Aug. 31-Sept. 4, 2015 Week 2

YAY!  We made it through the first week of school!  Now we will start our regular instruction.  We will have homework on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.  There will also be a take home reading book along with an attached reading log.  Please document on the log the title of the book.  Read as many books as you like but only use one log per night.  Return homework daily.  Thanks!

This week in our basal we will read a fictional story called "Sam Come Back."  Our reading skills are short a; digraph ck; character and setting; identify complete sentences; and location words.

In math we will continue to work on graphs, tcharts, and tally marks.

In Science we will explore weather patterns.

In Social Studies we will continue to review rules.

*We will alternate Science and Social Studies each week.

Upcoming Events...

September 9~Supper on a Stick @6
September 24~CES Back to School Ball

Reading with pals!

Thanks to all who sent cookies for our cookie graph last Friday.  We had a delicious time tasting all the cookies.  Yummy!

We celebrated the end of the first week by making "bubbles!"  We had a fun time with our new classmates!  :)

Thanks for following us!  See you next week!  :)

August 24-28, 2015 Week 1

Welcome Back!  I'm excited to start a new year filled with bright smiling faces!   Today was a great day as we got to know each other and reviewed classroom and school rules.  We read and then sequenced the story "The Day the Monster Came to School." 

ALSO in CLASS...I am assessing students academically so that we will be able to start our reading and math groups in the next couple of weeks.


Happy birthday to Zoe!  She turns 7 on August 25!

Rotation Schedule...

Monday- PE/Library
Tuesday- PE/Guidance
Wednesday- Rotate between PE/Guidance/Library/Art/Music
Thursday- PE/Art
Friday- PE/Computer

Our class got chosen to represent first grade as host to a group of students from China.  I am so excited for the students to have this experience!

We will start our regular routine on Monday.  Students will have have homework on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.  Homework will come home inside their red folders and also attached inside will be a reading log that needs to be completed nightly.  I will send the basal reader on Mondays and other leveled books the other days. Students will also have their library books to read.  Please let them read to you, or with you, or you read to them and document on NO MORE than 2 logs per night. Students will receive a small treat when they complete their log.

Upcoming Events...

September 9 - Supper on a Stick/Class Mtg 
September 11 - Attend CHS Pep Rally
September 24 - CES Back to School Ball


Please revisit our blog this week because student pictures will be added to this post. I am waiting for all photo permission slips to be returned. :) 

Thanks again for sharing your child with me this year!  We are going to have a "blast" learning lots of new things.  If you have any questions please email me at dee.harris@commerceisd.org OR call CES at 903-886-3757.

There's nothing better than enjoying a snack and listening to Junie B!

Thanks for visiting our class blog!   :)  

June 1-5, 2015 Week 37

We finally made it to the last week of school!  I am so sad to say good-bye to the boys and girls.  We have had a fantastic year filled with learning, laughter and growing!  

Monday, June 1 is First Grade Family Picnic.  It will be from 11:30-12:30.  We will have the picnic on the playground and if it rains we will have our picnic inside our classroom.  If the weather is nice please bring a lawn chair or blanket. The menu is hotdogs, chips, dessert, and a drink.

All students who bought field day t-shirts will bring them home on Monday.

We will also have Movie Day.


Tuesday, June 2 we will have Field Day.  Please send a change of clothes for your child.  One of the events is a water activity and students will get wet.


Wednesday, June 3 will be "Game Day."  Students may bring games to school to play and share with others in our classroom.  Please write name on games.  Please send them in backpacks.


Thursday, June 4 students will bring home any left over school supplies, books, etc.


Friday, June 5 will be the last day of school.  We will have early dismissal.

Mrs Kilgore brought birthday cupcakes and 

read to us on Thursday! "Yummy!"

Look who our "Mystery Reader" was on Friday?...

GOTCHA guys!  Come in Mrs. Kilgore!  

You were a BIG surprise and we enjoyed you!  

It's been fun y'all!  Have a TIGERific summer!

Love, Ms. Harris

May 25-29, 2015 Week 36

I am so sorry that I got behind in posting what we are doing in class!  It has been a busy couple of weeks.  Well weeks 34 and 35 are behind us...and we only have 9 more school days left!  

We are still experiencing lots of rain so please look in your child's folder for any information about changes in upcoming activities.

I will treat students who have 100 stickers with Braum's Ice Cream as a reward for doing a great job in class this year.  BRAVO you did it!!!

On Wednesday we will go AR Glow Bowling in Sulphur Springs.
Please send a sack lunch with a drink.  Please write name on items.

On Thursday we will have our first grade picnic.  It is planned for the City Park , but I am unsure at this time if plans will remain or change.  Students need a sack lunch and 2 drinks. 

Monday, June 1 will be First Grade Family Picnic.  

Tuesday, June 2 will be First Grade Field Day.  If you purchased a field day t-shirt they will be given out next week before field day.

Wednesday, June 3 students will bring home any left over school supplies, and books, etc.

Friday, June 5 will be the last day of school.  Early dismissal!

Mr. Harrison came to eat with Madeline last Friday and he kindly stayed and read a story to us!   Thanks!

                                Dads are great readers too! 

Thanks to Mrs. Kilgore for helping us get started with putting our zoo animal reports on ChatterPix.  The kiddos and I had so much fun doing this!  

                                       

Everyone did a super job presenting the habitat of their animal, what their animal ate, and an interesting fact.  Wow!  I learned things about some of the animals that I didn't know.   :)


A couple of weeks ago we had a visit from "Lancie" a miniature horse.  Wyatt's grandmother, Ms. Wheat brought her miniature  pony "Lancie" and told us all about her. We got to pet her and I (being the scaredy-cat I am) even petted her.  Yes I did!  LOL!!!

Thanks Thanks Thanks...

A big THANKS to all the parents who sent snacks on their child's snack day.  Because of you our daily read aloud "Junie B. Jones" was so much more enjoyable!  Thanks so much!

I will send our last newsletter on Tuesday, May 26.  Please keep looking in your child's backpack or folder for any possible school information.  

It has a been a pleasure teaching your child this year!  We have bonded and formed new friendships and relationships that I hope will continue from now on. 

WE HAD A BLAST!!! 

May 4-8, 2015 Week 33

We are in the countdown stage!  We have made it to the point of NO MORE HOMEWORK!  We have 24 more days but who's counting?!!!  NO really, I find this time to be very bittersweet because we all are looking forward to summer vacation but at the same time I know that we will miss each other! :(

In class we will start our "Marvelous May" activities. Each day the leader will get to pull an activity that we will do on the next day.  We have lots of fun activities like shaving cream art, luscious lollilops, bubblegum, eat lunch outside, partner read with another class, movie and popcorn, etc.  Our leader last Friday pulled "shaving cream art" for Monday!  

In reading our story is "Alexander Graham Bell: A Great Inventor."
We will blend and read words with diphthongs "aw, au";  read and sequence stories; adverbs; and continue to practice Saxon Phonics.

In Language Arts we will replace our weekly spelling tests with spelling dictated sentences.  I will call out words from the word wall in the correct sentence order and students have to write and spell the words correctly.  They will be graded on capitals, spacing, spelling, and sentence structure.  

In Math we will learn how to add 3 numbers; we will also learn how to add and subtract 2 digit numbers.  Bravo to the boys and girls for being able to identify the relationship between numbers in a fact family!   We will play "Scoot" addition and subtraction games.

In Science we will continue to review living organisms and nonliving objects. We will study plants.  We will learn about animals and their habitats, their babies, and what they eat. Remember that the zoo animal report is due May 11.  I know that the reports are going to be great!

In Social Studies we will learn about the inventor Thomas Edison.

Upcoming Events...

May 6 - Planetarium 
May 13 - Tyler Caldwell Zoo
May 14 - CES Music Program 
May 22 - CES Family Picnic
May 27 - AR Glow Bowling
May 28 - First Grade Picnic
June 2 - Field Day
June 5 - Last Day of School

         And our "Mystery Reader" was ... Mrs. Taylor!

 Our terrific student observer from Texas A&M!

She is not Ms. Harris but holding a precious gift that she made me!

LOL!!!

As we countdown let's not forget to read every night!  

Please watch for your child's red homework folder to come home with important class and school information.  Blue folders will still be sent home on Fridays.

A big Thanks for being so supportive with homework this year!  We couldn't have done it without you!  We love our parents!  :)

April 27-May 1, 2015 Week 32

Time is flying by!  This is the last week of April and our time together is getting shorter and shorter.  :(

This will be our last week of homework and Friday will be our final spelling test.  We will still practice spelling words but they will be from the word wall.  Students will dictate (write) sentences using words from the word wall.  I will grade the dictated sentences for correct spelling, spacing, and punctuation.  This grade will take the place of the weekly spelling test grade.  

In reading this week we will read a non-fiction story called "Simple Machines."  We will integrate reading and science by learning parts of machines.  Skills for this week are to blend and read words with diphthongs oi, oy;  read to find the main idea and details; pronouns; homonyms; and daily blending, coding and reading in Saxon Phonics.

In Math we will work on addition and subtraction; we will learn fact families which are related addition and subtraction facts.

In Science we will learn about parts of a plant (seed, roots, stem, leaf, flower).  We will grow our own plants in class. 

In Social Studies we will learn how technology has changed from the past to now.

Thanks to Mr. Walker for hosting a PE party for our class!  We bought the most field day t-shirts in first grade!  The boys and girls were treated to a movie, popcorn, and drinks!  Way to go guys!

We will have another "Mystery Reader" this week!  I wonder who it will be?  Shhhhh!!!

Upcoming Events...

May 5 - I will be out for a Technology Conference
May 6 - Planetarium (cost is $4.00... please send ASAP)
May 13 - Tyler Zoo trip (please sign and return permission slip)
May 22 - CES Family Picnic(  First grade will start at 11:30-12:30.  Bring your lawn chair and eat a hotdog and all the fixins and enjoy with your child on our playground)
May 27 - AR Glow Bowling (Sulphur Springs)
May 28 - First Grade Picnic
June 2 - Field Day
June 5 - Last Day of School

We measured using marshmallows this past week.  

It was a tasty lesson! 

Even our principal Mrs. Stegall got in on the activity!

This class loves to READ!

Thanks sweet Matti for Kermit the Frog! 

 We changed its name to Matti!