You Have Mail....

We were so excited today when we discovered that all 25 Penguin Postcards which we had mailed to the Air Force Base in Antartica before the Winter Break were returned today.  Our postcards have traveled halfway around the world and returned to us!  http://www.penguinscience.com/classroom_home.php?gclid=COi7tKXTia0CFQLrKgodTlTolg  is the site we used to find information about the postcard design project.  Your child is bringing home his/her postcard.  Notice the Antartica postoffice stamp  and the penguin stamps that were added to our cards!  What a great geography lesson!

Please Comment on A Mathematics Problem

                                                                    Our Word Wall



Just a reminder of the word wall words for the month of January:  can your child read, spell and write these words?  The word wall in our classroom is growing each month as we add about 5 new words each week.  At the end of April, we will have all 110 words posted and then continue to work on phonics, spelling patterns and daily use and mastery of all words.   

Jan. 3rd--day, was, saw, in, out
Jan 9th--there, teacher, ride, animal
Jan. 18th--school, people, how
Jan. 23--but, nice, on, off
Jan. 30--up, down, can't (cannot), won't (will not)

 And now the Mathematics Problem:  Choose the number of trays that best challenges you!
There were (12, 25, 32) cafeteria trays on the shelf to be washed.  Miss Debbie washed 9 of the trays.  How many still need to be washed.  Challenge yourself to use a known fact to solve the problem.  Can you solve this some, some went away problem in more than one way?  Respond to the problem by commenting below for a treat on Monday!

A bitterly cold evening...

What to do on a bitterly cold evening???  If you've run through your usual family evening activities this long weekend here are a few on-line ideas that will help continue to develop academic skills...
Reading:
www.raz-kids.comLink to: Kids Start Here
teacher name is: gaadland
Child clicks on their name
Child's Password: their middle name    If they had a two part middle name I just used the first part as the password.
Mathematics:
www.sumdog.com
Child's user name and password are taped inside his/her Friday Folder.
General Resource in multiple academic areas which covers multiple grade levels for siblings too:
aadland.wikispaces.com

4 Day Weekend!

Have a great 4 day weekend with your child!  Hoping you can all log on to Sum Dog/Raz-Kids if you hear that dreaded phrase "I'm Bored" from your child.  Another site with grade appropriate activities is:  aadland.wikispaces.com

Thanks for your generosity with sending in school supplies as per your child's list!  We have also started collecting items to make the Bottle Cap necklaces for a fundraiser for Juan Nicolas.  We have received PLENTY of yarn, ribbon, braid and pony beads.  We definitely need more metal bottle caps...does anyone have a contact with one of the local beverage distributors that might be able to get us a larger quantity of bottle caps....Thanks so much!

We are also collecting plastic wide mouth juice/gatorade bottles (20 0z size) with the lids to make a snowman craft. We currently have 8 bottles with lids so could use more for the entire class.

You may refer to the earlier post to see the January Word Wall list.

Sliding INTO the New Year!

Dear Parents,
We are very near to starting the second half of our First Grade School Year.  (Jan 18 if the mid-way point.)  I am so pleased with the academic progess that each student is continuing to make in all subject areas.  Your nightly review of the Reading, Word Wall words and weekly time with the Mathematics Packet are so appreciated!

Word Wall Words for January:
Jan. 3rd--day, was, saw, in, out
Jan 9th--there, teacher, ride, animal
Jan. 18th--school, people, how
Jan. 23--but, nice, on, off
Jan. 30--up, down, can't (cannot), won't (will not)
Thank you for regularly reviewing  all word wall words by reading, spelling using them correctly in writing activities at home.   Learning these words with automicity develops a strong vocabulary for reading and writing and is also the basis for our phonics program

Scholastic Book Club:  I am sending home a Scholastic Book Club SeeSaw order form in today's Friday Folder.   Should you be interested, you may order via the form.  Please return to school by Wednesday January 11th.  Check payment only, to be made out to Scholastic.  If you prefer to order online using a credit card, log on to www.scholastic.com/bookclubs  Our class activation code is:  H8NF8   .  I have opened our on-line account through Tuesday January 10 PM as I will compile and send in both orders ( paper form and online account) on Wednesday. Again, this is at your option to order or not.

A CALL FOR Recycled SUPPLIES:
*Bottle Caps,
*Thin ribbon, yarn, braid
*Pony Beads
*20oz. plastic juice, milk bottles with the wide lid opening
Our class would like to do a fundraiser project of BottleCap Necklaces to help cover the expenses of Juan Nicolas's school sponsorship in the Dominican Republic.  We will be collecting bottlecaps over the next two weeks. I will spray paint the bottle caps so any type of beverage bottle caps are acceptable:)  Also if you have any thin ribbon, yarn or braid that would be acceptable for the necklace 'chain'  or the larger plastic 'pony beads'  please send in to school by Friday January 20th.   I will share more information with you as we prepare for making and selling these necklaces for our fundraiser.

We also would like to make a 3-d snowman using the 20oz (approximately) size of plastic drink bottle with the wide lid opening; such as from juice or smaller Gatorade bottles.  Please send in if you have these.  When we get enough for the class to do as a project...I let you know!

Thanks for saving these recycled materials and sending in to school.
Have a great weekend with your child.