Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

I stopped by our classroom this morning and found this on my computer.  Please feel free to share with your students.  It is from our classroom Elf on a Shelf. 

Oliver’s Goodbye Letter 
(or I have copied the text below) 

 

Dear Mrs. Nelson’s 1st Graders,

 Thank you for letting me be a part of your class.  You have been so much fun to hang out with.  Sorry for some of the messes I made.  Sadly, this is my last day to be in your class.  When you get back to school I will be gone, but, I will have left a gift for you. 

 Tonight when you are asleep, a little Christmas magic is going to happen.  I will make my last report to Santa before he gets on his sleigh and heads around the world to spread Christmas cheer.  When you wake up tomorrow morning I will be gone and presents will be under your tree.  I know there will be presents because I told Santa all about what good boys and girls you are. 

 Merry Christmas Mrs. Nelson’s Class!  I LOVE you!  See you next year!

Oliver  Magic Elf to Mrs. Nelson’s 1st Grade   Christmas Eve, 2014

1st grade Hula/Songs program for parents 12/18

Parents: 

The Christmas Hula performed by the first grade girls and the 2 Songs performed by the boys will be in the Q1 Gym on Thursday, December 18th.  We are in need of parents to set up the chairs and to stay and help with our class party.  All parents/grandparents are invited to attend the program.  We are asking anyone who can to help set up chairs from 8-8:30am.  We plan on bringing our classes down for the program at 8:45am.  Thanks for all you do! 


December 15th – 19th

Thank you to all of you who returned a copy of your child’s favorite holiday recipe.  I have only received 16 recipes  of the 27 students in our class.  This is for a project we are doing that must go home with them on Friday.  Please email me their recipe as soon as you can and include your student’s name on the recipe.  

Also, thank you so very much for those of you who have signed the permission slip for our activities and party this week.  If you haven’t, please make sure to sign the electronic form below.  For the party on Thursday, we are still in need of volunteers from our class to help run the events, set up and take down chairs for the program and provide 27 cupcakes for our class and some treats.  If you can volunteer to help, we would very much appreciate it!  Please contact Lorinda Rodriguez at lrod827@yahoo.com.  The list of what is planned for the party on Thursday following our first grade program is in the document below: 
Christmas Party Activities

snowmanbb.green
Here are a few updates and weekly reminders:


1- Please send coats (and water bottles), as we will continue to go outside for PE and recess.   

2- TUESDAY:  Library
 day
     Read every day for 20 minutes. 
   
3-THURSDAY: 
   Spelling and Sort tests 
   (instead of Friday)

4- Homework:  Math Homework Due & Chapter 3 test will be taken
                                                                               * No sort homework due this week 

Math Homework: 
 Ch. 3 Math Test this week.  Homework includes a practice test with an identical format to the actual test.  Please check your child’s work and have them fix any mistakes before turning in.  Thank you!

Ch. 3 Test (For Review)

Ch. 4 Lesson 1

Additional Resources (Not required to turn in as homework):
Ch. 3 Vocabulary Test (For Review) 
Make a Ten
  (Flashcards)  To help your child memorize all the combinations for making a 10, cover up one of the numbers on each of the flashcards and your child figures out the hidden number.  Practice as needed.

5-Timed Fluency Practice.  This daily one-minute timed fluency reading will help your student become a fluent reader.  It will also count for reading minutes. Click here: HFW Week 12

6- Please complete this online permission form as soon as possible for the party this week: 
Christmas/Winter Permission Slip


Favorite Holiday Recipe Homework


Friday, December 12th is the last day for your child to receive credit for bringing in the recipe for their favorite holiday treat/dessert.  We will be working on our project with them all through next week.  The students do not need to bring in the prepared treat-just the recipe for it.  They also need to be marked with their name.

Christmas/Winter Party & Christmas Program

‘Tis the season for fun!  This year, we will be doing the majority of our celebrating on Thursday, December 18th at 9:00, we will be doing a little performance in the gym for any parents who would like to attend!  After the performance, we will be moving back to our classroom for a party.  If you would like to stay after the performance to help with our party, feel free to join us!  The party will run until 10:30, which is the students recess/lunch time.  We could also use some help setting up chairs in the gym for parents to use during the performance, so, if you are available to help, we will begin setting up chairs at 8:00 that morning.  

On Thursday, the 18th: Please have your child wear a uniform with a RED SHIRT

Girls will be performing the “Christmas Hula” (please allow your daughter to wear any “hula accessories,” such as a grass skirt or lei that day).  
Boys will be performing “The Christmas Song” and “Jingle Bells” (please feel free to allow your son to bring any jingle bells to school that day and to wear either a Santa hat, reindeer hat, or elf hat).  

IT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA TO LABEL YOUR CHILD’S ACCESSORIES SINCE I AM SURE THAT A LOT OF ACCESSORIES WILL LOOK SIMILAR! 🙂

Also, we would like to do a little present-exchange at our party, so could you please send a minimum $5 wrapped gift with your child on December 18th.  You can send the presents to class before that date, too, if you would like, and I will just hold onto them until needed.  Additionally, if you have the means to send any extra wrapped gifts for those children who may forget to bring one, we would surely appreciate it.  We are asking for a $3 donation per child to be given to the office for the cost of the party.

On Friday, the 19th: We plan to watch the movie The Polar Express (rated G) in class, as we will have just finished the book.  We plan to use the “Dress-Down Coupons” that we earned for winning the Box Tops contest a couple months ago to wear pajamas that day!  Below is the link to print the permission slip for allowing your child to watch the movie and participate in eating any snacks/treats that we may have during our party.  Please print, sign, and return permission slips, signed, by Wednesday, Dec. 17th at the latest.
 The permission slip can be signed electronically here: 
Christmas/Winter Permission Slip

ALSO on Friday, the 19thWe will also be performing the “Christmas Hula” and the “Christmas Song/Jingle Bells” for the assembly the morning of the 19th at Quest’s assembly.  Please allow your child to wear hula accessories or Santa/reindeer/elf hats with his/her pajamas that day. 

Remember that the last day of school before Winter Break is Friday, December 19th, which is an early-out day.  We will meet again at school on Monday, January 5th!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

December 8 – 12

Our school is participating in one hour of coding this week!  We are hoping to get into the lab on Monday to start the kids coding.  The kids can code any time they would like to at home by clicking on the link “Coding Games” on my blog.  They will learn their secret picture tomorrow and be able to log in at home or anywhere else.  This is a very exciting opportunity and the kids really love it.  

**  Library day is back to our normal schedule
Tuesday, December 9th   –please send your child’s library books with them so that they can check out a new
book ** 

Our Christmas party will be combining with Mrs. Fisher’s class in the Q1 gym on Thursday, December 18th at 8:45 a.m.  Please mark it on your calendars.  The kids have been working hard on their Christmas program numbers.  If you can volunteer we would thoroughly welcome and enjoy it!  More information will be rolled out on my blog soon. 

In our class you are responsible to print the homework organizer, the weekly sort and the math sheets on Monday’s.  Please staple together and return on Friday mornings.  (If you would rather record the math homework answers on the back of one of the organizer sheets I will accept that also)  

Weekly Homework Organizer(please print)

High Frequency Words/Sight Words for this week are listed below (due to the holiday time off I have added extra words for the next few weeks):  
them
other
more
will
into
your
which
do
Review words from last week:   
would
people
High Frequency Words Fluency Practice.  This daily one-minute timed fluency reading will help your student become a fluent reader.  It will also count for reading minutes. Click here:  HFW Fluency Timing 11-12

We are continuing our differentiating word study program, Words their Way! 

Click on the shape of your child’s group.  On the outside of your child’s blue homework folder I have put the shape he or she is in for your convenience right next to their name. (please look at that so that you know what sort to do each day).  Also, make sure you are asking for your child to look at their homework folder each night.  Several children have been placing them back in their desks instead of taking them home each night.  

WORD SORTS     (please print your child’s word sort for the week)
Stars
Triangles
Diamonds
Circles
Hearts

Use the Word Sort for the following activities.
  • Monday: Print, cut, and sort your words with an adult and explain this week’s rule. Sort each word under the correct guide word. Some guide words have a C or V combination on them – C stands for consonant and V stands for vowel.  
  • Tuesday: Speed Sort.  Time your child three different times sorting their words and record each of the times in the lines provided above the grid.  (Then have your child write their sort (using the grid on page 2 of the Homework Form). High frequency words written three times on the bottom in the lines provided.
  • Wednesday: Blind Sort (Lay down the guide words and then read the rest of the words aloud without showing them to your child. Your child must indicate where the word goes without seeing it.)  Rainbow write the high frequency words for the week on the lines provided.  
  • Thursday: Sort and glue (sort the words and glue them to the back of the Homework Form).
Math Homework:  (Please check your child’s work and have them fix any mistakes before turning in.  Thank you!)
Ch.-3-Lesson-8-Add-in-any-order
Ch.-3-Lesson-9-Add-3-Numbers

Your child should know their “Doubles” facts automatically (which makes “Near Double” facts easy and fast to figure out). If they are counting to figure out the answers to their doubles, they aren’t memorized.  Please continue to practice as needed:

Adding Doubles

Adding Near Doubles

December 1 – December 5th

**  Library day is Monday, December 1st for this week only –please send your child’s library books with them so that they can check out a new book ** 

In our class you are responsible to print the homework organizer, the weekly sort and the math sheets on Monday’s.  Please staple together and return on Friday mornings.  (If you would rather record the math homework answers on the back of one of the organizer sheets I will accept that also)  

Weekly Homework Organizer(please print)

High Frequency Words/Sight Words for this week are listed below (due to the holiday time off I have added extra words for the next few weeks):  
said
out 
if
some
would
so 
people
Review words from last week:   
what 
about
play
High Frequency Words Fluency Practice.  This daily one-minute timed fluency reading will help your student become a fluent reader.  It will also count for reading minutes. Click here:  HFW Week 10 Timing

We are continuing our differentiating word study program, Words their Way! 

Click on the shape of your child’s group.  On the outside of your child’s blue homework folder I have put the shape he or she is in for your convenience right next to their name. (please look at that so that you know what sort to do each day).  Also, make sure you are asking for your child to look at their homework folder each night.  Several children have been placing them back in their desks instead of taking them home each night.  

WORD SORTS     (please print your child’s word sort for the week)
Stars
Triangles
Diamonds
Circles
Hearts

Use the Word Sort for the following activities.
  • Monday: Print, cut, and sort your words with an adult and explain this week’s rule. Sort each word under the correct guide word. Some guide words have a C or V combination on them – C stands for consonant and V stands for vowel.  
  • Tuesday: Speed Sort.  Time your child three different times sorting their words and record each of the times in the lines provided above the grid.  (Then have your child write their sort (using the grid on page 2 of the Homework Form). High frequency words written three times on the bottom in the lines provided.
  • Wednesday: Blind Sort (Lay down the guide words and then read the rest of the words aloud without showing them to your child. Your child must indicate where the word goes without seeing it.)  Rainbow write the high frequency words for the week on the lines provided.  
  • Thursday: Sort and glue (sort the words and glue them to the back of the Homework Form).
Math Homework:  (Please check your child’s work and have them fix any mistakes before turning in.  Thank you!)

Ch. 3 Lesson 7

Please print and cut out the flashcards for “Adding Doubles” and “Adding Near Doubles”:  (or use your own flashcards)

Adding Doubles

Adding Near Doubles

We have been working on memorizing our “Doubles”.  Knowing doubles automatically makes “Near Double” facts easy and fast to figure out.  Quiz your child on these facts and practice as needed to increase their speed.  Many of them enjoy seeing if they can beat their time.  If they are counting to figure out the answers to their doubles, they aren’t memorized.  (Ask them to tell you what we picture in our minds for each double fact).  Please indicate that your child has worked on this by signing your name on the worksheet above.  Thank you!

Book Fair & Thanksgiving Week

Our book fair is now closed. Thank you to everyone who came out and supported our fairs!  All our earnings from Scholastic go directly to our school libraries! 

Remember, though the school fair is closed, our online book fair is still available until Dec 2.  We have a much larger selection online and books will ship to the school for free. 

The link is 
http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/q1 for Q1
 http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/q2 for Q2.  


Happy Thanksgiving Week to you all!

No homework this week and remind your kiddo’s they’ll get a Hoot Point if they tell me what Charlie Brown character they saw in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.  We’ll see you back on December 1st. 


Dress Down Day and Wonka Movie Party

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow is Dollar Dress Down day- if your child hasn’t already paid for the dress down days they can bring a dollar tomorrow and dress down.  


We also have our Wonka Movie party tomorrow to watch the original “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” after lunch.  The kids and I are so excited for this!  Please send your child with a water bottle so they have something to drink during the movie.  I will be providing popcorn and they can bring a treat to share with the class.  We have 27 students in our class.