Student Connections: Penguin Unit

Wow! I have been so impressed by the connections that our students have been making during our Penguin Unit. So far, we have studied Rockhopper, King, Little Blue, and Gentoo Penguins. A giant 2 foot Penguin is also now sitting in a cooler in the back of our classroom. After students went home to survey parents and siblings about good names for our new friend. The end result was that they voted to name our penguin Spike. We've had a lot of fun welcoming Spike to the classroom by learning how to write friendly letters to him. We are also reading Mr. Popper's Penguins and the students are excited to find out each day what will happen next. I have been very impressed with their listening skills and comprehension skills during the story! Here are some pictures of great home to school learning connections that students have brought in to class. Way to go kiddos! Skyah and her sister went home and drew this picture of the southern hemisphere. She was so proud to bring it into class. On another day, Skyah also wrote a poem about penguin habits. You can read her special poem which is now hanging on our classroom wall. Jasper went home and made a food chain showing the hierarchy for antarctic animals. I love seeing how proud they look when they bring in their new discoveries to school, or tell about how they talked about their learning with families.

New Phone System

Exciting news, Bohemia now has a new phone system. When you call the school you will have an option of calling your child's teachers directly. Of course, the phones will be turned on silent during class time. However, I will be checking the voice mail several times during the day for any messages. More information about the new phone systems will be going home in the school newsletter. Here are some important tips:

* If you are calling about a transportation change please call directly to the office. If you leave a message on voice mail it may not reach the teacher before the end of the school day.

*If you are calling about attendance please call directly to the office as well.

Welcome Back! Look Out for Penguins

Hi Families,

How exciting to be back after the holidays! There is a lot to look forward too in first grade over the next few weeks. We will be starting our Penguin unit of study on Tuesday when the kiddos come back to school. Room 4 will be all about Penguins. We will read, write, measure, and research the different kinds of penguins that live around the world. If your family has any photos, books, magazines, or movies that are penguin related don't hesitate to let your kiddo bring it in for show and tell. Our new policy on show and tell is that students may bring in anything that is related to what we are studying. I will be posting some great links for further exploration of penguins later on after the unit gets underway.

We have some more changes happening in first grade as well. Your child will now be receiving spelling instruction in his/her homeroom instead of reading groups starting next week. Spelling homework will be sent home on the first day of the week, and the packet will be due on Fridays. You may need to help your student with extra practice as well because the spelling words and rules that we will be studying are going to be relatively complex. Of course, if you have questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to call.

Thanks for all of your care and support this year!
~Mrs. Elliott

Family Fun: Thanksgiving

We've been enjoying seeing how each family decides to disguise Tom Turkey and keep him hidden until after Thanksgiving is over! I will try and post pictures soon, although the kids would love to have you all visit them in person.

Here are some great links that you can explore with your student to help him/her learn more about the first thanksgiving:

America's Hometown

Pilgrim Hall Museum

The First Thanksgiving: Be the Historian

Boston Children's Museum

Scholastic Thanksgiving Activities

History Channel: Thanksgiving

Hubbards Cupboard Thanksgiving Activities

Science Unit: Studying Air

We learned air can move things!

We learned that air can fill things!

We've been studying the properties of air the past few weeks. Just ask our students what they've learned so far with all of their fun (and messy) experiments. Things we so engaging that we forgot to take pictures! Here are some pictures from our first experiment!

Our Class Harvest Party

We ate yummy treats!

All together in our costumes!

We played fun games and had a school wide parade!
Special thanks to all of our wonderful parent volunteers!

Extra Math Practice

Some parents have asked for more math homework for first graders this year. Instead of copying more worksheets and possibly overwhelming other families, here are some fun games and links to free worksheets online. Please let me know how this works out for your family. Extra math practice is always wonderful as long as kids get a chance to play and be kids at home too.

Math Blox- resource for free math games.

Family Math Night Modules- games and activities to do together as a family.

First Grade Math Worksheets- simple activities to introduce and reinforce concepts.

Homeschool Math-searchable site for fun games and activities.

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives- super great website that has fun games and activities.

Our Shady Oaks Pumpkin Pickin' Adventure

Come join us and see what fun we had!

We fed the goats and chickens today!

We rode on hay bales!

We picked out pumpkins!

We were joyful and excited and young!

We are proud pumpkin owners.
We picked pumpkins that were just right!

Playing Catch-Up: Our Fire Station Field Trip

Here is the story about our adventure at the fire station. We met many friendly fire fighters and learned a lot about fire safety.
We learned how to escape from a house in case of a fire.
We met at the mailbox to discuss fire safety plans.
We learned about fire trucks.
We each got to squirt a fire hose.!
We learned about how an ambulance works.

Special thanks to our parent volunteers and to the fire station for helping us have a fun and educational trip!

Request for Nature Pictures

Hello Families,
Our class is trying to start picture files for kids to help them build vocabulary and understand social studies and science concepts. If your family has old magazines with nature pictures in them we would love to have them donated to the classroom. Please let me know if you can help!

~Mrs. Elliott

Upcoming Owl Unit

Next week we will be studying owls and doing a science experiment where we get to dissect owl pellets. If you would like to come and help, just let me know, or if you have any great information to share! I've uploaded some fun crafts and informational websites for you to explore as a family. Hope you all have a happy weekend!

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Hello Families!

Our class will be taking a field trip to the Shady Oaks pumpkin patch on October 24th. at 11:00. We will be taking a hay-ride, picking out pumpkins, visiting farm animals, and eating a picnic lunch together. If you would like to join us on our field trip please let us know on your child's field trip permission slip. The permission slips will be going home next week. Also, if your child needs a sack lunch packed from the cafeteria please let us know on the back of your child's permission slip.

Fall Festival Baskets

Hello Families!

Bohemia's annual fall festival for school is just around the corner! Our class has been asked to put together a basket to be auctioned at the festival. The theme of our basket is going to be Family Movie Night. If you would like to donate some items for the basket here are some suggestions:

*popcorn
*jelly beans
*snuggly blankets
*hot chocolate
*fuzzy socks
*mixed nuts
*candy bars
*small stuffed animal
*family friendly dvd or movie

Of course, if you have any other great idea we'd love to incorporate it too! We need all donations to be turned into our classroom in two weeks. If you have any questions don't hesitate to call! Thanks so much for all your support!

Fire Station Field Trip

On Tuesday, October 9th at 9:45 a.m our class will be taking a tour of our local fire station and learning about fire prevention. If you would like to accompany our class on this short field trip, please let me know by Monday, October 8th in order to make sure school safety paperwork has been filled out. Call me at school or home if you have any questions!

Fall Conferences

Hello families!

I wanted to let you know that parent-teacher conferences will be held on:

Wednesday, October 17th (2:00-8:00)
Thursday, October 18th (2:00-4:00)

Please return the conference request time form in your child's homework folder. I will be trying my best to schedule you during the times you have indicated. Your invitation will be sent home soon. Also, remember that students will be released early both Wednesday and Thursday that week at 1:25 pm. Thanks for your help! I can't wait to meet with you individually to discuss your child's progress.

Classroom Pictures: October 2nd (Next Week)

Kindness Counts (and following the rules does too!)

In our class we reinforce the rules by picking "behavior scouts." It's the job of these kids to be watching and listening for other students who are:

Showing Respect
Solving Problems
Making Good Decisions

Periodically, I will call the behavior scouts up and ask them to tell us who was doing those three things. It helps the kids look for and understand good behavior and provides them with the natural reinforcement of being recognized by their peers. When your kiddo comes home with them in their folder, be sure to praise them for their excellent efforts at school and thank them for contributing to the learning environment. With 26 students, we are working very hard on showing respect for learning time and making good decisions. Thanks for your support and encouragement parents!

Open House

Hi Families! Just wanted to drop you a quick note that Open House will be next week. Here is the information:

Where: Bohemia, Room 4

When: Tuesday, September 25th

Time: 6:30 - 7:30

Come visit our classroom, go on a scavenger hunt, and meet your child's reading teacher. We can't wait to see you there!

Our Teddy Bear Picnic Day

We started the day by sharing our "Bear Facts About Me" bags with each other.
Then after lunch we introduced our teddy bears to one another.
We spent time teaching our bears the "ropes" of first grade, and helped them color little books to take home.
We picked out stories to read to our bears and have some snuggly bear time.
We played teddy bear games like the bear toss.
We ended our day with some special bear treats from A.J. and Alexi's mom, Jackie, and also celebrated Tyler's birthday. What a fun end to our first week together! Our next unit of study is insects and bugs. Parents if you have any neat ideas or information, please let me know, I'd love to include you!