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

SPELLING WORDS
where, why, when, what

NEXT WEEK
On Monday I will be at an Adaptive Schools training in Springfield. My sub will be our former secretary, Ms. Lisa. On Friday, I will be in Wisconsin for my brother-in-law’s wedding. My sub will be Mrs. Whisler, who will also be student teaching in our classroom beginning in January!

HOMEWORK
Our first homework assignment came home today! This particular project is not due until November 16th.
Please have your child cut out his or her turkey and then dress it up in a disguise— so he doesn’t get caught for Thanksgiving dinner. This is a fun project that the students always enjoy! They will use their turkey for a writing assignment later in November. Some ideas from past years are things such as Santa, a ballerina, Batman, Sponge Bob, a cow, etc.

YOU ARE INVITED!
If you participate in trick-or-treating and are looking for a place to take your children, you are welcome to participate in Trunk or Treat at National Heights Baptist Church. The event begins at 6:30 and is located at 3050 N. National Springfield, MO 68503. This is at the very north end of National Ave— close to the intersection of National Avenue and Norton Road.

Ask your child about…
Changing seats, food chains, sticking to the main idea, RAZ kids, and filling our Tiger Token Chart!

HELPER SCHEDULE
Mon.– Marley
Tues.– Mia
Wed– Party!
Thurs.– Michael
Fri.– Rhett