Crew News August 9, 2011

Our Hopes and Dreams for First Grade
On the first day of school we thought about our hopes and dreams for first grade. Below is a Voice Thread (slide show) of our pictures and thoughts about what we hope will happen this year. They are very cute. I am so happy that I will be able to make many of these hopes and dreams come true. Voice Thread is an application that we will be using often this year. Click on the arrow to start the slide show. You can then just watch as the pictures go by or you can move forwards and backwards using the large arrows at the bottom of the Voice Thread. Later in the year we will begin to add our voices to each picture to describe it but for the beginning of the year we are just using pictures.


Birthday Celebrations
We do love to celebrate birthdays in our room. It helps us continue to build a sense of community. You may send in treats with your child on his/her birthday. Things you should know when sending in treats:

1. Cupcakes and cookies are fine if they are the small size ones. We don't need too much sugar and those regular size cupcakes are rarely finished by most students. Let's prevent waste and sugar overdoses. 
2. Treats should should be purchased from a store and have the ingredient label attached.
3. We do have 28 students in our crew.
4. We do have 3 students with life-threatening peanut and tree nut allergies. They may not have treats that have nuts in them or that are processed in a factory with nuts.
5. Fruit is a fine treat. The most popular birthday treat I have seen has been those little Clementine oranges. The students all loved them and were so proud because they could peel them by themselves.  
6. We do our birthday celebrations right at the end of the school day but you may send the treats in the morning.
7. Students with birthdays in the summer can choose a day close to the end of the school year to celebrate with the crew if they choose.
8. Your child does not have to bring treats on their birthday. It is completely their choice.

Crew News August 8, 2011

Drum Circle
So many new and exciting things happened today that I can't write about all of them. So I will pick one and save the rest for other days this week. My pick for today --- we had our first drum circle. We had some sixth graders come in to facilitate our circle. They got us off to a great start. We had lots of volunteers from our crew to lead us in different rhythms. We will have a drum circle as part of our morning meeting every Monday. Pictures are below.

Our Daily Schedule

 Here is a peek at our daily schedule. It is not exact here at the beginning of the year. We have to ease into it. We have many more unscheduled breaks and activities during our day now that aren't listed. Once we all get back into a school routine our schedule will slowly begin to look more like this. You are welcome to drop in and visit any time - no appointment needed. Kerry, our crew parent, will be getting in touch with those of you who indicated that you would like to volunteer in the classroom.

Monday, Tuesday, Friday
8:30 – 8:40 Get Settled – Backpacks Away, Homework, Lunch Choice, Attendance
8:40 – 9:00 Morning Meeting
9:00 – 9:20 Reading Focus Lesson
9:20 – 9:50 Independent Reading
9:50 – 10:35 Literacy Centers/Guided Reading
10:35 – 10:45 Interactive Writing
10:45 – 11:05 Phonics, Handwriting
11:05 – 11:45 Lunch and Recess
11:45 – 12:35 I.A. (Integrated Arts)
12:35 – 12:40 Homework Folders to Backpacks
12:40 – 2:05 Math
2:05 – 2:25 Snack & Recess
2:25 – 3:00 Expedition
3:00 – 3:50 Writer’s Workshop
3:50 – 4:00 Closing Circle
Clean Up

Wednesday
8:30 – 8:40 Get Settled – Backpacks Away, Homework, Lunch Choice, Attendance
8:40 – 9:00 Morning Meeting
9:00 – 9:20 Reading Focus Lesson
9:20 – 9:50 Independent Reading
9:50 – 10:35 Literacy Centers/Guided Reading
10:35 – 10:45 Interactive Writing
10:45 – 11:05 Phonics, Handwriting
11:10 – 11:45 Lunch and Recess
11:45 – 11:50 Take Homework Folders to Backpacks
11:50 – 12:50 Math or Writer’s Workshop
12:50 – 1:00 Closing Circle
Clean Up

Thursday
8:30 – 8:40 Get Settled – Backpacks Away, Homework, Lunch Choice, Attendance
8:40 – 9:00 Morning Meeting
9:00 – 9:20 Reading Focus Lesson
9:20 – 9:40 Independent Reading
9:40 – 10:25 Literacy Centers/Guided Reading
10:25 – 11:05 Library
11:05 – 11:45 Lunch and Recess
11:45 – 12:35 I.A. (Integrated Arts)
12:35 – 12:40 Homework Folders to Backpacks
12:40 – 2:05 Math
2:05 – 2:25 Snack & Recess
2:25 – 3:00 Adventure Education/Expedition
3:00 – 3:50 Writer’s Workshop
3:50 – 4:00 Closing Circle
Clean Up

Crew News August 5, 2011

Monster Squeeze
We were so excited about the new math game we learned today. It is called Monster Squeeze. You can find directions to this game on the Math Resources page of our crew blog. Your child can also teach you how to play. They loved it today. Ms. Marci came by and played with us. Below are a couple of pictures. (Thanks to Ms. Dee, our educational assistant for taking photos.)

Homework
No homework for the weekend. Enjoy some good books with your child.

IA (Integrated Arts) Class
Our IA next week is Music.

Crew News August 4, 2011

Team Building
We had another great day in first grade. Today during morning meeting we played a game called People to People. It caused many giggles. We worked with a partner. Then in math we did another team building activity. We used pattern blocks to create one design or picture. The challenge was that we had to work together as a team with our table groups to agree on a design and then construct it together. While that sounds relatively simple, lots of negotiating was needed to really work as a team. Check out the pictures below to see us in action.

Homework
Math ~ Continue to gather coins for the coin kit that was described in yesterday's homework. Bring the kit in by Monday.

Crew News August 3, 2011

Fantastic First Day
We had a fantastic first day today. We began learning all about each other and how things work in first grade. It was such a short day that we didn't have time to do a lot but it was so nice to get to see each other and start to build our community. Below is a picture of our smiling crew.

Homework
Math  ~  Gather together 20 pennies, 5 nickels, 10 dimes and 2 quarters. Put them in a ziploc bag with your child's name on it. Have your child bring it to school by Monday, August 8th. This will be their coin kit for the year for math. They will keep it in their desk. You may add an extra coin or two in case one gets lost. As you see notes on some of the Math Home Links (homework pages) asking you to send in coins, you will be able to disregard these because you will have already created a complete kit for your child.

Note About Getting These Posts by Email
I will post pictures and/or videos on the blog very often. If you subscribe by email, you may need to go directly to the blog to view the pictures or videos depending on your email provider. Some providers will bring the pictures right into to your email, some will have a link to click and some will simply remove any pictures. So, notice how your email provider handles this so you will not miss out on any exciting news about our crew.

Welcome Crew!

Dear Crew,

The first day of school is only a week and a half away. I am getting so excited to meet you and start our year. We have so many books to read and things to learn. I do have one little secret that I want to share with you. I am just a bit nervous about the first day. Did you know that teachers get nervous, too? Well, we do. But I know that I will feel fine once I meet all of you and we start our day. How about you? Are you excited and just a little bit nervous about the first day, too?

I have been getting things ready for us. Below is a picture of me shopping for our school supplies. Do you see how many carts it took to hold all of our supplies? (The picture is a little blurry because of the lighting in the store. Sorry about that.)

I also thought you might like to see a picture of me with my family. The picture below was taken a few months ago. It shows my husband, Karl, my daughter, Abby, my dog, Annie and me. I often write stories about my family during Writer's Workshop so I thought it would be nice for you to see what everyone looks like. Abby used to go to our school but this year she will be going to middle school.

I hope that you are having a fun summer. I can't wait to meet you. If you have any questions or things you are wondering about, you can ask me about them in the comments below or you can send me an email.


See you on Wednesday, August 3rd!
Love,
Ms. Jill

Welcome!

Welcome to First Grade! First grade is such an exciting year because
kids grow and change so much. It is fascinating to watch the crew
develop into readers, writers and mathematicians. Even if you have
experienced first grade before with an older child, it is still
amazing to watch each child transform and thrive.

This will be my 18th year of teaching and it is still just as
interesting and exciting as my first year. I have taught grades 1, 3,
4, 5, 6, and 8. While I truly enjoyed teaching all of those grades,
first grade is my very favorite.

A few years ago, my husband and I chose Renaissance for our daughter
and I liked it so much that I decided that I wanted to teach here. I
love our philosophy - character traits, Expeditionary Learning,
Adventure Education, morning meetings, closing circles, etc.

I love spending time with my family, watching my daughter play
softball and basketball, going for bike rides, taking our dog on
walks, reading and teaching.

I am really looking forward to our upcoming listening conferences and
learning all about your child. I want to know everything about them -
their passions, their interests, their skills, their challenges, their
dislikes, etc. All of this will help me bond with them and make their
year successful.

I want you to feel comfortable this year. Come visit the classroom any
time. If you ever have a question, no matter how big or small, send me
an email, check in with me at pick-up time, or give me a call.

I am looking forward to meeting you in August!