Everyone got their face or hand painted with either a red or golden delicious apple. Just look at that smile!

Our trip through the haunted maze was tons of spooky fun! We didn't get too scared.

Our trip to the apple orchard. We learned how important bees are to the success of the orchard and how apples are processed from picking to the store.

Making pumpkin bread was so much fun and delicious to eat!

Terrific posters from our animal research. We learned so much about so many animals from various groups.

Activities for Oct. 25-29

Reading: Lesson 12 begins. This week we will focus on the setting of our story in Storytown. We will read King Midas and His Gold. Our high frequency words are happy, came, gold, saw, made, could, night, and were. Our vocabulary expands to include the words reward, handsomely, cruel, greedy, consequences, and regret.

Sight words: Continue to practice daily. Congratulations to Connor and Katlyn. They are already in the 700 Club!

Phonics: sh words and initial blends with l, s, and r

Spelling:
shop
fish
shot
for
shut
more
rush
from
wish
very

Writing: Get ready! We are writing riddles this week. This should be a lot of fun.

Math: We will continue to learn our addition and subtraction facts. We will also tell time to the hour and half-hour.

Science: We have been studying pumpkins, apples, and fall leaves. We have made several craft items displayed outside our classroom. We also made pumpkin bread. I am so proud of the students. They did a great job measuring the ingredients and mixing it up. The lunchroom baked it for us and it turn out perfectly (much to my surprise)! It was delicious. Pictures will be posted on the blog. Next, we will make apple pie with a little ice cream to go along. Yum!

This week we will talk about Halloween things such as bats, spiders, owls, and scarecrows. We will have lots of fun activities and great books to go along with each.

Reminders: We will have a Halloween party on Friday, Oct. 29. Please, no costumes! Please send a bag of treats to share with classmates. We will trick-or-treat in our own classroom with our friends. I would love to order pizza, cupcakes, and drinks for everyone. If you could send $2.00 to $3.00 to help cover the cost it would be much appreciated.

Special note: Tears flow as I write this. As you know, this is my last week. I have been so blessed to work with such a wonderful group of children that are so eager to learn. They have been a joy to teach! I am going to miss them terribly. I hope that I have been a positive influence in their life as well. Monday, Nov. 1 is my last day. Thanks to all that have made this experience so special.

Hey from Mrs. Miller!

Hello Parents and Students! I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful fall weather...we sure are! Morgan and I went by the school Monday and got to visit with the class for a few minutes. They all seem so grown up! I will be back at work Tuesday, Nov. 2nd. It will be a BIG adjustment leaving Morgan, but I am looking forward to seeing your children each day! I am so thankful that I LOVE my job! Mrs. Lee has done an AMAZING job. I am so proud of our DIBELS scores as well as the first 9 weeks Math Assessment. Every student scored 90% or better on the Math Assessment...WAY TO GO! I know Mrs. Lee has made some changes, such as sight word procedures, and I will do my best to adjust to her procedure. We will just see how it works for me! Also, I understand that many of you have been coming to volunteer each week...I hope you will continue to come help me! I appreciate all of your patience and support during my maternity leave. I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of first grade! I know I will be BLOWN AWAY by all your kids have learned and are capable to do! Come visit!!

Here are a few snapshots of the family!!

Activities for Oct. 18-22

Reading: Lesson 11 begins this week. We will make inferences while we read and then compare and contrast information. We will continue to work on our comprehension of what we have read. Our high-frequency words are animals, cold, fish, from, their, under, and very.

Phonics: r-controlled vowel ô

Sight words: Wow! I am so excited at the progress that so many of the students are making. It is so obvious for the ones that practice at home. They become thrilled when they can move from one club level to the next.

Spelling:
or
for
form
more
store
sort
long
ring
your
head

Writing: We will work on our organization of information as we write interview questions. Parents, you may be the ones that are interviewed!

Grammar: Special names and titles for people


Math: Problem solving will be the main focus this week. Should we add or subtract? Please continue to review over the math minute each day. We are learning new skills such as congruency (same size and shape), fractional parts, and identifying a dozen. We will continue to talk about the commutative property (fact families).
I continue to beam when I think of how well they did on their math assessment tests. What a smart group!

Science: Apples, apples, and more apples. We will learn about the life cycle of an apple and how the seasons are changing. We will do several fun craft activities with apples as well. We are so excited about our fieldtrip on Friday to the apple orchard.


Slushy day is Wednesday, Oct. 20. Please send $1.00 for your child. You can’t imagine the heartbreak when a child can’t get one.

Halloween safety program presented by HHS students on Wed., Oct. 20.

Special guest this week_ Mrs. Bowen will have a lesson with our class on Thursday.

Apple orchard fieldtrip this Friday. We will leave the school promptly at 8:00. Have your child to school by 7:45. Students need to bring a sack lunch (in a disposable baggie), a snack (in a separate baggie, labeled “snack”), and 2 twist top drinks(labeled with your child’s name). We will wear our t-shirts for the trip. Please, please, please follow all these instructions. Friday morning is going to be too busy to have to fix things that weren’t done as instructed. Thanks for your help with this.

Special thanks to Allyssa’s, Connor’s, and Jaelyn’s moms for helping with the t-shirt painting. They look terrific

After enjoying lunch on the Bama Belle and taking a cruise down the river, we went to the post office to mail letters we had written to family and friends.

We got to meet a very special dog that works with the police. He helps officers locate illegal drugs. He only understands his commands that are spoken in Dutch.

Next, a trip to the airport to see the police helicopter. The pilot did a few flying tricks while we were there. That was pretty cool!

The new fire station is great! We toured the station, climbed on a fire truck, watched someone slide down the pole, and saw a fireman put on his full uniform.

Starting the day at IHOP for breakfast. Yum!

Activities for Oct. 11-15

Reading: This week begins lesson 10. After reading, we will use details to clearly retell the story. We will also work on using the appropriate phrasing to read fluently. Our high frequency words for the week are arms, every, feet, head, school, use, way, and your. Our new vocabulary includes ashamed, mused, soared, athletic, awkward, and superb.

Phonics: (diphthong ng) Look for words that end in ng during your reading this week. We will also review our short vowels with special booklets each day.

Spelling: Only three days this week, so study every night! We will work with the words a good bit during class this week as well.
long
song
sing
ring
bring
thing
us
must
does
food

Writing: We will attempt to use dialogue in our writing this week. This is going to be a challenge!

Sight Words: I am so excited each week to hear the children read through their words on their list. Thank you so much for helping them. They are so motivated and con not wait for me to call on them so that they can show me how much they know. It is very obvious who works on their words daily. Take 15 minutes to drill and you will be amazed how much they can do!

Math: I cannot tell you enough how proud I am of our students. They did a fantastic job on their nine week math assessment test. Out of 17 students, 6 scored 91%, 2 scored 96%, and 9 scored 100%! Whoo Hoo!
This week we will concentrate on adding doubles (ex. 2+2, 5+5) and the commutative property (ex. 3+4=7, 4+3=7) Continue to practice the addition facts to 10.

Science: It’s that time of year to start talking about the change of the seasons. This week we will discuss the changing leaves, pumpkins, and scarecrows.

Reminders: Don’t forget that the fieldtrip money is due this week along with a new, clean white t-shirt.

Animal projects are due Thursday, Oct. 14th.

FYI- Laura Miller will be back to school November 2nd. This means that I only have three weeks left with your precious children. I cannot begin to tell you how hard it is going to be to leave them. I have loved every minute of this time together!

Activities for Oct. 4-8

Reading: This week begins lesson 9. Our focus will be on the details of a story. Go to http://www.storytown.com/ (first grade) to see the passage. Our high frequency words are be, does, food, grow, live, and many. Vocabulary for the week is claimed, dine, groaned, function, nutritious, and classify. As you read each night, try to remember what you are reading and not just calling the words. You must know what you have read to do well on the AR tests.

Sight Words: Continue practicing reading all words on your page. Doing this each night will get you to the next club level faster! I am so proud of each child for how well they are doing reading their words. The motivation is outstanding!

Phonics: short vowel u. Look for words that include this short vowel in your nightly reading.

Spelling: Test on Thursday.
us
club
bus
with
must
then
cut
don’t
cub
says

Writing: How might you be different when you get older? Oh, if they only knew! We will work on making lists this week.

Math: First nine week math assessment test on Monday. I am confident that our children are prepared. We will continue to work on our addition facts this week. Continue to work on this at home. Also some are not paying attention to the symbol to add or subtract. Be careful!
Science: Our animal unit has been interesting so far. Children always enjoy learning about animal and sharing what they know. That is why they will become an expert on a particular animal to share with the class. Each child is bringing home an assigned animal to research this week. Please read the note carefully and follow all instructions. The project is due Thursday, Oct. 14th. Make this a fun family activity. Everybody get involved!

Reminders: Don’t forget that children are out of school Friday, Oct. 8th for parent conference day. I have talked with most parents but if you need to talk to me further, I will be at the school working in the classroom. School is also out the following Monday and Tuesday. Enjoy this fall break with your family. If you are going to be traveling, please be careful and return home safely.

Don’t forget to send the $16.00 for our apple orchard fieldtrip along with a new, clean white t-shirt for your child to decorate and wear that day. All money is due Wed., Oct. 13th. This is the day we return from break!