February 24, 2013

 I hope this finds you all healthy and enjoying the longer hours of daylight. It is beginning to feel more like spring with the sun streaming brightly into our classroom each day! Last week in the Kindergarten reading unit, weather was the theme and how the weather changes with the seasons. We had already discussed this concept through a fall Science unit, but with the winter season quickly passing it was a good review for all the students. Our focus was on winter, and things we like to do when it snows. Everyone loved a good snowball fight, so just before lunch one day we had a make-believe snowball fight using newspaper. A good time was had by all, as you can tell by the pictures to follow.

 The afternoon group is now learning about the 3 states of matter in our Science unit. The "Changes" unit was introduced on Wednesday with an experiment using a solid Alka-Seltze tablet that turned into gas bubbles once another form of matter, water, was put in the cup with the tablet. The students are pictured below after examining each of their tablets. We will continue to explore different ways matter changes this week while the students observe the process of freezing, melting, and evaporation of water.

 Our worms are still alive and well from the previous Solis Science unit and we all are continuing to watch the process of decomposing in composting organic materials in the tub we keep the worms in.

A few other photos from last week include a couple from the afternoon center time when students were working together with Lego blocks and puzzles.

 Mary Timm will return Wednesday this week for her final duck stamp visit. Last week, the students completed their duck picture and this week will be the completion of the background for the picture.

Please remember to ask your child about their homework Monday through Thursday nights, and help them practice their sight word list. Enjoy your week and stay well!

February 17, 2013

 I hope everyone enjoyed a few extra days off while we were at the teacher in-service in Tok. It was a very beneficial time of training. Last week was short, but we did get time to do some real graphs in Math with a special treat for Valentine’s Day as you can see in the photos to follow.

 

The next few weeks before spring break, we will be working on reviewing language concepts to build a stronger foundation for the students especially in spelling and reading, and we will be spending more time on writing. Please remember to ask your child about homework nightly and help them with the paper take home readers. Also, the spelling and sight words that go with the reading curriculum are getting much harder. Though we work on them each day at school, the students need extra practice at home with your support. Much thanks!

February 10, 2013

 Last Monday, our 100th day celebration was a great way to start the week. After an all school assembly, with a few activities including all the student body, we returned to our room to spend the morning doing additional math activities that all revolved around 100.

To start things off, the class searched for 100 peanuts hidden in the room and placed them in piles of 10 on our tens math path. Then groups of two were formed and the teams worked to line out 100 objects and see what line was the longest and shortest.

 After a few other activities, each student made an eatable necklace out of 100 Fruit Loops.

The final activity was a movement game using animal masks each one had made at the conclusion of one of the thematic units on animals the week before.

 Just before leaving for lunch, the game was ended and a full group photo snapped with masks on.

 Mid week, Mary Timm returned to help with more duck stamp drawing practice. The final product to turn into the competition will be completed by the end of the month. Mary is planning 2 more visits to help the students do a quality picture.

 By the end of the week during art, the students began making cards for friends and family for the upcoming Valentine's Day on this Thursday.

Our school week will only be 3 days due to teacher in-servicing on Thursday and Friday this week. Also, be aware that there is a "Family Literacy Night" at the Tok School on Tuesday night starting with dinner at 5:30 in the multipurpose room. It should be well worth the drive from Tetlin to attend.

Please continue to look for homework on Monday and Tuesday night. Also, the 1st grade will be reviewing  last week's spelling words for a retake test on Wednesday.

February 2, 2013

It is here! We have reached 100 days of school as of February 4! The day will be dedicated to fun math activities all themed on the number 100. Look for pictures next week, and ask your child about the day when they get home. Later in the week, Mary Timm will return to continue helping the students create pictures for the federal duck stamp competition.

Last week in Science, the students explored three types of soil. They looked at, and discussed differences in the soils humus, sand, and clay. This week we will plant seeds and see which soil plants grow best in. The students have also enjoyed watching red worms grow larger and break down organic materials in the container used to house them.

 On Friday the Tetlin Environmental Technician, Theresa Christiansen, visited our classroom to teach the students about ice safety. The class enjoyed learning the helpful tips and also the little gift bags they were given with new pencils.

It continues to amaze me at how imaginative the students can be when given creative play time during centers at the end of the day. The tower in the photo to follow was built by one of the boys on Friday, and the whole class wanted in when I took the photo.

 Enjoy your week; I know we will with all the fun activities that are planned for the students to learn from!

January 26, 2013

I hope everyone enjoyed the three day weekend with Monday being reserved for parent/teacher conferences. Last week was another productive week for the students, and filled with some new challenges in both Math and Language Arts. Concepts in both subject areas have been gradually getting more challenging for the students, as expectations in all grade levels have increased. Most of the students have rallied to meet the added challenges with additional support from myself and our classroom aides.

The Science unit on soils has struck a lot of interest in our class with the live red worms and composting component as part of the learning process. Another highlight from last week was the visit of Mary Timm from the Tetlin Wildlife Refuge. She has introduced the students to Mallard duck characteristics through using shapes that they colored and cut into a duck. The next visit, she plans to help the students draw their own Mallard to send into the duck stamp competition. All the students were very proud of their Mallard creations, and as you can see in the photo to follow, we have the ducks displayed in our room.

 

On Friday, the planned visit from Tetlin Environmental Technician,Theresa Christiansen, to do an "Ice Safety" activity was postponed due to illness. It has been rescheduled for this Friday. Hopefully, I will have something to share on that subject next week.

Please remember to turn in any book orders at the end of the week if you would like to buy books for your child. Also, the spelling words are getting harder for the 1st graders so remind your child to study them and write each word at least three times each nightly. If you have any books I have sent home that have not been returned, I would appreciate them back to use with other students. 

Stay warm and have a great week!

January 20, 2013

 Weekly greetings! As always, last week flew by and we are moving into the third week of January already! This week there will be two special activities for the students. On Wednesday, Mary Timm from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Tetlin Refuge, will return to work on pictures with the students for the junior duck stamp competition. Also on Friday the Tetlin Environmental Technician, Theresa Christiansen, will visit and talk with the class about ice safety.  Other activities of interest will be a new Science unit starting on Monday for the afternoon students on soils and composting now that the red worms for the project have arrived alive.

With the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday this Monday, we began studying the important role he played in our countries history. The class also picked a three word phase to create an inspiring poster to display in out room to encourage each other, just as Martin Luther King Jr. was able to inspire others with his words. Furthermore,  a favorite weekly time for the class is Art each Friday. The students have been exploring aspects of watercolor painting. They really enjoy sharing their creative ideas with each other. I hope their colorful creations made it home on Friday for you all to see. A few photos to follow are from last week's Art session.

Please continue to look for homework every Monday through Thursday night. The first grade will have a spelling list weekly that they need to study each night. Also, I am sending home simple readers for them to read to someone at home each night. The Kindergarten have had numerous paper books sent home from the themes covered in the reading curriculum and they should be reading them to someone at home also. This will help them with the sight words that have been covered and simple words to sound out.

Feel free to contact me with any questions you might have, and you are always welcome to sit in on our weekly PLC [Professional Learning Committee] meetings on Friday to discuss best practices and methods in teaching to improve student learning.

January 13, 2913

Our first week back flew by! We jumped right back into a regular schedule and we were all tired by then end of the week after adjusting from being on vacation.

A few highlights were the arrival of the new teacher for the upper grades, Barb Baysinger, and the visit from Mary Timms to share about things animals do in winter. The students really enjoyed her presentation, and even did a puppet show using numerous animal puppets to review the information. By the end of the week, the class had filled their reward bottle with beans for good behavior and we had "Show and Tell" on Friday. Most everyone brought something to talk about, but the favorite of the group was Buddy the toy poodle that Bridgette shared about. I have included a couple pictures of Buddy's visit to school.

Please look at the "See Saw" book order form in your child's homework folder. If you would like to order books, just fill in the form on the back and return it to me with the money. I will send it to Scholastic Books to be filled at the end of the month. Also, remember to ask your child about nightly homework. There were 10 students from last semester that got acknowledged on Friday for not missing more than two full weeks of doing their homework. I will do the same thing at the end of our school year.

Enjoy your week and I hope this warm weather continues!