March 23-27, 2015

Welcome Back! I hope everyone had a relaxing spring break and ready to start the last 11 weeks of school.  Can you believe there are only 11 more weeks of school left?  That is only 51 days!  How time flies...

Homework this week:  Read for 15 minutes/night & IXL Math

SOME NEW EXCITEMENTS IN FIRST GRADE:

It is that time of the year! Each first grade class will be hosting close to a dozen of hatching eggs.  Our incubators are up and running.  We are expecting our hatching eggs to arrive this afternoon.  We will then put the eggs in the incubators and patiently wait for 21 days for our eggs to hatch.  This is a part of the animal unit and our first graders will get to observe the life cycle of birds first hand right in our classroom! It will be an exciting time for all of us! 

READING and WRITING
This week we will start another unit on Research. Our focus will be on chicks. We will determine what we want to learn from a source and stretch our thinking. Readers wonder more as they learn and read more. We will learn how we can go to different sources such as books, reliable internet sources, or asking adults to find out the answers to our questions. In Writing we will continue to record our new findings and learning and put it into a book where others can read it and learn from our research.

MATH
This week we will have a review on some of the concepts that we learned before.  We will review the coins (pennies, nickles, dimes and quarters), and their values and attributes.  We will also review time to the hour and half-hour.  

SCIENCES
We will continue learning about living and non-living, ecosystem and the inter-dependency of animals and plants in their ecosystem.  This week we will focus on birds, their external characteristics and how these characteristics determine where the birds live, what they eat and how they move.  We will also learn about the life cycle and the interdependency of birds and other animals and plants in their ecosystem.

HABIT #3:  Put First things First-  I spend my time on things that are important.  I set priorities.

REMINDERS:
*Specials- A Group:  PE on Monday, Wednesday and Friday
                   B Group:  PE on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
**Wear tennis shoes for sure on these days!!!!
*Library- Tuesday 11-11:30
*Send orange folders and homework bags back every day.
*Send a healthy snack with your child every day.  We will eat snack at 10:30

DATES to REMEMBER:

March 25:  Eggs get here!

March 27:  Shamrock &Roll @ 9:40-10:30

March 30:  Ms. Smith out

April 2:  Science Night

April 3:  No School

April 10:  Family Fun Night

April 15:  Chicks start to hatch!!!!!!!

May 1:  Field Day

May 4-8:  Teacher Appreciation Week

May 7:  Field Trip to Austin Nature Center

May 11-15:  Book Fair

May 14:  Caraway Fine Arts Night

May 21:  Volunteer Breakfast

May 25:  No School, Memorial Day

June 5:  Last Day of School, End of the Year Party

March 2-6, 2015

FAMILY DINNER NIGHT
Family Dinner Night is on Saturday, March 7th at Canyon Vista Middle School. This event is one of the biggest fundraising events that our devoted PTA organizes every year. Please consider coming by to have fun and show your support.  Most importantly come and see who is the lucky teacher that is going to kiss a pig! This year the five nominees are: Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Bailey, Mr. Cook, Mrs. Schultze and our librarians (Mrs. Letendre and Mrs. Hendrickson).  Good luck Teachers!

READING
This week we will work on a few comprehension strategies that help us to understand the stories better.  We will work on visualizing a story and making a mental picture in our mind.  As we read the author's description about how the characters look, their actions and the setting of the story, we will try to picture them in our mind so we can have a better understanding of the story.  Authors often use sensory language such as words describing the sound, look, smell, taste or feel of something.  Sensory words help the readers to create a better picture in their mind as they read the stories.  We will also work on re-reading the parts of the story that we didn't understand. If we are confused about a part or couldn't make sense of it, we need to go back and re-read again.

WRITING
We will continue writing our stories that could be part true and part not real and based on our imagination.  The children are having so much fun with these stories! As we are writing our stories, we will keep in mind to revise and edit as we go.  We will add to parts of our stories that need more details and take off the parts that are repeated and not needed.  We will also watch for capital letters at the beginning of the sentences, correct punctuation and sentence structure and spelling the first grade sight words correctly.

MATH
This week in math we will spiral back to subtraction and reinforce count on strategies.  Children are encouraged to use a variety of strategies to solve subtraction problems.  In first grade we want to make sure that they have a wide range of strategies to choose from.  Count on strategies are basically "think addition" strategies in subtraction problems.  We will apply our subtraction strategies to solve math problems.

SCIENCES
This week in science we will learn about living and non-living, ecosystem and the inter-dependency of animals and plants in their ecosystem.  We will learn about the external characteristics of animals and how these external characteristics such as body parts and body coverings determine what the animals eat, how they move and where they live. 

HABIT #2:  Begin with the End in Mind:  I plan ahead and set goals.  I always look for ways to be a good citizen.

REMINDERS:
*Specials- A Group:  PE on Monday, Wednesday and Friday
                   B Group:  PE on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
**Wear tennis shoes for sure on these days!!!!
*Library- Tuesday 11-11:30
*Send orange folders and homework bags back every day.
*Send a healthy snack with your child every day.  We will eat snack at 10:30

DATES to REMEMBER:

March 7:  Family Dinner Night

March 11:  Early Release @ 12:45

March 16-20:  Spring Break

March 25:  Eggs get here!

April 2:  Science Night

April 3:  No School

April 10:  Family Fun Night

April 15:  Chicks start to hatch!!!!!!!

May 1:  Field Day

May 4-8:  Teacher Appreciation Week

May 7:  Field Trip to Austin Nature Center

May 11-15:  Book Fair

May 14:  Caraway Fine Arts Night

May 21:  Volunteer Breakfast

May 25:  No School, Memorial Day

June 4:  Last Day of School, End of the Year Party

February 17-20, 2015

HOMEWORK FOR THIS WEEK
Since this week is a short week, I will not be sending homework home.  However, please encourage your child to read books from RAZ-kids and practice math concepts on IXL.  I sent an email with the links for both sites but I will see about putting them on the blog as well.

Here are the links you will need:

raz-kids.com/main/Login
https://www.ixl.com/signin/caraway

READING and WRITING
This week we will be using our research skills and learn about two important presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  We will ask open-ended questions and develop a plan for answering these questions.  Our plan includes exploring a variety of sources such as books, digital books, Pebble Go, and Brain pop Jr, recording the information we gather, and organizing our ideas and information in our writings.   

MATH
We will continue working on place value.  We will work on number lines or number track and locate and place numbers on a number line based on their value.  We will use the place value to compare whole numbers up to 99 using comparative language such is bigger than or less than. We will use symbols such as >, < or = to compare the numbers to 99. We will work on problem solving involving ordering the numbers from least to greatest or greatest to least.

SOCIAL STUDIES
This week we will learn about a few historical figures such as Alexander graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Garrett Morgan, and Richards Allen who influenced our nation by their individualism and inventiveness. We will learn about their inventions and the contributions that these important people made to our lives.

HABIT #1:  Be Proactive:  I am a responsible person.  I am in charge of me.  I choose my actions, attitude, and mood.

THANK YOU!

Claudia Aguilar for stuffing our Tuesday folders. 

To any parents that showed up to help set up for the Valentine’s day party!

REMINDERS:
*Specials- A Group:  PE on Monday, Wednesday and Friday
                   B Group:  PE on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
**Wear tennis shoes for sure on these days!!!!
*Library- Tuesday 11-11:30
*Send orange folders and homework bags back every day.
*Send a healthy snack with your child every day.  We will eat snack at 10:30

DATES to REMEMBER:

February 27:  Jump Rope for Heart

March 7:  Family Dinner Night

March 11:  Early Release @ 12:45

March 16-20:  Spring Break

March 25:  Eggs get here!

April 2:  Science Night

April 3:  No School

April 10:  Family Fun Night

April 15:  Chicks start to hatch!!!!!!!

May 1:  Field Day

May 4-8:  Teacher Appreciation Week

May 7:  Field Trip to Austin Nature Center

May 11-15:  Book Fair

May 14:  Caraway Fine Arts Night

May 21:  Volunteer Breakfast

May 25:  No School, Memorial Day

June 4:  Last Day of School, End of the Year Party

February 9-13, 2015

We have a couple of exciting events planned for this week.  We will be celebrating 101 day of school on Tuesday and Valentine's/Chocolate Fever Day on Friday.  The class list for valentine exchange was sent home in Tuesday Folders last week.  The kiddos can start passing out Valentines on Thursday.  

VALENTINE'S PARTY and CHOCOLATE FEVER DAY
Our Valentine's  Day Party will be on Friday from 1:15-2:15.  Friday is also Chocolate Fever day!  We will come to school in our pajamas and by the end of the day, we just might have Chocolate Fever, just like the main character in the book!  (I will have a brown make-up pencil to draw spots on your child’s face if it is ok.  I will also be bringing make-up remover wipes so the kiddos can wipe the spots off before leaving school.)

READING and WRITING

This week due to the special events, we have some fun reading and writing activities.  On the 101 day of school, we will imagine ourselves being 101 years old! We will write about how we think we will look like, do, or not do. I can't wait to see what the children will come up with. It should be lots of fun to read their writing. In relation to Valentine's Day, we will write an imaginative story about a time that we ate too much chocolate! We will also craft a sweet, heartwarming writing about "love".

MATH
This week we will go back and review "Place Value".  We will use concrete and pictorial models and compose and decompose numbers to 99 in more than one way as so many ten blocks and so many ones.  For instance, the number 45 can be shown with 4 ten blocks and 5 ones.  But it could also be represented as 3 ten blocks and 15 ones. We will use the place value to compare whole numbers up to 99 using comparative language such is bigger than or less than. We will use symbols such as >, < or = to compare the numbers to 99.

SCIENCES
Last week in science we learned about natural resources.  This week we will discuss how important natural resources are to us and why we need to conserve natural resources, reuse, recycle or reduce. The students will think about why it is important to conserve fresh water, recycle materials and not to pollute the environment.

HABIT #1:  Be Proactive:  I am a responsible person.  I am in charge of me.  I choose my actions, attitude, and mood.

THANK YOU!

Thank you all for coming to the First Grade P.E. performance.  The children did such a fantastic job! I am so proud of them!

REMINDERS:
*Specials- A Group:  PE on Monday, Wednesday and Friday
                   B Group:  PE on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
**Wear tennis shoes for sure on these days!!!!
*Library- Tuesday 11-11:30
*Send orange folders and homework bags back every day.
*Send a healthy snack with your child every day.  We will eat snack at 10:30

DATES to REMEMBER:

February 12:  Spirit night @ Jason’s Deli 5-9pm

February 16:  No School, President’s Day

February 27:  Jump Rope for Heart

March 7:  Family Dinner Night

March 11:  Early Release @ 12:45

March 16-20:  Spring Break

March 25:  Eggs get here!

April 2:  Science Night

April 3:  No School

April 10:  Family Fun Night

April 15:  Chicks start to hatch!!!!!!!

May 1:  Field Day

May 4-8:  Teacher Appreciation Week

May 7:  Field Trip to Austin Nature Center

May 11-15:  Book Fair

May 14:  Caraway Fine Arts Night

May 21:  Volunteer Breakfast

May 25:  No School, Memorial Day

June 4:  Last Day of School, End of the Year Party

February 2-6, 2015

PE PROGRAM

Please mark your calendar for Tuesday, February 3rd.  Our P.E coaches along with our fantastic first graders have planned a great performance for all of us!  Please be here at 6:15.  If possible, girls wear red shirts and boys wear white shirts.  All children must wear tennis shoes.  I hope to see you there!

VALENTINES PARTY
Our Valentines Party will be on Friday, February 13th (1:15-2:15).  Please check your child's Tuesday Folder for a class list and have your child make a small valentine for each classmate.  You may choose to buy these from stores or have your child make their own valentines. We have almost two weeks, so there should be plenty of time for the kiddos to write their classmates' names on their valentines. The students can start bringing their valentines to school starting the week of Feb 9th.

READING and WRITING
This week we will still continue our unit on research. As we ask questions about a topic and find out some information in books, magazines and internet, we realize that sometimes we come up with more questions.  We record things that we learn and questions that we still wonder about.  We are also learning about the importance of recording the information in our own words.  In other word we are learning how to paraphrase.  We will also learn what information are important.  Sometimes authors add some interesting facts, but not all are important for us to remember.

MATH
This week we will wrap up our unit on 2-D shapes. We have learned so much about different shapes such as squares, rectangles, triangles, trapezoids, circles, ovals diamonds and rhombuses.  We have learned about their attributes such as the number of straight sides, corners, curves and so on.  This week, we will learn about dividing our two-dimensional figures into two and four and decide whether or not the parts are equal or fair share.  We will use vocabularies such as equal parts, fair, not fair, same size pieces, half, fourth, fourths, quarters or a quarter of.

SCIENCES
This week we will learn about the natural world including rocks, soil and water.  We will learn about the physical properties of soil and sort different types of soil based on particle size, color and texture.  We will explore and discover about some useful products that we can make using rocks, soil, and water.

HABIT #1: Be Proactive:  I am a responsible person.  I am in charge of me.  I choose my actions, attitude, and mood.

THANK YOU!

Thank you for remembering to send your children to school with warm clothes and coats.  Sometimes, even on cold days, we will still go outside and run around just for 10 minutes.  The kiddos do well with inside recess most of the time, but there are days that they need to get outside and run out some of that energy!

REMINDERS:
*Specials- A Group:  PE on Monday, Wednesday and Friday
                   B Group:  PE on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
**Wear tennis shoes for sure on these days!!!!
*Library- Tuesday 11-11:30
*Send orange folders and homework bags back every day.
*Send a healthy snack with your child every day.  We will eat snack at 10:30

DATES to REMEMBER:

February 3:  1^st Grade PE Program

February 4:  Early Release @ 12:45

February 12:  Spirit night @ Jason’s Deli 5-9pm

February 16:  No School, President’s Day

February 27:  Jump Rope for Heart

March 7:  Family Dinner Night

March 11:  Early Release @ 12:45

March 16-20:  Spring Break

March 25:  Eggs get here!

April 2:  Science Night

April 3:  No School

April 10:  Family Fun Night

April 15:  Chicks start to hatch!!!!!!!

May 1:  Field Day

May 4-8:  Teacher Appreciation Week

May 7:  Field Trip to Austin Nature Center

May 11-15:  Book Fair

May 14:  Caraway Fine Arts Night

May 21:  Volunteer Breakfast

May 25:  No School, Memorial Day

June 4:  Last Day of School, End of the Year Party

January 26-30, 2015

Congratulations…

to Ender Dockrey!  He was a 1^st Grade winner in this past week’s Science Fair.  We are so proud of you Ender!

READING and WRITING
This week we will continue our unit on research.  So far we have learned how to ask questions about topics that we are interested in, and look in different places such as books, e-books, internet and etc to find the information.  As we continue doing more research and asking more questions, we will learn how to record our information. We will think about the main idea and the most important information and take notes in an organized form.  

MATH
We will continue our unit in geometry.  We will explore how two-dimensional figures can be decomposed into or constructed from other two-dimensional figures (for example two triangles can make a diamond or a rhombus). Two dimensional figures with or without curved sides can also be sorted into different groups based on their characteristics or attributes.

SOCIAL STUDIES
This week we will learn about families wants and basic needs, and how these needs are being met through jobs. We will learn about how technology has changed our lives comparing to the past.  People communicate differently, have different ways of entertainment and hold different jobs comparing to the past due to technology.

HABIT #7:  SHARPEN THE SAW:  I take care of myself.  I spend time with family and friends.  I find meaningful ways to help others. 

THANK YOU!

Thank you for remembering to send your children to school with warm clothes and coats.  Sometimes, even on cold days, we will still go outside and run around just for 10 minutes.  The kiddos do well with inside recess most of the time, but there are days that they need to get outside and run out some of that energy!

REMINDERS:
*Specials- A Group:  PE on Monday, Wednesday and Friday
                   B Group:  PE on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
**Wear tennis shoes for sure on these days!!!!
*Library- Tuesday 11-11:30
*Send orange folders and homework bags back every day.
*Send a healthy snack with your child every day.  We will eat snack at 10:30

DATES to REMEMBER:

January 29:  International Festival

February 3:  1^st Grade PE Program

February 4:  Early Release @ 12:45

February 16:  President’s Day

February 27:  Jump Rope for Heart

March 7:  Family Dinner Night

March 11:  Early Release @ 12:45

March 16-20:  Spring Break

April 2:  Science Night

April 3:  No School

April 10:  Family Fun Night

January 19-23, 2015

We had another fantastic week in first grade.  Thank you for sending the signed report card envelopes back promptly! I have almost received all envelopes. Here is what we will be doing next week:

READING
This week we will learn how to do research to find about information that we are interested in.  Researches choose a topic they are interested in and they think about what specific information they want to know about their topic.  Researches look at different books to find information and they record important information in an organized way.

WRITING
In writing, we will continue writing expository texts. We will think about topics that we are expert at and write factual information about our topics.  Our main purpose is to teach others.  So we will make sure to include any details that we know about our topics.

MATH
This week we will start geometry.  We will identify two-dimensional shapes, including circles, triangles, rectangles, and squares as special rectangles, rhombuses, and hexagons, and describe their attributes/characteristics.  We will create two-dimensional shapes with different manipulatives and also compose shapes by joining two, three, or four, figures to produce a target shape in more than one way.

SCIENCES
In science we will continue to work on different seasons, different weather in each season including relative temperature, such as hot or cold, clear or cloudy, calm or windy, rainy or icy.  We will discuss types of weather information and ways  that scientists gather and record weather data.

HABIT #7:  SHARPEN THE SAW:  I take care of myself.  I spend time with family and friends.  I find meaningful ways to help others. 

THANK YOU!

Thank you for remembering to send your children to school with warm clothes and coats.  Sometimes, even on cold days, we will still go outside and run around just for 10 minutes.  The kiddos do well with inside recess most of the time, but there are days that they need to get outside and run out some of that energy!

REMINDERS:
*Specials- A Group:  PE on Monday, Wednesday and Friday
                   B Group:  PE on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
**Wear tennis shoes for sure on these days!!!!
*Library- Tuesday 11-11:30
*Send orange folders and homework bags back every day.
*Send a healthy snack with your child every day.  We will eat snack at 10:30

DATES to REMEMBER:

January 21:  Science Fair

January 29:  International Festival

February 3:  1^st Grade PE Program

February 4:  Early Release @ 12:45

February 16:  President’s Day

February 27:  Jump Rope for Heart

March 7:  Family Dinner Night

March 11:  Early Release @ 12:45

March 16-20:  Spring Break

April 2:  Science Night

April 3:  No School

April 10:  Family Fun Night