December 18th Newsletter

Last week we worked on book recommendations, and now we're going to begin focusing on toy recommendations!  We will work on our first one this week and we will learn how to include what we like about the toy, how to write an interesting beginning and we'll focus on punctuation and capitalization.  We are having lots of fun as we think about our opinions!

We will be sharing one of our book recommendations with a student from Ms. Hoeppner's class tomorrow while enjoying some hot chocolate.  The kids are looking forward to partnering up with students from another class while enjoying an extra special treat!

In math, we will be learning a few new math games that we will be able to add to our "Buddy Games" center.  Additionally, we will be having a Math Game Day on Wednesday, December 20th.  Your child may bring in any math game they are able to teach to a friend.  The kids are already looking forward to our math game day!  We will not have any math homework this week.

We will be watching a movie and having our Holiday party on Thursday.  The kids are so excited!  Again, thank you to all of the generous parents who are donating food, items or volunteering for our party!  I greatly appreciate it!

I hope you have a wonderful winter break and a Happy New Year!  Enjoy spending time with your family!

See you in 2018!

Please label winter gear!

Now that the snow has finally arrived, the kids are of course wearing all of their snow gear.  Please label all of their gear.  We already had a few friends accidentally wear items that did not belong to them out to recess.  There are a lot of items (black snow pants, for instance) that look exactly the same and it will make finding the correct owner much easier.  Thank you for your support with this!  Enjoy the snow!

December 11th Newsletter

This week we are finishing our hard work on writing book recommendations for our friends!  You may see some come home, but we're hanging on to one that we will be sharing with another 1st grade class.  Sharing our writing in an authentic way makes it more valuable and worthwhile to kids.  If you read your child's book recommendation and then make a trip to the Cedarburg Public Library, you could find that book and read it together!  

In our reader's workshop we'll continue to read great recommended stories, and we are studying the vowel "e" and the different sounds it can make.  We are examining different words with "e" and deciding if they make the long sound, the short sound or are silent.  You can help by noticing signs while driving to activities and on errands.  Chances are, they know the word anyway, like when you're at Target.  Say "Target" and listen for that "e," which sound is it making?  We're also working really hard to find smaller words or chunks we know, that can help us when we're stuck on bigger words.  For example, the word "and" is inside "stands," and we can go from and, to stand, to stands. 

In math, we are going to continue working on addition and developing “fact power.”  Having fact power is like being a good reader.  It is more enjoyable if you recognize words automatically.  The same is true of number facts.  Solving problems is easier if you automatically know the answer.  Keep practicing addition and subtraction facts with your child at home so they can develop fact power.  Practice at home by playing math games, using flash cards, or playing online math games.  Great online math activities are located on the Thorson webpage (go to IMC, then click on math).  The kids also love math bingo on www.abcya.com.

We are looking forward to our holiday party next Thursday.  Thank you in advance to all of the parents who are donating items or helping during the party!

Scholastic Book Orders are due on Monday, December 11th if you'd like to guaranteed delivery before winter break!  I will be placing the order Monday evening at 8:00 p.m.  Go to www.scholastic.com/bookclubs Online Code:  JBVLK

Special Points of Interest

• THANK YOU to all of the families that donated toys the past few weeks!

Scholastic Book Order - Guaranteed Delivery by Winter Break!

Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub
One-Time Class Activation Code: JBVLX

I will be placing a Scholastic book order on December 11th.  If you wish to place an order and receive it before winter break, please place you order on or before December 11th!  I will still place an order on the schedule due date, December 15th, but will also place an order on December 11th so that you are able to receive your books prior to break.

Happy Reading!
Mrs. Majinski

Ordering online is fast and easy:

• REGISTER at scholastic.com/readingclub
• ENTER the Class Activation Code at the top of this letter
• CHOOSE from thousands of print titles, value packs, and Storia eBooks
• SUBMIT the order to me by the due date at the top of this letter
• EARN FREE Books for our classroom too!

December 4th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week we'll wrap up our "storyboard stories," by finishing our writing and our cover page.  The students will have an opportunity to read their stories to the class if they wish.  They are looking great and will be sent home sometime this week. 

Please remember, the stories your child comes home with will not perfect, there will be spelling mistakes, maybe punctuation or capitalization mistakes.  When I conference with students, one on one, with their writing, I choose one or two areas to focus on and work to lift their understanding in that area.  If we overwhelm them by pointing out every error, they will likely be turned off to writing and begin to think that writing is all about spelling and conventions, instead of sharing thoughts and ideas with others.  We will begin learning about how we share our opinions by writing book reviews next week!  That will be so much fun!  

In math this week we will continue working on the Commutative Property of addition (if 8+3=11, then 3+8=11), understand that there are a variety of combinations to make the same sum (5+2=6+1), understand the meaning of the equal symbol, and work with problems with unknown addends (3+__=6).

In science we will be learning about African animals and the habitats that they live in.  We will be integrating writing into science by writing about grasslands as well as writing animal reports on different African animals that we will be learning about.

Special Points of Interest

• Scholastic Book Orders are due next Friday, December 15th. Go to: www.scholastic.com/bookclubs Online Code:  JBVLK
• The Kapco's Kids 2 Kids toy drive lasts through this Friday, December 15th.  If you are able to, please bring in a new, unwrapped toy for the Toy Drive.
• Buy an ornament day is this Friday and hat day is next Friday, December 15th - donate a dollar to buy an ornament and/or wear a hat to show your support.

Science and Social Studies Time

Starting this week, I will be doing a math intervention with a group of first graders during our science and social studies time.  Your child will either be going with one of the other first grade teachers during the science and social studies time or they will be joining me in the intervention.  This will be for the next few weeks.  As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  Thank you!

Kapco Kids 2 Kids Toy Drive

Thorson Student Council News

The Kapco's Kids 2 Kids toy drive will start on Monday, December 4th and last through Friday, December 15th.  If you are able to, please bring in an unwrapped toy for the Toy Drive.

Kids2Kids Toy Drive Events: Buy an ornament day is on Friday, Decmber 8th - Students can donate a dollar to the toy drive and buy an ornament to put on the bulletin board outside of Mrs. Kikkert's office.  Hat day is on Friday, December 15th - donate a dollar and wear a hat to show your support.

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

November 27th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving break, it sure is great to be back!  This week we will be working with more blends, or as we call them "letters that go together."  Our students have been learning to hear those consonants that blend together at the beginning of many words, like: star, flame, climb, and snap.  

We will wrap up our work with the narratives we are working on this week.  We started the piece with oral storytelling to a partner, moved to illustrating a story board to guide our writing and then began our writing.  This week we'll focus on editing and publishing by giving our narratives a title and a cover, like a real book!

This week we will also be circling back to the topic of friendship.  We'll be reading some stories and discussing how to be a good friend.  If you can find a few minutes to have a conversation with your son or daughter about kindness and respect for others it would be much appreciated.  Your support really helps strengthen these concepts.  

The last two weeks have been busy, we were only able to add the words went and want to our word wall.  Please look for an updated word wall sheet to come home in your child's red folder today.

This week in Math we will solve more than and less than story problems, find the difference between numbers using subtraction, review the <, >, and = symbols, work with Part-Part-Whole, work with Turn Around Facts (3+4=7 and 4+3=7), and communicate mathematical thinking through our Number Talks.

We will be finishing our communities social studies unit this week.  Today a meteorologist from CBS58 came in to talk to the first graders.  Make sure to ask them about this!  The children will be learning about maps and creating a make-believe community with a partner.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to come to parent-teacher conferences.  It was great to meet with you and talk about your wonderful children!  As always, if you have any additional questions or concerns please feel free to email me.

Special Points of Interest

• Scholastic Book Orders are due Monday, December 15th.  You can view the flyers online and order books by going to www.scholastic.com/bookclubs and using the online code:  JBVLK

Stuffed Animal Day Tomorrow!

Our class earned five apples and our reward is a stuffed animal day!  Your child may bring a stuffed animal to school tomorrow!  Please make sure that the stuffed animal is no bigger than your child's backpack.  Thank you!

November 20th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As you might be writing letters to Santa or working on gift lists with your children, I wanted to let you know that during this short week we are working on "letters that go with r," otherwise known as blends.  While we do want children to listen for sounds and write what they hear, if your child isn't hearing those blends at the beginning or words (such as truck, pretty, crib, freeze)  it would be great if you could help them stretch the word by saying it really slowly.  We are really focusing on getting both those sounds into our words.  Remember, it isn't necessary to spell the word correctly but those beginning sounds are really important right now!  

In math, we will continue to work on place value, balanced equations, and frames and arrows problems.  There will not be any math homework this week.

We will continue working on our Communities unit in social studies.  Thank you to all of the parents that have volunteered to talk to the students about your job!

DUE DATE EXTENSION:  Scholastic Book Orders are due this Wednesday, November 23rd.  Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Activation Code: JBVLX

Special Points of Interest

• No school on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

November 13th Newsletter

Welcome to second quarter!  It's so exciting to reflect on the growth of our class from the beginning of the year to now!  In just a little over two months our students are thinking about what would make sense when they are stuck on an unfamiliar word, and then they cross-check that with the letters on the page to make sure it looks right too.  Just to be sure, they know how to "slow check" the word by running their finger slowly under the letters of the word to see if the letters match the sounds they make as they slowly say the word.  This strategy also works great in writing too!  

Last week, we added the words first, last, said, saw, make and good to our word wall.  Please look for an updated word wall sheet to come home in your child's red folder today.

This week in math we are working on place value and continuing to explore frames and arrows problems.  We will also begin number talks, which is a mental math warm up activity where students use and share their strategies for soling math problems.  Look for an addition sheet and a "What's My Rule?" sheet to come home for homework this week.

Remember to keep practicing addition and subtraction facts at home.  This quarter, we will be working on addition and subtraction facts to 10.

We will continue working on our Communities unit in Social Studies.  Thank you in advance to all of the parents that are coming in to talk about your jobs!

Special Points of Interest

• Winter is quickly approaching.  Now is the time to start thinking about packing an extra pair of socks and mittens in your child's backpack.
• Please continue to remind your children to bring their take-home books back to school.  Nightly reading is so important!
• Scholastic Book Orders are due Friday, November 17th. Flyers will be coming home sometime this week.  Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Activation Code: JBVLX
• Parent-Teacher Conferences are this Thursday, November 16th and the following Monday, November 20th.  I am looking forward to meeting with you to talk about your wonderful children!
• No School next Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday

IMC Change

The first graders will be going to the IMC tomorrow.  If your child would like to check out new books, please make sure they return their books!

November 6th Newsletter

We have been working very hard on fluency for the last few weeks, but this past week we marked one of our poems in phrases of two to four words.  We read the lines in different ways to see what sounded better.  When we were all done, we read the poem, paying attention to the phrases we had marked.  What a difference it made!  Our first graders are starting to really understand how reading should sound.  We are also working hard on this in guided reading.  When you read the take home books with your child, be sure prompt him or her to "read it like this," as you model it, in a few places.  Remember that reading picture books to your child is still very important.  They need to hear you model that phrased, fluent reading!  Keep up the great work!

In writing, we are working on finishing up our small moment stories and this week we'll be doing a study of punctuation.  We've learned a lot about how writers write about what they know, and so we've worked on writing about small moments from our lives.  We take one small moment and write lots about it.  We write about what happened, how we felt and what we though.  Many of us are remembering to punctuate some of our sentences already, and hopefully we'll get closer to punctuating every sentence soon!  

This week we will be adding a new center, Reader's Notebook!  The students will each get their own special notebook for this center.  This week, the students will be writing about themselves, but in the coming weeks, they will be writing about books they read.

Last week, we added the words or, had, by, not, let, and us to our word wall.  Please look for an updated word wall sheet to come home in your child's red folder today.

This week in math we will be introducing dimes and adding combinations of pennies, nickels, and dimes.   We will review graphing by creating our own class graphs.  The children will be exploring dot patterns on dominoes to find the sum of the two parts.  Additionally, the students will be learning more about place value and two digit numbers.  Look for Home Links 3.9 and 3.10 to come home this week.

This week we will be starting a new social studies unit on communities.  Please return the parent letter that came home last week if you would like to come into our classroom to tell the students about your job.

Special Points of Interest

• No school this Friday, November 10th - end of the quarter and records day/professional development for teachers
• No school November 22nd, 23rd, or 24th
• Scholastic Book Orders are due November 17th. Flyers will be coming home today.  Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Activation Code: JBVLX

October 30th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The last few weeks in literacy we did some focused work with vowels.  Vowels are tricky, and if we don't continue to notice and emphasize them they can be very confusing.  We found them in our shared reading poems, we sorted our word wall words into a vowel chart, and this week we'll be finding them on various print around the classroom.  We've been practicing both the short and the long sounds for the vowels.  You can help at home by doing the same with words you notice when reading with your child or even when looking at a holiday catalog or a recipe!  Help your child understand that words are all around us, and they all have to have at least one vowel.  Keep in mind, it is best to use words that either have the short or the long sound in them, like in "bat," but not "ball."  Or in "that," but not in "the." 

We'll be wrapping up our first study of small moment (or narrative) stories for the year this week.  Some will continue to come home, and some will be saved for parent teacher conferences.  It sure has been fun to learn more about these amazing kids and get to know them in the best way, through their stories!  We've learned about their friends, their pets, their families, their weekend adventures and more!  Keep the stories coming!

Last week, we added the words as, his, this and when to our word wall.  Please look for an updated word wall sheet to come home in your child's red folder today.

In math, we will continue to practice counting up and back on the number line in order to understand addition and subtraction.  We are working on problem solving skills using the hundreds chart and our number lines.  We will also be learning how to tell time to the half hour.  Look for Home Links 3.5, 3.7, and 3.8 to come home this week.

This week we will be finishing up our Land and Water science unit.

Thank you for all of the help and donations for our Halloween Classroom Party!  The kids had a blast!

Special Points of Interest

• No School next Friday, November 10th
• Remember to dress your child for the cold weather.  They will be going outside for every recess unless it rains.

October 23rd Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

During our literacy block, one very important time of our day is called Community Writing.  During this time, we do some writing together as a whole group, that relates back to a book we read or an experience we had.  For example, after a big book we read called, "In a Dark, Dark Wood," we wrote our own version called "In a Dark, Dark School!"  It was so much fun to share ideas and write the story together.  We work on composing a message, listening for the sounds in the word, spelling word wall words (sight words) correctly, and letter formation.  One goal is to keep the purpose of the writing very authentic, so we also wrote a letter to Mrs. Budde's class (by vote) and asked them if they'd like to read our book.  It was very exciting to have a real audience for our writing!  The fifth graders read our story and even wrote back to us!

We are really growing as writers, this week we'll focus on telling a story part by part, so that we understand how to include a beginning, a middle, and an end.  See what authentic ways you can get your child writing at home!  They could help with the grocery list, or write a letter to a family member, or keep a diary/journal.  Seeing parents write at home is also very supportive!  

Last week, we added the words of, for, are, no, me, they, our and friend to our word wall.  Please look for an updated word wall sheet to come home in your child's red folder today.

We will be starting a new unit in math this week.  The Unit 3 parent letter was sent home last week with information about this new unit.  This week we will be working on pattering skills, odd and even numbers, and reviewing basic number line concepts.  Your child should be able to add and subtract using a number line.  Look for Home Links 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4 to come home this week.  Please continue practicing skip counting by 2's, 5's and 10's, counting combinations of nickels and pennies, and memorizing addition and subtraction facts. 

We will be continuing our Land and Water unit in Science.  The students will learn about the ocean, the need for water, and fast and slow changes that happen to Earth's land.

THANK YOU in advance to everyone who will be donating items or volunteering to help at the party this Friday.  The kids are already looking forward to it!

Special Points of Interest

• Remember to bring in your pumpkin for Pumpkin Days!
• Halloween parties will be on Friday afternoon, please send your child's costume in a bag.  The children will be changing right before the parade.
• No school on Friday, November 10th.  It is teacher progress report writing day.

October 16th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We're off to a great start in guided reading!  All groups have met as of Monday, October 16th and I'm just so proud of these 1st grade readers!  Please remember when reading at home that it is very important to give children lots of practice with reading text that they are able to read well.  This means fluent reading that sounds good!   Don't be fooled into thinking that your child isn't learning or progressing unless they're struggling or working hard to decode.  Their reading should sound like good reading.  If the reading doesn't sound fluent, feel free to try reading together for a few pages.  It will help your child to hear your fluent reading of the same text he/she is reading.  

This week during literacy, we'll continue to learn the routines of guided reading and we'll also be focusing on complete sentences.  You can help at home by encouraging your child to speak in complete sentences.  When they use an incomplete sentence, model what the complete sentence version would sound like and have them repeat it.  This will support our work in writer's workshop as we make sure we are beginning with a capital letter and using ending punctuation in our complete sentences.  

Our students have been working very hard on a small moment (narrative) story that spans multiple pages.  They have been adding to their story day by day as well as making corrections such as capital letters and ending punctuation.  We just may have to hold on to these pieces for Parent Teacher Conferences!  You will be so proud!

Last week, we added the words do, up, so, like, go, there, and was to our word wall.  Please look for an updated word wall sheet to come home in your child's red folder today.

In math this week, we will continue to explore counting combinations of nickels and pennies.  Children will learn to exchange pennies for nickels.  We will also be working on subtraction number models and number stories.  Look for Home Links numbers 2.12, 2.13, and the Unit 3 Family Letter to come home this week.  Please continue practicing skip counting by 2’s and 5’s, counting combinations of nickels and pennies and memorizing addition and subtraction facts.

In science, we have been working on our Land and Water unit.  Your child has been learning about natural resources and their uses in the environment.

Special Points of Interest

• Our Halloween party is next Friday, October 27th.
• In case you weren't able to make it to the book fair... Scholastic Book Orders are due this Friday, October 20th. Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Activation Code: JBVLX

October 9th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week we'll get started with guided reading, now that we have learned how to do each of our centers.  Our centers have become one of the favorite parts of our day.  During this time students are reading independently or with a buddy, or with a small group.  In some centers we read with big pointers and in some we're reading the poems we learn during shared reading.  A favorite is the listening center, where students use tablets and their headphones to listen to a variety of picture books, which are changed monthly.  We're also doing some word work, some free writing, and even some art!  Often we will be illustrating pieces of writing we did as a whole group and either creating a big book or hanging them in the hallway to share.

Last week, we added the words to, you, he, on, at and that to our word wall.  Please look for an updated word wall sheet to come home in your child's red folder today.

Please remember that reading to you child is extremely important.  Modeling for your child with expression and sharing what you are thinking will truly set your child up for success later on.  Thank you so much for your support!  

Our take-home book program will begin this week!  Please remember to initial and return the books after you have read them so that your child can bring home new books.  Thank you for reading with your child each night at home.  It is extremely important!

This week in math we will be learning about counting up and back on a number grid, comparing quantities of pennies and nickels, and counting and writing by 2’s, 5’s and 10's.  We will be reviewing time and working on story problems.  Look for Home Links numbers 2.10 and 2.11 to come home this week.  Please practice counting combinations of nickels and pennies, telling time to the hour, and practicing subtraction facts to six.

This week we will continue to learn and write about animals that we see in the fall.  We will also begin our Land and Water science unit.  We will investigate rocks and recognize that rocks and soil are part of Earth's land that people use.

Special Points of Interest

• In case you aren't able to make it to the book fair... I will be placing a Scholastic Book Order on Friday, October 20th. Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Activation Code: JBVLX - Flyers will be coming soon

October 2nd Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week, we'll be working on making our stories clear and understandable, by telling them in sequence.  In reading, we will focus on thinking about what word would make sense when we get stuck reading because "sounding it out" doesn't work all the time.  We'll also practice retelling some of our stories, making sure to include the important parts of the story.  This will help us understand what we should be paying attention to in a story.  Both of these skills will be something we practice a lot throughout the year.  

In math this week we will be learning about telling time to the hour and half hour and counting by 2’s and 5’s.  We will also continue to work on our addition and subtraction facts.  Please practice with your child at home until they become fluent with these facts.  Look for Home Links 2.4 and 2.5 to come home this week.  It would also be beneficial to practice skip counting by 2's, 5's and 10's and counting combinations of nickels and pennies with your children!  Ask them about some of the fun games we have been playing in class to help them with these concepts.

This week we will be learning about animals that we see in the fall.  We will be learning about these animals by reading non-fiction stories and using an online resource called Pebble Go.  

Special Points of Interest

• No School this Friday, October 6th
• THANK YOU to all of the families that sent in napkins, Ziploc bags, paper towels and brown bags, I appreciate your generosity!

September 25 Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week in literacy we are working together as a class to write our own version of the book "In a Dark, Dark Wood" which is a class favorite!  Our version is titled:  "In a Dark, Dark School."  We choose what happens in our story, and the students take turns coming up to the big book we are creating and write some of the letters and words.  This is important because we teach and reinforce many things at this time, such as using spaces between words, proper letter formation, sound and letter correspondence, using our word wall to correctly spell some words, capitalization, punctuation and more!  Stay tuned for photos of our book!  We work at this a little each day, so our shared reading, centers, interactive read aloud and writing workshop are all still going on.  This week, the listening center, buddy reading center and word work center will all be added to our work board.  We're staying busy!  

This week in math we will be working on counting up and back on a number grid, learning our telephone numbers, and practicing single digit addition.  Watch for the Unit 2 Family Letter to come home as well as Home Links for lessons 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3 will also be coming home this week.

In science, we will be studying many animals we see during the fall season.  We will be reading and writing about these animals.  Additionally, we will be taking a closer look at where else these animals can be found and the sounds that they make on the online resource called PebbleGo.  Be sure to ask you child about PebbleGo, it's a great resource that you can use at home too!

Special Points of Interest

• Please return the parent volunteer letter by tomorrow if you're interested in volunteering in our classroom

September 18th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

During our literacy block we continue to learn new centers.  Our class has made this their time to shine!  They've been consistently focused, hard working and respectful of others during this time of our day.  It is so important that we carefully teach the routines and behaviors that are necessary during centers so that it is a successful time for students, allowing teachers to meet with small groups of students.  As we focus on doing our best work, using quiet voices, and taking care of materials, our students are becoming increasingly more responsible and independent.  Even in these few short weeks it has been exciting to see such growth!

We are also learning a lot in our shared reading and interactive or community writing time.  During this time, we focus on the process of reading and the process of writing, together in the whole group.  We have been noticing how sentences start with a capital letter and end with punctuation (periods, question marks and exclamation marks).  We have even discussed commas and quotation marks!  We will continue to review these concepts throughout the year.  This week we will also be examining the author's choice of words and how they make us feel because analyzing text should even happen in first grade!  

In math this week, we will be working on problem solving skills, writing tally marks to show a number, and looking at weather and temperature routines.  Look for the first homework sheets to come home this week - Home Links 1.12, 1.13, and a tally mark practice sheet.

This week we will continue working on our school and safety social studies unit.  We will be learning about the American Flag and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Today your child will be bringing home an information sheet telling all about an awesome iPad app we will be using this year called Seesaw.  Be sure to check it out!

Friendly Reminders

• Scholastic book orders are due this Friday, September 22nd!  Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Activation Code: JBVLX

New ABC Specials Schedule

We have a new ABC schedule for our Specials, starting this week.

A - Art

B - Music

C - Phy. Ed.

Sorry for any confusion!  Thank you for your support!