Hello!

First of all, thank you for reading the blog each week! :)

We spent our learning time this week working on our fluent reading, detailed writing, and adding three single-digit numbers.  We discussed odd and even numbers, practiced counting by 2s, and played a bingo game to practice +1/-1 and +10/-10.  In Writing, we wrote narrative pieces about our family's Christmas tree traditions and learned strategies for writing tricky words.  On Wednesday, we got to do a fun yoga session!  Thursday morning was our usual STEM time-we applied what we learned about structures needing a base to create a structure that can support an eraser.

It was a busy week!!!

Here are some images from our STEM lessons and yoga time during the last couple of weeks!

We are looking forward to some special activities in the next few weeks!  Here are some highlights:

Thursday, December 14: Holiday Concert, Windham High School, 6:30 PM-please be there by 6:15 so that we can get into our places :)

Tuesday, December 19: Project Day!  1:30-2:15/2:30-please RSVP so I can plan which projects we will do :)  Thank you to everyone who has already volunteered to come and help us!

Thursday, December 21: Polar Express Day!  This will be a school-wide Pajama Day, but I would also like to plan some surprises for the kids, such as a viewing of the movie and some other activities.  Please send a bag or container of popped popcorn for your child to enjoy during the film!

Friday, December 22-Monday, January 1: No School-Vacation!
                                     We return to school on January 2nd.

Thanks for another great week!  I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend with our family-we got a new kitten last weekend, and our play opened as well, so it's been a very busy seven days! :)

Enjoy your weekend, too!  Rumor has it we may see some white precipitation over the next couple of days...

Becca

PS: Here are some activities your family might enjoy on the weekend or in the evenings over the next few weeks!

The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens' "Gardens Aglow" is fantastic!  Be sure to get tickets soon for this festive event-it sells out pretty quickly:

http://www.mainegardens.org/calendar-events/gardens-aglow/

I (and Mr. Cole) will be acting in a family-friendly production of "A Christmas Carol" at the Footlights in Falmouth this holiday season:

http://www.thefootlightsinfalmouth.com/

And, of course, the Magic of Christmas concert is always a favorite:

http://merrillauditorium.ticketoffices.com/Magic+Of+Christmas

The Polar Express at Maine's Narrow Gauge Railroad:

https://www.mainenarrowgauge.org/polar-express/

And in North Conway, NH:

http://www.journeytothenorthpole.org/

Or on the big screen in Saco:

http://cinemagicmovies.com/movie/42160/Polar-Express-The

Hello, everyone!

It sounds like holiday preparations are in full swing-many Elves have returned for their pre-Christmas antics, trees are being decorated, and I hear many, many wish list items being planned-Santa could learn a lot during our snacktime conversations  :) . 

In first grade this week, we continued learning about nouns and verbs and working on our editing skills to make sure we are writing complete, correct sentences.  We did some more work with making inferences about texts by looking for clues and using our schema.  Our math work included place value review, thinking about "ten more, ten less, one more, one less", and decomposing two-digit numbers. In STEM, we expanded on our Engineering skills from our last session by creating the tallest structure we could using straws and clay.  We looked at pictures of the Eiffel Tower, the Great Pyramid at Giza, and a free-standing basketball hoop to explore the idea of a structure needing a base that can support it. 

The next few weeks will fly by as we continue our learning and share some fun activities, too!  Check out some of these Upcoming Events for our class and our school:

Thursday, December 14: Holiday Concert, Windham High School, 6:30 PM-please be there by 6:15 so that we can get into our places :)

Tuesday, December 19: Project Day!  1:30-2:15/2:30-please RSVP so I can plan which projects we will do :)

Thursday, December 21: Polar Express Day!  This will be a school-wide Pajama Day, but I would also like to plan some surprises for the kids, such as a viewing of the movie and some other activities.  Please send a bag or container of popped popcorn for your child to enjoy during the film!

Friday, December 22-Monday, January 1: No School-Vacation! 
                                     We return to school on January 2nd.

When I can get my camera's SD card to talk to my laptop, I'll send this week's STEM photos! :)
Have a wonderful weekend!

Becca

PS: Here are some activities your family might enjoy on the weekend or in the evenings over the next few weeks!

The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens' "Gardens Aglow" is fantastic!  I already have our tickets for this festive event-it sells out pretty quickly:

http://www.mainegardens.org/calendar-events/gardens-aglow/

 

I (and Mr. Cole) will be acting in a family-friendly production of "A Christmas Carol" at the Footlights in Falmouth this holiday season:

http://www.thefootlightsinfalmouth.com/

 

And, of course, the Magic of Christmas concert is always a favorite:

http://merrillauditorium.ticketoffices.com/Magic+Of+Christmas

The Polar Express at Maine's Narrow Gauge Railroad:

https://www.mainenarrowgauge.org/polar-express/

 

And in North Conway, NH:

http://www.journeytothenorthpole.org/

 

Or on the big screen in Saco:

http://cinemagicmovies.com/movie/42160/Polar-Express-The

Happy (almost) Thanksgiving!

It was another jam-packed week here in first grade!  We worked with place value, adding the hundreds place to our repertoire!  On Tuesday, we read an interesting Scholastic News about the pilgrims at the time of the first Thanksgiving.  We've also worked hard on editing and revising our writing!  We're bringing several pieces home today after selecting two pieces to keep working on at school.  The pieces coming home are in various stages in the writing process-some may be nearly complete, while others might have been stories we lost interest in/didn't enjoy writing/just didn't have time to finish.  In reviewing them, be sure to talk with your child about the sounds they are writing (are they including beginning, middle, and ending consonants?  Which vowel sounds are they remembering to add to their words?) :)

Monday's assembly at the High School with sound designer Brent Daniels was really fun!  Some of us got to go up on the stage as volunteers in his presentation. :)

We enjoyed our Pajama Day today for earning another 25 Caught-You-Being-Good tickets in the hallway/cafeteria!  Please look later in the blog for a repeat message from last week's blog about a special day in December-please try to help me keep it a surprise as long as possible-I love their excitement when they see the fun things we will do and how our classroom is transformed for them on that special day!  They're only this age once :)

Some info from last week...

On Tuesday, November 21st, we'll have a class Turkey Trot on the track before it closes for the winter!  Please make sure we have appropriate shoes for walking and running that afternoon. :)
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FOR PARENTS ONLY

Looking ahead (but I know the days will evaporate!)...on Thursday, December 21st, we'll have Polar Express Day!  Your first grader may wear pajamas and bring a special pillow or blanket to be comfy during our class viewing of the book and movie, and some related activities!  I will have a little gift for each of them as well. :) 
Please be prepared to send a baggie or package of (already popped) popcorn for your child.

 **Shhh!  Don't tell yet-I want this day to be a surprise! ;) **

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**Speaking of upcoming events, don't forget to check out the Upcoming Events and Links lists in the sidebar menu here on the blog.  If you are using a mobile device/phone, and can't see the sidebar, just scroll to the bottom of the main message and click on View as Web Page. :)

Here are some images of our week together!

 Base 10 Blocks!!

Brent Daniels

 Everyone online

 

 

 Place value pros! (enjoying our new projector for the SmartBoard-!)

 

 

 STEM with fuzzy stems-how tall can you make YOUR structure? :)

 

 

Have a wonderful weekend!  I'm going to check out the Coastal Botanical Gardens' Gardens Aglow and rehearse for "A Christmas Carol"...hope you get to enjoy some fun family time too!  Check out last week's post for links to some fun, seasonal local events!

 

Becca

 

Hi, everyone!

Well, after a beautiful October the weather has finally decided to turn chilly!  Thank you for sending appropriate cold weather gear for my first grade friends.  **Please make sure to label your child's clothing with their name or initials so that we can keep track of whose belongings are whose! :)

It was a very busy four days in first grade!  We wrote learning reflections to share with our parents at conferences, continued to become experts at place value (tens and ones), started learning about the first Thanksgiving and the people who celebrated it, had an outdoor safety drill, learned about Perseverance with Mrs. Patch, enjoyed testing hypotheses and making observations during STEM, and did some special projects!  Big thanks to Mrs. Twombly and Mrs. Trickey for coming to help with our projects-it was a lot of fun!!  Look in the Upcoming Events listing to find out when our next Project Day will be-we'd love to have you there!

BIG NEWS-!  We earned another 25 Caught-You-Being-Good Cards!  We voted to celebrate by having a Pajama Day on Friday, November 17th!  :)

On Monday the 13th, we will be walking up to the High School for the rescheduled Cultural Arts performance that we were supposed to have attended on October 31st-please make sure we have comfortable shoes for walking :).

I am also extending the Scholastic Book Order deadline until Monday November 13th-we've only had one book order so far, and with all the craziness from the storm days interfering with our routines, I want to make sure that families have a chance to order.  The class online ordering code is H63NZ.

Also, be sure to check out the Scholastic Book Fair in our Library during the week after Thanksgiving...
            Monday, November 27^th                 3pm – 6pm

            Tuesday, November 28^th                3pm – 6pm

            Wednesday, November 29^th          1pm – 4pm

            Thursday, November 30^th               3pm – 6pm

On Tuesday, November 21st, we'll have a class Turkey Trot on the track before it closes for the winter!  Please make sure we have appropriate shoes for walking and running that afternoon. :)

FOR PARENTS ONLY...Looking ahead (but I know the days will evaporate!)...on Thursday, December 21st, we'll have Polar Express Day!  Your first grader may wear pajamas and bring a special pillow or blanket to be comfy during our class viewing of the book and movie, and some related activities!  I will have a little gift for each of them as well. :)  Please be prepared to send a baggie or package of (already popped) popcorn for your child. 
 **Shhh!  Don't tell yet-I want this day to be a surprise! ;) **

**Speaking of upcoming events, don't forget to check out the Upcoming Events and Links lists in the sidebar menu here on the blog.  If you are using a mobile device/phone, and can't see the sidebar, just scroll to the bottom of the main message and click on View as Web Page. :)

Here are a few images from our week together...

 Place Value Bingo!!!

 Turtle Drums and Wampum Beads!

 S.T.E.M.!!!

 

 

This year is FLYING by-I am having such a wonderful time with my first grade learners!  I hope they are having fun too-they are only this age for a short time, and I want it to be as special and memorable as possible! 

 

I shared a number of family outing opportunities in last week's blog post-I hope you and your family get to enjoy some of them and these other exciting things happening in our area over the next several weeks:

 

The Polar Express at Maine's Narrow Gauge Railroad:

https://www.mainenarrowgauge.org/polar-express/

 

And in North Conway, NH:

http://www.journeytothenorthpole.org/

 

Or on the big screen in Saco:

http://cinemagicmovies.com/movie/42160/Polar-Express-The



Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!!  As always, thank you for your help and support! :)
Becca

Hello!

1. Well, it has certainly been an interesting 7 days here in Windham!  We just got power back at our house this weekend-I think my family was ready to declare a "state of emergency" of our own over the loss of internet access for school/etc.!  I'm sure your own family has some "storm stories"...I heard several of them this week!
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2. We packed quite a lot into our abbreviated week-we had fun with Place Value Bingo, got centered and strong with our first monthly yoga session (thanks, Ms. Anecia!), read all the Halloween-themed books we didn't get to enjoy on Monday and Tuesday, learned about the life cycle of bats, and wrote about our experiences with the wind storm last weekend.  "Sharing" on Friday was fun, as always, and we are looking forward to our November activities and learning!
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3. Please be aware that there is no school this coming Friday, November 10th, in observance of Veterans Day.
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4. Speaking of which, if you are able to come in on Thursday the 9th for our first Project Day from 1:30-2:15, please let me know.  I plan the project/s based on the number of extra hands :) .  Please be sure that you have completed/submitted a Volunteer Application (which must be renewed each school year).
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5. The conference schedule still has several openings-please note that formal report cards are not available until the trimester ends at the beginning of December: https://www.ptcfast.com/schools/Windham_Primary_School_1
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6. Thank you for the Caring for Classrooms fundraising efforts-I am hoping we can earn enough for a second microscope to enhance our STEM/STEAM sessions!
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7. There will be a fall WPS Book Fair, courtesy of Scholastic and our library staff:

            Monday, November 27^th                 3pm – 6pm

            Tuesday, November 28^th                3pm – 6pm

            Wednesday, November 29^th          1pm – 4pm

            Thursday, November 30^th               3pm – 6pm

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8. Our November/December Book Order is due on Thursday, November 9th.  Feel free to explore the site and order items that are not listed in the paper copies that were sent home, as I do not send a December order (they sometimes don't make it back in time).  Please do order on/before the 9th so that I can submit all of the orders at once. :)  Our classroom code is H63NZ.  If you need me to hold onto items that will be used as holiday gifts, just let me know and I can stash them until you are able to pick them up.

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9. School pictures went home on Friday-the Retakes Day will be on November 21st.  Be sure to return unwanted photos and let me know if you would like retakes done.  Thanks!

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10. Looking for something to do with the family over the weeks between now and the holidays?  I know it feels early, but at this time of year, the days seem to evaporate and seasonal events sell out quickly:

 

The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens' "Gardens Aglow" is fantastic!  I already have our tickets for this festive event-it sells out pretty quickly:

http://www.mainegardens.org/calendar-events/gardens-aglow/

 

There are also community tree lightings:

Windham: https://www.windhammaine.us/Calendar.aspx?EID=3127&month=11&year=2017&day=5&calType=0

 

and Raymond: http://www.raymondmaine.org/content/annual-tree-lighting

 

I always love attending the Maine State Ballet's production of "The Nutcracker":

https://mainearts.maine.gov/Postings/Events/Detail/Maine-State-Ballet-s-The-Nutcracker

 

I (and Mr. Cole) will be acting in a family-friendly production of "A Christmas Carol" at the Footlights in Falmouth this holiday season:

http://www.thefootlightsinfalmouth.com/

 

And, of course, the Magic of Christmas concert:

http://merrillauditorium.ticketoffices.com/Magic+Of+Christmas

 

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11. Enjoy the coming week!
Becca

Happy (Almost) Halloween!

The excitement has been building here, as I'm sure it has been at home ;)

Our work this week included making text-to-text connections, writing complete sentences, editing our writing, and streeeeeeetching out words so we can write them.  We continued practicing place value and computation, and did a bit of review with comparing numbers.  Some of the Trimester 1 targets we're working toward are counting to 120 by 1s, 5,s, and 10s, and writing pieces in sequence (beginning, middle, and end).

Special thanks to Zoe's family for donating two pumpkins to our classroom!  We used them for this week's STEM lesson as we discussed observation and how we use our senses to make observations about our world.  We focused on the senses of sight and touch for this lesson, and brainstormed words we can use when we write statements about our observations ("I see", "It feels", "I noticed", etc.).

On Tuesday, we will be attending an assembly in the morning up at the High School-please be sure that the kids wear comfy walking shoes :) .  In the afternoon, Sergeant Fulton will be here to talk about Halloween Safety with us.

On Wednesday, Sophia's mom will be here to guide us through a kids' yoga session!  Please help the kids choose clothes they can move in easily. :)

New book order forms are coming home today!  They are due November 9th (a Thursday-no school Friday the 10th).  Please be sure to submit them online or turn in a paper copy no later than that afternoon so I can place the whole order together.  Thanks!!  PS-I don't send a December order, as they don't always get back in time for the holidays.  If you would like to order books that will be given to your child as gifts, just let me know and I can stash them here until you're able to pick them up. :)  Our online classroom code is H63NZ.

The PTCFast link for conferences is now live: https://www.ptcfast.com/schools/Windham_Primary_School_1

Several of the kids have indicated that they are coming to the Fall Festival here at WPS this weekend! I am also hoping to get in one last kayak trek before the weather changes.  Whatever your weekend plans include, I hope you have time to relax and enjoy your family!

Becca

Hello!
What a beautiful autumn week we've had!  I hope you've all had a chance to get outside and enjoy it, especially this weekend!

We had a great week in 106C!  We compared versions of The Three Little Pigs, practiced identifying and writing complete sentences, and wrote about our observations of the seasonal changes outdoors.  Guest speakers from Windham Public Safety came to talk with us about being safe in case of a fire.  Our math work included more computation practice and discussing place value (ones, tens, and hundreds) and showing that we can use ten frames.  We had fun with Stuffie Day on Friday and are already working toward earning our next 25 Caught You Being Good cards!

 

 



Thank you for supporting the Caring for Classrooms fundraiser that went home last week!  Last year, our class raised over $400 for classroom materials, which provided us with books, a microscope, several math tools and games, and other items which this year's class uses and enjoys. :) . The classroom gets 100% of the donations-here's a link, if you would like more info: http://www.caringforclassrooms.net/cgi/SchoolResult?mode=init

Thank you for your book orders!  Another book order will go home next week.  Our classroom code is H63NZ.  Please submit book orders no later than the due date.  I am required to log in and approve/submit all parent online orders, which is much easier to do all at once :) .  We can also earn extra bonus points (which equals extra books for our classroom library) if our cumulative order reaches various points, so it is very helpful if all orders are submitted at one time.  Thank you!!

I know that several families expressed interest in volunteering-please review the volunteering letter from the last 2 weeks' blog notifications and send me your availability as soon as you can so that I can build a schedule and send it out.  Thanks!

Thank you also for turning in...
-Library books on Mondays
-white Reading Folders (with the books!) on Mondays
-Eagle News on Mondays, and
-the purple Homework Folder on the first Monday of the month. 

Please don't put notes, money, etc. in the white or purple folders-they should be sent in Eagle News or in a separate envelope to ensure that I will see them in time.  Thanks :)

AND-thank you for reading the blog!  :) :) :)

Don't forget to check the Upcoming Events calendar!  :)
Have a great rest-of-the-weekend!
Becca

Hello!
It was so great to have all of the kids back this week!  :)  I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy the long weekend!  Here in first grade, we worked with vowel teams, talked about schema connections, and tried our first Estimating lesson with some autumn "leaves".  Our addition and subtraction of basic facts with sums and differences within 20 are becoming much more fluent, and we had a blast during STEM on Thursday as we made predictions about the chemical changes in a piece of apple if it is left out in the air, sealed in a container, or immersed in lemon juice.  Our lab report is in this week's Eagle News.

 

 

We earned our first 25 "Caught You Being Good" cards!  The class voted to have Bring Your Stuffie to School Day!  We will do this next Friday, October 20th.  Please help your child choose one stuffed animal that he or she can fit in his or her backpack.  Thanks!

 

Next week, we'll be learning about fire safety and bus safety!

 



My kids and I saw so many things in New York that I wished I could show our class in person.  One of the most special things was an amazing butterfly garden in Battery Park-I thought of our class butterfly right away!  Just imagine this picture x 50:

 

 

 



Everyone looked terrific for Picture Day!  :)  Retakes will be November 21st.

 

Have a wonderful October weekend!  I'm going to a teacher's conference tomorrow with my daughter, who is doing her educator internship at WMS.  :)  Hope you find something exciting to do, too!

 

Becca

 



 

 

Hello!
It was a very quiet week here in first grade, with several of us under the weather...hopefully the long weekend will give everyone a chance to recover and come back ready for some fun October activities next week!  Here's a sneak peek at our STEM lesson for next Thursday and a hint about a new piece of equipment in our classroom...can you guess what it is?

We enjoyed reviewing the concept of a cycle during STEM, practiced addition and subtraction during Math and learned about graphing, and continued working on some writing pieces in our Writing folders.  Some of us moved to a new level in Reading as well.

Thank you for your book orders-they are set to arrive tomorrow or early next week.  :)

School Picture Day for first grade is Thursday!  Don't forget to check out the Upcoming Events here on the blog for other important dates :) .

I hope you have some exciting plans for the weekend!  I'm looking forward to reading at the Children's Museum tonight for Joyful Children's Day, then my kids and I are headed to New York City for the weekend. 
Whatever your plans, enjoy your time together!
Becca

Happy October!

Can you believe we have already been in school for a month???  The days are flying by!!!

This week, we worked more with ten frames and addition facts!  We also started switching classrooms for WIN (What I Need) time, tried out our new Daily Five literacy routine, talked about "watermelon" and "seed" stories in Writing, and enjoyed learning about chemical and physical reactions during STEM time on Thursday!  Our lab reports are in Eagle News today-be sure to ask us about our experiment!

Many thanks to our friend Zoe and her family for our butterfly experience!  .

Thank you for returning homework books in the white Reading Folder on Mondays!  The purple homework folder with the homework menu and Reading Incentive calendar are due on the first Monday of the month.  Many people choose to keep the purple folder right inside the white one, which is fine.  Please make sure that your first grader keeps his or her reading books in the white folder when they are not using them.  Thanks!

I hope you have a great weekend!  Next Friday I'll be reading aloud at the Children's Museum of Maine between 4 and 8 PM for Joyful Children's Day (10AM-8PM)-maybe I'll see you there!

Becca

Happy Friday!
It was a whirlwind week with new learning, review of past learning, and our anticipation of the arrival of autumn!
We looked back at short vowel sounds a bit this week, and enjoyed a couple of episodes of "Between the Lions" to help us with that work.  Next week we'll move on to vowel teams and "kite" and "jelly bean" words.  We started to delve into the steps of story writing, and wrote five more Leader Books (one more week and we will all have had a turn to be the leader!)  In Math, we reviewed ten frames and played a fun tens-and-ones game with a giant die:

 

On Thursday, we had our first outdoor safety drill and a fun STEAM (adding Art to our usual STEM) activity.  We learned the parts of a butterfly's life cycle and their body as well-head, thorax, and abdomen.  Then, we created our own butterflies to bring home!  Zoe's family was kind enough to donate a monarch caterpillar to our class, and it formed its chrysalis last weekend-hopefully we can catch it emerging early next week!

 

And, some photos of our STEM day last week:

 

 

 







 



 



Here are some pictures from our first day of first grade!

 

 

 

And, because this blog doesn't already have enough pictures, I thought I would add some photos from Washington, DC that I took last weekend.  I was in work sessions at the National Education Association pretty much the whole time, but did get about two hours to go to the Smithsonian and then I walked to the Lincoln Memorial and other monuments one night.  I thought the kids might like to see some of the things I saw, especially if they've never been to DC, and we were so busy this week that I didn't get to show them (they might recognize a few from "Night at the Museum"):

 

Museum of Natural History                                                 The Hope Diamond

 Made from Legos-Mus. of American History

Capitol and Washington
Monument (above);
 
Vietnam Memorial

Lincoln Memorial
               Rotunda at the Museum. of Natural History



PS-On Friday, October 6th, the Children's Museum of Maine will be hosting a Joyful Children's Day from 10AM-8PM.  I am volunteering there as a read-aloud-er sometime late in the afternoon/early in the evening-maybe I'll see you there!

I hope you all have an awesome weekend!!
Becca