Crew News August 10, 2012

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 page of our crew blog (On that page it is called Number Line Squeeze). Your child can also teach you how to play. They loved it today.

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 13th. 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.

Happy Birthday Cutter!

Crew News August 9, 2012

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 and had to connect with each other using different parts of our bodies. 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.

Crew News August 8, 2012

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 engaged and focused crew. (Sadly, my picture of our crew with their big smiles turned out too blurry to use. Oh well, first days are busy and we will have more chances to take pictures.) Ask your child about their desk and supplies, their hopes for first grade and the games that we played (Mirrors, Jack in the Box and Freeze).

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 13th. 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. Later on in the year, 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.

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Welcome Crew!

Dear Crew,

The first day of school is only three days 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 thought you might like to see a picture of me with my family. The picture below was taken today. 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 now she goes 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 8th!

Love,
Ms. Jill

Summer Reading July 30, 2012

There was another Lunch Lady fan out there. Lulu likes them, too. She also likes the Mal and Chad series.

Anyone else have a favorite new book or series? We would love to hear from you, too.

Summer Reading July 29, 2012

Will enjoys the Lunch Lady series on a pleasant Sunday afternoon. He liked the first book of the series so much that he read it in one night and went back to the library the next day to get another book in the series.

Will shows us a great picture of the swamp monster in his Lunch Lady book.

 

What about you? Have you read any of the books in the Lunch Lady series? Maybe you should give one a try.