As you can imagine, our first grade classroom is filled with energy and excitement! The next three days will be spent reviewing and practicing reading, writing, and math skills. We will also be finishing up our unit on Holidays Around the World!
Monday: We have been learning all about holidays and traditions around the world. Please join us at 2:15 in our classroom. The children will sing some songs and share the projects that we have been working on. I will have a 'sign out' sheet for anyone who will be taking their child home at the end of the day.
Wednesday: Pajama Day! Please have your child wear comfy pajamas and bring in one stuffed animal that is able to fit in his/her backpack. We will celebrate our last day of 2015 together!
I hope that you all have a terrific break with your families and friends. Happy New Year!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Sunday, December 6, 2015
December 7th - December 11th!
We are very busy learning about different Holidays Around the World! Be sure to ask your child all about Globe Trot Scott! He has been traveling to different parts of the world and helping us to learn about different traditions and holidays. So far, Globe Trot Scott has taught us about Italy, France, and Germany. He brought us some books and left some tasty treats too! We can't wait to see where he will travel next!
Word Wall & Spelling: We will add six new words this week: went, if, had, friend, very, & care. Each morning we practice reading and writing our Word Wall Words using white boards and markers. They are doing a great job using our Word Wall throughout the day when needed. We will continue working on the long a sound this week during spelling. Last week we practiced reading and writing words with 'a' silent 'e'. This week will learn that 'ay' and 'ai' can also make the long a sound. Ex: day, play, stay, spray, rain, pail, air... We will practice some of our first grade priority words as well!
Reading: We are back into the groove of working in our guided reading groups and Daily Five rotations each day. Thank you for returning any books sent home in the reading bags! The books in the reading bags are typically 'just right' levels for independent reading. Remind your child to use all the different decoding strategies to help them figure out unknown words during reading. We are working on this each day first grade readers.
Writing: We are currently using first grade checklists to help us with our nonfiction all about writing pieces. This week we will work on editing our writing. We will also begin to add 'table of contents' and 'chapters' too! We are super excited to about adding these features to our stories. :)
Math: This week, we will continue using what we know about addition to help us solve subtraction problems. If we know 6+6=12, then we can quickly solve 12-6=6! This works for other problems too. Ex: 8+4=12 so 12-8=4. We are going to work really hard with 'related facts' this week. Please practice this skill at home too! Solving addition and subtraction problems is an extremely important skill in first grade.
Traditions Project: Please send in all completed projects anytime before December 18th. Remember, the tradition does not need to be anything fancy! Perhaps your family goes apple picking or pumpkin picking every fall. Maybe your family has a special plate that is used for birthday celebrations each year. Does someone in your family have a special family recipe that they make? Have fun with it and thank you for sharing. :)
December Celebration: Please join us on Monday, December 21st at 2:15. We will sing some songs and share some of what we have learned about Holidays Around the World. We will have some snacks too! We look forward to seeing you.
Have a great week! :)
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Word Wall & Spelling: We will add six new words this week: went, if, had, friend, very, & care. Each morning we practice reading and writing our Word Wall Words using white boards and markers. They are doing a great job using our Word Wall throughout the day when needed. We will continue working on the long a sound this week during spelling. Last week we practiced reading and writing words with 'a' silent 'e'. This week will learn that 'ay' and 'ai' can also make the long a sound. Ex: day, play, stay, spray, rain, pail, air... We will practice some of our first grade priority words as well!
Reading: We are back into the groove of working in our guided reading groups and Daily Five rotations each day. Thank you for returning any books sent home in the reading bags! The books in the reading bags are typically 'just right' levels for independent reading. Remind your child to use all the different decoding strategies to help them figure out unknown words during reading. We are working on this each day first grade readers.
Writing: We are currently using first grade checklists to help us with our nonfiction all about writing pieces. This week we will work on editing our writing. We will also begin to add 'table of contents' and 'chapters' too! We are super excited to about adding these features to our stories. :)
Math: This week, we will continue using what we know about addition to help us solve subtraction problems. If we know 6+6=12, then we can quickly solve 12-6=6! This works for other problems too. Ex: 8+4=12 so 12-8=4. We are going to work really hard with 'related facts' this week. Please practice this skill at home too! Solving addition and subtraction problems is an extremely important skill in first grade.
Traditions Project: Please send in all completed projects anytime before December 18th. Remember, the tradition does not need to be anything fancy! Perhaps your family goes apple picking or pumpkin picking every fall. Maybe your family has a special plate that is used for birthday celebrations each year. Does someone in your family have a special family recipe that they make? Have fun with it and thank you for sharing. :)
December Celebration: Please join us on Monday, December 21st at 2:15. We will sing some songs and share some of what we have learned about Holidays Around the World. We will have some snacks too! We look forward to seeing you.
Have a great week! :)
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Welcome December!
I hope you had a terrific Thanksgiving with family & friends. The children were certainly excited to celebrate this holiday! Below is a preview of our 1st grade learning for the week:
Word Wall & Spelling: We will add six new words to our wall: make, came, way, him, we, & did The children should be able to read these words quickly in isolation. They should also be able to recognize these words when they see them in books. During spelling, we will work on reading and writing words with the long 'a' silent 'e' pattern. Ex: made, gave, cake, shake... Once children realize that 'sneaky, silent, Mrs. E' has a job, they will be able to read and write many other long a words too!
Reading: We will continue reading nonfiction books and discussing the text features in nonfiction: table of contents, glossary, close up pictures, labels, arrows, & diagrams. We will also work in guided reading groups again. We took a little break from reading groups while we were reading and learning all about Thanksgiving!
Writing: We will continue working on our 'all about' nonfiction books. The children are learning how to add labels, close up pictures, and facts to teach readers about their various topics. This week we will work on using first grade checklists to guide us in our writing.
Math: We are working on using what we know about double facts, friendly facts to ten, and addition facts to help us solve subtraction problems. When we know addition facts, it can help us to quickly solve related subtraction facts!
Social Studies: This month we will be learning about traditions and holidays all around the world! We will read many books, learn some songs, and make some projects to go along with our learning. Please talk with your children about some traditions that your family has. Ex: a special blanket that has been handed down in your family, a special meal that your family makes, a special trip that your family takes each year, something special that you do on birthdays... These are just some ideas to get you started. A letter will be sent home explaining the homework for this activity. The children love learning about families and traditions.
We are looking forward to getting back into our routine with a full week of learning in first grade! :)
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Word Wall & Spelling: We will add six new words to our wall: make, came, way, him, we, & did The children should be able to read these words quickly in isolation. They should also be able to recognize these words when they see them in books. During spelling, we will work on reading and writing words with the long 'a' silent 'e' pattern. Ex: made, gave, cake, shake... Once children realize that 'sneaky, silent, Mrs. E' has a job, they will be able to read and write many other long a words too!
Reading: We will continue reading nonfiction books and discussing the text features in nonfiction: table of contents, glossary, close up pictures, labels, arrows, & diagrams. We will also work in guided reading groups again. We took a little break from reading groups while we were reading and learning all about Thanksgiving!
Writing: We will continue working on our 'all about' nonfiction books. The children are learning how to add labels, close up pictures, and facts to teach readers about their various topics. This week we will work on using first grade checklists to guide us in our writing.
Math: We are working on using what we know about double facts, friendly facts to ten, and addition facts to help us solve subtraction problems. When we know addition facts, it can help us to quickly solve related subtraction facts!
Social Studies: This month we will be learning about traditions and holidays all around the world! We will read many books, learn some songs, and make some projects to go along with our learning. Please talk with your children about some traditions that your family has. Ex: a special blanket that has been handed down in your family, a special meal that your family makes, a special trip that your family takes each year, something special that you do on birthdays... These are just some ideas to get you started. A letter will be sent home explaining the homework for this activity. The children love learning about families and traditions.
We are looking forward to getting back into our routine with a full week of learning in first grade! :)
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Sunday, November 15, 2015
November 16th
I hope you had a terrific weekend! The next two weeks will be filled with reading and learning all about Thanksgiving and different kinds of families in our first grade classroom. Please return all Family Mobile Projects by Monday, November 16th. The children love sharing their projects with one another. Also, we welcome you to visit our classroom on Thursday, November 19th at 2 pm. We will sing some songs, read some facts about Thanksgiving, and play some math games. Please join us!
Below are some highlights regarding our learning for this week:
Reading: We are comparing fiction and nonfiction books as readers. This week we are spending time learning about some text features in nonfiction books~ table of contents, glossary, photo captions, and so much more!
Writing: We have begun a new writing unit ~ nonfiction 'all about' books! As writers, we are spending some time working on writing books that 'teach' the reader all about a certain topic. So far we have first grade informational books about bats, spiders, pumpkins, skateboarding, dogs, cats...! This is a different kind of writing compared to 'small moment' writing, but we are doing a great job so far! :)
Word Wall/ Spelling: Our six new words this week are mother, father, brother, sister, what, & this. We will also spend time reviewing short vowel sounds, blends, and digraphs...'sh', 'th', 'ch', 'wh'.
We will practice these skills in reading and writing this week and next week.
Math: This week we will begin topic #4 ~ all about adding and subtracting numbers to 12. We will focus on learning our doubles facts and 'near' doubles facts to help us solve problems quickly and accurately.
Book Fair: Eagle's Book Fair will take place this week! Please see the flyer that was sent home for more details. Your child may shop during the school day or you may shop with your child during one of the times listed after school.
We are looking forward to a fun week in first grade. I hope to see many of you on Thursday, November 19th at 2pm in our first grade classroom! :) As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Below are some highlights regarding our learning for this week:
Reading: We are comparing fiction and nonfiction books as readers. This week we are spending time learning about some text features in nonfiction books~ table of contents, glossary, photo captions, and so much more!
Writing: We have begun a new writing unit ~ nonfiction 'all about' books! As writers, we are spending some time working on writing books that 'teach' the reader all about a certain topic. So far we have first grade informational books about bats, spiders, pumpkins, skateboarding, dogs, cats...! This is a different kind of writing compared to 'small moment' writing, but we are doing a great job so far! :)
Word Wall/ Spelling: Our six new words this week are mother, father, brother, sister, what, & this. We will also spend time reviewing short vowel sounds, blends, and digraphs...'sh', 'th', 'ch', 'wh'.
We will practice these skills in reading and writing this week and next week.
Math: This week we will begin topic #4 ~ all about adding and subtracting numbers to 12. We will focus on learning our doubles facts and 'near' doubles facts to help us solve problems quickly and accurately.
Book Fair: Eagle's Book Fair will take place this week! Please see the flyer that was sent home for more details. Your child may shop during the school day or you may shop with your child during one of the times listed after school.
We are looking forward to a fun week in first grade. I hope to see many of you on Thursday, November 19th at 2pm in our first grade classroom! :) As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Welcome November!
I hope you all had a fun weekend! I wanted to take a minute to thank you for all of your support last week. We had so much fun building and decorating our Haunted Houses with all of the supplies and treats that were sent in. We also now have a wonderful gift basket FILLED with gift cards donated by first grade families for Eagle's Silent Auction. THANK YOU!!! Be sure to check out the Silent Auction Tuesday, November 3rd at our school. It is a terrific event with some great raffles and prizes.
Below is a peek at some of our first grade learning for this week ~
Word Wall & Spelling: Our six new words are: one, her, get, then, when, & look. We will also work on the short e sound in spelling. We will read and write words in many different short e word families: get, let, met, set... best, west, crest... etc.
Reading: We will be working on decoding strategies this week as readers. We will talk a lot about what to do when you're stuck on a word as a reader. Be sure to ask your child all about some skills that we use each day during independent reading, partner reading, and small group reading.
Writers: We are working on finishing up our stories that we are most proud of. We plan on reading our small moment stories to Mrs. Crawley's 2nd graders this week! We are super excited to share our work. We will write one more personal narrative this week before moving into our next writing unit.
Math: We will work on building numbers in Ten Frames this week. This is a rather quick unit that is mostly review of building parts to make numbers within a ten frame. We will continue to talk about whole = part + part.
Social Studies: During the months of November & December, we will read, write, and learn all about different types of families. We will discuss families of long ago and families of today. Please see the letter that your child will bring home this week regarding a Family Project. Work together, have fun, be creative, and return the projects as you complete them. The due date for all family projects is November 16th. This will allow us time to share our projects with one another. We will also invite families into our classroom on November 19th at 2:00 . Please see the letter for more details! :)
Thank you so much for your ongoing support.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Below is a peek at some of our first grade learning for this week ~
Word Wall & Spelling: Our six new words are: one, her, get, then, when, & look. We will also work on the short e sound in spelling. We will read and write words in many different short e word families: get, let, met, set... best, west, crest... etc.
Reading: We will be working on decoding strategies this week as readers. We will talk a lot about what to do when you're stuck on a word as a reader. Be sure to ask your child all about some skills that we use each day during independent reading, partner reading, and small group reading.
Writers: We are working on finishing up our stories that we are most proud of. We plan on reading our small moment stories to Mrs. Crawley's 2nd graders this week! We are super excited to share our work. We will write one more personal narrative this week before moving into our next writing unit.
Math: We will work on building numbers in Ten Frames this week. This is a rather quick unit that is mostly review of building parts to make numbers within a ten frame. We will continue to talk about whole = part + part.
Social Studies: During the months of November & December, we will read, write, and learn all about different types of families. We will discuss families of long ago and families of today. Please see the letter that your child will bring home this week regarding a Family Project. Work together, have fun, be creative, and return the projects as you complete them. The due date for all family projects is November 16th. This will allow us time to share our projects with one another. We will also invite families into our classroom on November 19th at 2:00 . Please see the letter for more details! :)
Thank you so much for your ongoing support.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Sunday, October 25, 2015
An Exciting Week in First Grade!
As you can imagine, this will be a fun and busy week in our classroom. We will be learning about spiders, bats, pumpkins, and fall fun. This will be a brief update, but filled with some important reminders. :)
Word Wall: Our six new words for this week are: up, but, like, day, thing, & are Please practice reading these words (and all of our Word Wall Words) quickly and fluently.
Spelling: Our short vowel focus will be on the short u sound and on building many different word families using this vowel sound. Ex: cut, but, hut, shut.... bug, dug, hug, tug...
Writing: We will look through our writing folders and select one favorite 'small moment' personal narrative story this week. We will use checklists and work with partners to edit and revise our stories to make them the best they can be! At the end of the week, we will read our stories to another class as a way to celebrate our great work!
Math: We will review subtraction, whole = part + part, whole - part = part, and problem solving this week as we prepare to work on another math assessment as first graders! I will send home our completed assessments for you to review with your child. Please sign and return all math assessments this year.
Reminders:
* Eagle's Silent Auction is coming SOON! Please send in all donations for our gift basket this week. You can send in actual gift cards or a cash donation to be put towards the purchase of gift cards. No donation is too small! Thank you for supporting this terrific fundraiser for our school.
* Please send in all items to help build and decorate our Fall/Halloween Graham Cracker Houses by Wednesday. We will decorate the houses on Friday at 2:15 in our classroom. I will send home a note. Please let me know if you will be joining us so that we can partner up children accordingly. Thank you! :)
* Wednesday, October 28th: 11:45 dismissal for children due to parent-teacher conferences.
* Friday, October 30th: Children do not wear costumes to school, but can certainly dress in festive orange and black. The Spooktacular will be hosted by Eagle's PTO in the evening. This is a great time to showcase your costumes! :)
I am looking forward to an exciting and busy week in First Grade!
Eileen Browne
Word Wall: Our six new words for this week are: up, but, like, day, thing, & are Please practice reading these words (and all of our Word Wall Words) quickly and fluently.
Spelling: Our short vowel focus will be on the short u sound and on building many different word families using this vowel sound. Ex: cut, but, hut, shut.... bug, dug, hug, tug...
Writing: We will look through our writing folders and select one favorite 'small moment' personal narrative story this week. We will use checklists and work with partners to edit and revise our stories to make them the best they can be! At the end of the week, we will read our stories to another class as a way to celebrate our great work!
Math: We will review subtraction, whole = part + part, whole - part = part, and problem solving this week as we prepare to work on another math assessment as first graders! I will send home our completed assessments for you to review with your child. Please sign and return all math assessments this year.
Reminders:
* Eagle's Silent Auction is coming SOON! Please send in all donations for our gift basket this week. You can send in actual gift cards or a cash donation to be put towards the purchase of gift cards. No donation is too small! Thank you for supporting this terrific fundraiser for our school.
* Please send in all items to help build and decorate our Fall/Halloween Graham Cracker Houses by Wednesday. We will decorate the houses on Friday at 2:15 in our classroom. I will send home a note. Please let me know if you will be joining us so that we can partner up children accordingly. Thank you! :)
* Wednesday, October 28th: 11:45 dismissal for children due to parent-teacher conferences.
* Friday, October 30th: Children do not wear costumes to school, but can certainly dress in festive orange and black. The Spooktacular will be hosted by Eagle's PTO in the evening. This is a great time to showcase your costumes! :)
I am looking forward to an exciting and busy week in First Grade!
Eileen Browne
Sunday, October 18, 2015
All About Pumpkins!
I hope you all had a terrific weekend! Below is a sneak peak at some of our learning that will happen this week in our first grade classroom.
Word Wall: We will add six new words: dog, he, she, out, at, & they. The children are doing a terrific job reading our Word Wall words and finding them in everything we read. Keep looking for these words at home too! :)
Reading: We are in a good groove of working in guided reading groups and daily five literacy stations each day. The children will continue bringing home 'just right' books in their reading bags during the week. They should be able to read these books fluently. Practice retelling the stories and talking about the main idea, the main character, the setting, the problem, and the solution in the books the children are reading. We are also working on reading with expression and paying attention to punctuation within the stories.
Writing: We are currently working on editing, revising, making our stories easy to read, and practicing craft moves in our personal narratives. We sure are busy, but writing workshop has become a favorite time of the day for many children! Our writing folders are filling up with many wonderful small moment stories and we just love sharing them :)
Math: We are wrapping up Topic 2 on subtraction numbers. This week we are working on problem solving as well as fact families. We will use manipulatives and writing number sentences to notice how numbers go together. Ex: 2+3=5; 3+2=5; 5-2=3; 5-3=2 ~ We can write four number sentences using the same three numbers, but the number sentences must make sense and 'tell the truth'!
Science: We will read, write, and learn all about pumpkins and pumpkin seeds this week. We will also create a fun pumpkin craft that we will hang in our classroom. We are having a blast with our seed unit.
Extras:
~We will continue to have homework this week. Our spelling focus will be short 'o' sounds this week. Thank you for supporting your children at home. Each week we will have spelling, math, and reading logs to complete. The children are so proud to bring their completed work back to the classroom each day. Keep up the great work!
~October Scholastic Book Orders are due this Wednesday! I will place the order Wednesday night. This will allow enough time for any Halloween books to get to us in time! You can browse the flyers online. Email me if you need our class activation code.
~Haunted House Decorating: We will build our Haunted House projects with our 5th grade buddies, but will definitely need help decorating them! We will be decorating our houses on Thursday, October 29th at 2:15. We hope that you can join us!
~First Grade T-Shirts: We are working on ordering orange tie dye "Eagle's First Graders Rock"
t-shirts for our three first grade classrooms. An order form will be coming home soon!
We are looking forward to another great week of learning in our First Grade Classroom!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Word Wall: We will add six new words: dog, he, she, out, at, & they. The children are doing a terrific job reading our Word Wall words and finding them in everything we read. Keep looking for these words at home too! :)
Reading: We are in a good groove of working in guided reading groups and daily five literacy stations each day. The children will continue bringing home 'just right' books in their reading bags during the week. They should be able to read these books fluently. Practice retelling the stories and talking about the main idea, the main character, the setting, the problem, and the solution in the books the children are reading. We are also working on reading with expression and paying attention to punctuation within the stories.
Writing: We are currently working on editing, revising, making our stories easy to read, and practicing craft moves in our personal narratives. We sure are busy, but writing workshop has become a favorite time of the day for many children! Our writing folders are filling up with many wonderful small moment stories and we just love sharing them :)
Math: We are wrapping up Topic 2 on subtraction numbers. This week we are working on problem solving as well as fact families. We will use manipulatives and writing number sentences to notice how numbers go together. Ex: 2+3=5; 3+2=5; 5-2=3; 5-3=2 ~ We can write four number sentences using the same three numbers, but the number sentences must make sense and 'tell the truth'!
Science: We will read, write, and learn all about pumpkins and pumpkin seeds this week. We will also create a fun pumpkin craft that we will hang in our classroom. We are having a blast with our seed unit.
Extras:
~We will continue to have homework this week. Our spelling focus will be short 'o' sounds this week. Thank you for supporting your children at home. Each week we will have spelling, math, and reading logs to complete. The children are so proud to bring their completed work back to the classroom each day. Keep up the great work!
~October Scholastic Book Orders are due this Wednesday! I will place the order Wednesday night. This will allow enough time for any Halloween books to get to us in time! You can browse the flyers online. Email me if you need our class activation code.
~Haunted House Decorating: We will build our Haunted House projects with our 5th grade buddies, but will definitely need help decorating them! We will be decorating our houses on Thursday, October 29th at 2:15. We hope that you can join us!
~First Grade T-Shirts: We are working on ordering orange tie dye "Eagle's First Graders Rock"
t-shirts for our three first grade classrooms. An order form will be coming home soon!
We are looking forward to another great week of learning in our First Grade Classroom!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Welcome October!
I honestly cannot believe how quickly September went by! We are now entering my favorite time of the school year...fall! We are so lucky to live in an area where we are surrounded by crisp cool air and colorful leaves. This is a perfect time of the year for our class to be examining seeds (apples, sunflowers, pumpkins), leaves, and trees. This week we are spending time outside learning about seeds and sunflowers. Today the children observed our sunflowers in our school's garden. We drew diagrams and labeled the different parts just like scientists.
Reading: We are doing a nice job working in our Daily Five stations. I am now beginning to work with small guided reading groups during this time period. Your children will bring home 'reading bags' during the week. Please be sure to return all books back to our classroom. We are currently working on taking 'sneak peeks' at books, making predictions, and discussing the big idea in books as we read.
Word Wall & Spelling: We added six more words to our word wall: in, that, said, for, be, & of. We now have 24 words on our wall. The children should be able to read these words quickly in isolation without out stretching out letter sounds. They should also be able to recognize these words in books. This week we are also working on spelling words. We are practicing writing words with many different short a sounds and short a word families. Some of the word families that we are learning about this week are: at, an, ad, ag, & ap We can make many different words just by switching the first letter with these word endings. Ex: hat, bat, cat, sat, flat...
Math: We are now working on topic 2 in math ~ subtraction. We began this unit by learning about finding missing parts of numbers. We will soon begin breaking numbers apart, writing subtraction sentences, and solving subtraction problems.
Writing: This week we are learning how to tells our personal narrative stories in 'itsy bitsy' steps. We are working hard on bringing our stories to life by using speech bubbles and making our characters move. Adding details and tiny pieces of information makes our stories so much more interesting to read. Right now, writing workshop is our favorite time of the day! We dim the lights, put on 'writing music', stretch out, share ideas, and get our stories onto paper.
Homework: This is our first week of homework! The children were so proud to bring in their math papers to me today. They know that completing homework and turning it in is a 'big kid' responsibility. Remember, first grade homework is a all about building routines and accountability while keeping you connected to what we are working on in the classroom. Thank you for your support!
Farm to You Fest: This is a great opportunity for us to focus on healthy eating. Please send in healthy snacks and also donate produce if you are able to do so. Please see the note below from our district website.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
"Squash Hunger Produce Drive: Each school in the district will have collection bins for soft and hard produce all week. We are encouraging items such as apples, eggplants, squash and potatoes, since we would like the items to last. Lettuce and strawberries, for instance, can be quite perishable. How often does your student get to bring a whole eggplant or squash in their backpack? Volunteers will deliver the produce each day to McCarroll’s Delmar Marketplace, where Capital Roots (formerly Capital District Community Gardens) will weigh and collect the produce to be delivered to local shelters and food pantries. In 2014, our district donated a recored-breaking 1,659 pounds of fresh produce. Let’s top that impressive amount this year!"
Reading: We are doing a nice job working in our Daily Five stations. I am now beginning to work with small guided reading groups during this time period. Your children will bring home 'reading bags' during the week. Please be sure to return all books back to our classroom. We are currently working on taking 'sneak peeks' at books, making predictions, and discussing the big idea in books as we read.
Word Wall & Spelling: We added six more words to our word wall: in, that, said, for, be, & of. We now have 24 words on our wall. The children should be able to read these words quickly in isolation without out stretching out letter sounds. They should also be able to recognize these words in books. This week we are also working on spelling words. We are practicing writing words with many different short a sounds and short a word families. Some of the word families that we are learning about this week are: at, an, ad, ag, & ap We can make many different words just by switching the first letter with these word endings. Ex: hat, bat, cat, sat, flat...
Math: We are now working on topic 2 in math ~ subtraction. We began this unit by learning about finding missing parts of numbers. We will soon begin breaking numbers apart, writing subtraction sentences, and solving subtraction problems.
Writing: This week we are learning how to tells our personal narrative stories in 'itsy bitsy' steps. We are working hard on bringing our stories to life by using speech bubbles and making our characters move. Adding details and tiny pieces of information makes our stories so much more interesting to read. Right now, writing workshop is our favorite time of the day! We dim the lights, put on 'writing music', stretch out, share ideas, and get our stories onto paper.
Homework: This is our first week of homework! The children were so proud to bring in their math papers to me today. They know that completing homework and turning it in is a 'big kid' responsibility. Remember, first grade homework is a all about building routines and accountability while keeping you connected to what we are working on in the classroom. Thank you for your support!
Farm to You Fest: This is a great opportunity for us to focus on healthy eating. Please send in healthy snacks and also donate produce if you are able to do so. Please see the note below from our district website.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
"Squash Hunger Produce Drive: Each school in the district will have collection bins for soft and hard produce all week. We are encouraging items such as apples, eggplants, squash and potatoes, since we would like the items to last. Lettuce and strawberries, for instance, can be quite perishable. How often does your student get to bring a whole eggplant or squash in their backpack? Volunteers will deliver the produce each day to McCarroll’s Delmar Marketplace, where Capital Roots (formerly Capital District Community Gardens) will weigh and collect the produce to be delivered to local shelters and food pantries. In 2014, our district donated a recored-breaking 1,659 pounds of fresh produce. Let’s top that impressive amount this year!"
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Apples and Seeds!
This week we will be wrapping up our learning about apples! We had an apple taste test and learned that our class loves green and yellow apples. We also learned a lot about apple trees, Johnny Appleseed, and apple orchards. Tomorrow we will be making apple crisp in our First Grade Classroom. Please send in 1 or 2 apples tomorrow to add to our recipe! This will be a fun way to end our unit on apples. We will begin learning about many other types of seeds this week beginning with dissecting and growing lima beans. This is a fun science unit for fall!
Reading: This week we will being working on our Daily Five rotations. The children have been doing a nice job with Read to Self, Read to Someone, and Writing. During this time, I will be reading with children individually and begin forming guided reading groups. Next week the children will begin bringing home reading bags. Please keep the reading bags in your child's folder or backpack. Read the books and return the books each day so that other classmates may borrow them. Thank you!
Word Wall: We will add six more words to our wall this week. They are: it, run, no, yes, to, & was. As of this week we will have 18 words on our Word Wall. The children should be able to read these words quickly when they see them on lists or in stories. Please practice reading these words at home.
Math: This week we will wrap up our unit on adding numbers. We will have a first grade assessment at the end of each topic. I tell the children it's a chance to 'show what you know'. Each assessment will be sent home after I have checked it. Please sign and return each assessment that is sent home. We will do this at the end of each math topic. It's a great way for us to communicate and keep track of how your child is doing throughout the school year.
Writing: We will continue our work on personal narratives or 'small moment' stories. We talked a lot about how we can write a whole story just from one small moment in our lives. As a class, we created a whole story about when I spilled the markers all over the rug during writing workshop! We decided that our writing ideas do not need to be 'big and fancy'. Our ideas happen every day! :) I am so proud of all of the writing that is taking place in our classroom each day.
Homework: Please return your child's Reading Log each Monday. A new log will be sent home on Mondays as well. I love seeing all the 'tricky words' that the children are either reading or learning about. Math and Spelling homework will begin next week.
Thank you so much for your support! I am looking forward to a busy and fun week in first grade.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Reading: This week we will being working on our Daily Five rotations. The children have been doing a nice job with Read to Self, Read to Someone, and Writing. During this time, I will be reading with children individually and begin forming guided reading groups. Next week the children will begin bringing home reading bags. Please keep the reading bags in your child's folder or backpack. Read the books and return the books each day so that other classmates may borrow them. Thank you!
Word Wall: We will add six more words to our wall this week. They are: it, run, no, yes, to, & was. As of this week we will have 18 words on our Word Wall. The children should be able to read these words quickly when they see them on lists or in stories. Please practice reading these words at home.
Math: This week we will wrap up our unit on adding numbers. We will have a first grade assessment at the end of each topic. I tell the children it's a chance to 'show what you know'. Each assessment will be sent home after I have checked it. Please sign and return each assessment that is sent home. We will do this at the end of each math topic. It's a great way for us to communicate and keep track of how your child is doing throughout the school year.
Writing: We will continue our work on personal narratives or 'small moment' stories. We talked a lot about how we can write a whole story just from one small moment in our lives. As a class, we created a whole story about when I spilled the markers all over the rug during writing workshop! We decided that our writing ideas do not need to be 'big and fancy'. Our ideas happen every day! :) I am so proud of all of the writing that is taking place in our classroom each day.
Homework: Please return your child's Reading Log each Monday. A new log will be sent home on Mondays as well. I love seeing all the 'tricky words' that the children are either reading or learning about. Math and Spelling homework will begin next week.
Thank you so much for your support! I am looking forward to a busy and fun week in first grade.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Monday, September 14, 2015
Welcome September!
We made it through our first week of school and Open House! Thank you so much for your support as we kick off a new school year together.
Reading: This week we will be reading some books by Kevin Henkes, one of my favorite authors. We will spend some time talking about the different characters and the 'big ideas' or messages within some of his stories. We will look for comparisons and differences too! As readers, we will also begin 'read to self' in our classroom. We will review the different ways to read a book (pictures, words, retell) as we remember what reading looks and sounds like in our classroom. Our expectations will be a bit different as first graders because many of us can read for longer periods of time now!
Writing: The children have been asking me if they will work in writing folders again this year. The answer is..."Yes!" We will begin our 'small moments' or personal narrative writing unit this week! This will be our first writing unit of the school year and I'm so excited to get started. Each child will have his/her own writing folder to organize and keep track of their different stories that are being worked on each day.
Math: We will work on part + part = whole. The children will play games, draw pictures, act out stories, and use hands on materials to add numbers together during our first math unit as first graders! The math pages that come home will give you an idea of some of our lessons this week.
Word Work: We will add six words to our Word Wall this week! During the first part of the school year, we will review and practice words from our kindergarten word wall. We will gradually add words to our classroom Word Wall each week throughout First Grade. Be sure to ask your child about our new words each week! This weeks words are: I, a, the, me, can, & go Please practice reading these words at home.
During the month of September we will read and learn all about seeds. We will begin with apple seeds, but will move on to learning about many other seeds too! There are so many different seeds for us to identify. Fall is the perfect time for us to explore!
I am looking forward to a great week of First Grade learning. We are certainly off to a fantastic start!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
Reading: This week we will be reading some books by Kevin Henkes, one of my favorite authors. We will spend some time talking about the different characters and the 'big ideas' or messages within some of his stories. We will look for comparisons and differences too! As readers, we will also begin 'read to self' in our classroom. We will review the different ways to read a book (pictures, words, retell) as we remember what reading looks and sounds like in our classroom. Our expectations will be a bit different as first graders because many of us can read for longer periods of time now!
Writing: The children have been asking me if they will work in writing folders again this year. The answer is..."Yes!" We will begin our 'small moments' or personal narrative writing unit this week! This will be our first writing unit of the school year and I'm so excited to get started. Each child will have his/her own writing folder to organize and keep track of their different stories that are being worked on each day.
Math: We will work on part + part = whole. The children will play games, draw pictures, act out stories, and use hands on materials to add numbers together during our first math unit as first graders! The math pages that come home will give you an idea of some of our lessons this week.
Word Work: We will add six words to our Word Wall this week! During the first part of the school year, we will review and practice words from our kindergarten word wall. We will gradually add words to our classroom Word Wall each week throughout First Grade. Be sure to ask your child about our new words each week! This weeks words are: I, a, the, me, can, & go Please practice reading these words at home.
During the month of September we will read and learn all about seeds. We will begin with apple seeds, but will move on to learning about many other seeds too! There are so many different seeds for us to identify. Fall is the perfect time for us to explore!
I am looking forward to a great week of First Grade learning. We are certainly off to a fantastic start!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Welcome to First Grade!
Dear First Graders,
I hope you are all having a terrific summer with your family and friends! I can't wait to hear all about the fun things you did during the past two months! I am now busy getting ready for our school year. Our first day will be here before you know it!
Below is a list of supplies that you will need to help with our first grade learning this year.
2 boxes of 24 Crayons
2 boxes of pencils (Ticonderoga brand last the longest!:)
3 large pink erasers
1 box of markers
1 box of colored pencils
6 large glue sticks
2 2-pocket folders (1 red & 1 yellow) pockets on the bottom
2 composition notebooks (hard cover)
1 single subject spiral notebook
1 primary journal (primary lines at bottom and blank space at the top for pictures)
1 one inch 3 ring binder (hard cover so that it can stand up when needed)
1 plastic pencil box (new item added to list)
1 art smock (an oversized old t-shirt works fine!) (new item added to list)
You can drop off your supplies on September 1st or September 2nd from 4-5pm in our new first grade classroom. Find your new cubby and place all of your items neatly inside. We will spend our first day of school organizing and labeling our materials.
Enjoy the rest of your summer! Be sure to read, write, and practice your math facts. This will help you to get ready for first grade learning! I will see you soon :)
Love,
Mrs. Browne
I hope you are all having a terrific summer with your family and friends! I can't wait to hear all about the fun things you did during the past two months! I am now busy getting ready for our school year. Our first day will be here before you know it!
Below is a list of supplies that you will need to help with our first grade learning this year.
2 boxes of 24 Crayons
2 boxes of pencils (Ticonderoga brand last the longest!:)
3 large pink erasers
1 box of markers
1 box of colored pencils
6 large glue sticks
2 2-pocket folders (1 red & 1 yellow) pockets on the bottom
2 composition notebooks (hard cover)
1 single subject spiral notebook
1 primary journal (primary lines at bottom and blank space at the top for pictures)
1 one inch 3 ring binder (hard cover so that it can stand up when needed)
1 plastic pencil box (new item added to list)
1 art smock (an oversized old t-shirt works fine!) (new item added to list)
You can drop off your supplies on September 1st or September 2nd from 4-5pm in our new first grade classroom. Find your new cubby and place all of your items neatly inside. We will spend our first day of school organizing and labeling our materials.
Enjoy the rest of your summer! Be sure to read, write, and practice your math facts. This will help you to get ready for first grade learning! I will see you soon :)
Love,
Mrs. Browne
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Last Week of Kindergarten!
It is so hard for me to believe that this is our last week in our kindergarten classroom together! Please know that I am so very proud of how much the children have grown ~ socially & academically ~ since the beginning of the school year. Most are taller and are missing a couple of teeth! Some have longer hair. Some have shorter hair. They have simply lost that 'preschool baby' look about them. They are all reading, writing, exploring, & doing tons of math each day. These kids are absolutely more confident and are so ready to rock First Grade!
A special thank you to all of our families who have supported us throughout the school year. You have helped your child complete monthly family projects, reading logs, Halloween activities, & Gingerbread Houses. You have helped them in celebrating birthdays, the 50th Day of School, the 100th Day of School, Valentine's Day, Dinosaur Exhibits, Kindergarten Graduation, Field Day, & so much more!
Thank you for everything you have done this year to help make our school year fantastic. I wish you all a safe, healthy, and fun summer with your families and friends!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
A special thank you to all of our families who have supported us throughout the school year. You have helped your child complete monthly family projects, reading logs, Halloween activities, & Gingerbread Houses. You have helped them in celebrating birthdays, the 50th Day of School, the 100th Day of School, Valentine's Day, Dinosaur Exhibits, Kindergarten Graduation, Field Day, & so much more!
Thank you for everything you have done this year to help make our school year fantastic. I wish you all a safe, healthy, and fun summer with your families and friends!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
Sunday, June 7, 2015
June 8th
Wow! We are truly getting into the final stretch of our school year. We still have many fun activities planned to help us learn, play, and grow each day.
Our graduation t-shirts are here! Please check your child's backpack on Monday for his/her t-shirt. The children should wear their t-shirts to school on Friday (for Kindergarten Graduation) and the following Friday (for Field Day). The children are very excited to sing some songs and share some treats with family and friends. Please send back the pink note if you haven't already done so. It helps us with planning and setting up seating for Friday's celebration.
On Tuesday we will be starting our Kindergarten Countdown to the end of the year. We will have fun counting the last 12 days of school. Each letter in the word KINDERGARTEN will represent an activity for the day. A copy of the activities for this countdown will be sent home on Monday. Tuesday is the first day of our countdown. It will be Kday, which will be Kindness Day. We will be showing kindness to our 5th grade buddies by making them thank you cards for a great year! Most of these activities will be done during the school day. You do not need to worry about sending anything in from home, but we wanted you to be aware of our countdown. Be sure to ask your child all about it!
Throughout the remainder of the school year we will wrap up our unit on oceans and sea creatures. We will learn a little bit about the rainforest. We will also continue to practice our Heart Words as we read and write each day. During math we are working on sorting objects and identifying different types of shapes and patterns. The end of the school year is approaching, but we are still learning each day!
Thank you for all of your support. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
PS... As the weather gets warmer, please feel free to send in a water bottle with your child each day. The children may keep their water bottles at their tables. Please fill all bottles with water only. Thank you!
Our graduation t-shirts are here! Please check your child's backpack on Monday for his/her t-shirt. The children should wear their t-shirts to school on Friday (for Kindergarten Graduation) and the following Friday (for Field Day). The children are very excited to sing some songs and share some treats with family and friends. Please send back the pink note if you haven't already done so. It helps us with planning and setting up seating for Friday's celebration.
On Tuesday we will be starting our Kindergarten Countdown to the end of the year. We will have fun counting the last 12 days of school. Each letter in the word KINDERGARTEN will represent an activity for the day. A copy of the activities for this countdown will be sent home on Monday. Tuesday is the first day of our countdown. It will be Kday, which will be Kindness Day. We will be showing kindness to our 5th grade buddies by making them thank you cards for a great year! Most of these activities will be done during the school day. You do not need to worry about sending anything in from home, but we wanted you to be aware of our countdown. Be sure to ask your child all about it!
Throughout the remainder of the school year we will wrap up our unit on oceans and sea creatures. We will learn a little bit about the rainforest. We will also continue to practice our Heart Words as we read and write each day. During math we are working on sorting objects and identifying different types of shapes and patterns. The end of the school year is approaching, but we are still learning each day!
Thank you for all of your support. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
PS... As the weather gets warmer, please feel free to send in a water bottle with your child each day. The children may keep their water bottles at their tables. Please fill all bottles with water only. Thank you!
Monday, May 25, 2015
May 26th
I hope you all had a great long weekend with family and friends. It's hard to believe that this is the last week of May! The final weeks of the school year are often extremely busy. I will try to keep the updates brief and important dates listed on the left sidebar.
Tomorrow we will have a Memorial Day Assembly at our school for the students and some guests. Please have your child wear red, white, & blue if possible. Also, please have your child bring in a small beach towel to sit on, as we will be sitting out on the fields during the assembly. Thank you! :)
This week we will wrap up our unit on ocean creatures and will begin a science unit on 'water play'. The weather is looking warm so this will be a great time for us to experiment with water. It would be helpful if we could keep the beach towels all week long. As you can imagine, this science unit can often be wet and messy! I will remind the children to bring home their towels on Friday.
We will continue our work as readers, writers, and mathematicians each day. Please look through books at home. If you see any books that have the letters 'BR' on the cover please return them to school. These books belong to our school's book room that are shared by many different students and teachers throughout each school year. Thank you!
Thank you for your ongoing support. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. Enjoy the remainder of your weekend. :)
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Tomorrow we will have a Memorial Day Assembly at our school for the students and some guests. Please have your child wear red, white, & blue if possible. Also, please have your child bring in a small beach towel to sit on, as we will be sitting out on the fields during the assembly. Thank you! :)
This week we will wrap up our unit on ocean creatures and will begin a science unit on 'water play'. The weather is looking warm so this will be a great time for us to experiment with water. It would be helpful if we could keep the beach towels all week long. As you can imagine, this science unit can often be wet and messy! I will remind the children to bring home their towels on Friday.
We will continue our work as readers, writers, and mathematicians each day. Please look through books at home. If you see any books that have the letters 'BR' on the cover please return them to school. These books belong to our school's book room that are shared by many different students and teachers throughout each school year. Thank you!
Thank you for your ongoing support. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. Enjoy the remainder of your weekend. :)
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Monday, May 18, 2015
May 18th
I hope you all had a terrific weekend and enjoyed the beautiful weather! :)
It's hard to believe that we are getting into the last final stretch of the school year. This can be a very busy time of the year for everyone. I will try to keep you updated on all upcoming activities and events. Please be sure to check the left sidebar for important dates to remember!
This week we will continue to learn all about ocean creatures. We are reading fiction and nonfiction books to go along with this unit. We are also creating some fun projects to hang up in our kindergarten hallway. So far, we have learned about jellyfish, sea stars, crabs, seahorses, and different types of fish. We will also learn about sharks, turtles, and several other ocean friends this week.
Math: We will be wrapping up our unit on measurement and capacity. We will begin our next unit on sorting and classifying objects according to various attributes such as color, shape, and size.
Reading: The children are making such great progress as readers. We are working on what to do when we are stuck on words. We are also beginning to practice reading fluently and with expression. I am so very proud of how hard they are working. :) Please be sure to send back any books that have the letter 'BR' on the cover. These books belong to Eagle's book room and shared by many teachers.
Writing: We are continuing to work on our persuasive/opinion writing pieces. The children are noticing problems around them and trying to 'convince' others to follow their thinking to fix the problems! We have letters about talking in the hallway, pushing on the slides, and taking care of classroom materials. We will continue this type of writing throughout the month of May.
This week we will also talk about 'voting'. Tuesday, May 19th, is School Budget Vote Day and Kids Vote Too! From 4 pm - 8 pm, elementary students can vote on what toys and materials they would like to add to recess fun! This is a great opportunity to teach our children about voting.
I am looking forward to a great week of kindergarten fun!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
It's hard to believe that we are getting into the last final stretch of the school year. This can be a very busy time of the year for everyone. I will try to keep you updated on all upcoming activities and events. Please be sure to check the left sidebar for important dates to remember!
This week we will continue to learn all about ocean creatures. We are reading fiction and nonfiction books to go along with this unit. We are also creating some fun projects to hang up in our kindergarten hallway. So far, we have learned about jellyfish, sea stars, crabs, seahorses, and different types of fish. We will also learn about sharks, turtles, and several other ocean friends this week.
Math: We will be wrapping up our unit on measurement and capacity. We will begin our next unit on sorting and classifying objects according to various attributes such as color, shape, and size.
Reading: The children are making such great progress as readers. We are working on what to do when we are stuck on words. We are also beginning to practice reading fluently and with expression. I am so very proud of how hard they are working. :) Please be sure to send back any books that have the letter 'BR' on the cover. These books belong to Eagle's book room and shared by many teachers.
Writing: We are continuing to work on our persuasive/opinion writing pieces. The children are noticing problems around them and trying to 'convince' others to follow their thinking to fix the problems! We have letters about talking in the hallway, pushing on the slides, and taking care of classroom materials. We will continue this type of writing throughout the month of May.
This week we will also talk about 'voting'. Tuesday, May 19th, is School Budget Vote Day and Kids Vote Too! From 4 pm - 8 pm, elementary students can vote on what toys and materials they would like to add to recess fun! This is a great opportunity to teach our children about voting.
I am looking forward to a great week of kindergarten fun!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Sunday, May 3, 2015
May 4th
Last week we spent time learning all about keeping our bodies and minds healthy during Healthy Kids Week at Eagle. We talked about the different food groups and how we can choose a variety of yummy food to help us grown and learn each day. We also spent time outdoors logging in some walking and running on fields as part of Healthy Steps. Lucky for us, the weather cooperated all week long! :)
This week we will begin a new unit on oceans and water. We will learn about different ocean creatures and create many fun projects to go along with our learning. Be sure to ask your child all about their learning. This is a fun unit to explore and goes along with our next science unit ~ 'water play'.
Our last Monthly Family Project for the school year will be sent home this week! Have fun working on this project together as a family. We will share the projects as they come in and then display them in our kindergarten hallway for all to see :) The children truly love sharing their work with one another. They have all grown so much in their abilities to listen and ask questions as we share.
I am looking forward to another fun and busy week in our kindergarten classroom! As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns that you have.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne
This week we will begin a new unit on oceans and water. We will learn about different ocean creatures and create many fun projects to go along with our learning. Be sure to ask your child all about their learning. This is a fun unit to explore and goes along with our next science unit ~ 'water play'.
Our last Monthly Family Project for the school year will be sent home this week! Have fun working on this project together as a family. We will share the projects as they come in and then display them in our kindergarten hallway for all to see :) The children truly love sharing their work with one another. They have all grown so much in their abilities to listen and ask questions as we share.
I am looking forward to another fun and busy week in our kindergarten classroom! As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns that you have.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne
Sunday, April 19, 2015
April 20th!
Thank you so much for coming to our Kindergarten Dinosaur Exhibit on Friday. The children were so very excited to share their projects and work. I hope you enjoyed visiting our classroom as much as we enjoyed having you! :)
This week we will be spending time learning about ways to help protect our earth. We will read about reducing, reusing, and recycling in honor of Earth Day. Throughout the week, our school will be encouraging Litterless Lunches. It can be quite tricky, but see what types of choices you can make to reduce producing trash each day. We will talk about some ideas throughout the week. We are also taking care of some small plants that will be placed in our garden. The children are in charge of keeping these plants alive. I often fail at this endeavor, but the children will keep me on track! :)
This week we will also get back into the swing of our Daily Five Literacy rotations and our new Writing Unit on persuasive/opinion writing. Get ready ~ your children will be learning all about the power of persuasion and why backing up an idea with many different 'reasons' is important! Don't be surprised if they begin trying to 'persuade' you to get a new pet or to paint their room a different color soon! We will work on this new writing unit throughout April and May.
I am looking forward to another great week in kindergarten!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
This week we will be spending time learning about ways to help protect our earth. We will read about reducing, reusing, and recycling in honor of Earth Day. Throughout the week, our school will be encouraging Litterless Lunches. It can be quite tricky, but see what types of choices you can make to reduce producing trash each day. We will talk about some ideas throughout the week. We are also taking care of some small plants that will be placed in our garden. The children are in charge of keeping these plants alive. I often fail at this endeavor, but the children will keep me on track! :)
This week we will also get back into the swing of our Daily Five Literacy rotations and our new Writing Unit on persuasive/opinion writing. Get ready ~ your children will be learning all about the power of persuasion and why backing up an idea with many different 'reasons' is important! Don't be surprised if they begin trying to 'persuade' you to get a new pet or to paint their room a different color soon! We will work on this new writing unit throughout April and May.
I am looking forward to another great week in kindergarten!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Sunday, April 12, 2015
April 13th
Welcome back! I hope you all had a great week off with your families and friends. It looks like our spring weather has finally arrived which will be terrific for outdoor recess time as school each day. :)
This week we will settle back into our kindergarten routines. We will be very busy preparing for our Dinosaur Exhibit! Our kindergarten exhibit will begin promptly at 2 pm this Thursday and will last approximately 30 minutes. We will sing a song and then the children will show off their various dinosaur projects. As you can imagine, they are very excited and proud of their work!
Throughout the week we will spend time working as readers, writers, and mathematicians. Our weekly reading calendars will again be sent home. Please be sure to spend time with books each night and have your child color in the reading calendar. We will also begin to focus on lowercase letters a lot more during writing time...especially when writing our names. Please encourage this skill at home too. You can practice using markers, crayons, paint, white boards, play dough, shaving cream, sand writing... There are many ways to play while writing :)
Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
PS "Paws/Pause for Reading" is a new idea at Eagle. We are encouraging students and staff to take time to 'pause' and read each day. We are creating a bulletin board filled with pictures of animals reading books! If you have a pet or a favorite stuffed animal, please take a picture of it reading. We will add all pictures to our school's bulletin board in the front entrance area. :)
This week we will settle back into our kindergarten routines. We will be very busy preparing for our Dinosaur Exhibit! Our kindergarten exhibit will begin promptly at 2 pm this Thursday and will last approximately 30 minutes. We will sing a song and then the children will show off their various dinosaur projects. As you can imagine, they are very excited and proud of their work!
Throughout the week we will spend time working as readers, writers, and mathematicians. Our weekly reading calendars will again be sent home. Please be sure to spend time with books each night and have your child color in the reading calendar. We will also begin to focus on lowercase letters a lot more during writing time...especially when writing our names. Please encourage this skill at home too. You can practice using markers, crayons, paint, white boards, play dough, shaving cream, sand writing... There are many ways to play while writing :)
Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
PS "Paws/Pause for Reading" is a new idea at Eagle. We are encouraging students and staff to take time to 'pause' and read each day. We are creating a bulletin board filled with pictures of animals reading books! If you have a pet or a favorite stuffed animal, please take a picture of it reading. We will add all pictures to our school's bulletin board in the front entrance area. :)
Sunday, March 29, 2015
March 30th
This will be a shorter week, but we will pack a lot of learning and fun activities in!
Welcome Kysenia! We were so excited to have a new friend join our class last week. The children did a terrific job showing Kysenia all around our classroom and school. We are so happy to have a new friend.
Last week we wrapped up our unit on the solar system. We had so much fun learning all about the moon, the stars, and the many different planets. The children asked so many smart questions and did a great job during this unit.
Our next unit is all about dinosaurs! During the month of April we will read many books and create many different crafts and activities to go along with our dinosaur learning. Please be sure to mark your calendars! Our Kindergarten Dinosaur Exhibit is on Thursday, April 16th at 2pm! You do not want to miss this event. We will display all of our work in our classroom and hallways for families and friends to see.
Below is a sneak peek at this week's learning!
Literacy Activities: We will spend time reviewing words from our Word Wall, reading in small groups, practicing reading and writing heart words and word families, and wrapping up our 'How To' teaching stories as writers. The children's literacy skills have grown so much since our early days of September! Be sure to continue reading and writing at home too...especially during our break. :)
Math Activities: We are working on reading, writing, counting, and building numbers 10-20. Using ten frames, playing games, and working with various manipulatives helps us practice these numbers in many different ways each day. We will continue this work all week long.
Recess: I am hopeful that our snow days are behind us and that snow pants can be left home. Please continue, however, to have the children wear boots to school and to pack sneakers in backpacks. The playground can be very wet and muddy during the spring. Boots will keep kindergarten feet dry & our classroom rug clean! Thank you. :)
As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns. I hope that you have a great week off with families and friends!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Welcome Kysenia! We were so excited to have a new friend join our class last week. The children did a terrific job showing Kysenia all around our classroom and school. We are so happy to have a new friend.
Last week we wrapped up our unit on the solar system. We had so much fun learning all about the moon, the stars, and the many different planets. The children asked so many smart questions and did a great job during this unit.
Our next unit is all about dinosaurs! During the month of April we will read many books and create many different crafts and activities to go along with our dinosaur learning. Please be sure to mark your calendars! Our Kindergarten Dinosaur Exhibit is on Thursday, April 16th at 2pm! You do not want to miss this event. We will display all of our work in our classroom and hallways for families and friends to see.
Below is a sneak peek at this week's learning!
Literacy Activities: We will spend time reviewing words from our Word Wall, reading in small groups, practicing reading and writing heart words and word families, and wrapping up our 'How To' teaching stories as writers. The children's literacy skills have grown so much since our early days of September! Be sure to continue reading and writing at home too...especially during our break. :)
Math Activities: We are working on reading, writing, counting, and building numbers 10-20. Using ten frames, playing games, and working with various manipulatives helps us practice these numbers in many different ways each day. We will continue this work all week long.
Recess: I am hopeful that our snow days are behind us and that snow pants can be left home. Please continue, however, to have the children wear boots to school and to pack sneakers in backpacks. The playground can be very wet and muddy during the spring. Boots will keep kindergarten feet dry & our classroom rug clean! Thank you. :)
As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns. I hope that you have a great week off with families and friends!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Saturday, March 14, 2015
March 16th!
Last week we had a blast going on our field trip to The Egg. We were so excited when we saw the building from our bus!!! :) During the performance we were able to see glow in the dark puppets and scenery from three of Eric Carle's stories. After the performance, we were able to ask questions about how the puppets move and work. It was a great experience for us!
At school we have been very busy learning all about science. We are working on our 'properties' unit and have been conducting experiments with solid objects, liquids, and gases. One of the main things we have learned as scientists is that our predictions are not always correct! We will wrap up this unit during the week. We are also learning all about our solar system. Mrs. Montalvo's third grade class helped us to begin this unit by inviting us to see the constellations inside 'Star Lab'. Be sure to ask your child all about it. It was quite a treat!
This week, we will continue working as readers, writers, and mathematicians each day. We are in the swing of guided reading each day and 'Daily Five' literacy activities. The children are doing a terrific job remembering to take care of our books. As writers, we are continuing to work on our 'how to' stories. We are trying our best to make sure our writing is filled with details and is easy to read for our peers and writing partners. The children are doing a nice job writing many different kinds of teaching books. 'How to Wash Your Hands' seems to be a new favorite in our kindergarten classroom! :)
Please note that our class has filled up our 'warm and fuzzy jar' for making good choices! They would love to have a 'Game Day' this week as a reward. We talked about bringing in some easy to play games such as: Sorry, Trouble, Connect Four, Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, & Memory/Card type games. If you have some of these games... we would love to borrow them! We will have our first 'Game Day' on Thursday! :) I will send home a reminder, but I'm sure your children will all remind you all week long! Also, please write your name on the outside boxes of any games that are sent in. Thank you!
I am looking forward to another fun week in our kindergarten classroom.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
PS... Wear Green on Tuesday! ;)
At school we have been very busy learning all about science. We are working on our 'properties' unit and have been conducting experiments with solid objects, liquids, and gases. One of the main things we have learned as scientists is that our predictions are not always correct! We will wrap up this unit during the week. We are also learning all about our solar system. Mrs. Montalvo's third grade class helped us to begin this unit by inviting us to see the constellations inside 'Star Lab'. Be sure to ask your child all about it. It was quite a treat!
This week, we will continue working as readers, writers, and mathematicians each day. We are in the swing of guided reading each day and 'Daily Five' literacy activities. The children are doing a terrific job remembering to take care of our books. As writers, we are continuing to work on our 'how to' stories. We are trying our best to make sure our writing is filled with details and is easy to read for our peers and writing partners. The children are doing a nice job writing many different kinds of teaching books. 'How to Wash Your Hands' seems to be a new favorite in our kindergarten classroom! :)
Please note that our class has filled up our 'warm and fuzzy jar' for making good choices! They would love to have a 'Game Day' this week as a reward. We talked about bringing in some easy to play games such as: Sorry, Trouble, Connect Four, Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, & Memory/Card type games. If you have some of these games... we would love to borrow them! We will have our first 'Game Day' on Thursday! :) I will send home a reminder, but I'm sure your children will all remind you all week long! Also, please write your name on the outside boxes of any games that are sent in. Thank you!
I am looking forward to another fun week in our kindergarten classroom.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
PS... Wear Green on Tuesday! ;)
Friday, February 27, 2015
Welcome March!
We returned to a busy week in our kindergarten classroom! During the first part of the week we learned all about presidents. We read and learned about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. The children were very interested in learning about how these men became great leaders for our country.
During the second part of the week we shifted our learning to dental health. We had a visitor form a local dentist office who taught us all about the importance of taking care of our teeth. We also conducted an experiment using eggs and different types of drinks...water, milk, soda, and juice. After soaking our eggs overnight we discovered that our eggs turned colors. We practiced using toothbrushes and toothpaste to clean our eggs. We scrubbed and scrubbed those eggs and concluded that soda and juice are not the best choices for keeping our teeth clean!
This week we will spend time reading books by Dr. Seuss and Eric Carle. During the month of March we will be participating in Read Across America! Our weekly reading logs are different during this month. Please help your child to track the reading that takes place each night by writing down the minutes. The reading logs will be sent home on Friday and should be returned each Friday morning. The class with the most minutes at the end of the month wins an extra PE class! Track those minutes :) To kick off this event and in honor of Dr. Seuss, Monday will be 'Crazy Hat Day'. The children are encouraged to wear any type of hat to school on Monday.
During math we will learn about composing and decomposing numbers. We will be using the words 'part' and 'whole' to join numbers together and break them apart. The focus of this unit is for the children to see that addition and subtraction are connected. We will use connecting cubes, counters, and many other hands on materials to help us better understand these concepts.
During science we will learn all about 'properties'. We will observe and record what we learn about solids, liquids, and gases during this unit. Be sure to ask your kindergarten scientists all about their observations later on in the week!
As writers we are working hard on our 'how to' or teaching books. We are currently adding more details to our steps and diagrams to make sure our books make sense. Last week the children helped me to write two class stories: How to Cartwheel and How to Make a Sandwich We learned that acting out the steps really helps us with our writing!
Reminders:
Scholastic Book Order forms were sent home. These orders are completely optional, but they do offer some great deals on books. Please submit all orders by Tuesday, March 3rd. I will place the classroom order by Wednesday. Feel free to order online or send in the order form with a check.
Wacky Olympics will take place Friday, 5:30 pm, at the High School. This is a fun fundraising event where teachers from different schools compete in silly games and relays. Come out and support your Eagle Teachers! We are the purple team this year!
General Admission: $5.00 Student Admission: $3.00
All proceeds support the Bethlehem Central Community Foundation (BCCF)
I am looking forward to another fun and busy week in our kindergarten classroom. Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
During the second part of the week we shifted our learning to dental health. We had a visitor form a local dentist office who taught us all about the importance of taking care of our teeth. We also conducted an experiment using eggs and different types of drinks...water, milk, soda, and juice. After soaking our eggs overnight we discovered that our eggs turned colors. We practiced using toothbrushes and toothpaste to clean our eggs. We scrubbed and scrubbed those eggs and concluded that soda and juice are not the best choices for keeping our teeth clean!
This week we will spend time reading books by Dr. Seuss and Eric Carle. During the month of March we will be participating in Read Across America! Our weekly reading logs are different during this month. Please help your child to track the reading that takes place each night by writing down the minutes. The reading logs will be sent home on Friday and should be returned each Friday morning. The class with the most minutes at the end of the month wins an extra PE class! Track those minutes :) To kick off this event and in honor of Dr. Seuss, Monday will be 'Crazy Hat Day'. The children are encouraged to wear any type of hat to school on Monday.
During math we will learn about composing and decomposing numbers. We will be using the words 'part' and 'whole' to join numbers together and break them apart. The focus of this unit is for the children to see that addition and subtraction are connected. We will use connecting cubes, counters, and many other hands on materials to help us better understand these concepts.
During science we will learn all about 'properties'. We will observe and record what we learn about solids, liquids, and gases during this unit. Be sure to ask your kindergarten scientists all about their observations later on in the week!
As writers we are working hard on our 'how to' or teaching books. We are currently adding more details to our steps and diagrams to make sure our books make sense. Last week the children helped me to write two class stories: How to Cartwheel and How to Make a Sandwich We learned that acting out the steps really helps us with our writing!
Reminders:
Scholastic Book Order forms were sent home. These orders are completely optional, but they do offer some great deals on books. Please submit all orders by Tuesday, March 3rd. I will place the classroom order by Wednesday. Feel free to order online or send in the order form with a check.
Wacky Olympics will take place Friday, 5:30 pm, at the High School. This is a fun fundraising event where teachers from different schools compete in silly games and relays. Come out and support your Eagle Teachers! We are the purple team this year!
General Admission: $5.00 Student Admission: $3.00
All proceeds support the Bethlehem Central Community Foundation (BCCF)
I am looking forward to another fun and busy week in our kindergarten classroom. Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Monday, February 9, 2015
February 9th
I hope you all enjoyed your snow day! The children have been hoping for some snowy weather and so far the month of February is delivering! Please be sure to send in winter snow gear for outdoor recess time. The children have been doing a terrific job getting themselves ready and keeping track of their clothing. They are getting lots of practice each day!
This will be a short and busy week so I will keep this brief. Below are some important reminders and updates to help us with our activities.
Wednesday: 11:45 Dismissal due to 'parent-teacher conferences'.
Thursday: 100th Day of School celebration. We will stick with celebrating on Thursday (even though the actual day is now on Friday due to the snow day). Please help your child to dress up like a 100 year old man or woman! We will be spending our day working on many different activities to help us count to 100! We will also be making a snack of 100 different items. Please check your child's folder tomorrow and let me know if you are able to help out with this.
Friday: Valentine's Day! We will dress up fancy, exchange Valentine's Day cards, read some books, have some treats, and create some fun crafts to help us celebrate friendship and kindness in our kindergarten classroom.
Thank you so much for your support with our activities this week. I hope you all have a wonderful February break with family and friends. :)
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
This will be a short and busy week so I will keep this brief. Below are some important reminders and updates to help us with our activities.
Wednesday: 11:45 Dismissal due to 'parent-teacher conferences'.
Thursday: 100th Day of School celebration. We will stick with celebrating on Thursday (even though the actual day is now on Friday due to the snow day). Please help your child to dress up like a 100 year old man or woman! We will be spending our day working on many different activities to help us count to 100! We will also be making a snack of 100 different items. Please check your child's folder tomorrow and let me know if you are able to help out with this.
Friday: Valentine's Day! We will dress up fancy, exchange Valentine's Day cards, read some books, have some treats, and create some fun crafts to help us celebrate friendship and kindness in our kindergarten classroom.
Thank you so much for your support with our activities this week. I hope you all have a wonderful February break with family and friends. :)
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Welcome February!
This week we will learn about Groundhog's Day as we begin the month of February. I'm guessing that Punxsutawney Phil will predict a late spring, but you never know! We will read some fun books and work on a craft to go along with our learning. We will also continue to learn about penguins this week. We have read many different nonfiction books and have watched some really interesting video clips of penguins. We love watching penguins jump out of the water and slide on their bellies! They sure are fantastic swimmers.
Last week we began working on Daily Five literacy activities. During this time the children rotate through different literacy stations while I meet with small groups of readers. Your children will again be bringing books home to read with you periodically. Please be sure to send the books back the next day so that other children and teachers can use them. They are so very excited to be taking off as readers. We have been doing a great job. Thank you for your support with this! :)
During writing, we have begun working on information books. We are writing teaching or 'how to' stories about many different topics. Some examples are: How To...ride a bike, make a sandwich, build a snowman, go sledding. We are learning that we know how to do lots of different things and that we can write books to teach other people how to do these things too! We will continue with this new writing unit for several weeks.
During the month of February we will celebrate Valentine's Day and the 100th Day of School. The 100th Day of School will take place on Thursday, February 12th. We thought it would be fun to dress up like 100 year old ladies and gentlemen on this day! Valentine's Day will be celebrated on Friday, February 14th. We thought this would be a great day to 'dress fancy'! We will also be exchanging Valentine's Day cards and sharing some treats. I will send home a note this week with a class list of names. Please do not attach food or candy to the cards. Pencils or stickers are fine, but please avoid food related items. Thank you!
One last reminder, please be sure to send in winter snow gear each day. The children have so much fun playing in the snow during recess. Writing your child's name or initials inside clothing items is helpful for when items get mixed up or lost. We are becoming more independent each day! :)
As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns. I am looking forward to a great week with your children.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Last week we began working on Daily Five literacy activities. During this time the children rotate through different literacy stations while I meet with small groups of readers. Your children will again be bringing books home to read with you periodically. Please be sure to send the books back the next day so that other children and teachers can use them. They are so very excited to be taking off as readers. We have been doing a great job. Thank you for your support with this! :)
During writing, we have begun working on information books. We are writing teaching or 'how to' stories about many different topics. Some examples are: How To...ride a bike, make a sandwich, build a snowman, go sledding. We are learning that we know how to do lots of different things and that we can write books to teach other people how to do these things too! We will continue with this new writing unit for several weeks.
During the month of February we will celebrate Valentine's Day and the 100th Day of School. The 100th Day of School will take place on Thursday, February 12th. We thought it would be fun to dress up like 100 year old ladies and gentlemen on this day! Valentine's Day will be celebrated on Friday, February 14th. We thought this would be a great day to 'dress fancy'! We will also be exchanging Valentine's Day cards and sharing some treats. I will send home a note this week with a class list of names. Please do not attach food or candy to the cards. Pencils or stickers are fine, but please avoid food related items. Thank you!
One last reminder, please be sure to send in winter snow gear each day. The children have so much fun playing in the snow during recess. Writing your child's name or initials inside clothing items is helpful for when items get mixed up or lost. We are becoming more independent each day! :)
As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns. I am looking forward to a great week with your children.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Monday, January 19, 2015
January 19th
I hope you all had a terrific weekend and enjoyed
the extra day off from school.
Last week we spent time reading and listening to
different snowy stories, and comparing and contrasting some of these
stories. We learned about Venn Diagrams to help us organize our thinking
after reading two different versions of The Mitten. The children
did a terrific job sharing what they remembered from the stories.
During math, we have been working hard on
subtraction numbers. We are using pictures and manipulatives to help us with
our learning. We read a fun story, Pete
the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons, to help us begin this unit. We will continue working on adding and
subtracting numbers each day.
During writing, the children are learning
all about revising and editing their true stories. We are trying so hard to
make our personal narratives (true stories) easy to read. The children are
growing so much as beginning writers!
Our Word Wall is also growing. Each week
we continue to add three new words to our classroom wall. We also practice
reading and writing words in the same word family. Ex: at is on
our wall. We are reading and writing bat, cat, hat, sat... Try doing this
at home too! You can use white boards, chalk, markers…
This week we will begin learning all about
penguins. We will read fiction and nonfiction stories. We will also create some
fun penguin projects to go along with our penguin theme. Be sure to ask your children all about
penguins!
Report Cards will be uploaded to Aspen at the beginning of
February. I have sent home a yellow note regarding conference
times. Please return the note and I will schedule conference times
according to the responses I receive.
We will be going on a Class Trip to see some of Eric Carle’s stories performed at The
Egg. Please return the permission form
if you have not already done so. We are
so excited to be able to see this performance!
*We will celebrate our 100th Day of School on Thursday, February 12th. We will celebrate Friendship and Valentine's
Day on February 13th at 12:00 in our classroom. Additional notes will
be sent home with more information, but I wanted to make you aware of the
dates.
Thank you so much for your support.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Welcome 2015!
Happy New Year!
I hope you all had a wonderful break and were able to spend quality time with
your family and friends. I am looking forward to seeing my kindergarten
friends again this week!
This week we will spend time gently easing back into the routines of our kindergarten day. We will practice our reading, writing, math, and listening skills as we read stories about snowy weather. We will read Lois Ehlert's Snowballs and Ezra Jack Keats' The Snowy Day. We will also begin reading Jan Brett's The Hat and The Mitten. We will talk about main characters, settings, problems, solutions, as well as the beginning, middle, and end of stories. We will also work on some fun snowy projects to go along with our reading!
Please check your child's folder for our January Family Project. The children love sharing their work with their classmates. All projects will be displayed in our kindergarten hallway for our school to enjoy. Also, please return reading calendars each week. New reading calendars will be sent home each Monday. Thank you for your support with our monthly projects and with all of our kindergarten learning!
I am looking forward to a fun week in our kindergarten classroom!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
This week we will spend time gently easing back into the routines of our kindergarten day. We will practice our reading, writing, math, and listening skills as we read stories about snowy weather. We will read Lois Ehlert's Snowballs and Ezra Jack Keats' The Snowy Day. We will also begin reading Jan Brett's The Hat and The Mitten. We will talk about main characters, settings, problems, solutions, as well as the beginning, middle, and end of stories. We will also work on some fun snowy projects to go along with our reading!
Please check your child's folder for our January Family Project. The children love sharing their work with their classmates. All projects will be displayed in our kindergarten hallway for our school to enjoy. Also, please return reading calendars each week. New reading calendars will be sent home each Monday. Thank you for your support with our monthly projects and with all of our kindergarten learning!
I am looking forward to a fun week in our kindergarten classroom!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)