This week in First Grade...

Jan 6-9
Happy New Year!!  Tonight, as I tucked Lily in to bed she said, "Merry Valentines!" We are on to the next holiday in the Caballero Casa!  I hope all of you enjoyed time with your children and families!  We spent time here in Austin with my family and in New Braunfels with my husband's family.  The second week of the break we traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma to visit friends who welcomed their third child four weeks ago then we moved on to Kansas City where the low one morning was 9 degrees with a wind chill of 2 degrees!!  We spent New Years Eve with my cousins and Aunt and Uncle!  We were busy but enjoyed our time together, all 25+ hours in the car together!! I can't wait to hear about your winter break from your children!

 REMINDERS

Monday: No school for students
Tuesday: Tuesday folders come home. Please return signed Tuesday folders on Wednesday morning. No reading homework since this is a short week.
Wednesday: 
Thursday: 
Friday: Library Day.  All library books are due by 8:00 AM

             Math homework is due 

             Fairy Tale Parade at 8:45

 READING
This week in reading we will focus on Fairy Tales.  We will review the features of Fairy Tales and discuss the characters, the problem and the solution, the plot of the story, and the beginning, middle and end of the story.  We will also review how to retell (tell the events from the beginning to the end in our own words) and to summarize( tell the important events in one short paragraph).  This unit really gets the students energized about reading!!

WRITING
This week, we will review procedures for writing workshop and review the writing process.  We will write small moments that happened during winter break and/or rely on our imaginations and write stories.  Do you want to build a snowman??

We will also think about resolutions.  What is a resolution and why individuals make goals.  These discussions will lead us back into our Leader in Me study of the 7 Habits!

MATH.
This week in math we will review the addition strategies including doubles, double plus one, double plus two and introduce a new strategy called "bridge to ten".  9+5 is the same as 10+4 which is 14.  We will solve problems applying the addition strategies we have been learning.  Problem solving will be a strong focus point for us as we begin to prepare for 2nd grade.  I know, already, YUP!!  

SCIENCE
We will learn about the objects in the sky such as the sun,the moon,the clouds and the stars.  We will also learn how the appearance of these objects change depending  on different kinds of weather/or different time of the day and month. Last night there was a super moon!  My girls and I saw it as we headed to school this morning for a work day!  It's really fun to observe the night sky!  Bundle up and head outside to take a look around!

THANK YOU!

Thank you for being a partner in your child's education.

Thank you for trusting me with your little people every day.

Thank you for supporting our learning at home.

Thank you for supporting me!

I appreciate each and every thing you do at home from tying shoes to making lunches so your Cowpoke is ready for our time together each day!

This week in First grade...

Dec 15-18
This week we will wrap up our first semester.  We have had 76 days of amazing learning experiences in our classroom and I am so proud of my student's hard work! The Winter Party is right around the corner!  Our committee has been hard at work creating a great event for the Cowpokes.  Thanks to all of you who signed up to bring items for the party.  I am sure the children will have a great and memorable time. Hope to see you all on Thursday!

Now for the not so good news, we seem to have an illness going around our classroom.  I had the Flu (type A) over the weekend.  My symptoms were cough, fever, headache and sore throat.  If your child has similar symptoms I recommend that you take them to the doctor.  I was able to get TamiFlu which shortened my illness.   We have six little people out today!  We will disinfect our classroom and wash our hands frequently!! 

 REMINDERS

Monday: No reading folder, but please encourage your child to read over the winter break and take advantage of online resources such as Razkids, BookFlix, PebbleGo, and MackinVia.  We are going to make sure our usernames are in our Blue Agenda folders before we go on break.  All other passwords to online resources are printed in your brand new copy of the Caraway Directory!

Tuesday: Tuesday folders come home. Please return signed Tuesday folders on Wednesday morning. No Math Homework- Have the kiddos work on iXL math for at least 10-15 minutes. Hopefully when I check our account, I will see 100 percent participation! ( Areas of focus: subtraction facts and problem solving)

Wednesday: Pajama Day (optional).  Have your child come to school in their Pajamas.  We will read the Polar Express book, make hot cocoa and watch The Polar Express movie while drinking hot cocoa.  This is a long time Caraway First Grade tradition!! 

Thursday: Last day of this semester. Winter Party! 1:30-2:30- Hope you can join us.

Dec 19- Jan 5: Winter Break! I wish you all a safe, and peaceful holiday break!

 READING

This week we will read our favorite holiday books including the Polar Express.  We will work on comprehension strategies such as identifying the plot (series of events that happen in order in the story), main characters, problem and solution.  We will also practice retelling, and summarizing the stories in our own words.


WRITING
This week we will learn and practice writing letters. We will learn that people write letters for different purposes.  Sometimes we want to express ourselves, or to tell some people about our feelings, our needs and etc. Other times we write letters to say "thank you", or make someone's day.  We will write short letters and put our ideas in logical sequence.  We will also learn about the conventions of letter writing such as date, salutation, body (text), and closing. 

MATH
This week we will work on making graphs and reading graphs.  Graphs allow us to put our information/data in an organized form and make it easier for us to understand the data. We will have some fun holiday related graphs such as gingerbread, reindeer, and snowman survey.

SOCIAL STUDIES
We will travel around the world and learn about customs, holidays, and celebrations. We will learn about the importance of various beliefs, customs, language, and traditions of communities and how communities celebrate their heritage. Our elf has been so busy traveling around the world.  This week, he is going to travel to Japan, and Germany.

THANK YOU!

Thank you for stuffing the folders, and being willing to help in the classroom or outside the classroom. Your helping hands and hearts are greatly appreciated!  I'm planning on sending out a 2nd semester volunteering schedule!

More than anything, thank you for supporting your child's learning at home.  Your child's success and education is a result of, us working together! So thank you for being a partner in your child's learning

Celebrations in England