Classroom Update

Lately we have started working on learning about our long vowel sounds.  We have learned that the "magic e" makes the vowel say its name.  We have also been working on how to tell the difference between long vowel and short vowel sounds.  In math we are continuing to work on subtraction.  Eventually we will begin mixing addition and subtraction, this is something that can get tricky.  Students need to make sure they are paying attention to the signs for each problem.   We will also begin to work more on word problems, this is important for us to determine with operation to use based on key words in the problem.

Lately we have been doing a lot of science studies.  We started with what plants and animals need to live and grow.  We learned about the parts of the plants and shared our seed collections (which were really neat by the way)!  Last week we learned about the life cycle of the pumpkin and even got messy on Friday with pumpkins.  This week we will learn about the life cycle of a frog and pretty soon we will have our own tadpoles in the classroom and watch them grow!!

REMINDERS:
**This week is "Red Ribbon Week".
-Monday: wear jeans
-Tuesday: wear sweat pants
-Wednesday:  wear sneakers
-Thursday: wear your favorite team jersey
-Friday: "Be the Best Me I Can Be"

**October 23 PTO meeting
**October 30 Picture Retakes

Have a great week!

One more week until fall break!

Ky Kids Day was a huge success.  Hopefully you little one came home talking about some of the neat things we learned and were able to do!  We read stories by Kentucky authors, learned about horses and folk music and got to paint a puzzle piece that will soon be a huge puzzle of Kentucky in the foyer of the school!  It was a great day!

This week we still start working on the long vowel sounds.  Our first letter to study is the long a.  For example: take, make, rake.  We will learn that the magic "e" at the end makes the "a" say it's name.  Here is our poem that helps us remember:

I hang around the end of words,
so silently I sneak.

But oh the magic I perform,
to make the long vowel speak!

I hang around the end of words
And I am not to blame.

Cause I just like to pinch the vowel
and make him say his name.

We will continue to work on addition in math this week.  One of the learning targets is to fluently add up to a sum of 10.  We will practice, practice, practice and hopefully start to learn our basic facts so that we know the answer quickly!


Also, don't forget... next week is fall break!  YAY!!!
Have a wonderful week!

KY Kids Day!

Friday is Kentucky Kids Day and all week we will be studying about our state!  We will learn about horse racing, agriculture, KY symbols and other important cultural parts our our great state.  If you come and visit on Friday, which is KY Kids Day, you will find our hallway decorated with all kids of neat things from the central region of KY!  I will try to post pictures for everyone to see our artwork and creativity!

Even though we have so many exciting things going on, we will still continue with our reading and math curriculum.  Our reading story this week is "A Big Fish for Max" and we will work on the digraphs "sh" and "th".  In math we are going do begin our study on the different strategies for addition!

We are in for a very exciting week!   :)

I can recognize short vowels sounds.

"I can recognize short vowel sounds" is a learning target we have been working on since the beginning of school.  This coming week we will be working on our final short vowel sound "u".  Our ten spelling words will have the short "u" sound in all of them and we will also have 2 challenge words this week as well.  Look for those lists to come home on Monday.
In math we will continue to work on money, specifically identifying coins and their value. The following are the math learnings targets we will have mastered at the end of this week!
I can identify the value of a penny.
I can count a group of pennies up to one dollar.
I can identify the value of a nickel.
I can count a group of nickels by fives to one dollar.
I can identify the value of a dime.
I can count a group of dimes by 10s up to one dollar.
I can identify the value of quarter.
I can count a group of quarters up to one dollar.

Notice that we are just counting coins up to one dollar and that we are not really mixing coins and counting them.  We have been doing some practice mixing but that is not a skill students will be tested over.

In Theme, which is social studies or science, we have only worked on social students content since the beginning of the year.  This week we will start with some science content, specially the needs of plants and animals.

Looking Ahead:
The following week on Sept. 28 is Kentucky Kids Day!  As a school we will be studying our state.  Our hallway, Kindergarten and 1st grade, will specifically be looking at the Bluegrass Region!

A Look At The Week Ahead...

In the upcoming week we will be working on the short vowel "e" and the story "Get the Egg".  Recently we have only had 10 spelling words, however, this week we will be starting to add two challenge words!  In math went spent the past week working on patterns, but this week we will begin a longer study on money.  We will study the value of the coins and counting coins of the same value and even mixing the coins and counting them.  Practicing this can be easily done at home with change.  This week we will only be studying the penny and nickel, then next we we will move onto the dime and quarter.
Also, this week we will be working with the new music teacher in the area of Dance.  Our class will be working all week learning about dance the steps to a dance, it should be fun!

I hope that if you were able to attend Grandparent's Day I hope you enjoyed your time and our video production! :)

Have a great week!!!

Labor Day Weekend!

It has finally come, our 3 day weekend!  Take the extra day this weekend to spend some quality family time with your student we all deserve it!  My plans are to relax at home with my husband and catch up on grad school work! :)

As you all know now we are in for a change at school.  We are so happy to be able to have another first grade teacher.  We will be sad to lose some students to Mrs. Gomez's class, but I am 100% confident in knowing that this is the best decision for all of the students.  With this new class our class size will go down to about 21 students.  This will greatly reduce the size of our flexible reading groups and will allow for the teachers to spend more time with students.  We look for the transition to take place late next week.  I am looking forward to working with Mrs. Gomez and Ms. Nicholson for the rest of the school year!

Reminders:
Sept. 6 - Giovanni's Night!  Go to Giovanni's Thursday night, SGE gets a portion of sales that day!
Sept. 14 - Fall Fair!  On Monday forms for you to sign up to help out that night with our class game will come home.  We need your help that night!
Book Fair is next week in the Library!
Our Grandparents Day is lunch on Thursday!

SHEW, there is a lot going on!  Hope to see you soon!

:) Mrs. Bonner

Working on short "o"

This week we are working on short "o" words and our reading story will be "The Big Blue Ox".  All of our spelling words this week have the short "o", for example:  pot, got, ox, mom.  We will work hard this week pushing and figuring out short "o" words.  We are also going to be working on words that are plurals and the "s" ending.

At the end of last week we talked about our small community of Stamping Ground, ask your child about the pictures we took.  This week we will be learning the difference between urban and rural communities.  Also, ask your child about Writing Workshop.  They are becoming better and more confident writers in just a short length of time, ask them what they have been writing about!!

Check back later to find out more about what is going on in our class!!☺

What in the world are Learning Targets?

Have your heard of Learning Targets?  Or has your child ever talked about them?  Learning Targets state what the students will be able to do at the end of a lesson or unit of study.  All Learning Targets start with the words "I can...".  For example  "I can identify, count and write numbers to 120", that is a Learning Target we are working on now.  When students know their Learning Target they know what they are learning and know where their learning is going.  We start and end each day with a discussion of our learning targets.  Quiz your first grader and see if they remember any! :)

We are 2 weeks in!

Ladies and gentlemen we have made it through the first 9 days of school.  We have been working hard on classroom and school procedures and have a week in our reading books under our belt.  Last week we worked with short a and CVC words such as cat, mat, lap, etc.  We will start with short i next week and continue through all the short vowels, our reading story will be "Pig in a Wig"!
We have also been working on identifying and using periods and capital letters in our writing.  In math we are working towards the goal of reading, writing and identifying numbers to 120.

Also, don't forget that Homework packets will come home on Monday afternoons.  Each night there are specific assignments, please complete the appropriate assignment each night.  You and your child should sign the contract on the front of the packet and return it on Friday!  Please check over their work to make sure it is correct as possible.

**Picture day is Tuesday August 21st!!

Hope you had a great weekend, see you soon!