Holiday Fun and Happenings

• Holiday Hike and Gathering in the Classroom on Thursday, December 21st from 12:45 - 2:00.  We hope you can join us.

Here are many things we have been doing this month:

• Focused on blends at the beginning and ending of words during phonics instruction.  Some examples are st, br, bl, gr, gl, sm, sp, pl, dr, tr, etc.
• Drew Roudolph
• Created addition equation scales to reinforce balanced equations such as 2+3=3+2
• Practiced Number Bonds, Fact Triangles, and figuring out the missing addend in equations
• Explored Raz Kids some more
• Learned a new math fact app called Door 24
• Decorated the room for the holidays
• Created a gingerbread glyph and interpreted a classmate's glyph by writing about it
• Shared important parts of our nonfiction books with our classmates
• Began to share our own family traditions
• Continued writing nonfiction writing topics while including a table of contents and writing across pages
• Did a science exploration with Mystery Doug this afternoon- Learning how to make something less opaque- making the connection why snowflakes look white.  Your child can try this experiment again at home by making snowflakes.  They need Elmer's glue and wax paper.  Ask your child how they made their snowflake and why snow is white.
• Used rulers to measure inches to create a holiday tree
• Created a Menorah to learn about Hanukkah

Last week we read The Water Princess.  It's about a girl living in Burkina Faso who has to walk 4 miles each day to get water for her family. The water the family works so hard to get is dirty and often makes people sick. Gie Gie, the character in the story has since grown up to be a model and activist for clean water in Africa.

Today, we had the opportunity to come together with the whole first grade to speak with Gie Gie, Georgie Badiel, through a Skype call in Miss Rowley's classroom.  She is now an adult who is a model in the United States and has set up the Foundation.  The call inspired the children to help raise money to help her foundation to build a well for clean water.  Here is the link: http://georgiebadielfoundation.org for you to explore, if you are interested.  The students saw a great video under the "Get Involved" tab on the website.  This book was sold at our Scholastic Book Fair this year.  Thank you to the Curtis family who bought it for our classroom. 

Update and New Reading App

We hope you can join us on Thursday, December 21st from 12:45-2:00 for our annual classroom tradition.  We will go on a holiday stroll to decorate trees for the animals and sing a few carols around the premises of our school.  We will come back to the classroom for cocoa and cookies.  We hope you can all join us!  Jen Carter will be notifying you soon to sign up for a few needed donations for this event.  Please look for a sign up list soon.  

• Early Release on Wednesday, December 13th at 12:50.

Below is a revised version of the email that was sent last Friday.  The information is the same.

We have an exciting new reading app called Raz Kids.  Your child can access the app at home with their own username and password.  An informational paper went home in your child's folder last Friday.  

Your child now has access to just right books at his/her convenience.  I have encouraged your child to read the book first, then listen to it being read to them to confirm accuracy.  The levels on Raz Kids are slightly harder than the levels they read at school.  Hence, there is a range of levels to choose from.

Both iReady and Raz Kids can be used as homework throughout the week.  I am able to monitor their progress at home as well as school.

Please take the time to login to your child's Raz Kid account on your PC or download the app for them at home.

Please let me know if you have any questions.