Ms. Anderson

Dear Families,

Happy Spring! We are enjoying the change of season at school and having some reading groups in the garden. Our lettuces and potatoes seem to be flourishing after the rain. We are learning a reader’s theater play called Greenelda’s Garden, too.

I hope you enjoy the new homework to celebrate National Poetry Week. We will be learning poetry by heart for a few weeks. If you have a favorite poem, either for adults of children, will you send it to me? We can all celebrate together. In fact, maybe you want to learn a poem by heart, too. Great modeling!

Speaking of verse, I am putting together a songbook for our class, a compilation of the songs we sing in class. You will hear some of these at Open House in May.

I have been loving our math recently. We have focused on number stories which I call combining and separating stories (addition and subtraction). The kids wrote and solved their own over several days. The big pow came last Tuesday. We were putting together a math quilt. The students figured out that each student would need 6 blue squares, 4 yellow squares, and 6 green squares to complete a tulip (some square were cut into 2 triangles which made it trickier). Then I sent the kids off into the wild blue math yonder to solve this question: How many blue, yellow, and green squares does Ms. Anderson have to cut for the whole class? After a few groans, the students were off to draw, multiply, and work collaboratively. Students who finished early then had to tell me how many pieces of 9×11 paper I would need to cut into 1 inch squares to provide enough for the class. What fun!! Some of this figuring will be on the bulletin board at Open House as well.

Our wool unit continues…this week we will use purple cabbage to dye the yarn we spun. My knitting helpers, Yan, Lena, and Jen, would you email me about any times you can be in the classroom? I will work around your availability. We can make a class scarf or two!

Unfortunately, my computer seems unable to upload my class photos onto the internet. I believe I need to upgrade the whole system which I won’t be doing until the summer. Thus I cannot get them to you via my school website anymore. I hope you enjoy the pictures that come home through homework and are maybe keeping them together as a first grade photo album.

***If your child buys lunch at school, will you still send them with a 10:15 snack? I don’t keep any food at school.***

Sincerely,
Kristin

Hello Families,

This week we are visiting the Junior Center for Art and Science at Lake Merritt. We have the pleasure of being guided through “The Science of Chocolate.” This topic ties into our first grade unit of Liquids and Solids. Really, it does!

A note about homework:

First, THANK YOU for all of the positive feedback. I am thrilled that the packet is worthwhile for so many of you. This was and is my overarching objective. I know that evenings are busy for families and I want homework to add to your time at home, not detract from it.

Second, please use the writing assignment to reinforce first grade writing standards. After your child writes the 3 sentences, ask him or her to read them to you. Show your child where periods should go and which letters should be capital. Have the dictionary spelling word list handy to check that those words are spelled correctly. Finally, check that the sentences make sense. This one-on-one tutoring is invaluable.

We have launched two school-wide themes for March. One is dragons. The library and art teachers are collaborating on this theme and it seems the students are quite excited. Your child is welcome to bring in any dragon paraphernalia. The other theme is “Being Healthy.” This includes nutrition, exercise, and, I would add, mental health. In class we will have lessons around these topics. For homework one week, I will assign a poster or essay about what it means to your child to “be healthy.”

After sewing, I am bringing back our wool unit. The students carded the wool but have not spun it into yarn. After spinning we will be ready to weave and knit. Some of you volunteered to be part of our knitting circle–we’re almost ready! Send me an email if you can be with us. ( Years ago, when I was young and crazy, I taught 32 first graders to knit by myself. Now that I am old and wise, I ask for help! )

I am working to get new class photos of our babies hard at work posted on my teacher page. Don’t tell them I called them “babies–” they hate that!

Have a good week,
Kristin

Hello Families,

So many events in the short month of February! We’ve already enjoyed performing at the Crocker Cougar Assembly, making rice balls and lanterns with Koko, Margo, and Yan for Chinese New Year, and getting ready for the 100th day of school this Friday. Also this Friday is an assembly connected to Black History Month. Next week we will enjoy Valentine’s Day, the African American Read-In, and the upcoming President’s Day. Whew! Our radishes and lettuces look great in this summer weather. Potatoes go in asap.

Today we stretched and strengthened in our first formal yoga class that I hold in the mulit-use room. What a pleasure and joy to watch. Our copper/ beaded hands are waving in the breeze in the courtyard. Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, the students chose one way to make the world a better place. These wishes are written on the copper hands. It’s stunning and poignant. I encourage you to come into the courtyard to see the outdoor sculpture.

All is going well with our auction project—individual hand sewn pillows. Another moving vision to see 23 beautiful little heads bent over a sewing project, intently concentrating on the next stitch.

Instructions for a Valentine’s Day Party are in your child’s backpack today.

Library day tomorrow ☺

Kristin

Hello Families,

Welcome back to school and happy new year. I am still feeling grateful and touched by your generous winter vacation gift. I feel privileged each day to teach our kids in such a lovely school. Thank you, thank you for your cards and gifts. I will treat myself to something special at Rose Quartz and think of this wonderful year.

We had a productive first day back yesterday. The students seemed rested and ready to go. Thank you for getting the letters to me—we will have fun sharing them together.

We have a field trip to Semifreddi Bakery on Thursday, January 13, from 9-1. Yesterday a permission slips went home. If you did not see it, look for it in your child’s backpack.

Calling any available adults for reading group help. Ms. Keegan is no longer with us so we are down one adult each morning. Are you available 9-9:30 any morning? Is a grandparent? Thanks in advance.

This week we get seeds in the soil for our winter crop. We start Wednesday yoga. We also start bread making and the investigation of yeast. We are writing color poems and playing addition and subtraction games.

January has a few no-students-at-school days, either holidays or teacher in-service days. Please check out the Crocker website if you do not know these dates.

If your child does not have his or her homework folder at school, please send it. As soon as I can, I will put together a new homework system and this folder will be important. We will get in the habit of using it each day.

Here’s to 2011!

Thank you,
Kristin

Dear Families,

We have exciting news in room 8 as well as for anyone interested in our garden. Several monarch caterpillars are munching away on our milkweed plants! We stopped everything to learn about how Crocker is part of these creatures’ life cycles.

In class, our cabbage white caterpillars are wrapped happily and securely in their chrysalises. I wonder when they well emerge as butterflies? We’ve discovered that they are adaptive creatures; one of the caterpillars must have wandered off when we were preparing the broccoli to eat because this morning I found a chrysalis attached to the outside of the microwave! Will it live amidst all the first grade rambunctiousness?!

This week is unusual in that we have minimum days on Thursday and Friday, too. I am meeting with all the families for parent-teacher conferences. Ms. Keegan will be joining us as well. These conferences are 15 minutes. My goal is to convey an accurate snapshot of your child in class. Should you want more time than the 15 minutes, we will schedule a meeting for after the winter break.

Please bring your child to the conference if possible as I feel it is more effective for all of us if the child participates in his or her evaluation.

Look in your child’s homework folder tonight for a paper titled: The First Weeks in Room 8. This paper is my attempt to summarize the big picture goals through the first trimester. These are the goals I evaluated for this first marking period on the report cards.

FYI: Our next field trip is to Semifreddi Bakery. We go on Thursday, January 13. If you’d like to go with us, I thought I’d give you plenty of notice. Permission slips will not go home until early January.

Our winter concert is on Thursday, December 16. The first graders sing from 8:50-9:30.

The December and January Crocker Cougar Word of the Month is Acceptance. Might be a good one as we celebrate all of the winter holidays!

See you all this week,
Kristin

Hello Families,

Despite the current high temperatures, we had a lot of fun experiencing fall last week. I brought 4 varieties of apples from Mendocino. We predicted, described, tasted, graphed, and wrote about these apples. In our garden we are harvesting a fall crop tomorrow: broccoli, big beautiful broccoli!

We used frog math to explore addition and subtraction. Each of the students illustrated and wrote an equation. November self-portraits were completed also. All of this student work and more will be on the walls for our December parent-teacher conferences which take place 12/8, 12/9, and 12/10.

Speaking of which…tomorrow (Tuesday), your child will bring home his or her homework folder. In it will be a half sheet with your day and time for the conference (you signed up at Back To School Night). There are 4 of you who did not get a chance to choose a conference time. The students’ names are Johnny, Megan, Graham, and Mylaan. Please see me before or after school to sign up.

A reminder about our weekly schedule: on Mondays and Thursdays we have p.e. with Coach. It is helpful if the students wear athletic shoes. The kids run, kick balls, etc. On Thursdays we have library. Please help your child “be responsible” (one of our classroom agreements) and return his or her book that day.

A request: we are out of cleaning wipes and paper towels. I use these once a month to have the kids clean their desks. I don’t shop at Costco and am wondering if someone who does can pick some up for the class. Thank you!

Ms. Keegan and I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. When we all return, Ms. Keegan will be completing her student teaching by doing her “solo teaching” for 2 weeks. This means that she is the “head teacher” during this time. We plan the lessons together and I am around to support her for times like reading groups. Otherwise, she is in charge. I will probably write again to ask you to talk to your child about following her directions as well as your child follows mine!

Lastly, I am updating our photo gallery with new pictures just in time to show family in town for the holiday! I will send out a bulletin when the photos have been added. As always, the kids look adorable.

Sincerely,
Kristin

Hello Families,
I hope you had a fun Halloween. It was quite an extravaganza: Friday’s parade, Saturday’s walkathon, and Sunday’s trick-or-treating! Surprisingly, the students were focused and productive today. Maybe we are all a bit relieved to be back in a routine…

In math we have been having fun with solid figures, today playing “block in a sock.” A student puts her hand in the sock and feels the surfaces of the block. When ready, she announces, “triangular prism!” Her partner reveals the block to confirm. A lot of descriptive language is generated also.

Dictation, reading groups, and self selected reading round out our mornings. In writing, we wrote Halloween riddles today and on Thursday the students will describe a class photo. Self-discipline is the Crocker Cougar word for November. In our class we call it, “Be Responsible.” How is your child demonstrating self-discipline at home?

The students will card wool this week and observe changes in the garden. Unfortunately, we have a thriving colony of aphids on our plants. We will investigate “integrated pest management” to protect our ecosystem. What bugs will eat the aphids? What plants will attract the bugs that eat the aphids?!

Finally, your child will have “reflection writing” for homework this Thursday. Please look for the homework folder that afternoon. It is due Friday. Your child illustrates and writes about an enjoyable school experience. I would like your child to draw a detailed picture, with or without color, and write at least 2 sentences about the picture. Besides using a pencil (do not use a ball point pen, in other words) the students should use “kid spelling.” This means they sound it out–please do not tell them how to spell words. If your child is stuck, you could say, “What sounds do you hear? What does your mouth do when you say the word?” You can remind them to use spaces between the words, start with capitals, and end with periods. After your child is finished, he or she should read it to you. Encourage these emergent writing skills! Awfully cute, too.

Reminder: November 11 is a school holiday.

Take care,
Kristin

Hello Families, 10/20/10

Remember me, your child’s first grade teacher?! I apologize for the long delay in getting out a newsletter. Good news, though. I have created several photo albums and they are ready for viewing. The password is: “room8” (no space and no period)
I hope you enjoy them—a picture says a thousand words.

Despite the fact that I have not been writing, we have been mad little learners this past month. In language arts (reading and writing), we have moved through letter sounds and vowel sounds. We have started “phonograms” which are the meat and potatoes of first grade phonics. Examples of phonograms are “th,” “ea,” and “ay.” Two or more letters make a new sound. We write in our journals and focus on the mechanics of sentences as well as more refined kid spelling. Sight word spelling is emphasized.

In math, we enjoyed teddy bear math. We measured, sorted, skip counted, added and subtracted, and explored numbers to 100. We spent a week on color tile riddles. The students puzzled over prearranged riddles and them created their own. This week we got out balance scales and played with weight. We’re moving into plane shapes and solid figures next.

Our radishes have been harvested so we wrote sensory poems with highly descriptive words like “unfamiliar,” “surprising,” and “spicy.” Everyone was a good sport and tasted a tiny bit. The faces they made were memorable…

We were treated to a Crocker Highlands Bee Keeper, our very own Nico Julian, Elliot’s father. He and Elliot walked us through the world of honeybees and we got to taste Crocker Highland’s honey! The students then illustrated and wrote a honeybee fact in their journals.

A giant carrot was left from last spring’s garden so this year’s class reenacted the Russian folktale called, “The Gigantic Turnip.” We also harvested the green bean seeds from last spring’s plant. We counted them for math one day. It was a team effort as we harvested 1.009! We will plant some of these seeds next spring.

A few reminders:
Please return the Earthquake Emergency Form asap.
The Friday before Halloween is a minimum day. The parade is usually about 1:00. Students wear regular clothes to school and put on costumes after lunch. We always have plenty of adults who can help with any tricky buttons!

Take care,
Kristin

Dear Families,                                                  September 20

My blog is up and running.  I sent you an email today with a link.  This link is supposed to deliver you to the News and Announcements part of my webpage.  You can also go to the Crocker site and follow the links under Teachers to my webpage.  The paper version of this letter is a check so that you will know if I typed your email address correctly!  Let me know if you did not receive my email or if you could not access the webpage. 

I enjoyed speaking with you at Back To School Night.  Thank you for attending and for playing “ what’s your favorite food?”  We got 2 days of math from your cards:  sorting, counting, and graphing.  The kids really loved it.

This week we are starting Teddy Bear Math.  For that, your child needs to bring a teddy bear to school on Tuesday.  It will be left at school for about 1 week, including next weekend.  We do all sorts of math strategies with these bears!

It is also time to bring a folder to school each day.  I will use this to send home school and classroom flyers as well as an occasional homework assignment.  For example, there is a Home/School Compact that will be coming home this week.  You and your child are to read it, sign it, and return it to school.

Our first field trip to Ardenwood Farm is on October 1.  I will be sending home permission slips this week, another good reason to have a folder.  Please check this folder each night, remove papers, and return it to your child’s backpack for the next day.

Our library day is Thursday.  Please help your child get ready for this return day so he or she can check out a new book.

At the moment, I have morning volunteers (8:40-10:00) for every day except Fridays.  Are any of you interested in this time slot? Starting next week, it is our reading group time, among other things.

Thank you and have a great week–