Tomorrow, December 22, at 11:00, we will decorate gingerbread cookies. Come and join us if you like. I am providing the cookies, and several parents have offered to donate small candies to decorate them with. If you are coming and would like to stay for lunch, lunch is at 12:00. We would love to have you join us! See you tomorrow! Christmas HomeworkI will be sending home a Christmas journal so your child can write about some of his/her activities. As with the Thanksgiving journals, all children who return their journals will earn an extra recess. Last time we had some students return their journals, however, they were empty. In order to earn an extra recess I will want to see that your child wrote in his/her journal at least four different times.
I'm not going to send home the Dr. Seuss bags in fear that the books might get lost over break. I do hope, however, that you will spend time reading with your child over the holidays. When we return from break we will soon start our winter testing. If your child hasn't done any reading and/or writing since leaving school on Dec. 22, the testing might be a challenge! Congratulations to Morgan Cross for earning Cookies With The Principal this month. Morgan definitely treats people right and does the right thing! Great Work Morgan! New Christmas Songs For Our BindersFor something a little different, we've been adding Christmas songs to our Poetry and Song binders. So far we've learned All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. When we were learning All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth one child raised his hand and said, "I have the OPPOSITE problem. I NEED to LOSE my two front teeth!" Soon all of the children were showing me whether they had lost their teeth or whether they needed to. Their smiles were just so cute I had to share them! Winter AttireChristmas break is a good time to get your child's winter attire organized. As you can see from the picture below, I'm definitely ready!
Congratulations to the following students for having perfect attendance during trimester one! And as you can see, I received an award as well! Please keep in mind that students were only given attendance awards IF they were at school EVERY day and if they didn't have any tardies. Tardies can be issued for coming late AND for leaving early.
During writing we are reading different versions of the popular children's book, The Gingerbread Boy. It's fun to see just how many different ways this classic story has been rewritten. Once we finish reading a few more stories, we are going to write our OWN versions. The children will choose their own characters and adventures for their very own gingerbread boy or girl! Talk with your child about his/her ideas. Talk through the beginning, middle and end. It's a lot easier to write when one has a plan, rather than facing a blank book without any ideas. The actually writing will start next week so you have plenty of time to discuss this with your child. If you want to be really helpful, jot me a note with your child's ideas. Some of the books we have read are below. Gingerbread CookiesTo culminate this activity we are going to decorate gingerbread cookies. If you can help with this project, please come to our classroom at 11:00 on December 22. We will be done in time for lunch at 12:00. If you want, you can even stay for lunch! I will bake the cookies but could use some help gathering other supplies such as frosting, plastic knives, candy, etc. If you would be willing to donate, please let me know. Winter CLothesThough we've had some VERY unseasonal weather, it's time to get your child's winter clothes organized. In case you didn't know, we go out to recess twice a day, once before school 8:10-8:25 and again from 12:30-1:00. Please make sure your child has a hat, gloves or mittens, and a warm winter coat. Though 30 minutes isn't a long time to be outside, it can feel REALLY long if you are cold. It is also a good time to purchase snow boots and snowpants now. I always waited until the first major snow and then they were all picked over, or gone! Please keep in mind that we do go outside on snowy days, and on cold days. Young children need fresh air and exercise daily so rarely do we stay inside. If you were inside with 23 children all day, every day, I bet you would do the same! LOL! When the next opportunity presents itself for snow boots and snow pants, please send them in a separate bag. Though they might fit inside your child's backpack, it's a tight squeeze AND it gets our papers and mail all wet! Lastly, we do have a playground policy that states students are only able to play IN the snow if they have snow boots and snow pants. Without the proper attire, students will go outside, however, they will have to remain on the blacktop. If you are unable to to afford snow boots and snow pants, please let me know. I will see what I can do! I used to love to purchase these items for my personal children and now that they are in college, no more snow boots and snow pants! Mr. MartinezMr. Martinez is almost finished with his student teaching in Treynor and has accepted the position of middle school girl's basketball coach. He has promised to come and visit us once he is done in Treynor. We've got our fingers and toes crossed that we will see him before Christmas break. What an impression he made on our class. I wish him the best! Christmas CardsFor something a little different to do during independent writing, the children are making Christmas postcards. They are made out of recycled Christmas cards. When the holidays are over please consider donating your Christmas cards. Tear or cut off the portion that has writing on it, then return the unused card. An example is below. The kids are going CRAZY over this! Handprint ProjectAs you have probably noticed, your child has been coming home with traces of paint on his/her hands. We are working on a special Christmas project that will be coming home before winter break. I think you are going to LOVE it! A sneak peek is below. High School InternA warm welcome to Madi Axtell, a high school intern, who helps out in our classroom every afternoon. Now that's she been here for a few days, I don't know how I would do without her!!! She loves show choir, taking pictures, and going to coffee shops with friends. Madi will graduate this spring and plays to major in elementary education. There's no doubt about it..........................one day she's going to be an excellent teacher! Welcome Madi! Madi will soon be taking the children to the gym for every day pick-up. Please introduce yourself and let her know who you are picking up. Though she's been with me the last few days, it's always good to be on the safe side. Art Fun!Today we had Art and as you can see, the children had a BLAST making ornaments out of beads. Of course some got creative and used their projects as hair decorations, necklaces, etc. I bet if you were to buy some beads to use at home, your child would love it! New Math UnitToday we started a new math unit on shapes (2D and 3D). The kids had fun making shapes out of playdough! All in all, it was a very eventful day today!
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AuthorMy name is Mrs. Hahn and I teach first grade at Kreft Primary at Lewis Central Community Schools in Council Bluffs, Iowa. |