project is up and running.  We will be collecting items for the Montgomery Humane Society through Friday, November 16th.  A letter will be sent home listing needed items that can be donated in a big yellow box located in the front lobby. 

Upcoming Events and Reminders

10/5 ~ Nancy’s Italian Ice $1.00

10/6 ~ Library Visit with Mrs. Moore

10/15 ~ Signed Papers/Progress Reports

10/21-10/23 ~ Thanksgiving Holidays

Have a happy week and please contact me with any questions or concerns!

Kristin :)

Pumpkin Patch, Here We Come!

Our field trip is Friday to the Pumpkin Patch.  Please have your child wear a Blount spirit shirt so we can easily recognize them.  I anticipate it to be very crowded and it looks like the weather is going to be absolutely perfect.  Lunch was included in the price of the field trip.  If you are not planning on checking your child out, you might want to send a snack for them to have when we return to school that afternoon.

In Reading this week, we will focus on the letter “i” as in “insect.”  Some insects we will learn about include caterpillars, ladybugs, and butterflies.  We will also begin talking about pumpkins to help us make connections on our field trip.

In Language, we will learn rule 5 {A sentence that asks something needs a question mark at the end.}  This is such a tricky skill for first graders so please make sure you talk about questions each night.  We will brainstorm question words for our anchor chart to help us learn the rule such as who, what, why, where, when, how, did, can, which, is. 

In Math, we will be ready to test on Monday.  On Tuesday, we will begin Ch. 5 Addition and Subtraction Relationships.  I will use the terms Fact Families and Related Facts a lot during this chapter.  Remember, a review sheet will come home the night before the test.

The Book Fair is here until Thursday.  Please feel free to stop by and shop with your child or send money in an envelope labeled with their name.  I have spoken with the children and they know that whatever they buy {books, toys, erasers, pencils} must go directly in their book bag to be taken home.  All books from home should only be brought to school for AR testing. 

Happy Halloween on Wednesday as I imagine most of the children will participate in some kind of trick-or-treating.  I hope you have fun and safe experiences!  I do ask that you not send more than one piece of candy {no suckers} to school each day with your child for lunch and/or snack. 

Upcoming Events and Reminders:

Monday ~ Nancy’s Italian Ice and Spirit Night at Chappy’s

Thursday ~ Signed Papers and Book Fair Ends as well as the Just Give Campaign

Friday ~ Field trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Nov. 9 ~ Early Dismissal

Nov. 12 ~ Veteran’s Day Holiday {no school}

Help Needed:

I have an easy job for some parents who might have some extra time this week.  :)  I have a stack of consumable science workbooks that need to be put to use in room 121.  However, I think I might go crazy if the students have one more workbook to cram in their desk or under their desk.  So I need certain pages torn out.  Please let me know if you are interested {send me an email} and I can send home a small stack and a list of the pages to be torn out with your little one.  Thanks so much!

Items Wanted:

The next time you get ready to throw away your cereal boxes, please don’t!  I use them to make templates for the children to trace for some of their writing jobs.  Send them in to room 121 as they will be used right away!  Thanks!  :)

So now for some pictures I was able to snap this week of your smart, talented, and artistic children.  We wrote about our favorite weather and our not so favorite weather.  We wrote about “good wind” and “bad wind.”  We labeled a scarecrow and learned lots of sound words and of course our favorite was when the pumpkin at the end said, “BOO BOO.”  I am guessing that was a favorite because the children got to scream it out over and over!  What a fun and happy week we had together! 

 

Green Slime and Magical Colored Drinks…..Oh My!

Did your children come home super excited on Tuesday with a little green slimy treat in their bookbag? 

A New Nine Weeks!

On Friday, we ended the nine weeks with new seats on the carpet.  Everyone loves to be on the front row so my goal is to give everyone that opportunity!  :)

This week we will get new desks and clean out our supply boxes to make room for some fresh supplies {crayons, glue sticks and pencils}.  Also, your child will receive a new behavioral log and everyone will start with a 100.

In Reading, we will talk about the letter “w” as in “wind.”  We will brainstorm weather words and make an anchor chart together.  We will also spend some time learning about scarecrows and they will even get to show off their artistic skills by making one to put out in the hallway!  We will read The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid Of Anything and learn sound words such as clap, stomp, nod, wriggle so be sure to ask your children about them.   If you don’t have the book, it is a must have.  There is so much expression in this book and good readers read with expression!

In Language, we will continue learning rule 4 {The names of specific places begin with capital letters.}  I hope you have noticed some of the places the children helped me come up with for our sentences each morning. 

In Math, we will continue learning subtraction strategies.  So far, we have learned how to count back and how to relate addition to subtraction. 

The students are continuing to take AR tests and doing a fabulous job.  Please remember to sign the AR log when you have read and read and read their library book with them backwards and forwards!  This lets me know you are ready for your child to take a test!  Children in first grade get recognized school wide when they receive 25 points and have a 90% average correct.  I have some that are so close!!!

Red Ribbon Week {Oct 22 – Oct 26} Celebrating being Drug Free

Monday ~ we will make a red chain with our signatures promising to stay drug free

Tuesday ~ students may wear crazy socks

Wednesday ~ students may wear their favorite hat

Thursday ~ students may wear sunglasses

Friday ~ students may wear their favorite team’s jersey

Other Upcoming Events and Reminders:

Nancy’s Italian Ice every Monday for $1.

Tuesday we will visit Mrs. Morris for our library lesson ~ don’t forget to bring your book!

Wednesday, Oct. 24 is the deadline for permission slips and money to be turned in for our exciting fieldtrip to the Pumpkin Patch on Friday, Nov. 2.  Also if you plan to attend as a chaperone, please also let me know ASAP so that I can make sure a paper has been filled out and submitted for a background check {a new MPS policy}.

Thursday report cards will go home.  You will receive two copies {one to keep and one to sign and return}.

Go ahead and mark your calendars and make plans for an Early Dismissal on Friday, Nov. 9.  All MPS schools will be releasing two hours early for professional development.  Blount will dismiss at 1:10 on this day. 

There will be no school on Monday, Nov. 12 in observance of Veteran’s Day!

On Tuesday, Nov. 13 Mrs. Martinez {a retired 2nd grade teacher from Blount} will be subbing for me beginning at 11:30.  I will be attending the Southern Baptist Conference with my church’s choir as we were chosen to lead the congregation in a few praise and worship songs!

The Thanksgiving holidays are only three days this year!  There will be school on Monday, Nov 19 and Tuesday, Nov 20.  Thanksgiving holidays will be Wednesday, Nov 21 through Friday, Nov. 23. 

Sorry for the overload!  Have a happy week!  Please contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.