It is hard to believe that this semester is already coming to a close! The second quarter grading period also ends on Friday making the school year officially half over.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our botany unit in science. Last week we slipped old socks over our shoes to observe how many different kinds of seeds we could collect while running through a field. I will be sending home all of the science journals, so that the activities we have done all semester may be shared with family members; however, please send them right back! We still have a full spring semester of life science and physical science waiting to be recorded in those journals. Most of the science lessons included active student participation…sorting leaves (by margins, shapes, and vein patterns), eating different parts of plants, constructing a human skeleton, experimenting with echolocation, determining what things in the classroom are made of matter, dissecting a seed, dissecting a flower, measuring and predicting, etc. First and Second graders joined to explore science together, and the extra minds really inspire great conversations and questions. (A couple of students are still not convinced that AIR is made of matter! The debate rages on!)

When we return in January, the focus and tempo of our lessons will intensify. This may require a little more help from parents with home lessons, as a few new routines will be introduced. Please be expecting a "First Grade Report for the Spring Semester" to be sent to you by email during the holidays, so everyone will be ready to dive into learning in January.

My prayer is that your family will have a safe and memorable holiday, as we strive to teach our children the true meaning of Christmas. Over the last few years two films have touched me deeply, and now I watch them both often, especially during the Christmas season. The first is simply called The Nativity Story (www.thenativitystory.com) by New Line Cinema. It depicts the birth of our Lord in a very personal and authentic manner. The second is  The Star of Bethlehem produced by Stephen McEveety. In this presentation, an amateur astronomer uses modern technology (possible because of what we now understand about the precision of planetary motion) to visit the skies of ancient times, and what he finds is breathtaking. These videos were not made with first graders in mind, but I hope your family has an opportunity to watch them, nonetheless. Perhaps you will add them to your Christmas traditions as I have :)

Don't forget to come to the Christmas Class Party on Friday, December 21, if you are able to join us. The starting time for the festivities has been moved to earlier in the morning to include more activities.

I hope to see you all there!

Spelling Words for the Week: boy, two, girl, about, hope, hoped, hoping, smile, smiled, smiling

Spelling Rule: For CVCe words (consonant-vowel-consonant-silent e), the silent e is dropped before adding the suffixes -ed and -ing. Also, the vowels in these CVCe words are usually LONG.

Praying for Connecticut families,
Mrs. E

Hanukkah began at sundown yesterday with its rich traditions that are celebrated world-wide by our Jewish friends. This holiday lasts for eight days, and so this week our class will be learning about several observances (common games and recipes) of this time in the Jewish year, as well as its origin. Christ's earthly life was full of these feasts and holy days, and as we study them further, we can see how He fulfills the expectant spirit surrounding these celebrations. I hope your first grader enjoys learning about Hanukkah this week!

Don't forget to attend the Christmas program on Tuesday, December 11th, at 6:30pm. Vicki Boyd asks for Christmas Sunday attire for this event.

Please help us plan a memorable Christmas party for the first graders. You will be contacted very soon with ways you can be a part of this celebration. Students are preparing a small presentation for anyone who can attend on that day, Friday, December 21st, at 10:30am. Early dismissal at 11:30am follows the party that day. Hope you can join us!

Spelling Words for the Week (Finally!!):
  good, very, want, cute, flute, joke, choke, broke, kite, white

Please don't forget to send a small package of your favorite potpourri to school for a special Christmas project. Thanks!

Blessings,
Mrs. E

Scripture memorized as a child stays with that individual for all his life; whereas, scripture learned as an adult must be reviewed frequently. For this reason the first grade class is learning several passages of the Bible as well as Patriotic Songs during this school year. This month we are learning portions of Luke Chapter 2, the Christmas Passage. We will very soon compile these works of recitation in a Song and Poetry Book for you. I am very certain you will be amazed!

In science we are learning about the SEED this week. Your student will be eating sugar snap peas, edamame, sunflower seeds, and mixed nuts. Don't be surprised if your first grader will be interested in starting a spring garden next year. Dr. Eidson really inspired us with his vegetable garden. We have already started by sprouting pumpkin seeds in the classroom!

This Thursday, December 6th, our class is scheduled to go on a Field Trip to the CAC. Please let me know if you are available to transport students that morning around 10 am.

I am also in need of the following items:
  1- a small bag of your favorite potpourri.
  2- a bag of candy for a project to be done at our Class Christmas Party, Dec 21. An email will go out with a list of specific candies, so you can sign up for one.
  3- volunteers for our class Christmas Party. Please let me know if you are able to attend and help.

Christmas Program is December 11th at 6:30pm. Hope to see you there!

Mrs. E.

We are so grateful for the many blessings from God, especially those that He reveals to us as we journey home from holiday visits. What a blessing to have a home waiting for us!

First graders have so enjoyed their study of Native American culture, that we will incorporate more of this unit as we study the first inhabitants of the major regions of the North American continent. This unit will help students learn the basic needs of humans of long ago, and how these indigenous people used the natural resources available to them to meet those needs of survival.

Our science lessons will continue with the botany unit we began in November. During this month we will take time to study the unique characteristics of the evergreen tree. If you have the tradition of buying a live Christmas tree for your home, please consider saving a small sprig, so we can compare the various species of evergreen trees.

The Friday following Thanksgiving is much more than Black Friday! In 2008 the president named this day each year as Native American Heritage Day/National Maize Day when Americans everywhere can spend time to remember how important corn was to the Pilgrim settlers in the 17th century. On Monday, November 26th, your first graders will enjoy learning about corn and the many ways that the early settlers used this important food.

Many blessings,
Mrs. E

One more week and the Thanksgiving holiday is upon us! The first graders have thoroughly enjoyed the teepee in our classroom as they explore how Native American life must have been like years ago before the Europeans "discovered" North America. Each student has chosen an American Indian name, and a "Crayon Resist" drawing will find its way home soon to explain their choices.

The Botany study is underway, and the student leaf collections have supplied ample examples of the various ways that plants are classified….leaf shapes and leaf margins. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Please look for the first grade bulletin board to see our beautiful presentation of our study. On Monday (11-12), one of our parents, Dr. Leigh Eidson, will come talk to the science class about his extensive vegetable garden. This will coincide wonderfully with the study of the Four Food Groups this week before Thanksgiving. Last week most of the students tasted the different parts of plants that we eat as vegetables: ROOTS... carrots and beets; STEMS… celery and asparagus; LEAVES…lettuce and spinach; FLOWERS…cauliflower and broccoli; FRUIT…pomegranate "jewels." Add some ranch dressing and almost anything tastes great!!

Sunday is Veterans Day, and as we pause as a nation to remember and thank those who serve in the military, I want to personally thank those in our first grade family that are serving or who have served to protect our freedoms. May God protect you, bless you, and grant you the peace that surpasses all understanding.

The students are turning their thoughts to thankfulness this coming week. When sadness and despair try to overtake our thoughts, all we need to do is remember the many blessings we DO have. This simple exercise always seems to cheer me up and give me a grateful heart before the Creator, from Whom all blessings flow. May this holiday bring each of you wonderful memories as well as a humble and thankful heart for all we have here in America. My prayer for the first graders is that they realize how many people contribute to their well being, and how much sacrifice is made (from those who love them) toward their happiness.

Spelling Words for the week:  of, said, only, you, thank, thanked, thanking, grin, grinned, grinning

      Some spelling rules we are learning:   (C-consonant   V-vowel)
        1)  CVCC plus ending : When a word has only one vowel and ends in more than one consonant,
             just add the ending (-ed  -ing)     Example: thank, thanked, thanking
             Other examples: help, helped, helping; wish wished, wishing

        2)  CVC plus ending: When a word has only one vowel and ends in only one consonant,
             DOUBLE the consonant and then add the ending (-ed  -ing)  Example: grin, grinned, grinning
             Other examples: drop, dropped, dropping; step, stepped, stepping

Hope to see you at the Sharing Feast on Friday, November 16. You will soon be contacted to contribute a batch of dressing for the festivities.

Blessings,
Mrs. E

We had a great day on Friday with all of Christ Church School at Walker Park! The school-wide clean-up campaign was so much fun. A friendly competition evolved to see how much trash each class could gather. The rest of the day was spent with picnics, scavenger hunts, kite flying (AKA running with a kite!), and various class activities. We returned to campus happily exhausted, and I'm sure WE ALL slept soundly that night. Thank you, Temple, for allowing us to adopt Walker Park!

Our leaf collections are due this week. In class we talked about how to recognize poison ivy, whose leaves are beautiful but deadly (there's a Bible lesson in there somewhere!), so please be cautious when collecting. If your leaves start curling or drying out, they can be pressed between heavy books to keep their color and shape. Use tissue or newspaper to line the leaves on both sides. I hope to see many different shapes and textures in our class collection.

On Election Day, first graders will have the opportunity to register to vote, and enter a voting booth in our classroom to make their choices for president. They will hear positive descriptions of the candidates for both parties, color a Presidential Seal, and bring home a USA map to color each state as the evening reveals the winner. (This is not homework…. just an optional activity for home.) We will pray for God to give our next president great wisdom to lead our nation for the next four years.

Spelling words for this week (November 5-9):
               there, from, be, we, or, to, ask, asked, asking, October 

Our Fall Book Fair will be on display all week. Please come in and see what book/s may want to find their way into your personal library. There are also books for everyone on your Christmas list! Thank you to Cindy Scott for setting up the book fair while we were all at the park having fun.

Blessings,
Mrs. E

First graders will begin a botany study this week that will continue throughout the month of November. They will learn that these autotrophic organisms make their own food as well as food for the rest of the planet! Therefore, we should learn as much about plants as possible: the parts of a plant, parts of a flower, parts of a leaf, and parts of a seed. My husband has generously donated all the flowers he received in the hospital for this botany study. Thanks, Mr. E! Students will need to collect at least ten different leaves to contribute to a class leaf collection. This assignment is due Monday, November 5th.

November is also National Native American Heritage Month, and as we study this noble culture and the contributions it has made to our nation, please be prepared to collect and send to school the following items before the appropriate due date:   
    ~ To make moccasins, send a pair of socks that can get cut up (these socks do not have to match but should snugly fit your child-due 11-5)
    ~ Donate any duct tape that you can spare.....by 11-5.
    ~ Send an old white t-shirt (may be stained because we will be dyeing them, anyway) that fits your student very loosely. This can be a large adult sized t-shirt....by 11-9.
    ~ Consider volunteering to set up and decorate the first grade table/s for the Sharing Feast on November 15th. Students will be making all the decorations, so all you will have to do is set the table. More info on this event next week, but our class is responsible for the dressing/stuffing for the school -wide dinner.
                  THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP!

Spelling words for this week (Oct 29-Nov 2) are look, your, the, after, ever, never, rested, tested, smelled, yelled. One hint in helping your student with spelling: since spelling is sequential, after studying the words on the cards for a few minutes, ask him to spell the words orally, and he will have to "see" the word in his mind as he spells the word for you.

TTFN,
Mrs. E

As we draw near to the end of October with its flurry of activities, the students are reminded of all that we learned during this month: that..."oblique" is another way to say "diagonal" (great debate over that one!), Christopher Columbus has a holiday (we try to be courageous and persistent like him), vertebrates have a spine, and -er words are everywhere! If your student spontaneously shouts an -er word or a homophone pair at the dinner table, rejoice with him/her and promise to write them down to share in class the next day. I rejoice, too, for I learn something new everyday teaching first grade.

Work on our North America maps has begun. We will be reading stories of Central America to reinforce this map work.  The study of different cultures broadens our minds, so that we are less likely to feel like the center of the universe. As we enter into the holiday season, this study of other cultures with their holiday celebrations will hopefully enrich our own family traditions. I hope our studies will initiate lively conversations at home.

As the cooler weather approaches, the students and I are enjoying recess times very much. I hope your family is able to take advantage of extended outdoor periods. The change in seasons is exciting and mysterious at the same time, as we observe how God prepares His creation to adapt to cooler temperatures.
First graders are just about all finished with their world maps. When those finally make it home, please post your map in a prominent place to be referenced often. Some have already started on the North American map, so you better brush up on the Central American countries to keep up with your student!
Who knew map making would be so much fun? They were pleasantly surprised to find that Columbus was also a map maker!
Reading Logs are going home this week. Please record your special reading times, and remember to include stories and books written at your student's reading level as well as longer stories/novels written at a higher level. This latter kind of reading exposes children to more complex sentence structures and vocabulary that they would not hear in their daily conversations among their peers or in books that they are able to read independently. Let me know if you would like a suggested reading list for different levels of difficulty. This could be the single most important activity you do to help your child academically. Happy reading!
TTFN,
Mrs. E