One month down...

Can you believe September is already over???   The children have come such a long way already and we have only just begun!   Finally I am not being called, "Mrs. Stoel", or "Mrs. Z" anymore!   The sad thing is that my former first graders are now calling me by their second grade teacher's names!  Oh well, at least my current class knows who I am! 

We finally seem to be getting our routine down.  I have far fewer kids asking me what is happening next, when it is time to go to lunch or go home, and some are actually surprised when I tell them it's time to pack our mail!

Next week we begin our "All Star Reading" program and math RtI program.  You may have seen the note regarding "All Star Reading" in your child's Friday Folder today.  After the children were tested for DIBELS, they were placed into smaller groups with children with similar strengths and/or needs.  The goal is to provide what each child needs at his or her level for 30 minutes, four times per week.  Children who are struggling in certain language arts areas will get the support needed to find more success.  Children at a higher level will also work in a group to give them the challenge they need.

RtI (Response to Intervention) Math groups also start next week.  These groups take place within our own classrooms with the help of an interventionist.  Our class is split into three groups.  They will meet for 30 minutes, twice a week to work on math related activities.  The children took the Delta Math Screener, which tested them on math objectives learned in Kindergarten.  The children will work with me one day, Mrs. Heuer (interventionist) another day, and will work on math activities on the computers on a third day.  Our High School assistant will be keeping the children on the computers on task.  Mrs. Heuer and I will be doing various games and activities to support Kindergarten objectives not mastered, and later first grade objectives that need more support.  This time is separate from our first grade math curriculum time in class.

WEB (Wonderfully Exciting Books) will begin the week of October 10th.  The children will check out a book from our classroom library at their independent level and take it home to read to an adult that night. The next day, a WEB mom will be at school and will call out the children one at a time and have the children read orally to her.  A couple of comprehension questions will be asked as well to make certain there is understanding along with reading the story.  A new book will be checked out each time unless your child is reading a longer book, requiring more than a day to complete (which does happen as they get better at reading).   If you are a WEB mom volunteer, please know that I am still working out the details on the schedule and will try to get that out to you early next week.  I will be only scheduling through December.  I would like to give other moms an opportunity to volunteer if they want to, or moms who do not want to continue to have the opportunity to make changes as well.  Dads or grandparents are also welcome to volunteer!  All volunteers do need to fill out a form and be cleared by our WISH volunteer coordinator.   This program would not be possible without parent help!  The children truly thrive and make tremendous gains in reading due to WEB!

Please refer to my paper newsletter in today's Friday Folder for specific activities accomplished in class this week.  As always, if you have questions, comments or concerns about your child or what we are learning, please email or call me!

Have a great weekend!

Kiel Reister

Our new Student of the Week is Kiel Reister.  His favorite color is black!  Kiel would like to visit Chicago soon.  He feels that the best thing about him is that he is a good big brother.  Kiel's favorite television show is called Wild Krats.  When he grows up, Kiel would like to be a cop.  He is special because he knows a lot about fishing.  His dog is named Sydney.  The book Kiel likes best is called "Hatchet".  His favorite sport is football and his favorite food is steak!

Big week in our classroom!

Moments to remember
      If you have not heard about our exciting adventure watching the monarch butterfly life cycle, I would be amazed!   We were so fortunate to see the life cycle in action.  Just over a week ago, we witnessed one of our six caterpillars split his skin and saw the chrysalis emerge!   This week, the kids came in to school on Wednesday morning and commented on how dark one of the six chrysalis' was (they start out green), and the wings could be seen right through the walls of the chrysalis.  Then, within ten minutes, the butterfly emerged!   We saw the wings start out wet and crumpled.  The body was very large at first.  As the butterfly moved his wings to pump blood into them, they dried out, the body slimmed out, and he practiced flying in the net.   We ended our day outside to release him and watched him fly away!   The excitement in their eyes, words and actions was fantastic to watch!   Then, the very next day, two more butterflies emerged just before the kids arrived at school, so we got to do it all again!

Clifford Day
     Today we celebrated Clifford, the big red dog's birthday!   His real birthday is in early September.  Thank you to Missy Eustice and her daughter Sydney for baking cupcakes for us!  We did several Clifford activities in class, read some Clifford stories, and of course watched a Clifford movie!

Friday Folders
     This week your child has more than usual in the "Return to School" side of the folder.  For class, there is a math paper (practice test) and Short I word strips along with an opportunity to volunteer in our classroom and a form to fill out for our classroom phone book.   For the office, there is a parent teacher conference form to fill out and return as well as some other optional opportunities.  Normally there is not so much to return.   In the "Keep at Home" side of the folder are this week's newsletters from both the office and our classroom.   Note the spotlight on our class in the office newsletter this week!  This week's story from our reading series along with the two decodable books, which highlight the short I vowel sound and the final X sound in words, are also in the folder.  Please have your child read these to you at home.  If the stories are not fluent, please practice often.  Keep these at home in the special yellow reading folder, which I sent last week.

Show and Tell next week
   The topic for next week will be to bring in an item that reminds you of fall!   We did a couple of fall activities yesterday, but will do more with the new season next week.  We were side tracked a bit with our butterfly excitement and Clifford activities.

Check out the links
     If your child has not seen this blog, please take some time soon to share it with him/her.  They do know about the blog, and have asked me when I take photos if I am going to post them on "our" blog!  You may also enjoy trying out some of the links to various web sites.  There are some very neat games and activities that are free and would be a much better use of time than watching cartoons and playing Mario on the Wii.   Spread the word to others in our class if you enjoy reading our blog.  If you have not signed up to receive emails when we post, you may want to consider doing that as well.  You will get an email each time we post so you will not miss a thing and do not have to remember to check on your own!

Book orders
     Orders were due today.  I will send the order out on Monday, and it usually takes two weeks or so to get them.  Thank you for your order.  Each dollar spent earns us a bonus point, which I use to order books for our classroom library.

WEB (Wonderfully Exciting Books)
     This program starts up in early October.  I am looking for volunteers to commit to 90 minutes per week or biweekly to help listen to children read.  This is super easy and very rewarding.  If you are interested, please send in the blue paper, which is in your child's Friday Folder today.  More information will be coming home soon about WEB.

Paper Newsletter
     You can read about each subject area's progress in our paper newsletter this week, which is also in your child' Friday Folder today.  If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to email me or call school and leave me a voice mail.  I will try to get back to you as soon as I am able. 

Our first butterfly friend!

We are so fortunate today!   One of our six butterfly chrysalis' was very dark brown this morning when the children came in to class.  Within 10 minutes, our first butterfly emerged!   We watched the wings start out very wet and crumpled up begin to stretch out and dry.  Not one of the children blew on the butterfly or bumped the net!   They were so excited to have this wonderful opportunity to see it happen.  Abby even said, "This is the first time I ever saw a butterfly come out of it's chrysalis!"   This is one of the many reasons it is so awesome to teach first grade!   The excitement and wonder in their eyes is such a gift!   Thank you for sharing your children with me! 

Payton Eustice

This is Payton Eustice!   She is the student of the week this week in our classroom.  Payton's favorite color is red.  She would like to visit Texas someday.  Payton thinks the best thing about her is that she is nice!  Her favorite television program is Scooby Doo.  Someday when she grows up, Payton would like to be a singer or a fashion designer.  She thinks she is special because she is the youngest in her whole family!  Payton used to have some dogs named Max, Peaches and Drake.  Her favorite book is "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly".  Her favorite sport is soccer, and her favorite food is Spaghetti-O's!  

Week Two!

Big News in our classroom this week!
   Have you heard about our caterpillars?   Our Life Science unit will take place in the spring, but some 5th graders remembered learning about the life cycle of a monarch butterfly in first grade.  They found some very healthy, large, fat monarch caterpillars by the track area on our playground and brought them to our classroom!   We were even fortunate enough to WATCH one of the caterpillars split it's skin and see the chrysalis emerge!   How exciting for them to see this event in action!   We have SIX healthy chrysalis' hanging in our butterfly net in the classroom.  The children are very excited to see the butterflies emerge next week or soon after!   Teachers call this a 'teachable moment'.  Even though we are not going to learn about the life cycle of monarch butterflies until spring, the opportunity to see this gives them prior knowledge.  It will be wonderful to see it all over again next spring as a review and to reinforce their learning.  Thank you Hamilton El fifth graders!   I will post more photos as our 'friends' mature!

Reading Folders
  Your child brought home a yellow folder today separate from the Friday Folder.  It contains a copy of our first story from our reading series along with two decodable books.  Please do not send this back in to school.  The folder is for you to keep the many stories and decodable books to review and practice.  Children need a lot of practice pointing to the words as they read to learn that we read left to right.  They also need to learn that each time we read a word, their finger moves one word as well.  Also, when reading to the end of a line, you sweep your finger back to the left and down one line.  It also helps you to know that they are reading the correct word, not just memorizing and saying what they think makes sense.  I always ask the children to point to the words as we read in small groups until later in the year, when I know that they do not need the support of pointing anymore.  When they read to you at home, please ask them to point as they read aloud to you.

Homework
   We are starting Word Strips this week.  This week we are practicing words that have the short A sound in them.  Have your child read one strip of words each night.  If they struggle, you may need to do this a few times.  Sign the bottom and have your child sign too.  After the fifth strip is completed, send the entire paper back to school with your child.  A small prize will be given to students next Friday if they have returned the paper.  If you do not get it completed by Friday, send it in when you have finished it and I will save a prize for your child.   We will do this for the next few weeks as we review a new vowel sound each week.
   A math paper is also in today's Friday Folder.  Please send that back in the Friday Folder on Monday morning and your child will get a sticker on his/her folder.
   Read your story from the special yellow reading folder along with the decodable books.  The vocabulary words are on the first page of the copied story for you to review.  Keep the story and decodable books in the yellow folder at home.  From now on, the new story and decodable books for the week will be sent in your child's Friday Folder.

Book orders
   Look in your child's Friday Folder today for a book order.  If you choose to order, checks may be made out to me or to Scholastic Book Club.   Cash is fine as well.  Send in an envelope and label the envelope with your child's name and "book order" written on the front.  I will compile the order next weekend and send it out.  Books usually come within two weeks after they receive the order.  I do not do online ordering.   Every dollar spent earns a bonus point for our class, which I use to order books for our classroom library!

Show and Tell
   Next week please have your child bring in an item that has RED in it to help celebrate Clifford's birthday!   Thanks to Missy Eustice (and her daughter Sydney), who volunteered to bake cupcakes for our class next Friday.   If you have forgotten which day is your child's Show and Tell day, email me and I will let you know.

Student of the Week
    We will begin next week!   Each child will have one turn to be the student of the week.  That student brings in photos, fills in a paper so we can learn his/her likes and dislikes, and we make a book for him/her.  He/she also fills an Estimation Jar.  We then guess how many are in the jar, then count and tally to find out if our guess is correct.  The Student of the Week also helps with calendar, is the line leader, lights person, errand runner, and may eat lunch on Friday with Mr. Hoekstra and the other Students of the week from other classes if they choose to!   Everyone loves to be the Student of the Week, but remember - we have 24 children in class, so it may be some time before your child has his/her turn.  I promise I have never missed anyone in 21 years, so be patient!

Paper Newsletter
   Be sure to look for my paper newsletter in today's Friday Folder for a brief synopsis in other subject areas for the week.  If you enjoy this blog, please tell other parents from our room, so they can log on too!   If you have not entered your email on the blog page, you may want to do that, as you will get a notice each time I post a new blog!   It would be a helpful reminder to check in!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Well, we survived our first week of first grade!   Here is a run-down of our activities:

Language Arts:  We are doing some review of letters and sounds by using penmanship papers.  We reviewed how to use the lines properly (top line = the sky, bottom line = the ground, and the middle dotted line = the fence).  I am noticing many odd pencil grips, so please check your child's grip to be certain they are holding the pencil and crayons efficiently.  I also introduced our first story in our reading series.  We will work with the story all next week.  I send home a copy of the story along with two decodable readers in the Friday Folder.  Next week I will send a special folder home with the first ones so you can keep them in a safe area to re-visit often. 

Math:  We did some review of kindergarten concepts this week.  Hopefully we will get started on chapter 1 the middle of next week.  You may notice that some of our math papers will come home without a mark on it from me.  That is because we have either done the paper together, or I was floating around the room and looking at their work as they did the paper.  I do not need the papers returned unless there is unfinished work (from an absence or a pokey worker). 

Social Studies:  Our main goal this week was to get our routine set.  We have done a lot of review of how to raise our hands to speak, wait our turn to talk to Mrs. Ferrell, and treat others the way we want to be treated.  Our biggest problem right now seems to be getting activities completed in the time given!   Sometimes a few of the children take two or three times longer than needed to complete a paper or project!  That will need to change, so if you can reinforce this with your child at home, I would really appreciate your help!  We also worked on classroom rules and consequences.  There is a copy of our rules in your child's yellow Friday Folder today, so please be sure to look at that.

Friday Folders:  Every student has a special yellow Friday Folder.  They will use that folder instead of their own folder each Friday.  Important notes from me, the office, or other items will be in the folder, along with their homework.  Please keep all the papers from the "Keep at Home" side, and return the paper(s) from the "Return to school" side by MONDAY.  If your child returns their folder with the completed homework inside by Monday, I will place a sticker on the front of their folder.  By the end of the school year, the entire front of the folder will be full of stickers!

Homework:  I usually send one paper/pencil activity home in the Friday Folder.  Usually it is a math paper, but this week is a fun booklet for you and your child to create.  I also (starting next week) will send home a copy of the reading story and decodable books.   We will also start word strips next week, but those are not due until the following Friday.  In October, we will start sending a book from our classroom each night to practice reading at home.  More information on that will come later in September.

Show and Tell:  We start next week!  Each child has a special day to bring in their item.  Look for a separate note in today's Friday Folder to see what day your child is scheduled to bring Show and Tell.  The topic will be posted in my newsletter, but next week we will do a 'free choice' week to get us started.

Student of the Week:  We will wait one more week before we begin.  Each child will get to be the student of the week once this year.   When it is your child's turn, I will send home papers for you in the Friday Folder (Return to school side) the Friday before their week.  Be patient please - your child may not be the student of the week for some time.

Bedtime:  The beginning of first grade is difficult for many children.  Getting used to a long day, sharing, raising our hand, etc.  can be hard.  Many of the children are very tired!   Please have your child go to bed by 8:00 or 8:30 (or earlier if needed).  Children who are tired cannot function the same as well- rested children!  Also, some children are not bringing a snack for our snack time.  They really do get hungry, and it is a nice break mid morning to have a snack, so please remember to send one with your child each day.

I think that covers our first week!  Thanks for checking out my blog!  If you sign up in the email box, you will be notified via an email each time I post.   My email:  jferrell@hamiltonschools.us

Open House

Wow!   What a great night last night at Hamilton Elementary!  We had our open house from 6:30 to 7:30, and had a huge crowd!   It was so nice to meet and greet so many of my new students and their families.  Our class had a great turn out as well, with 20 out of 23 families visiting!   Thanks for taking the time to come in and show your interest and support.  Please make every effort to turn in those forms on the very first day of school.

I had many questions about snacks, milk, specials, etc.  I have a specific note that I will send home the first day of school that outlines all of that, but will cover the basics here for you as well. 

We do have a snack time every morning, as we have no morning recess.  Our typical time for snack will be around 9:45, and will last for about 10 minutes.  I encourage you to send a healthy type snack, like fruit, a granola bar, etc.  We do not have milk for purchase like you did in kindergarten.  If you would like to send a box of wrapped snacks for your child to keep in his/her locker, that is fine as long as they are wrapped.  We do get those pesky ants who seem to find unwrapped snacks very quickly.

One parent asked if water bottles could be sent in.  Great question!   I have no problem with water bottles coming from home - especially as the beginning of the year is quite warm.  I will ask the children to keep their bottles on our counter to avoid spills in their desks or lockers.  I would like only water to be sent in, as juice spills stain our carpet.  I also highly suggest writing your child's name on the bottle or initials on the cap, even if it is not reusable.  Many water bottles look the same.  We do have a drinking fountain in our room, so a water bottle is not required.

If you did not bring a pair of 'inside' shoes last night, please be sure to send them in the first day!   If your child is not able to tie shoes well, please feel free to send slip-on shoes or shoes with velcro instead.  We do have P.E. the very first day, and children without tennis shoes are asked to sit on the side during activities, so please remember to send those in!

Here is our specials schedule until January:

Mondays: InfoTech - 1:35-2:05

Tuesdays: Spanish - 1:00 - 1:35

Wednesdays:  P.E. - 10:45 - 11:15

Thursdays:  P.E. - 10:45 - 11:15 and Spanish 12:25 - 1:00

Fridays:  InfoTech 9:45 - 10:15 and Art 10:45 - 11:45

Lunch and recess is from 11:45 - 12:20

Afternoon recess is from 2:10 - 2:30

Our doors open at 8:25, school begins at 8:33, and ends at 3:46.  If you are picking up your child, I will bring your child to the south doors by the gym entrance after the buses clear out.  You may park in the south parking lot and watch for your child to come out.  If your child normally rides a bus, but you are picking him/her up instead, please send in a note or email me early in the day.  You can also call Mrs. VanderZwaag in the office and she will let me know to hold your child off the bus.  If you leave me a voice mail, please do that before 3:20, as we are busy packing up and lining up in the hallway around 3:30.  I would hate to miss your message.  If I do not have a note or message from you, I am required to send your child on the bus.  I cannot hold a child off the bus if I do not have contact from a parent.  

If you have a question before the year gets started, please feel free to email me.  I do get my emails at home on my phone and would be more than happy to email you back!    jferrell@hamiltonschools.us

Looking forward to a great start!   Thank you again for visiting my blog!  I did add some neat links to web sites that have great games for first graders.  If you have others for me to check out, let me know.  I will add photos of our class after the permission forms are all turned in.