Helpful Websites and Links

Here is some helpful info about what to do or how to talk to your child about the violence that occurred last week in Connecticut:

 http://www.nasponline.org/communications/press-release/Sandy_Hook_Media_Statement.pdf
(This statement from the National Association of School Psychologists has some good information for educators and parents)

http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/resources_for_families/talking_to_children_about_community_violence

http://sni.scholastic.com/top-news/2012/12/A-Tragedy-in-Connecticut?cid=SN/e/20121214///CTadvice//////&ym_MID=1455116&ym_rid=9988435

On a lighter note, here is some info about how your child can get involved in their community, dressing for cold weather, and gift ideas:

http://www.scholastic.com/livestrong/pdfs/livestrong_HH_ideas.pdf

http://articles.cnn.com/2005-11-14/health/cold.chill_1_cold-symptoms-cold-weather-cold-air?_s=PM:HEALTH

http://www.greatschools.org/great-gifts/slideshows/5221-best-learning-gifts-for-first-grade-kids-holidays.gs?cpn=20121209weeklysend

Holiday Happenings

Just a reminder at this time to check folders, newsletters, and the Link for all of the upcoming holiday events. We have a canned food drive and giving tree going on through this week.  The Holiday Expo and Cookies with Santa is Tuesday night from 6-8pm.  Parent's Night Out (for some holiday shopping maybe...) is this Thursday from 6-9pm.  Be sure to check in the office for details on all events!

Your Child and Writing

Below are some links to a few articles about how to help your child improve their writing and what their writing should look like at this stage.

http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/197-first-grade-writing.gs?cpn=20121125weeklysend

http://www.greatschools.org/students/homework-help/slideshows/3206-writing-tips-for-every-age.gs?page=3

More Pictures!

Sorry the pictures are so late, but here they are all the same.  We loved having Mr. Bill the librarian come read to us and help us learn more about the public library!  Go get your library card if you don't already have one!  Its an amazing place!

Thanksgiving Feast Photos!

Here are some photos of your lovelies enjoying their special Thanksgiving Feast for lunch before the break!  We had some Pilgrims and some Wampanoags and a LOT of fun!

Fun at Flandrau

Here are some pictures from our field trip yesterday!  We had a great time (even though it wasn't quite what we expected it to be!)  I also just wanted to give a very big THANK YOU to Linda, Shelly, Tomas, Brittney, Heidi, and Liz for all of their help on the field trip!  I couldn't do fun things like this without you!

I am thankful for wonderful parents who help give me wonderful students!  Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your break!

**Also in the next few days there will be pictures up from Mr. Bill the librarian who visited, our Muse 2 You presentations, and our Thanksgiving Feast today at lunch (we dressed up a bit and were really cute!)

"It is Kyrptonite, Mrs. Thies."  I loved it!  He was serious!

Fun with the Scavenger Hunt

They really enjoyed this activity.

"There are a lot of rocks here!"

"Is this one on my paper?"

Finding rocks is fun!

Lots of pretty rocks everywhere

Our presentation on the use of minerals in everyday life.

You know it is good when they are this tired afterwards!

Raz Kids Info

Below is a link (meant for teachers, but I thought it was relevant for parents as well), about the Parent Reports on Raz Kids.  It explains more about what they are used for and how you can help your child become a better reader with the Raz Kids program.  Please check it out!  If you haven't signed up for Raz Kids yet, please do and if you have lost your log-in info just let me know!  I would be happy to help in any way I can.  This is a great tool that is free to you and can be used at home!

http://www.learninga-z.com/special/10-Year-Anniversary/november.html?videoid=296&title=10%20Year%20Video%20November

Superstorm Sandy: How You Can Help

Below are a couple of links with ideas on how to help out our friends on the east coast after the devastation left by Superstorm Sandy.  Check it out and see if there's anything you can do!

From Great Schools:
http://www.greatschools.org/parenting/teaching-values/7100-superstorm-sandy-ways-to-help.gs?cpn=20121111weeklysend

From World Care (local):
http://worldcare.org/collection-for-hurricane-sandy/

In the Garden...

Last week we were checking out how things were growing in LPA's garden.  We had a great time checking out the plants, making observations in our journals, picking up trash, weeding, and watering!

Progress Reports

Progress reports are headed your way Friday, November 9th.  Along with progress reports comes conferences!  I will let you know if I need to conference with you, otherwise if you would like to speak with me, please email me or send a note with a day and time you would like to meet.  While I do help out in the before school and after school programs, if I have enough advanced notice, I can usually find someone to cover for me.  I am more than happy to speak with everyone, so please let me know what works for you and I will do my best to be accommodating!

Budding Scientists

Here are some pictures (hopefully...) from our science centers we did recently.  The materials were from a donor's choose project of mine from last year which didn't get funded until the beginning of this year so your children got to benefit!  The kids had a good time with them and are looking forward to using them again in the future!  Thanks Donors Choose and everyone who donates to our classroom!

Galileo Testing

Test week is over and we are back to normal!  The test booklets for reading were sent home last week with an explanation page and booklets for math will be going home this week.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  And remember, even if some of it looks a little intense, it will be alright!  We have not covered everything on the test yet this year, but we will get to all of it.  Right now your child should know about 9-12 questions on those tests so far based on what we have covered this year.  Again, if you have questions, please see me!

The Importance of Non-Fiction Reading

Below is a link to an article which explains why getting children interested in non-fiction reading is so important.  There are also 6 tips to work on at home with your child! Check it out!

http://www.greatschools.org/reading/7071-non-fiction-why-its-important.gs

Spread the Word!

Hi Friends,

Can you feel it? It's autumn! My class could really use help with supplies in order to finish off the school year strong. So I've created a classroom project request on a 501(c)3 charity website called DonorsChoose.org.
  
I'm writing to ask for any donations possible for my students - no matter the size, it will help my kids. This week only, any donation you make to my project will be doubled! If you know anyone who is passionate about education, please pass this along. Your tax-deductible donation will have a direct impact on at least 30 students (and many more in the future), and you'll hear back from our class about your impact on our learning!

To learn more or donate:

1. Visit my Teacher Page, http://www.donorschoose.org/bthies
2. Choose one of my projects, enter the amount of your donation, and click "Give"
3. During check-out, enter the word PUMPKIN where it says "Match or gift code", and your donation will be matched dollar for dollar.

The PUMPKIN match code will double your donation until the end of the day on Monday, Ocotber 15. So exciting!

Please feel free to send me any questions you may have, and know that my students and I greatly appreciate your support.

Happy Fall!
Becky Thies

Math Practice at Home

I found an article on education.com which has some great ideas for practicing math skills at home with your first grader!  Feel free to look around on the website.  There are lots of great ideas and activities to be found in all areas!

http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Math_for_First_Graders/

Fall Break

Fall Break is upon us!  There will be no school from October 1-October 5th.  Be sure to sign out for your report card at pick up on Friday.  There is no lunch and no after school.  School ends at 11:30am.  If you would like a conference be sure to sign up on the sheets outside the door!

Have a great break and we will see you Monday, October 8th!

Thank You!

I just wanted to say a very big thank you to all of the parents who have been helping me out the last few weeks!  Heidi, Tommy's mom, helped out with some take home projects!  Valerie, Jayla's mom, came in to class and helped out with picture day and some much needed filing!  Kristy, Jasmine's mom, brought in a bunch of box tops from her work to help earn money for our classroom!  I really appreciate all of the help!  I feel really lucky to have so many families this year who are willing to help out!  You are the best!

Kids Eat Free at Peter Piper Pizza!

Kids Night!
Every Monday from 5:00-7:00pm
Kids eat free at Peter Piper Pizza!

Kids 12 and under receive a FREE 7" 1-topping pizza with any adult food & beverage purchase.
(one free pizza per child, dine-in only, limit 4 children (free pizzas) per adult)

Also, free activities including: arts & crafts, coloring, and raffle prizes! 

Fall Pictures

Fall Pictures are Tuesday, September 18th.  Be sure to have your child wear their uniform.  This is a yearbook picture.  Payment is due the day of pictures.  If you need another envelope please see the front desk!

Free Haircuts!

JC Penney is offering free haircuts on Sundays starting in November for student from Kindergarten to 6th grade.  Be sure to check it out!  

Reading Groups

Reading groups are starting this week for sure!  (Sorry about the delay, some teachers were not all in the same place, so we had to make sure everyone was caught up!)

Phonics lessons as well as other language arts activities will be covered in reading groups.  These will be at your child's specific learning level for reading so as to give them the proper help they need.  Language arts and phonics activities will also be covered by your child's regular classroom teacher (me) as well!

Homework may look slightly different as some classes will be doing more review and others more enrichment activities.  Homework will be clearly marked so please be sure that your child finishes it and turns it in to me.  Please let me know if you have any questions!

Reading Tips!

Since this week marks the first book log added to your child's homework, I thought some tips for reading at home might be helpful!  See the links below for helping your first grader become a better reader:

http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/slideshows/6326-help-your-child-with-reading-tips.gs?page=2

http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/slideshows/3540-first-grade-reading-slides.gs

Great Schools helps you "Prepare for first grade"

Below is an article found on the Great Schools website all about what to expect developmentally from your child academically, socially, and emotionally during their first grade year.  Check it out as well as other helpful articles on the website!

http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/274-preparing-for-first-grade.gs?cpn=20120826weeklysend

Book Orders!

Our first book order went home this week!  Be sure to check it out online.  For your convenience, I have added a link to our blog which takes you directly to Scholastic Books where you can order from several different catalogs as well as online stores!  Be sure to check it out!  With every online order, our classroom gets free books!  Orders and money are due Friday, August 31st.

Entertainment Book Sale

Entertainment Books went home last week!  If you do not want to sell the book, please send it back to school!  If a book is lost or damaged, you are responsible for paying for it!  If you plan on purchasing a book, please fill out the order information in the packet.  Payment and order information can be turned in to me.  If you need to sell more than one book, you may pick up extras in the front office.

This is a great fundraiser and can help our school earn lots of money towards enriching your child's education!

Kindle Fires

Since our science materials from Donor's Choose are on their way and should be arriving any day, I created a new project for our class.  I am hoping to receive a small set of Kindle Fire tablets for our classroom to use during our literacy centers which we will start in the next few weeks.  Technology is a great tool to enhance learning and its use is so important in today's society.

Please check out the link to your right :) to find out more information about our latest Donor's Choose project.  Don't forget to help spread the word!  Anyone can donate and every little bit goes a long way to helping our classroom receive great materials!

Donors Choose Project Funded!

Our science material project through Donors Choose was funded this past Friday!  (Thanks to Lowe's Ventana Canyon for finishing that out for us!)  It won't be long before we receive the materials and are able to use them in our classroom to enhance our science activities!

The students and I are so excited!  We will be sure to let you know when we get to use the materials and post pictures as well!

Look for our latest classroom project on Donors Choose soon!  We will be trying to get a small class set of Kindle Fires to use in center rotations.  I had some training over the summer that inspired me to have this as a class goal!  There are a lot more opportunities for enriching our students' learning out there with the use of technology!  I want to make this happen for your children!

Be sure to spread the word as every little bit helps us reach our goal!

Welcome Back!

Welcome back and welcome to first grade!  I am excited and looking forward to a good year!  Already I can tell how wonderful your children are and what a great time we are going to have this school year!

Remember to check folders daily for important information as well as your child's homework (yep we started that this week too).  Check out the blog and the newsletter which are updated every week with everything you need to know to help your child be successful in first grade!

Hopefully the blog is easy to navigate!  I have listed some great websites for educational games as well as some community links that will be important to our class throughout the year.  We try to be involved in the community and so may take a trip to the Fellowship Square Retirement Community to put on a little presentation and hand out cards or try some fundraising and donation drives for either Heifer International or World Care.  Please feel free to check out those websites and see what they are all about!

I found this great article on www.greatschools.org.  (If you are not subscribed to their mailer I would recommend checking them out as well.  They have great information about parenting and how to be involved in your child's education.)  Check out this link to see what's going on inside your first grader's mind developmentally:

http://www.greatschools.org/parenting/behavior-discipline/slideshows/4391-brain-first-grade.gs?page=1&cpn=20120708weeklysend

As always, let me know if you have any questions!

Skate Country Pictures!

Happy end of the school year!  Its been a great year and we've had a great time!  Here are some pictures of our fun end of the year party!  We had a blast!

Changes in our end of the year party!

Sorry about all of the confusion surrounding our end of the year party.  We decided to change the venue due to some over-booking that was happening at Brandi Fenton Park.  Instead, all the first grades will be going to Skate Country on Thursday, May 17th.  First we will be going to Jesse Owen's Park for a little lunch and play time.  Then the whole LPA first grade will head to Skate Country.  Details are on the permission slip which was sent home today.  While I know this is very short notice, we really need to gather the money for the trip by the end of this week.  Again, I am so sorry for the inconvenience and the last minute changes! 

More Butterfly Pix

Sorry these took so long to get here!  We really did have a great time that day!

Help our classroom through DonorsChoose.org

Breaking News

In March, our Board of Directors sponsored a Friends & Family challenge. Thanks to the match code they provided, over $787,000 in donations were matched.

This week, a new match code was announced on national television! Check out the news that broke on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Monday. (Watch the video.)

Starbucks, MSNBC, and Morning Joe are offering up to $500,000 in matching funds. To be matched dollar-for-dollar, donors must enter the match code MORNINGJOE at checkout.

Spread the word! The match code will double donations through May 8, or until $500,000 is exhausted. Each donor can be matched up to $2,500 for project donations and gift card purchases.Learn how match codes work.

Butterfly Garden Field Trip

Thank you to all of the parents who helped with the field trip to the Botanical Gardens. It was a WONDERFUL trip! The kids had a great time and learned a lot about butterflies and other plants and pollinators in our area. Enjoy the pictures!