An Apple a Day...

     Happy Saturday everyone!  Well another week down in the wonderful world of First Grade!  These kiddos are already showing marked improvement not only with their behavior and understanding of our daily routines, but also with their printing! They are slowly but surely remembering that we print with one hand on the paper (not on the head!) and one hand using the pencil.  They are also remembering to keep both feet on the floor and to try and keep their heads away from the paper (aka sitting up straight) in order to be wonderful writers.  Please praise your child when you see them writing like this at home! They really are coming a long way!
      This beginning chapter of the year is really all about the students testing = ) getting to know their teachers, their new friends, and their many new rules.  There are always a few card changes, and sometimes these are the first "behavior" checks that they've ever really received in a classroom setting.  Some of you may recall that our Firsties have been told that "yellow isn't that bad," and we mean that!  No one is perfect- and we really emphasize that in our classroom.  However, with that said, we also have many talks about learning from our mistakes.  We tell them that this is why God allows us to make mistakes- to learn from them.  Another saying that is heard quite frequently in our classroom is "A time and a place for everything."  When asked, a First Grader is actually very aware of the correct time and places for silly behavior and the time and places for a more "studious" attitude.  With that said, when asked, any First Grade teacher is also very aware of how often a First Grader needs "wiggle breaks" (and bathroom breaks!) to allow for a little change from the demands of our busy day!  = ) You should ask your Firsty about their favorite dance The Tooty Ta... they love it!  One of these days we will have to record them dancing The Tooty Ta... it is too funny!  In fact, if you can't wait that long to watch them do this dance, click on this youtube link to play the song, but make sure your child does the dance for you! (and then you can join them!) Dr. Jean's Tooty Ta
     On another topic, your child celebrated Johnny Appleseed Day with some delicious homemade applesauce made in the slow cooker!  It was a big hit with 97% of the class... we weren't about to force feed anyone applesauce if they didn't want to try it, but I have to say, I was impressed with how many kids tried something new! The recipe is really simple- 12 apples of different sweet varieties peeled and cubed, about a tablespoon or two of cinnamon, about a tablespoon or two of brown sugar (to taste), and enough water to almost cover the apples in a slow cooker.  Then cook on high for about 6 or 7 hours, then mash with a potato masher.  Voila! Delicious applesauce (that really tastes similar to apple pie filling!)  I've also heard that substituting pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon makes it taste great, too!  Bonus- it makes your classroom or home smell amazing all day long!  Here are some photos from the applesauce extravaganza:

The class passed around the uncut apples to study the apples with a few of our senses...

Adding some cinnamon...

And now some brown sugar...

The kids came up to check out the cooking applesauce... many thought it looked like mashed potatoes!

Needless to say, the kids and I had a great day!  We finished the day by enjoying the freshly cooked applesauce and watching a short video about Johnny Appleseed- I have to say, I am loving the new interactive whiteboards for thousands of reasons, but let's just add "watching movies" to that list- there was not one kid who complained that they couldn't see!  It really is like having our own little movie theater in our room.  The kids are now really trying to earn that first Popcorn party now that they've had a taste of what watching a movie in our room is like!
     A couple notes about next week: 

• We are beginning a new month already! October! Get ready for some Halloween crafts and centers!  At the end of the month we will have a fun pumpkin experiment.  More info will go home closer to that date...
• All school mass on Friday- no mass on Tuesday. Please remember- no shorts on mass days!
•  The kids are learning about seeds- we will be observing some seeds growing in plastic baggies around our room = ) (Of course I will have photos posted!) and we will be working with seeds throughout the month.
•  St Jude School is having a book fair at Barnes And Noble Friday October 5th through Sunday the 7th. I will be reading a book to the kids there on Friday right after school... I also heard that Clifford may be making an appearance!
• Our gift wrap drive begins Monday! Look for the packet of information going home with your children on Monday.
• Our school Golf Tournament/fundraiser is Monday October 15th.  Please sign up if you haven't already!
• Our fabulous art program, Meet the Masters, begins this month! 

 Thank you to everyone who contributed to our Johnny Appleseed Day, and thank you to everyone who has donated items to our prize box!  Don't forget to sign those behavior charts!
Take care! 
~Ms. Hudson

     

Happy Fall!

     Happy Fall everyone! I know a few of my students have been particularly excited for Fall to begin, and I know I am right there with them!  I hope you all get a chance to stop by the Parish fair this weekend.  This year I won't be able to stop by; instead, I will be celebrating the marriage of two good friends, so please have fun at the fair for me!  
     This last week was a good week (and not because all of you had yesterday off!).  You can really tell that the kids are slowly but surely settling in to our class and all of its procedures.  You know things are going well when the kids are reminding the teacher about little things like coloring their behavior charts each morning! Please don't forget to look in their green folders for the behavior chart.  Green folders will always contain work that your child has completed over the week that Mrs. Coulter or myself have checked over.  By looking through this stack of completed work, you are getting a glimpse into your child's progress and the topics they are currently learning.  Please don't return any of these papers- they are yours to keep!  The only thing that needs to be returned in the green folder is the signed behavior chart.  Please look for this behavior chart in there (it will always be a yellow slip of paper), review your child's fabulous behavior for the week (remember, yellow isn't the end of the world!), sign it, and return the slip into the green folder for us to collect from your child on Monday.  Communication is key, and we hope these behavior charts effectively communicate to you how your child is doing.
     You also received a blue folder earlier this week.  Blue folders go home periodically (there is no set time) containing tests for you to sign and return.  Please feel free to leave a post-it or note of some sort in the blue folder (after you've signed the tests) with any questions you have regarding a concept covered on the test.  Additionally, teachers are not perfect and we occasionally overlook a correct answer or two.  Please feel free to leave a post-it on a test informing us of a possible mistake. 
     I have a few items to cover regarding lunches.  First of all, I am not sure most parents are aware that teachers do not receive a list of who receives hot lunches (Since this changes on a daily basis).  It is really left up to the parents to make sure their children know whether or not they have hot lunch that day.  Our sweet little Firsties often ask me if they have hot lunch or not, and I always apologize and tell them that I just don't know and they will have to check at the hot lunch table.  Maybe you can send a little note in your child's red folder reminding them that they have hot lunch that day or not. Or, if you send their morning snack in their lunchbox, perhaps you can attach a note to their morning snack.  I know your child would appreciate the reminder, as well as Mrs. Coulter and myself! Thank you!
     Also, a few parents have expressed some concerns over their child's lunchbox being outside on the hooks during this hot weather.  Mrs. Schulte has e-mailed all of the teachers to allow students to keep their lunchboxes inside the classroom until lunch.  After lunch, we will ask the students to hang their lunchboxes back on their hooks with their backpacks.  I know it is a given, but never underestimate the power of small ice-packs or frozen juice boxes/water bottles to keep your kiddo's lunches nice and cool!  Once the hot weather has subsided, we will return to keeping the lunches hanging on the hooks (since space is really limited in a classroom with 34 desks!) 
     Finally, this week marks the first week of Fall, along with Johnny Appleseed Day.  We will be celebrating this special day this Wednesday with many apple activities.  Our wonderful room mom's have sent you an email requesting particular items to help our class make homemade applesauce in a slow cooker.  Please respond to them if you are able to help donate some of those items.  Thank you! 
     Have a great weekend, and we will see everyone on Monday! 
~Ms. Hudson
      

Science Experiment Update

Here are the results from the cabbage experiments!

Hi parents! Here is a quick blog update- the kids were super excited to see the results from the cabbage/stem experiment! It turns out stems really do carry water to all of the parts of a plant! One experiment down... many more to go! Don't forget, tomorrow is Tuesday, so we will be going to mass. See you in the morning! 
~ Ms. Hudson

Wow! What a week!

     As I sit here drinking my vanilla soy latte from Starbucks, I can't help but wonder why I am so tired... and then it hits me! This was our first full week (five days) of First Grade!  And boy, what a week!  Between getting ready for Back to School Night (Thank you to everyone who could make it!) and working solo on Thursday and Friday (Mrs. Coulter was visiting her oldest daughter on the East Coast) I could tell the kids were feeling the transition, too (lots of heads hitting the desks, a few tears, and a few tiffs among friends).  The beginning of the year is always a little more tiring than the rest of the year- all of us are trying to adjust our schedules back to that nice 7:45-3:00 schedule, along with homework, sports practices, and other after school activities.  I always remind myself that it is a tough transitional time, and even I find myself heading to bed an hour early! But, like everything in life, this too shall pass! Usually my Firsties don't get into the swing of things until closer to the middle of October, so until then, please keep in mind that extra sleep is so important for these little six and seven year old's right now! With that said, has your child told you about our wiggle breaks?  I definitely understand the importance of bathroom breaks, but I also see the need for wiggle breaks, too!  We take a few minutes here and there to dance, play Simon Says, or do a few simple exercises throughout the day- right around the time when I see the kids needing to get up and get the wiggles out!  It usually does the trick!
     I also understand that First Grade is the first time in your child's life that he or she is sitting in a desk...for hours...day after day.  Talk about a tough thing to adjust to!  They not only have to get used to having a desk, but they also have to learn how to keep the inside of their desks nice and neat, too!  They have to learn not to play with their pencils, fanny packs, etc.  Mrs. Coulter and I have the honor of trying to teach them how to correctly sit in a desk to show their teachers that they are listening- feet on the floor (under their own desk), no heads leaning on their hands, sitting up nice and straight, eyes on the speaker.  In fact, Mrs. Wolfe and I have the same poster in our room that shows how students should be sitting, so these are skills they will be using for years to come.  

      Has your child talked to you about buddy or partner work during math and reading?  After I have taught the whole class our math lesson of the day, I pair them up with a buddy and let them find a comfy spot on the floor to complete the rest of the worksheet with a friend!  They love this! And, it gets them out of their desks for a few minutes = )  It teaches them patience, because they are not allowed to progress onto the next problem if their buddy isn't ready yet.  It teaches them kindness, because they usually end up helping each other when their buddy doesn't understand a concept.  It also allows Mrs. Coulter and I time to walk around the room and help students on a more one-on-one scale.  Here are some photos of our students during one of our buddy sessions of math:  

Comparing two numbers using cubes to understand "greater than" and "less than"

Math buddies working hard together!

Friends teaching friends!

     During buddy reading time, we allow the students to share the story of the week with a friend and take turns reading out loud to each other.  We use the acronym EEKK to remind them how to sit: "Elbow to Elbow, Knee to Knee, I have a friend to read with me!" We switch partners every week, so your child will have a chance to read with each friend in our class by the time the year is through.  I will try to post photos of EEKK time in one of my next blogs. 
     Finally, the kids were very excited to have their first science experiment this week!  They are learning about plants- right now we are focusing on the functions of the roots, stems, and leaves.  To demonstrate the function of stems carrying water to the parts of the plants, we placed Napa cabbage leaves into a beaker filled with colored water.  We can't wait to get back to school on Monday to see whether the stems actually carried water to the other parts of the leaf! Here are some photos of our little scientists:

Our Napa Cabbage stem experiment

Scientists working hard at their desks

      I leave our blog this week with a few reminders for the upcoming week: Your child should have brought home their yellow folder this weekend. Inside the yellow folder you will find a behavior chart and possibly a small book about their First Day. Please keep the book at home - it does not need to be returned! However, their behavior chart is in their yellow folder.  This chart MUST be signed by a parent and RETURNED inside the yellow folder by Monday. This is my way of communicating with you about your child's behavior for the week.  This is your child's ticket to the prize box! If the chart is not signed, or not returned, or lost, your child cannot go to the prize box, so please don't loose these precious slips- they'd be so bummed! If the slip is returned a day or more late, and it is signed, your child will get to use that ticket in the prize box the following week (in addition to the slip for that week).  Hope this all makes sense- I know the kids are super excited to go to the prize box on Monday! Please refer to the packet from Back to School Night for more information on our behavior system. 
   Please don't forget that Tuesday is a mass day for our class, and shorts are not permitted on mass days. Also, there is no school on Friday- the parish needs a day free of students on campus to prep the school for the fall festival.  Thank you for a great week, and we will see you on Monday! 

 Take care!
~Ms. Hudson
 

Week 2... check!

     Our Firsties are really getting into the swing of things in First Grade!  We went to mass as a school, we had our first Computer, Spanish, Music, and PE classes, and we tried out Centers in our classroom this week! I am positive Centers is probably one of their favorite parts of our busy day! Centers occurs during the last hour or so of our school days.  We split up the class into groups of 6 students (with two groups of 5), and we spend three afternoons visiting our centers. Centers cover both math and reading/writing standards.  Friday afternoons will typically be saved for an art/holiday project or a Meet the Masters project. For those of you who aren't familiar with Meet the Masters, it is a K-5 art program that exposes our students to famous artists from various periods, along with their works of art.  The students then replicate one of the works of art to display in the classroom and to eventually be taken home and admired by family members = )
     Speaking of art, if you are looking for a clever way to store the many wonderful art pieces your child has brought home from school over the years, check out this idea I found on the wonderful (and addicting) website Pinterest: art binder link  . 
     Has your child talked to you about Reward Recess yet?  Reward Recess is a K-5th Grade recess that occurs from 2:35-2:55 every Friday afternoon for any students who have had wonderful behavior in the classroom all week long.  It is obviously very popular!  For those students who had a rough week,  a detention will be served instead of Reward Recess.  Detentions occur in the Science Room with either Mr. English or Mrs. Schulte watching over them.  In First Grade, this truly is a rare situation- it takes A LOT for  Mrs. Coulter or I to handout a detention slip to a little Firsty!  I will further explain the First Grade Behavior System at our Back to School Night this TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 11th! Please remember that Back to School Night is a PARENT ONLY evening.  I will also cover many other topics such as homework, reading, testing, Mathletics, Super Student, birthdays, what to expect this year for your Firsty, as well as our First Grade grading system. You don't want to miss it! 
    This upcoming week I will be trying to schedule as many one-on-one Informal Reading Inventories with your children.  This means either Mrs. Coulter or I will be sitting one-on-one with your child, showing them flashcards of words, giving them a few seconds to read each word, and we will use that information to gauge their reading level.  I will then use this information to better plan my guided reading groups.  We obviously take into account that this can be a little nerve-racking to a First Grader, but we hope that after 7 days of getting to know us it won't be that bad! I will share the results from the Informal Reading Inventories with you at my earliest convenience.  This takes quite some time to squeeze in with 34 students, so I appreciate your patience! Thank you!
     I also want to inform you that beginning this week our Firsties will attend mass weekly on TUESDAYS, unless there is an all-school mass scheduled for that week.  Please note that students are not allowed to wear shorts on Mass days, so please don't send your child to school on Tuesdays in shorts.  
     Finally, last week's homework load was a nice transition into their normal homework load- if it seemed particularly "simple", that's because I want to ease them into homework.  By the way, thank you parents for doing your part and covering all of their books!  This week's homework will include a math sheet and a phonics sheet (usually copied onto the same sheet), as well as a reading log and a page of sight words flash cards to cut out & practice/review for the week.  I would recommend cutting out the flashcards, hole punching them, and saving them on a metal ring for easy access, but obviously you can figure out the best way your child can use these flashcards.  I would also recommend copying the sheet so you have two sets of flashcards, then playing memory or go fish with the flash cards!  Whatever makes learning fun!  I will test the class on their ability to read those sight words every Friday.  Please note that homework MUST be returned in the Red Homework Folder EVERY DAY (this is a part of your child's grade on their report cards).  While we send home the entire week's worth of homework on Monday, we would only like you to return the homework on the date that it is actually due.  We also don't encourage you to complete all of the homework on Monday evening- they are related to the Math lesson and Phonics lesson taught that day, and things may get confusing if completed before I've taught the lesson.
     I apologize for the ridiculous length of this particular blog... the beginning of the year is always jam-packed with so much information! I promise they will get shorter as the year goes on!  Don't forget to send me an email with any questions or concerns!  I'm here to help!       nhudson@stjudeschool.org  
And please remind other First Grade parents to check out this blog weekly- they don't need to scan the QR code- that was just an easy way for parents with Smart phones to link to the blog = )  Just tell them to go to http://hudsonstjudefirsties.blogspot.com   

Take care, and enjoy the wonderful weekend!  
~Ms. Hudson   

    

Picture Day!

Our Firsties keeping busy in the updated computer lab!

Hi parents! Just a reminder that tomorrow is in fact Picture Day! Please send your child to school with their payment if you haven't already done so.  We typically have PE first thing on Thursdays for one hour, so I will see if Mr. English can keep things nice and easy for the Firsties (so they don't mess up their hair!)  Can't believe it is already Wednesday!  We snapped a few shots this morning in their first computer class... we are loving the new computer lab, with brand new laptops and TWO big screens to help Mr. Colvin teach those little computer wizards! Be sure to stop by the lab sometime and check them out! 
~ Ms. Hudson  

First Week down... now onto the next week!

     Our first "week" (if we can really call it that!) was a success!  We have all 34 students' names down, and I believe they have our names set, too!  They have learned a few helpful songs, including the famous First Grade Rules song, the how to spell "because" song, and the song that reminds us that there is no A in "they".  Ask your child if they remember any of those songs = )  We will be singing them ALLLLLL year long!  
     Next week will be a little more traditional.  We are back to full days, so please pack your little ones a morning snack and a lunch.  We will begin our week with an assembly to kick off the Magazine Drive, followed by PICTURE DAY on Thursday the 6th.  Just a little head's up,Picture Day falls on our PE day, so feel free to use extra hair spray and hair gel!  
    The students will be starting Computer class, Music Class, and possibly Spanish Class this week.  Library will not start right away, but we will let you know when that is happening as soon as we know! 
We will also be starting Homework this week (I can just picture the look on my Firsties' faces).  Look for the RED folders coming home in their backpacks.  We send home all of their homework on Mondays, but we label the homework sheets with dates on which they need to be completed.  For instance, the sheets labeled "Tuesday" need to be completed Tuesday afternoon and returned to us on Wednesday.  We don't typically recommend jumping ahead in their homework, especially since the worksheets reflect the lessons taught to the class that day.  However, if your week is particularly busy, feel free to do so, but do not return the sheets all at once.  Please ONLY return the sheets on the days they are due.  This helps us avoid confusion and/or loosing track of the sheets. 
     Part of the homework this week involves parents covering a few books each night.  We HIGHLY recommend using a clear contact paper to cover these books.  The method I used as a child, good ol'brown paper grocery bags (or even wrapping paper), just doesn't last long (sometimes less than a week!), comes undone, and then causes a little bit of chaos in the middle of your child's day- you'd be surprised at how upset a child can get when their book cover comes off!  If you cannot find the clear contact paper, sticky shelf liner paper is great, too (Target has a great variety of these).  Please help us out label the book with the subject of the book so your child can clearly and quickly find that book in their desk (i.e. MATH, SPELLING, etc).    You'd also be surprised at how confusing locating the correct book can be for a Firsty!  
     Finally, I've had a few kids ask me about using book socks to cover books.  We love book socks, but they tend to not work too well with the workbooks we are sending home to be covered since they are not hard-covered books.  If you are set on using book socks, please insert a piece of cardboard or cardstock into the cover and back of the book to keep it from bending.  
     Thank you so much for all of your hard work- we know how tedious it can be to cover all of these books (Mrs. Coulter worked so hard to cover all 34 of the new Religion workbooks we ordered this year!) which is why we are only sending home 3 at a time.  We are planning on working in these workbooks this week, so if for some reason you cannot cover the books that evening, please send them back with a note letting us know when you'd like them back to be covered. (I'll be including a letter in our homework folder to explain everything regarding how homework "works" in First Grade- not to worry!)  
     First Grade is a wonderful year in your child's education, filled with remarkable growth in each student, and we are here to facilitate that growth in the best way possible for each individual student.  As the Parent Handbook states, "Parents are the primary educators," and if we work together, your Firsties will shine, shine, shine! Thank you for all that you do, and I look forward to working with you this year! 
 ~Ms. Hudson
PS- Please spread word to other parents to look at this blog every week!  This will be my "weekly letter", rather than using paper.  It's our little way of helping out our beautiful planet. Thank you!