Homework is Coming!!

Starting this Friday, homework will be coming home.  Our homework is a monthly creation that will need to stay with you for the entire month.  At the end of the month when all the activities are completed, it will be your 1st grader's responsibility to return all their homework in the envelope at the end of the month.  There will be a calendar on the front with different activities you can do with your 1st grader on a daily basis or whenever time permits as a family.  We designed this homework to meet the needs of all our busy day-to-day family activities. 

Each day there is an activity that can be done that night or on a night that works for you and your family.  We wanted to include some fun activities that can be done together and also begin to create some good study habits and routines for your student at home.  It is also a great idea to have them in their own space where they know they can work on homework.  This may be at the kitchen table or at a desk somewhere in the house.  It is also a great idea to have them keep their homework in the same space or hang the envelope somewhere visible so it doesn't fade into the background and never becomes a routine.  Also, this calendar of homework was designed to not take longer than 10-15 minutes a day because it is developmentally appropriate for 1st graders to work on homework no longer than 60 minutes a week. 
There will also be some extra Math worksheets that your 1st grader can practice as well as a page of Bonus Activities that can be done in addition to the activities on the calendar.  If these are completed, simply slip them into the envelope and you are good to go!

Don't forget to read, read, and then read some more to your 1st grader at home! This is such a HUGE part of being a successful reader and we have added a little icon of a book to the corner of each day on the homework calendar.  This little book can be colored in after you read together every night. 

Good luck and if you have any questions about any of the homework, please do not hesitate in asking me!  Email me at berry_victoria@salkeiz.k12.or.us or call me at 503.399.3175 and I will get back to you as soon as I can! 

Remember that homework can be fun and if something is too challenging for them, simply skip it and come back to it again another time. 

Thanks and hope everyone is as happy as I am to get rid of this muggy air and get back into Fall!
Mrs. Berry

Back to School Night Success!!

It was really nice to see sooo many smiling and excited faces tonight at Back to School Night!  Everyone had incredible introductions and I was quite impressed.  Thank you to all the families who made it out tonight and to anyone who may have taken a "wish" from the wish list!  Anything is greatly appreciated!
If you were a parent who would like to volunteer in the classroom I will definitely start looking over the list and see what things we can do to put ya to work!  Thanks for the information and hopefully I will be getting in touch with you soon.

Again, it was a great turn out and everyone did an AMAZING job with introducing their parents and I am also glad to hear that everyone enjoyed the slideshow as well and got some good information. 

We will see everyone tomorrow for Friday...it's my favorite day!!! :)

Thanks again!
Mrs. Berry

Back to School Night, a Bookfair, and a BBQ...Oh My!!

Lots of things to do this week and next week!  First off is Back-to-School Night on Thursday, September 23rd, from 6:30pm-7:30pm.  This is a chance to come in a see our room and a little bit of what we do in 1st grade.  During Oral Language time we have been working on introductions.  We have been talking about how it is polite to introduce people to each other so Back to School Night is the perfect opportunity to use this skills.   So I am looking forward to being introduced to everyone's family! :)   You can definitely practice this at home because it is something we have been working on since school started. 

Up next is the Scholastic Bookfair in the library.  The book fair officially kicked off today but will be running through October 1st.  Thursday night is PRIME time for book shopping if you are looking to add to your library at home.  There are lots of good choices so make sure you stop by and check it out!

Lastly, is our annual Myers Hawaiian BBQ!!  Aloha!  Everyone Fall and Spring Myers has a family style BBQ for the whole school.  It can get a little crazy so I wanted to include some of the details.  Remember:

• 1st graders eat lunch at their normal time from 11:30pm -12:00pm.
• Tickets will be on sale at the front office and can be purchased ahead of time.
• Tickets for adults can be purchased in advance at the Myers office for $3.00.
• Student/child tickets are $1.75 or the students may use their lunch card instead of buying tickets.
• Please meet your child at their classroom and bring a blanket to share with your child and their friends.
• Cross your fingers for good weather!

It sounds like we are due for some sun in the next few days so find some when you can! :)

Thanks
Mrs. Berry

Full Speed Ahead in 1st Grade

Well we are in the swing of things in our classroom and learning so many different routines all day long.  In the morning we have lots to do with our calendar.  We have been talking about the date, today, tomorrow, and yesterday, and we have also learned about odd and even numbers as we are doing some quick problem solving along the way. 

Last week we learned that you can read a book 3 different ways.  We learned you can:

1. Read the pictures
2. Read the words and/or
3. Retell the story

We practiced this with Little Quacks Bedtime.  First I read all the pictures and then I read the words.  When I was finished reading the words we talked with a partner about the Beginning, Middle, and End of the story. 

Today during Literacy we learned how to Read to Self.  Read to Self is a very tricky task that we did quite well with this morning.  We learned that during Read to Self time we are:

1. reading with a whisper voice
2. in our OWN bubble space
3. reading and NOT playing with our books and
4. independently reading

We even had time to practice this two times!!  Everyone did an AMAZING job and we will continue to practice this the rest of the week before we move into Read to Someone next week.

In Math we are still learning all about our workplaces.  These are cooperative groups that spend time together working with different manipulatives.  Our Math program is very hands-on and you will hear a lot about different games we play to reinforce different math concepts. Right now we are working with Polydrons (geometric puzzle pieces that fit together to make 3-D shapes) pattern blocks and pattern block designs, geoboards (pegboards with geobands or rubberbands to make geometric shapes) and my personal favorite...unifix cubes!! Lots of us have been using these to make patterns and really long trains that are as long as we are tall.  WOW! That is a LOT of unifix cubes. 

And in Social Studies we are getting into our Families unit.  Today we talked about the things we know about families and what we want to know or questions we had about families.  This week we will make observations using different pictures around the room to get our brains really thinking about families.  I am sure you will be hearing a lot more about families and even some songs that we will be learning along the way.

There are lots of things to remember in 1st grade and we are working hard on all of them.  One concept that I can not stress enough is our 3Rs that we use in our classroom.  We are ALWAYS talking about how we can be Respectful, Responsible, and Reliable first graders.  Please make sure you are using this language at home as well as we are getting back into the swing of things at school. 

I hope everyone had a great first weekend and ready for our first full week of first grade!  I know I am getting back into the groove of things and remember if you have any questions please do not hesitate in contacting me at: 503.399.3175 or simply send me an email at: berry_victoria@salkeiz.12.or.us I will definitely get back to you as soon as I have the chance. 


Thanks :)
Mrs. Berry

Lots to do on the First Day!!

Well we made it through our first day of 1st grade and what a day it was...WOW! We did a LOT!!! Our first unit of study for social studies is Families so you will hear a lot about that and we even started out our day by coloring a picture of our family.  We later shared our pictures and something fun we do with our family.  We heard lots of fun things from bowling to camping and even picking flowers together at the park.  Families do quite a bit of activities together!
We also had TWO assemblies today to find out about recess and lunch.  There was a lot of information but we did well with eating lunch at school for the first time...It was definitely exciting!  After lunch we had a chance to meet Mrs. Herbert and Mr. Hansen for Rhythms.  We will go to Rhythms every Wednesday and learn lots of fun dances to stay in shape, but we will see both Mrs. Herbert and Mr. Hansen again tomorrow for P.E.
At the end of the day we were able to head outside for the annual "ringing of the school bell."  This is done every year to commemorate each year Myers Elementary has been open for business...this year we counted 37 times! WOW! That is a lot of years! 
We had a chance to read two books and even took a tour of the school after reading Wemberly Worried.  We squeezed in a little time for our workplaces for Math.  We were very busy all day.

Just some things to remember...

• We are in DEFINITE need of some snacks (enough for 27-30 kids)
• Friday folders will have lots of information for you on Friday
• A monthly newsletter will be coming home on Friday with more information
• if transportation changes for your student please let me know with a note, email, or telephone call.  (This is extremely important because I will send your student home the way you told me unless otherwise mentioned.)

I am looking forward to Day 2 so I will see everyone tomorrow! :)
Mrs. Berry
  

First Day Jitters

Tomorrow is the very first day of school and I am pretty excited to meet all the new 1st graders in my classroom this year!  It is going to be a great year with lots of fun activities planned for us to do.  We will learn a LOT and have some fun too :)  So check back in when you can because I hope to post a lot of our classroom adventures and things that we are learning about so you can keep informed on all that is happening in our classroom and at school!  See you tomorrow for the beginning of a great year!! :)
Mrs. Berry

Summer is fading as we head Back to School

With the class lists posted on our front doors and new floors to boot, school is almost ready to begin!  I have been busy getting together my classroom that will soon be filled with excited first graders and I am just as excited!  If you are checking out this blog most likely I will be meeting you in two days and I can not wait! So check back in for more details and we will see you on Wednesday for the first day of school. :)

See you soon!

Mrs. Berry