February Fun!

Hi Families! 

We've had a really fun few weeks in our classroom with a lot going on! Thanks to all the parents and families who have been helping with the events of the past few weeks. 

We celebrated our 100th day of school this past week! We spent the morning doing many fun centers exploring the number 100 with writing, math, and exercise! Thanks to all the parents who helped their kids find great costumes to celebrate with! 

                   

                 

           

We celebrated Valentine's Day on Friday by doing some graphing with some conversation hearts, decorating our Valentine bags and passing out goodies. 

In science, we've been having a lot of fun investigating chemical reactions, and seeing how matter can change. We have done several experiments looking for evidence of a chemical reaction, such as bubbling, color change or light. Glow sticks, pennies with vinegar and salt, and baking soda and vinegar combing to fill up a balloon are all great examples of this. 

 Also thanks to everyone who was able to make it to Science Night on Thursday! I had a great time making slime and seeing everyone enjoying the fun activities. 

Thank you to everyone who sent in donation money for Pennies for Patients! We had a great time wearing hats, bringing stuffed animals, or skipping homework for the week for a great cause! 

We also had a fun pajama day to celebrate filling the marble jar again!  

Stella is growing quickly, and we've been having a great time observing her as she changes. Our students do a great job with her in the classroom.

Also, please don't forget to go vote on Survey Monkey for when you would like to have our Family Literacy Celebration! I would love to have as many parents there as possible. There is a link in the post right below this! 

 Thanks for reading! The secret code word to tell your student is... BANANA! Tell them to tell me this word in the morning, and I'll give them a sticker!

Colfax Marathon Fundraiser

 Here's where to donate to DPS Foundation, and help Lincoln get $1,000 if I have the most individual donors!

Please donate whatever you can to help me reach my goal of $300.00 and 50 individual donors! 

coloradogives.org/msheidi 

Read Across America Day

Click here to take the survey on when you would like us to have our Family Literacy activities! 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/79BMJTT

December and January Happenings!

Hi Parents and Families!
There has been so much going on in our room that I am just now getting caught up with our updates from December and January!
First of all, a BIG thank you to everyone who brought food or volunteered for our Holiday Party before break! This was a really fun way to wrap up all the things we learned about different holidays.

Also, a HUGE thank you to parents who donated books from the book fair to our classroom! 

Before winter break, we did a super fun unit on creative and inventive thinking. We learned about a character named Isabel the Inventor who wears Brainfocal glasses to help her see things in a new and different way. Even though a big part of school is learning information and skills, we also want to be sure to take time to let our kids exercise their creativity. We talked about how creative thinking is like a muscle that gets stronger the more you use it, and people who are good problem solvers are often able to look at things as they are and see them in a different, creative way. We made our own Brainfocals to help us see things in an interesting way, and did lots of fun writing about turning normal things into something different. 

In Science, we have started our unit on properties of matter! This is such a great time for hands on learning, and while will be learning lots of interesting facts about matter, we will also be doing lots of experiments to see how solids, liquids, and gases change form, and soon we will be observing chemical reactions. 

We have also been spending lots of time with Stella! All students in our class have now had a chance to hold her, and we will continue to let students do this throughout the year. If you didn't see the Newsletter this week, please check for an update about feeding Stella! 

In writing, we are wrapping up our How- To Unit! To practice reading how to steps with clear writing and following directions, we have been making lots of crafts. Whenever you see anything come home, please be sure to ask your student to talk about what they learned or were practicing! 

I was very impressed with how our kids engaged with some tough discussions around Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We read the beautiful book Martin's Big Words together, and then talked about some ways we can work towards making the world more peaceful, continuing in MLK's footsteps. This writing is hanging under our hall heads, please check it out the next time you're upstairs! 

 We mailed our letters all the way to France! Thanks so much to the parents who sent in postcards! Our pen pals will love to see these great representations of our state! Stay tuned to see what they send us back! 

 In math, we are starting to prepare for our unit on Geometry, so we have been spending some time with materials that help us think about surface area, shapes, and symmetry. We are also working hard to memorize math facts up to ten, especially doubles! Ask your child to sing the Doubles Rap to you! 

 Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for updates- it won't be two months before I post again! 

Holiday Food

Hi Parents! 
We still need someone to make Hanukkah food and Chinese food. 

Here's an easy latke recipe. 
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/potato-latkes-i/

We would also love to try some Chinese food for Chinese New Year! Here are a few suggestions.
Tea Eggs would be fun to try!
http://chinesefood.about.com/od/chinesenewyear/r/teaeggs.htm

Long noodles are thought to give long life! 
http://kidscooking.about.com/od/sidedishes/r/Sesame-Noodles-Recipe.htm

Holiday Party!

We can't wait to celebrate all the holidays we've been learning about with you! 
Please visit sign up genius to sign up for a craft, food, or both!!! 

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/904084aacaa23a57-holiday1

November News

We had a very busy month in first grade, and we'll be keeping up the hard work for the next 3 short weeks until winter break! Then we'll be halfway done with our year- I can't believe how quickly it flies! Here are some things we've been working on... 

Writing: 

During Writer's Workshop, our authors have been hard at work publishing their second narrative pieces of the year! We call these our "Small Moments" because the students zoomed in on a memory, then focused on adding lots of descriptive details to paint a picture in the reader's mind. We use our peers a lot in the writing process, to share ideas and give and receive feedback. I am SO impressed with how our students talk to each other about their writing- I have heard really amazing conversations during this time, and students are getting great practice really listening to each other in order to provide useful feedback on a piece of writing. Often, I'll hear students read their work to each other, and the listener will say, "Hmm, I'm not sure that ending gives closure. Can you change the last sentence so I know its over?" 

                            

Snake Time!

Every time we have a few extra minutes at the end of the day, I have kids come up and hold Stella. While we have time to observe her every day, it's great to be able to hold her and get really up close and personal. We also got to examine her first shed up close! All our students have done a great job being respectful, gentle zoologists. 

Math: 

We are just starting our unit on measurement! We spent some time exploring "nonstandard" ways of measuring things- meaning different body parts. This is a great way for kids to experience the need for standardized units of measurement- clearly all our feet are not the same size and this makes things tricky! Measuring things is a great thing to practice at home. Involve your kids in cooking and helping with home improvement projects! 

  

Thanks for reading! Remember to keep looking for those ASK ME stickers!