First of all, give your student a HUGE hug because my class has been working so incredibly hard! I must say  - I have one AWESOME class! They are so helpful and encouraging to each other. I am so impressed with their behavior!  A BIG shout out to Keegan and Audrey!!! They were my first students to make their clips go "off the chart!" I got the luxury of wearing both of their clips for the rest of the day after they surpassed pink. We have had quite a few students in room 203 land on purple and blue this week as well! GREAT JOB!!!
ARE YOU ON TWITTER?!?!
This year I am trying something brand new with my class. We officially have a class pet!!!  A goldfish, named Pete, joined our classroom on Tuesday. Okay, okay… so he is battery operated and doesn’t require food BUT… I think he is PERFECT! Each week, Pete will “tweet” about the happenings inside room 203. If you are on twitter make sure to
 follow him @203Pete
The students will be responsible for tweeting out for Pete– so be patient as they get the hang of it. If you are new to twitter, this is the perfect way to get started!

FREE ONLINE READING RESOURCES
* RAZ-KIDS: your student can log in and read books on his or her reading level! They can also listen to books  and take comprehension quizzes!
http://www.raz-kids.com/main/Login
wllardeast1d

* TUMBLEBOOKS: Students can use this to listen to books. There are 24 pages of book titles to pick from. There are also quizzes and games to go with some of the stories!
http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/customer_login.asp
Username: willarde
Password: books

HELPER SCHEDULE
Mon.– Rigby
Tues.– Shyly
Wed.– Torah
Thurs.– Travis
Fri.– Noah Happy Birthday!

This week we… learned spelling strategies for words we don’t know how to spell, investigated the difference between a “watermelon story” and a “seed story”, practiced addition strategies, and monitored seeds to see what they need in order to grow!

First, I want to take a minute and brag on my first grade friends. Mr. Matt has been incredibly sick (and he is not a complainer... at all.) It got so bad that he finally broke down and decided it was time to go to the doctor - but he was so sick he did not think he would physically be able to drive himself there! I ended up getting a very last minute sub on Thursday afternoon and taking him to the doctor. Verdict = ear infections, sinus infection, and bronchitis. YUCK! However, when I came to school on Friday, I had a very nice note from our substitute complimenting the students on their wonderful behavior. It is always stressful being gone from the classroom, especially when it is not a planned absence, but I was so pleased to see this note and so thankful for my sweet first grade friends! It makes me sad to think about how little time I have left with them.

The weeks are flying by so quickly! This week was as busy as ever and a lot of learning took place in Room 203! Last week my students went through the entire writing process and published their own version of the book Should I Share my Ice Cream? These are on display in the hallway and if you haven't had the chance to check them out, I encourage you to stop by! Here are a few samples. Sorry the formatting is a little off. I LOVE this program but I can not chose different page sizes / orientation with the iPad. 

SPELLING
boy, toy, joy, joyful, oil, foil

END OF YEAR ABC FUN
You may have seen these ideas floating around on Pinterest or Facebook and the first grade team has decided to join in on the fun. Starting Monday we will do something special each day for the remainder of the school year. A calendar came home today with the schedule. Next week our days will be:
M– Autograph day (don't need to bring anything for this)
T– Bubble fun
W– Camo day  - wear camo!
Th– Doughnut day (Mrs. Kramer will bring doughnuts)
F– Exercise Day

CHECK IT OUT
Be sure to check out the blog this weekend! Our class has been working SO hard on some amazing things! I will post pictures so you can have see all of the amazing things they have been doing!

DON’T FORGET
Every first grade student will need a plastic container with lid or a small shoe box. This is for a project that the students are doing in art. Please label the container / box with your child’s name and our class code: 1-K. Thanks!

BOX TOPS
Our box top challenge is still going on with Willard North! Let’s see how many box tops we can collect to help represent Willard East!


HELPER SCHEDULE
Mon– Bradley
Tues–  Brookelynn
Wed.–  Aidan
Thurs.– Elija
Friday– Early Out - Don't forget school will let out at 12:30

I hope that you are enjoying our class published book! The students worked so hard on this project and have been excited to show it off. If you did not order a copy but would still like to, please email me and I can pass along some helpful information about how you can still get a copy. 

This is a project that our class did with Mrs. Whisler last week. It took us a few tries to get it right and ready to share - but I THINK all of the kinks are worked out now! You can click on the icon below or you can use click here!

SPELLING
Ink, sink, think, bank, sank, thank

WALKING FIELD TRIP
On Thursday, May 2nd we will walk to Willard High School to watch a short play! I know this seems like a long time away right now but the rest of the year will fly by so quickly! You are welcome to join us but I do ask that you RSVP by the end of next week if you are interested in going. I have to reserve the seats as other classes from our school and other elementary schools will also be attending. We will leave the school at 9:00 AM and return by 10:30 AM.

HELPER SCHEDULE
Mon–  No School
Tues–  Aidan
Wed.–  Elija
Thurs.–  Aby Happy Birthday!
Friday– Hayden

This week we started talking about how writers use their voice in writing. We read some great books that demonstrate amazing voice. The class favorite was probably Diary of a Worm! I have to admit, it is a pretty funny book and a great example of using voice in writing. We practiced writing with good voice this week too. We brainstormed ideas about a time when we got hurt and then we used our ideas to write these All Patched Up narratives. I started thinking back to August and I got goosebumps reflecting on how much growth has taken place in writing this year. Isn't it amazing?!?! I must say, it is one of my favorite things about teaching first grade.  We will continue learning about voice next week with some more fantastic books and writing pieces!

We also learned about bears this week. We talked about several different types but focused mostly on grizzly bears and black bears. We checked out some pretty fascinating books and also utilized Pebble Go during class and computer lab to help us with our research. We took notes about interesting and important bear facts and then we used them to help us write this little bear report. And what is a report without a cute craft to hang with it in the hallway?!?! 

Ask your child about… bears, narrative writing, subtraction fluency, typing stories in the computer lab, using voice in writing, and Fantastic Caverns! 

SPELLING WORDS 
very, dirty, funny, cry, by, sky

MRS. KRAMER ABSENT
I will be at a Common Core training all day on Wednesday. Mrs. Whisler will be at school and Mrs. Lisa will be in our room, too! Please call the office if your child will be going home a different way than he or she usually does.

100th DAY OF SCHOOL
Next Friday is the 100th day of school and we will celebrate in style! Students (and teachers!) are invited to dress like they are 100 years old. Last year the teachers did this and it was so much fun—so this year we would like to extend the invitation to the students! I have already been checking out a lot of ideas on Pinterest!

VALENTINE’S DAY
A class list will come home next week so your child can write Valentine cards to their classmates. Each student will need a box or bag to put his or her cards in. We will exchange cards before the party (more details to come soon) on February 14th. 

Ask your child about… friendship, measuring, changing his or her writing goal, working with Mrs. Whisler, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Next week, every student at every Willard elementary school will take a common writing assessment. We have prepared for this the entire year and my students are very familiar with the process. I shared the rubric with many of you at parent information night - but let's face it - that was a LONG time ago! I just thought I would take a minute and re-share the expectations with you.

A couple of first grade teachers made a "child friendly" rubric that we often share with the students instead of this one. It has the same content on it, just in more child friendly terms.