October 11-14, 2014

Our first Sprit Assembly was last Monday.  We practiced singing our school song that was written by Mr. Touchet.  We sang Happy Birthday to all of our friends who have October birthdays.  Then we reviewed our 3 Owl Agreements. Be Safe. Be Respectful. Be Responsible.  We will have assemblies at the beginning of each month.

     Last Friday we went to our very first Caraway Academy.    The boys and girls came back to our classroom ready to share all that they learned at their Academy! We will have Academies for the next 5 weeks on Friday mornings.  I hope your child came home and told you all about it!

Reminders: 

Thursday: Science Night at 6:00pm
Friday: Caraway Academy 7:45am-8:30am

This week in Reading Workshop...

We will begin learning how making predictions can help us when we are reading.  A strong reader is able to use connections they have made to activate prior knowledge about something.  Then from that, they are able to make a prediction about what they think will happen next in the story.  A strong reader knows that making predictions will help them to stop and think about the story, therefore increasing comprehension.  A strong reader also knows that not all predictions are correct, and that’s ok!

This week in Writer's Workshop...

We will begin to think about experiences we've had that take place within a small time frame.  A birthday party, taking the dog for a walk or going to the park are a few "Small Moments" that we will be writing about this week.  We will continue to use the writing process (sketch a picture, write words to match, make our story fancy) as we narrow our topics down and describe our experiences with detailed words. 

This week in Math...

We will be wrapping up our unit on Addition Strategies.  It is important that first graders begin to practice their math facts and solve them quickly without counting on their fingers.  We will continue to practice addition strategies and basic problem solving throughout the year.  As always, the objective for learning strategies is to become a more confident problem solver!

This week in Social Studies...

We will begin our Coins for Coats Project.  For this Project Based Learning (PBL) opportunity we are partnering with Mrs. Letendre and the Student Council to raise money for a district wide philanthropy project.  More information will be coming soon!

Have a great week! 

       

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Oct. 13:  Science Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Oct. 22:  Harvest Festival @ 4:00-7:00 pm

Oct. 26:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Nov. 11:  Veteran’s Day Program @ 8:00 am

Nov. 21-25:  Thanksgiving Break- No School

Nov. 30:  Skate Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Dec. 1: 1^st Grade Field Trip to Austin Nature Center (more info to come)

   Family Art Night @ 6:00-7:30 pm

Dec. 5-9:  Book Fair

Dec. 8:  International Festival @ 6:00-8:00pm

Dec. 15:  Winter Parties/Last Day of 1^st Semester

Dec. 16-Jan 2:  Winter Break

Jan. 3:  1^st Day of 2^nd Semester

October 3-7, 2016

Wow! It's already October! On Monday we will have our first Spirit Assembly.  It will begin promptly at 7:40am (for K-2).  We will drop our backpacks off in the room and head down to the cafeteria.  This is going to be a great time for our school community as we share good news and celebrate our accomplishments! 

     On Friday we will begin Caraway Academy.  This will also begin promptly at 7:40am.  We will drop our backpacks off and head to the classrooms where our academies are located.  There will be a note that will come home in the Tuesday folder for more information about Caraway Academy! We are all very excited to share our passions with students and help them develop their passions!

    This is going to be an amazing week at Caraway Elementary!

Reminders: 

Monday: K-2 Spirit Assembly 7:40am-8:00am

Tuesday: Tuesday folders come home.  Please sign them and return them on Wednesday.

Wednesday: We do not have Library this week.

Thursday: 

Friday: Caraway Academy 7:40am-8:30am

*Snack:  Please send a healthy snack with your child every day.

*PE:  We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Please make sure your kiddo is wearing tennis shoes (for sure) on these days.

*A conference sign-up sheet went out on Sunday evening. If you have not signed up for a conference please do so as the slots are filling up.  Email me if you have any questions.

This week in Writing Workshop...

We will be reminded about all we have learned as writers so far this year.  We will review the steps of the writing process as we lead up to our Celebration on Friday.  Writers begin a story by sketching an idea, matching their words to their picture, then rereading our story to make sure it makes sense.  We also know that a writer's work is never done.  When we finish a story we can add to our picture, add to our words to make them fancy (revising and editing).  We will celebrate by sharing our stories at our very first Author's Chair Celebration!

This week in Reading Workshop...

We will be thinking about how good readers make connections.  When we read a book we can think about how readers make a connection to something they know (text to self), something they've read (text to text) and/or something they've experienced (text to world).  "That reminds me of..." 

This week in Social Studies...

We will be exploring how the leaders in our community are good citizens.  We will discuss responsibilities of our community leaders from our school to our country.  We will also begin exploring our national symbols.  We will learn about the American Flag, what it represents and why it is so special to us.

This week in Math...

We will continue our unit on addition.  We have learned to count on (5..6,7,8) when we add. We will learn that basic facts have things in common.  For example 5+4 = 9 so, when you turn it around 4+5 = 9 you know two facts just by thinking about what the problem has in common.  We call these facts Turnaround Facts.  Research shows that students who learn strategies to acquire basic fact knowledge will become better problem solvers! At home you can use concrete objects to add together such as beans or pieces of fruit or vegetables! "I see on your plate you have 5 peas and 3 carrots.  How many veggies do you have!" Try it at dinner some time this week.

Growth Mindset: 

We've been talking about our Fantastic Elastic Brains! We know that if we make a mistake it can help our brains grow! This week we will learn a little more about how our brains grow when we read The Fantastic Elastic Brain. 

Have a great week!

       

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Oct. 3:  K-2 Spirit Assembly @ 7:40

Oct. 7:  Caraway Academies @ 7:40

Oct. 5:  Bike and Walk to School Day

Oct. 10:  Columbus Day- No School

            Parent/Teacher Conferences

Oct. 13:  Science Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Oct. 22:  Harvest Festival @ 4:00-7:00 pm

Oct. 26:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Nov. 11:  Veteran’s Day Program @ 8:00 am

Nov. 21-25:  Thanksgiving Break- No School

Nov. 30:  Skate Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Dec. 1:  Family Art Night @ 6:00-7:30 pm

Dec. 5-9:  Book Fair

Dec. 8:  International Festival @ 6:00-8:00pm

Dec. 15:  Winter Parties/Last Day of 1^st Semester

Dec. 16-Jan 2:  Winter Break

Jan. 3:  1^st Day of 2^nd Semester

September 26-30, 2016

Picture Day is Tuesday, September 27!  If you are ordering pictures, please be sure to send the order form to school by this date!

GROWTH MINDSET
This week in growth mindset, we are going to practice how to give each other constructive criticism.  What is the best thing to say to each other in order to improve each other's work? How can we be kind towards each other, yet help each other grow? We will learn how to start with something positive, saying something nice about each other's work. Next, we'll say something that can be improved and then end our talk with something positive again.  "I really like how your picture and your words match in this story, you could add more words to make your story more interesting, you are such a great story teller!" 

This week:

 READING

This week we will work on some strategies that could help us be a stronger reader. Readers read from from left to right and from top to the bottom, even if the prints on the page are not on a straight line and are printed in an unusual way (inside thinking bubbles, or on broken lines- The author, Mo Willems, has a lot of books like this). We will also talk about what readers do when they get stuck on a word, they don't just skip the word and keep reading.  Instead, they try to sound out the word and see if it makes sense. Lastly, readers use the picture clues to help them figure out a word they don't know.

WRITING

We have been working very hard on thinking about things from our personal lives that we could write about.  Now, this week, we will be learning how to make our writing fancy like a real author and illustrator!  We will work on making our pictures detailed and beautifully colored.  We will make sure all of our sight words are spelled correctly and our handwriting is neat.  We will all be published authors soon!

MATH

We have been practicing how to use the number line/number track to find specific numbers and find out one more or one less.  This week, we will take that knowledge and apply it in addition. It is essential that all students are able to successfully calculate both mentally and with paper and pencil their basic facts. When using the Count On Strategy, the student should be able to look at an addition equation, find the bigger part, then count on the smaller number.  Example:  8+4=___  The student should count “8. 9, 10, 11, 12. 

SCIENCE

This week we will be continuing our discussion on physical changes to materials.  We learned this past week, that adding heat and removing heat cause materials to change. We will be doing more experiments this week to observe those changes first hand!

Thank you all for your help and support, trusting your children with me, and being a partner in their education.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
*Tuesday folders come home.  Please return the folders the next day.

*Snack:  Please send a healthy snack with your child every day.

*PE:  We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Please make sure your kiddo is wearing tennis shoes (for sure) on these days.

       

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Sept. 27:  Picture Day!

Sept. 28:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Oct. 5:  Bike and Walk to School Day

Oct. 10:  Columbus Day- No School

            Parent/Teacher Conferences

Oct. 13:  Science Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Oct. 22:  Harvest Festival @ 4:00-7:00 pm

Oct. 26:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Nov. 11:  Veteran’s Day Program @ 8:00 am

Nov. 21-25:  Thanksgiving Break- No School

Nov. 30:  Skate Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Dec. 1:  Family Art Night @ 6:00-7:30 pm

Dec. 5-9:  Book Fair

Dec. 8:  International Festival @ 6:00-8:00pm

Dec. 15:  Winter Parties/Last Day of 1^st Semester

Dec. 16-Jan 2:  Winter Break

Jan. 3:  1^st Day of 2^nd Semester

September 19-23, 2016

GROWTH MINDSET
Here at Caraway, it is important to us that we continue to instill the attitude of "perseverance, embracing challenges, and giving our best effort", in our daily activities.  When something is a little more challenging, the children naturally say, "This is too hard, I can't do this".  We want the children to change their thinking and mindset: "I can't do this YET, but I will keep trying and give my best effort, until I can".  Please help us out by reminding your child to have an open mindset.

Here is what we will be doing this week:

READING

This week in reading we will learn how strong readers get their mind ready before they start reading a book. Strong readers look at the title and the front cover of the book before reading it to predict what the book or story might be about.  Readers also take a book walk/picture walk to get an idea of the story. They will activate their prior knowledge by making a connection between things that they already know or have read and the new information in the book.  All these will help readers to have a better understanding of the book they are reading.

WRITING
In writing, we will discuss different strategies we can use to come up with a topic to write about if we are having trouble thinking of something to write.  We will talk about how we can write about people we know, places we have been, personal experiences, and feelings.  The kiddos will make lists of all of these things and they will be taped to the back of their writing workshop folder for them to use if they don’t know what to write about.

MATH
In math, we will work on counting by 2's starting from 1 (1, 3, 5, ...), or 2( 2, 4, 6, ...)to 20 (differentiation to 100).  We will use a number track, number line, or hundred chart to look at any given number to find out one more/one less (differentiation:  more or less to 100). We will use 5 as a bench mark to count and add on.  For example if we see 5 dots and 4 dots on a domino, we know automatically the total is 9, since we use 5 as a benchmark and we count up from 5: 5-6-7-8-9. We will work on math problem solving that involves addition using counting by 2's strategies.

SOCIAL STUDIES
September 17 was Constitution Day.  We will review and discuss the importance of rules at our homes, schools, and communities and define constitution as a set of rules for our country and states. We will travel back in time to learn why the Founding Fathers of the Unites States wrote the Constitution.

SCIENCE
In science, we will continue learning about properties of objects.  We will do some experiments and make predictions and observations to see how the properties of objects/materials change when they are heated or cooled.

Thank you all for your help and support, trusting your children with me, and being a partner in their education.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
*Tuesday folders come home.  Please return the folders the next day.

*Snack:  Please send a healthy snack with your child every day.

*PE:  We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Please make sure your kiddo is wearing tennis shoes (for sure) on these days.

       

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Sept. 28:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Oct. 5:  Bike and Walk to School Day

Oct. 10:  Columbus Day- No School

            Parent/Teacher Conferences

Oct. 13:  Science Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Oct. 22:  Harvest Festival @ 4:00-7:00 pm

Oct. 26:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Nov. 11:  Veteran’s Day Program @ 8:00 am

Nov. 21-25:  Thanksgiving Break- No School

Nov. 30:  Skate Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Dec. 1:  Family Art Night @ 6:00-7:30 pm

Dec. 5-9:  Book Fair

Dec. 8:  International Festival @ 6:00-8:00pm

Dec. 15:  Winter Parties/Last Day of 1^st Semester

Dec. 16-Jan 2:  Winter Break

Jan. 3:  1^st Day of 2^nd Semester

September 12-16, 2016

Thank you for supporting our PTA and helping them to reach their goals for this school year. PTA supports many school activities for our students, such as paying for their educational field trips and providing financial resources for curriculum enrichment materials and programs. Your membership and donations will go back right to your children by supporting and enriching their learning experiences. 

This Tuesday (tomorrow) is our Library Day!  We will have check out, so please send books back!  This day might change after this week, so be on the lookout for that notification.  Mrs. Byrne’s class is having some scheduling issues and we might need to help them out. 

SCHOLASTIC ORDERS

If you are able to purchase books for your child from the Scholastic flyers that were sent home last week, that is awesome!  The more books our class buys, the more books I can get for our classroom library!  It is easier for me if you order online at www.scholastic.com and use the class code on the flyer.  If you don’t have the flyer anymore, the class code is HL96Y.  You have until the end of September to order books from the flyers. 

Here is what we will be doing this week:

READING

This week in reading we will talk about expectations for and  practice “partner reading”.  Reading with a partner will help us to be a better reader, practice our fluency and mostly it is lots of fun.  We will learn how to sit closely to our reading partner, so our elbows and knees touch. This close proximity will allow us to read with such quiet voice that only our reading partner can hear us and not the rest of the class.  It would also allow both of us to see the words and the pictures. We will learn how reading partners take turns choosing a book to read, and how they can take turns reading a paragraph or page of the book.

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING AT HOME?
Spicewood Springs public library has a variety of "I read, you read" books, where there is a harder paragraph for the parent to read and an easier one for the child to read. But you can practice partner reading with almost any book, as long as it is a good fit book for your child.

WRITING

This week in writing we will continue working on our stories.  The children have done a great job illustrating and writing about some real events in their lives.  We will learn how to write in complete sentences.  A complete sentence is a complete thought that tells who or what the sentence is about, and what happened. It starts with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark.  We will also learn how to use our word wall list to spell the first grade sight words correctly.  Please refer to your child's daily folder for a list of 100 first grade words. Some other skills that we will be working on this week include saying the words slowly in order to hear the beginning, the middle and the ending sounds in each word.

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING AT HOME?
Please encourage your child to form the letters correctly. When writing the letters of alphabet, we always start from the top to the bottom.  Some children have the habit of forming the letters from the bottom to the top and this will affect their handwriting as well as speed in writing.  When writing their names, please encourage your child to practice writing his/her names neatly starting with a capital letter and then lowercase letters for the rest.  If you need double lined paper at home, please let me know.

MATH
This week we will continue working on teen numbers, comparing teen numbers, and ordering them from the least quantity to the most quantity.  We will work with dimes and pennies since dimes represent a group of 10 pennies and could stand for a ten frame or a ten stick and pennies represent ones. We will compose and decompose numbers up to 20 as so many tens and so many ones.  We will apply our knowledge of teen numbers and comparison in math word problem solving.

SCIENCE
In science we will learn about properties of objects.  We will learn that we can use our five senses such as sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste to observe and explore the objects around us.  Properties are characteristics of objects.  These characteristics include color, texture, size, mass and shape. We will use some science tools such as hand lenses/magnifying glass to observe the properties of objects closely.

Thank you all for your help and support, trusting your children with me, and being a partner in their education.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
*Tuesday folders come home.  Please return the folders the next day.

*Snack:  Please send a healthy snack with your child every day.

*PE:  We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Please make sure your kiddo is wearing tennis shoes (for sure) on these days.

       

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Sept. 15:  Riata Roundup @ 6:00-7:00 pm

Sept. 28:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Oct. 5:  Bike and Walk to School Day

Oct. 10:  Columbus Day- No School

            Parent/Teacher Conferences

Oct. 13:  Science Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Oct. 22:  Harvest Festival @ 4:00-7:00 pm

Oct. 26:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Nov. 11:  Veteran’s Day Program @ 8:00 am

Nov. 21-25:  Thanksgiving Break- No School

Nov. 30:  Skate Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Dec. 1:  Family Art Night @ 6:00-7:30 pm

Dec. 5-9:  Book Fair

Dec. 8:  International Festival @ 6:00-8:00pm

Dec. 15:  Winter Parties/Last Day of 1^st Semester

Dec. 16-Jan 2:  Winter Break

Jan. 3:  1^st Day of 2^nd Semester

September 6-9, 2016

We had a great second week of school! The children are getting accustomed to procedures and expectations as we review them each day. I appreciate all your help and support. As a friendly reminder, please continue sending a healthy snack each day and the Daily Agenda back to school every morning. 

IMPORTANT REMINDER

Parent Information Night is on Thursday, September 8th at 6:30(location: our classroom, 305) followed by PTA meeting at 7:00. Please refer to Kathy Caraway website for more details. This is a Parents Only Event. I would appreciate your effort in making sure that at least one parent for each child would attend this meeting. I will cover lots of important information regarding your child's year in first grade. 

This Week:
Monday: Labor Day- No school
Tuesday: Tuesday folders come home. Please sign and return the folders the next day.

Thursday:  Parent Information Night 6:30-7:00 pm in our classroom.  (Room 305) Hope to see you all then!
Friday, Sept. 9: Grandparents Day Luncheon & Library Orientation/1^st Check out

Monday, Wednesday and Friday: P.E. days.  Please have your child wear tennis shoes.

Here is what we will be doing next week:

READING
We Have started to learn about the procedures of reading workshop.  Reading brings joy to our lives and in order to become strong readers we need to practice every day.  Whether we are using the classroom library or the school library, we have discussed how to choose a "good-fit" or "just right book".  These are the books that have only a few unknown in each page and we can read them with fluency and ease. As we teach comprehension and thinking skills, it is also important that we can understand the book we are reading. This week we will continue to read independently for a little longer each day. We will learn how to protect our classroom library by using the books carefully and responsibly. We will talk about the importance of respecting everyone's reading time and using kind reminders when we are being disturbed.
HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT YOUR CHILD'S READING AT HOME?
Please make sure your child has access to a variety of "just right books" at all times. Public libraries offer a great selection of leveled readers as well as easy-to-read chapter books.
Make the reading time a special time where you and your child can sit together comfortably.  Pick a time in the day that you know your child is not too tired to read. Maybe your child likes to read after school, or before bedtime.  You know when it is the best time.  Sit beside your child, turn off the TV and have your child read to you.  If your child is stuck on a word, read the word to your child quickly so she/he won't lose the flow.  It is also important that you read to your child every night.  Children need to hear the fluent reading with expression from a parent.  Do a picture walk together before reading a book.  As you read, stop periodically and see if your child has understood the story so far.  Read together, laugh together, and make this special time as joyful as possible!

WRITING

In writing, we will learn about two skills: One is the importance of illustrations in our stories and how to make our illustrations match our words. We will look at many different picture books and discuss how illustrations can enhance a story. The other skill is to say the words slowly (stretch the words), listening for the sounds, and writing down all the corresponding letters. Your child will have independent writing time where he/she will be conferencing with me and working on what has been taught so far.
HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING AT HOME?
Provide a writing journal at home.  Your child can decorate the front cover however she or he likes to.  Have your child think of a memory, a place that they have been before, a time they could remember, an activity that they did.  Something true that they have experienced.  It could be just a short ride in the car to HEB, when you both saw a deer on the street!
Have your child draw a picture of that memory first, and then add words to write about it.  When writing, remind your child to start the sentences with capital letters, put one finger space between the words, and end their sentences with a period or exclamation mark. Show excitement, encourage and celebrate every attempt! Share their writing with family members and friends! Let them see that they are real writers!

MATH
We will work on grouping items such as cubes and beans in groups of 10. With any given number, we will discuss how many groups of 10 we can make and how many items are leftover (meaning they are less than ten and can't be grouped as 10).  We will practice showing the numbers 0-20 as numerals, words, tally marks, groups of tens and left over ones (using ten frames), or different dots arrangements.  We will compare the teen numbers and apply our knowledge in problem solving activities. 
HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING AT HOME?
Provide some counters such as beans, macaronis, pennies, buttons, or anything similar for your child and have them count the items.  Your child will probably start counting by ones first.  Some children may count by 2's.  After that have your child record the number on a paper.  Let's say, your child counted 14 beans.  Ask your child, how many groups of 10 can you make with these beans? How many left overs do you have? let your child see that there is one group of 10 and 4 left over.  Ask: Is 14 greater than 13 or less? Show how you can take off one bean and now there are 13 beans.  So 13 is less then 14.  Practice with different numbers and counters and make this as fun as possible.

SCIENCE

This week in Science we will explore and discuss what scientists do. The students will be introduced to science journals and we will discuss the importance of using our senses to observe and record 
our scientific observations in our science journals. We will learn about science safety, and some tools in science that could help us to extend and protect our senses such as hand lenses, stethoscope, goggles, ear plugs, mask, and gloves.

Thank you all for your help and support, trusting your children with me, and being a partner in their education.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
*Tuesday folders come home.  Please return the folders the next day.

*Snack:  Please send a healthy snack with your child every day.

*PE:  We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Please make sure your kiddo is wearing tennis shoes (for sure) on these days.

       

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Sept. 8:  Parent Orientation Night @ 6:30-7:00 pm

Sept. 15:  Riata Roundup @ 6:00-7:00 pm

Sept. 28:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Oct. 5:  Bike and Walk to School Day

Oct. 10:  Columbus Day- No School

            Parent/Teacher Conferences

Oct. 13:  Science Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Oct. 22:  Harvest Festival @ 4:00-7:00 pm

Oct. 26:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Nov. 11:  Veteran’s Day Program @ 8:00 am

Nov. 21-25:  Thanksgiving Break- No School

Nov. 30:  Skate Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Dec. 1:  Family Art Night @ 6:00-7:30 pm

Dec. 5-9:  Book Fair

Dec. 8:  International Festival @ 6:00-8:00pm

Dec. 15:  Winter Parties/Last Day of 1^st Semester

Dec. 16-Jan 2:  Winter Break

Jan. 3:  1^st Day of 2^nd Semester