Brady

We took poor Brady to the vet today and he has pneumonia.  We are hoping the medication helps and that he recovers quickly. Poor puppy! It makes me think about all of the people and animals in this world who are suffering with health issues.  I know I take my health for granted too often.

I hope you are all having a happy, healthy break!

Merry Christmas!

I hope Santa was good to everyone! It is so nice to spend time with friends and family! We finally have a name for the dog........ Brady Joseph Edgar.  Unfortunately, he is sick again. The poor little thing has a ton of congestion and keeps coughing anytime he walks. We think it's a reaction to another vaccine the breeder gave him before we picked him up a second time. I cannot believe he is feeling this sick again. It always hits on the weekend when our vet is closed. My parents are hoping the vet is opened tomorrow so we can get him examined.

Have a wonderful holiday with your family!

Christmas Break is Here!

We had a wonderful day!!! We had a sing-a-long in the morning, completed reindeer themed activities, played "Holiday Music Bingo," and had a reindeer themed party. Five parents came to help with the party and Mrs. P planned it! The kids loved it and I appreciated it greatly!

The puppy is coming home tonight after being away with kennel cough! I'll update you all if he is named over the break!

I felt so blessed with so many wonderful gifts! I was not able to finish all of my thank you cards today! I will definitely finish them over the break! I really wanted to get them done, but we ran out of time today!


Have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year!!!! I will miss you all!

If You Take a Mouse to the Movies

Tomorrow, we are reading If You Take a Mouse to the Movies and completing several activities related to the book. Please make sure your child returns his or her permission slip in order to eat popcorn!

We listened to The Polar Express  on http://www.storylineonline.net/ today.  It is a really neat website with several interesting stories. I'll add the link to the side of the blog.

Let me know if you have any puppy name ideas!


Happy Tuesday!

Santa, Santa, Santa!

Today, we made a present and wrote about Fox and Bear Look at the Moon in the spaces.  The students were very excited about the bows!  They did a great job discussing the story and writing about it! We reviewed short vowel sounds and talked about plural nouns. I love having a review week! It feels like we are getting a lot done! Students read sentences and had to determine the correct ending mark. They put a counter on a Bingo board once they determined the correct ending mark.This activity was fun, yet beneficial! Punctuation is a difficult concept for first grade students to master. Please reinforce this concept at home when you read with your children. Simply mentioning it briefly while reading a story may make a big impact.

We have a very exciting week ahead! Tomorrow, we are reading a cute story about Santa getting stuck in the chimney. Students will respond to a prompt about this and make a little craft. We are taking the benchmark exams. I think the students will do a wonderful job! Wednesday, we will be reading If You Take a Mouse to the Movies.  We will eat some popcorn while completing several educational activities related to the story. Permission slips to eat popcorn will go home tomorrow (Tuesday) night after school.

I have a cookie exchange tomorrow! It's time to bake, bake, bake!

Let me know if you have a good name idea for the puppy! My favorite thus far is Charlie.

Ginger (the all white dog) and the puppy taking a nap!

My Parents' New Nameless Puppy!

First grade school dental exams are scheduled for this Thursday.  A reminder notice will be sent home this evening.  The exam is only for the students who signed up for a school dental exam.  If your child is having a private dental exam this year, please return the form completed by your family dentist by April 30, 2012. Please contact Mrs. Minjock if you need another form or if you have any questions!

The kids did a great job singing today in the concert! They smiled and used their loud singing voices!!!! Everyone looked so nice all dressed up!

After we read The Polar Express and students looked under their seats, they found bells that Santa left them! It was a very exciting afternoon!

Santa!

Someone gave me the following information. I have never tried it before, but if it works, it would be pretty cool!

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home

This website allows your child to get a special message from Santa.  You upload their picture and put in some personalized things (favorite color, toy they want, favorite food, ...) and Santa gives them a message.

Ending blends/Supplies

We have been discussing ending blends this week.  They are tricky to hear in words.  Ask your child the sounds they hear at the end of the following words: must, went, walk, jump, just, friend, swift,

I passed out tickets today for the Polar Express! Tomorrow, we are going to board the train and listen to the story.  Santa has left a special surprise for us!

Tomorrow is the Christmas Concert.  Please make sure your child dresses up for this special event! Please try to avoid tennis shoes and jeans.

We have library tomorrow! Please make sure your child brings his or her library book to school!

If you happen to have any of the following supplies at home, please send them in. Do not go purchase new supplies!!!! I know this is a very expensive time of year!

• hot chocolate
• marshmallows (any size)
• clear plastic wrap
• microwaveable popcorn
• tinsel
• foam holiday stickers
• buttons  

Have a wonderful evening!

Happy Monday! We made ornaments today for the trees in the front of the school. The kids took their time and seemed very proud of their fabulous work!!

This Friday, we will be watching the Polar Express while wearing pajamas and drinking hot chocolate! We are completing some reading comprehension activities this week and Santa has left a special surprise the students will receive after we are done reading the story!

Spelling City is updated with the list for this week!

Breakfast with Mrs. Claus

 It was great to be back today. I can only fight the temptation to do damage on Target's website for so long! (Although this was so miserable and I barely had the energy to lift my head.) I don't know how you all handle being sick and taking care of your children!

This morning was very exciting! We had breakfast with Mrs. Claus. She read a story and gave each child an ornament. It was adorable!

Tomorrow we will be celebrating Grinch Day! I have a fun surprise to send home with your child after school.  Please try to have your child wear green tomorrow!

Go Steelers! (I'm not sure I'll still be awake when the game starts!)

Out Sick....

I had to take off today and found out that I have strep throat. I started antibiotics this afternoon and I'm taking tomorrow off too. I hate to miss the Santa Shop, but I just don't think I'm going to have the energy yet to make it through the whole day. After getting more antibiotics into me, I should be good to go by Thursday! Thank you for your understanding in my delays getting back to your notes and emails!

The Santa Shop is tomorrow! I am so disappointed to miss it.  I remember when I was young I would always try to peek and see what my sister bought me! I almost always made her look at the things I bought her at the Santa Shop! Do you remember going to the Santa Shop when you were in school? It is so funny how things stand out in our minds! I should have realized then that shopping would always be a temptation for me!

I just posted the spelling list on spellingcity.com. I was too sick last night to even think about it.

Have a wonderful night!

Friday!!!!!

I cannot believe how quickly this week went by! Today, we finished our elf applications, completed "Brown Bag Reports" during RTII, and took our spelling test.  I think we all did very well on the spelling test. The most difficult concept to remember is that s, l, f, and z's need to be doubled when they follow a short vowel sound.  I tell the kids to remember "Sally loves fried zebras." 

Have a wonderful weekend!

 SANTA FUND COLLECTIONS WILL BE TAKEN UP TO AND INCLUDING FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9^TH.

December!!!!

I cannot believe December is here already! We have a very exciting month ahead! Today, we made words with the short u sound in them. Your child has brought letter cards home with him/her today. Try to make dug, rug, bun, run, fun, or any other words you can make from the letters in the pile!

We made cards for soldiers who will be overseas during the holiday season.  Students took their time creating very thoughtful messages and pictures! They were working as though they were Santa's best elves! :-)

This week we are reading the story, Biscuit. If you have any books with Biscuit in them, feel free to send them to school with your child. Please write your last name in them so I can make sure they are returned safely to you at the end of the day! :-) 

I am VERY excited to tell you that we received TWO STARS for good behavior in music class today. This was extremely pleasing news to my ears! Please give your child a special high five, hug, or whatever else they would like for being such a great listener in music today! I am thrilled!

Scholastic orders are due tomorrow! I want to make sure they are entered early enough in the month so we can guarantee delivery before Christmas.  Please send a check made out to Scholastic or enter your order online. 

Welcome Back, Conferences, Scholastic Orders

Welcome back to school! I enjoyed having time off to spend with friends and family, but it was great to see the students again today. I enjoyed conferences and liked having the opportunity to learn more about you and your child.

 Today, we made applications to be elves. We had to let Santa know if we enjoy Christmas cookies, Christmas music, we provided finger prints, and had to write a note to Santa telling him why we think we would be good elves! This was quite a fun activity!

December Scholastic Book Orders are due this Friday, December 2!  If you would like to order anything please send in the order form with a check (no cash, please) or order online.

You can order directly from Scholastic online at: www.scholastic.com/bookclubs
Class Activation Code: FJ6QN

Ordering online is fast, easy, and secure.

If you are going to send in a paper order please make all checks payable to: Scholastic Book Club.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks for Thanksgiving

     Today, we read the story, Thanks for Thanksgiving. Each page of this book discusses something we can be thankful for.  After we read the story, students make "blessings bags." They wrote blessings that are thankful for on strips of yellow paper and placed them in their bags. Some students are thankful for the Pilgrims, Santa Claus, snack, Native Americans, kids, being on green, and various other special things.  I love seeing the ideas they write down for this activity. I told them it would be a great idea for them to read these sentences to everyone they spend Thanksgiving with.
     We completed a fun writing activity today. Students copied the following prompt and finished the story on paper: Just as we were taking the turkey out of the oven, something unbelievable happened.  Student responses were very creative and some were hilarious! 
     We cut turkeys that had the vowels listed on them and held up the correct vowel for each dictated word. Your student has these turkeys in his or her folder. If you are looking for some "time filler" activities over the break, this activity would be very beneficial.
      If we are doing any "Black Friday" shopping, keep in mind the Santa Fund Drive. This is an awesome opportunity to those in need.
      Conferences are on Tuesday, November 29, so I will not see your children until Wednesday, November 30th! Enjoy this time with your family! Let's hope the cheesy potatoes I have to make for tomorrow turn out okay!

                                                 Happy Thanksgiving!

VIP Day, First Grade Preview, Breakfast with Mrs. Claus

VIP Day is tomorrow! We are definitely ready for our play! I am very proud of the hard work the boys and girls have put into practicing. They are doing an excellent job reading their lines. 

I am not going to send home a First Grade Preview this week. The letter I sent home this past Friday covered all of the information you will need to know for the coming week.  I am looking forward to speaking with you at conferences on Tuesday.

Please remember to return the green paper that was sent home this past Friday regarding "Breakfast with Mrs. Claus." The cafeteria needs to know the total number of breakfasts to prepare! This is such an exciting opportunity!


I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and/or family!

Spelling City/ Routine Change

"SpellingCity" is up and running! The new list is loading and the games are all ready to be played! :-) We will be taking our spelling test the week we return from Thanksgiving, but it wouldn't hurt to get a head start! We are working hard to learn the words this week and we will review next week!

VIP Day is TOMORROW!!! :-) Please remember that students are only permitted to have one VIP due to limited space and the VIP is permitted to take the student home after the activity is over as long as a note has been sent in giving "non-parents" permission to take the child home. Our copier is out of order and I was not able to send home a note about that yesterday. They came yesterday to fix the copier and it should be finished today. If not, I will hand write notes to students who are bringing people who are not their parents to the VIP Day.

Our math test is today. We have worked very hard to master fact families. I am so excited to see how students do! I will be grading them tonight while watching the Dancing with the Stars finale! 

Have a great Tuesday!

Feast!

On Friday, we made our hats for the play Wednesday and celebrated with a feast just as the Pilgrims and Native Americans did several years ago! Thank you very much for all of your donations!

VIP Day is quickly approaching! Please make sure you have turned in the form indicating who your child's VIP will be.  The VIP is able to take your child home at the completion of the play and activity. If your child's VIP is planning to take your child home and the VIP is not a parent, please make sure you send a note giving permission for them to do so. 

We have a very busy day ahead! RTI starts our day, we have our spelling pre-test, and we have several Thanksgiving themed learning activities.  I wish we could have some extra hours in our days this week. What a fun time of year!

 Have a wonderful day!

Th"ank"ful Turkeys

     Today we made word family turkeys.  We thought of words that end with the "ank" sound.  Students did a great job coloring their turkeys! The turkeys are looking nice and colorful in the hallway.  We couldn't think of very many words that end in "ank." If you have any ideas, send them in with your child! We would love to hear the words you come up with.

      Our spelling test is tomorrow! It would be a great idea to go to spellingcity.com to review the words. If you use the link to the right of this blog, you can go directly to our weekly list. Mini-books are do for the signature challenge! I can't wait to see who read their mini-book the most times throughout the week!

      Tomorrow is the last day of "Spirit Week." We are dressing to show Canon-Mac pride! It is suggested that you donate children's toiletries. (hair brushes, hair accessories, toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc...) We will be collecting change and other donations for Watchful Shepherd through this coming Tuesday.

      Speaking of Tuesday, we will be having our math test on Tuesday. I know the idea of giving a test the week of Thanksgiving seems cruel; however, it will be best to take the test before the break. We tend to get some cobwebs over breaks! :-) I know the students are looking forward to having a few days off and spending time with their families. I am looking forward to it as well!  My sister is coming home from North Carolina.

       Tomorrow we are having our feast! We are making butter and our hats for the VIP Day play next week! Thank you for all of your donations!!!! This will be a very exciting day for us!


Happy Thursday!!!!

Thanksgiving Songs

We are in full Thanksgiving mode! I thought I would post the words for our songs we are singing at the performance on Wednesday. The kids love singing them!


Thanksgiving Time
(The Farmer in the Dell)

Thanksgiving time is here.
Let's give a great big cheer
For friends and food and family.
Thanksgiving time is here.

Hello Mr. Turkey
(If You're Happy and You Know It)

Hello, Mr. Turkey, how are you?
Hello, Mr. Turkey, how are you?
With a gobble, gobble, gobble
And a wobble, wobble, wobble.
Hello, Mr. Turkey, how are you?

Thanksgiving Song
(Twinkle Twinkle)

Let's be thankful for this day
For our friends and for our play.
Let's be thankful; let's be glad
For the food and things we have.
Let's give thanks for you and me
And our home and family.

 I'm Glad I'm Not a Turkey
Sung to: Did You Ever See a Lassie?

Oh, I'm glad I'm not a turkey,
A turkey, a turkey.
Oh, I'm glad I'm not a turkey,
On Thanksgiving Day.
They stuff you and bake you
And then they all taste you.
Oh, I'm glad I'm not a turkey
On Thanksgiving Day.

****** Don't forget about "Rock Star/ Movie Star Day" tomorrow!  ********

Beginning Blends, Mini-book Challenge, and the Thanksgiving Play

      Today, your child is bringing home little letter cards they cut out in class.  This week, our phonics focus is on beginning blends.  (dr, bl, fr, cl, tr, and pl) Please pay particular attention to the "tr." Instead of writing "trap," students often write "chrap." They will write "chree" instead of "tree" and "chrot" instead of "trot." I would suggest pulling out the letter cards tonight and simply reviewing a few words.  This will be very beneficial for your student!
       Assuming we have had a typical five day school week, students bring home mini-books on Tuesdays. Please leave these books in their take-home folders.  Throughout the week, students are challenged to read the book as often as possible. Each time they read it, please sign the book.  On Fridays, a reward will be given to the person who has the most signatures on their book. 
       Please make sure your child is practicing their play part daily! They will be able to use their script on the day of the play; however, nerves take over and it is best to be extremely familiar with your part!  I am so excited for you to see the performance. We have been working very hard! (Please have your child keep their play part in the daily take-home folder so we can use it at school for our rehearsals!) Happy practicing!!!!

Our New First Grade Blog!

Welcome to our class blog! I am very excited to use this tool to communicate information to you throughout the week! Please reference this page for information regarding upcoming special events, assignments, and tidbits about our day! Some of my favorite educational websites are posted under "Links to Learning." Students love using these websites to learn during the school day and would benefit from visiting the websites at home! I hope you and your student enjoy the blog!