Now that we're settling in...

...I want to give a few reminders, and give you a few updates about what we're doing in class!

Please remember that your student needs a signature in his or her planner AND their reading calendar.  Reading minutes should be recorded on the calendar in his or her green folder; not their planner.

Also, it's getting quite chilly out, so please make sure your child has a jacket before they leave.  Also, it may be a good idea to leave an extra sweatshirt in their locker in case the building gets chilly!

I know that currently we have an icky-smelling water situation.  We are getting that fixed later this week.  After the problem is fixed, I am going to ask that water bottles stay home for a while, unless your child has a cough or cold.  They are becoming too distracting, and with the cooler temperatures, they aren't as needed.

While we are still getting used to some routines here, we have been doing A LOT in first grade!  Here's a little taste of what we've been up to:

We traced each other's faces to make our own self-portraits to put in our grapes on the bulletin board!

We learned about hypotheses and we hypothesized about whether different classroom objects would sink or float...the scissors do BOTH!

We studied the properties of solids and liquids and had to decide if Oobleck was a solid or a liquid.

(If your student is asking to make Oobleck, it's corn starch with food coloring.  Then add water until you get to a solid/liquid consistency.)

We practiced counting "hops" in math.

We learned that watercolors won't stick to crayon, and painted our own "Crayon Relief Leaves" using warm colors for the leaves and cool colors for a striking background.

We learned about gases and how they move.  We observed how different tools can make different-sized bubbles!

...And of course, we've had a chance to be silly!!!










If you'd like to see more pictures, click on the link in the left column to see more fun and learning from this year!

Ms. Hermus

Reading Calendars and Planners

Hello!  We now have a couple of days in, and we're getting settled in.  I just want to take a minute and go over how the planners and reading calendars work.

Your student's planner needs to be signed each night.  Whether a parent, babysitter, or older sibling (who may be in charge for the evening) signs the planner is all right.  The signature means that you're aware of your student's homework for the evening.

The reading calendar is to keep track of your student's reading.  Each night, a parent, babysitter, etc, needs to write in the day how many minutes your student read, and initial the box.  I check both the planner and the reading calendar the next day.  

We talked today in class about how it's the students' responsibility to ask to have their planner signed and calendar initialed.  I just ask that you help them to remember!  In class I leave them responsible for packing their backpacks, but I also check their backpacks at the end of the day in order to make sure they have everything.  This is a GREAT way to help your student build responsibility, while saving them the grief of forgetting things.  They will build the good habits they need so that by the end of the year, they will be taking care of their own things very well.  

If the writing on your student's calendar is confusing, it's just an example (ex:) of what the box should look like.  Please make sure to initial and write the amount of minutes read.  

Please email me if you have any questions!

Ms. Hermus