Spring is Here, So Let's All Cheer!

Dear Parents,

      It's hard to believe that this terrible and cold winter has finally ended, after such a long one.  But we are very grateful for the new season and sunshine that has recently arrived!  To start off the season in style and with hopes of gaining some much needed Vitamin D, we are keeping the shades in our classroom wide open, and now are wearing cool sunglasses when we meet together on our carpet by the windows!  The kids are loving their cool new looks and having fun reading in the sunshine!

This has been such a hit in our classroom, that I encourage you to try this at home, too!  It's a fun way to get our work and reading done.  Take care and enjoy the sunshine with your families!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Gregory

St. Patrick's Day Memories!

First graders loved celebrating St. Patrick's Day this year and made many fun memories throughout the day!  We started by making shamrock hats, and then got to wear them at Miss Jenning's amazing Irish Dance performance and play! Our day progressed with Irish themed math and ELA activities, and we even got to sample homemade Irish Soda Bread made by Miss Jenning's mom.  We all appreciated the kindness shown by Miss and Mrs. Jennings!

After lunch, we read and discussed an Irish folktale that taught us more about being brave and courageous.  To end our day, each student transformed themselves into a little leprechaun with silly green mustaches!  However, instead of being sneaky leprechauns, our class demonstrated acts of kindness, by choosing another classmate to write about and compliment them as to why we were lucky to have each of them in our classroom!  We hope you enjoyed your holiday as much as we did! Please enjoy some of the fun pictures taken from our day!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Gregory

Fun In First Grade on the 100th Day of School!

Dear Parents,
      We recently celebrated our 100th Day of First Grade together and had so much fun counting to 100 through many exciting activities!  The whole day was centered around hands-on ELA, Math, and Science opportunities.  Some of our favorites were "Writing the Room" with 100 words, challenging ourselves to stack 100 small or large cups in teams, and using our imaginations to build the biggest "snow fort"  we could out of 50 toothpicks and 50 mini-marshmallows.  We really used our brains that day and made many fun memories with our classmates!
      At home, please continue to help your child practice their addition and subtraction math facts.  They are learning to count coins and tell time to the hour and half-hour, too, so these are also good ways to challenge your child each night.
      Thank you for all your hard work with reading each night, too!  The kids are really progressing and are very proud when they can return their books in the bag for new ones! Keep crossing your fingers for Spring to arrive with warm sunny days, too, so we can finally get outside again more at Recess!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Gregory

Fall Is Fun In First Grade!

Dear Parents,

Fall brings changing colors and falling leaves, colder temperatures, and tons of fun in First Grade!  We have enjoyed reading with our Grandparents on Grandparents’ Day, using our senses to explore pumpkins on the inside and out, and getting together to parade in our costumes and celebrate Halloween! In addition, our class showed great teamwork, respect, and patience when working together to create a huge spiderweb with our Fourth Grade Buddies!  

Students have continued to improve their addition math facts through practice with many number bonds and hands-on math games, too.  Our class has also been using a new math website, called IXL, to practice their math facts, number sense and concepts each week.  We are very excited that this site may also be used at home for more practice!  The kids have their own account, and in the short time we have been using it, I have already seen progress and more self-confidence in them!

I look forward to meeting with each of you on Monday, November 10th for Parent-Teacher Conferences.  During our time together, I will update you with specific ways you can help your child continue to meet their academic potential, while having fun doing it!  

Thanks again for all your help and support at home.  Happy Fall!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Carie Gregory

Welcome

Dear Parents,
     It was so nice to meet so many of you last night at our Open House!  The kids were very excited to share all the great things they have been working on these past few weeks.  Thank you so much for coming and for signing up for volunteering, party contributions, and conferences, too.  I enjoyed getting to meet you and your families, and being able to talk a bit about our classroom and some important things in First Grade!
     Speaking of First Grade, . . . our class has been learning many facts about apples, Fall, and Johnny Appleseed.  We had a lot of fun reading the book, Ten Apples Up On Top!  After reading, we made applesauce, made the number ten with many number combinations, and created a silly project based on the book, too!  I think their favorite parts were eating the applesauce and trying to balance apples up on top of their heads!
     Please mark your calendars for our first field trip of the year.  We will be going to Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards on Tuesday, October 14th  (9:00AM- 1:30PM).  Let's hope for a great weather day!  If I don't see you on this field trip, I hope you can make our class Halloween party, at the end of October.  
     Thank you for all your help at home, and I look forward to working closely with you throughout our year together!  
Sincerely,
Mrs. Gregory