I am sending home the December Book Order today. All orders are due by next Tuesday (December 4th). Please remember that if you choose to send the order and payment through me the payment must be by check and it needs to be made out to Scholastic.

If you would like to order online, here is the link! Remember there are always a lot more book choices online!
https://orders.scholastic.com/GPBLR

Also, please let me know if you are ordering any books as gifts! I would be happy to set them aside for pick up rather than sending them home with your child!

I just wanted to let you know how thankful I am for each of my students! They have been such a blessing to me this year and I cannot believe how fast the year is going!

We have spent the last few days sqeezing in as much Thanksgiving fun as possible!
We wrote opinion pieces in which students wrote from a turkey's point of view and tried to convice a farmer not to eat them. These were SO funny!
We also read I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie (a twist on the classic Fly) and made these adorable responses.

We learned about symmetry this week, too! We then crafted these cute symmetrical turkeys using our foot and pattern blocks.

We finished off our Thanksgiving unit with a small feast in our classroom. I was joined by sixteen Native Americans and Pilgrims, as well as a few of their families for lunch. What a treat!

We learned so much this week! We read about what it would have been like at the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth. We learned about the life styles of the Native Americans and the Pilgrims, which made us feel very fortunate for all that we have today!  We also learned about how important the buffalo were to Native Americans and many of the ways they used the buffalo. Did you know that Native Americans used almost every singe part of the buffalo?

We made sure to write our friend, Mr. Tallbird some thank you cards because we learned so much from him! 

We also wrote persuasive writing from the viewpoint of a turkey. In this writing we had to convince the farmer not to eat us for Thanksgiving lunch.  We came up with some pretty clever reasons!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
I genuinely hope that each of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know that I have so much to be
thankful for. Don’t forget that school will only be in session on Monday and Tuesday next week.

SPELLING
You, your, up, on, upon, into
Our test will not be until Friday, November 30th and I would LOVE to see every student get 100%.
If my class gets 100% overall we will celebrate with extra computer lab time.

DON’T FORGET
We will be having a Thanksgiving feast in our classroom on Tuesday. You are welcome to join us but I MUST know by Monday if you plan to eat a school lunch.
We line up for lunch at 11:30 and we will be finished by 12:00.

ECONOMICS UNIT
When we return from Thanksgiving break we will start an economics unit that will go until Christmas break. Your children will earn tickets for being at school on time, having a clean area, displaying good character, etc. Students will also be asked to “pay fines” for not putting his/her name on their paper, being off task, not completing work, etc. Students will have various opportunities to spend their tickets through the month of December but we will also hold a classroom store just before break. This is a fantastic unit that our first graders enjoy every year!

Ask your child about… Mr. Tallbird’s visit, life on the Plymouth Plantation, adding with doubles, Little House in the Big Woods, Rocket Math, and Squanto.

Next Week
Mon.– Hayden K
Tues.– Hope

November 26-30th
Mon– Jayme
Tues– Maggie
Wed– Samantha Happy Birthday!
Thurs.– Marley
Fri.– Mia

I was not at school last Friday because Matt's brother, Dan, got married in Wisconsin. We are very close to him and his new bride, Adrienne, and we were thrilled to share the day with them! The wedding was amazing and I am so thrilled to finally be able to officially call Adrienne my sister!

It is always hard to leave your classroom in somebody else's hands. However, I knew I could trust not only my substitute, but also my students. I returned to school on Monday to find an incredible note complimenting my class for fantastic behavior. It is such a great feeling knowing that my students are respectful and hard workers, even when their teacher is not with them. I just wanted to take a moment and brag on your awesome kids!

SPELLING WORDS
after, brother, her, over, sister, mother

NEW SPECIAL ROTATION STARTS MONDAY!
Monday– P.E.
Tuesday– Computer
Wednesday—P.E. and Library
Thursday– Music
Friday—Art

MONDAY
I will be in Springfield for my final Adaptive Schools Training on Monday. I will not be where I can check my email so please call the office if your child needs to go home a way other then he or she usually does.
Thank you for being patient with me as I have been in MANY meetings lately. This is my final training for this program so things should slow down a little.

YOU ARE INVITED
We will be having a Thanksgiving Feast on Tuesday, November 20th during our regular lunch time. Students will still pick either a school lunch or a home lunch but we will be eating in the classroom. You are welcome to join us for this special time if your schedule allows you to do so. Our lunch is from 11:30-12:00.
Please note: If you would like a school lunch I MUST have your lunch order by Monday, November 19th.
You can either email me or send me a note.
rkramer@willard.k12.mo.us

HELPER SCHEDULE
Mon.–  Caleb
Tues.– Aiden
Wed– Elliot
Thurs.– Elija
Fri.– Emerie

We voted! Did you?
Willard East 3rd graders hosted a mock election today. Each student filled out a voter registration card and presented it at the polls to vote!
Here is a sneak peak at some of the things we are doing during our Election Unit!