Families,

I have truly enjoyed teaching your children this year! I hope that you have a wonderful summer. Please encourage your kids to keep reading over the long break.

On Tuesday, we will being doing several science and art projects. If you would like to help out, please let me know!

Mrs. Torneden

Families,

Wow! These past few weeks have been very busy! It seems as if times is flying!!!

We had a wonderful field trip. The kids had the opportunity to milk a goat, feed a turtle, and see many other farm animals.

Transition day was a huge success. The kids came back to the classroom very excited about first grade. They also enjoyed eating in the cafeteria.

We have been finishing our Animated Alphabet characters. On Wednesday, we will have our Animated Alphabet parade. I can't wait to see the kids in their costumes.

Our class received a special delivery on Thursday. In a small package, we found a hundred lady bugs. In order to learn about our ladybugs, we did a little research. The kids have learned about the ladybugs life cycle, what ladybugs eat, and several other cool facts. Please ask your child to teach you about ladybugs.

Mrs. Jennings is still coming too! She is doing an amazing job teaching us how to follow directions, be ourselves, and make safe choices.

Mrs. Torneden

Families,

The kids really enjoyed planting flowers last week. We discussed and observed different types of flowers. During snack, we read a book called Zinnia's Flower Garden. Later, we talked about the things a flower or a seed needs to live.

Here is a list of some of the other activities that we have been doing in class:

Animated Alphabet:
Sheriff Shadrack /sh/
Drawing "sheep"
Whirling Irving /ur/ /ir/ /er/
Drawing "girl"

Math:
Graphing
Tallying
Addition
Counting
Patterns
Number Recognition

Books:
Zinnia's Flower Garden by Monica Wellington
Pie in the Sky by Lois Ehlert
Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
Charlie Needs a Cloak by Tommie dePaola

Science/Social Studies:
Bullying, Weather, Spring, Flowers
Mrs. Jennings discussed the importance of following directions. She read a book called Listen Buddy.

Mrs. Torneden

Families,

Thank you so much for the seeds! We are going to have a variety of seeds to plant!

Animated Alphabet:
Grouch Owl /ow/
Drawing "Owl"
Abe the Skating Hare /ai/ /ay/ a_e/
Drawing "Cake"

HWT:
Review
Pencil Grasp

Math:
Measurement
Graphing
Shapes
Counting by 5's and 10's
Addition
Subraction
Estimation

Science/Socials Studies:
Spring, Flowers, Weather, Owls, Rabbits, and Hares

Books:
Is Your Mama A Llama? by Deborah Guarino
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
Good-Night, Owl! by Pat Hutchins
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
Buzz Bumble to the Rescue by Lynn E. Hazen

Mrs. Torneden

Homework!

Families,

I would like for the students to start locating and collecting sight words found in environmental print. If your child finds a cereal box, magazine page, letter, or parcel of junk mail that contains a sight word, please send it to school.

The following words are some of the sight words we have been working on at school:

and

the

like

come

here

on

of

is

have

my

this

look

you

it

look

Thanks,
Mrs. Torneden

Families,

Yeah! It is starting to warm up outside. I'm so glad!

Today we went outside and wrote words on the cement with chalk.

Animated Alphabet:
Ike /y/ /igh/ /ie/
Drawing "kite"

HWT:
Review
Practice proper pencil grip with our flip crayons!

Math:
Counting
Graphs
Measurement
Addition
Subtraction
Shapes
Estimation

Social Studies/Science:
Weather
Counselor: Mrs. Jennings read us a book called The Crayon Boxed that Talk. The kids talked about how we are all different and how we can learn from each other!
Spring: We discussed different words that remind of us spring. We made a list of the words! We have also been reading books about spring!

Books:
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Ike's Story
The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss
A Place to Bloom by Lorianne Siomades
The Luckiest St. Patrick's Day Ever! by Teddy Slater

Class Made Book:
Have You Seen My Pot of Gold!

During centers, we decided to use our puppet theater to retell familiar stories and songs. Your children have great memories and are very dramatic. We might even have some future actors in our class. :)

Mrs. Torneden

Families,

I can't believe that it is still snowing! I can't wait until we can sit down in the sun and read a book!

Before break, we were really busy! On Friday, we went to the Lied Center and watched a puppet play called Stellaluna. The kids loved it! They did a great job following directions and listening quietly. I was very proud!

We have spent a lot of time discussing rhyming words. The kids worked with a partner to make a rhyming word list.

Animated Alphabet:
Winkie Walrus /w/
Drawing "Wishing Well"

HWT:
Review
W

Books:
In A People House by Dr. Suess
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess
Stellaluna byJanelle Cannon
A Fish Out of Water by Helen Palmer
Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! by Dr. Seuss
Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss

Math:
Shapes
Patterns
Addition
Subtraction
Counting by 1's, 5's, and 10's
Graphing

Social Studies/Science:
Counselor, Bullying, Weather, Healthy Choices

March 8

Families,

I am so proud of your kids! They did an amazing job at the music program!!!

We have done a lot of educational activities with Dr. Suess books this week. We even ate green eggs and ham.

Animated Alphabet:
Leaping Eve (Long E)
Drawing "Bee"
Winkie Walrus /w/

HWT:
Review
W

We have been spending a lot of time learning how to read to ourselves!
1) Read the pictures
2) Read the words
3) Retell a story that you have already heard

Books: A lot of rhyming practice with these books! :)
1) Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss
2) The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
3) And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street by Dr. Suess
4) The Shape of Me and Other Stuff by Dr. Seuss
5) I Can Read with My Eyes Shut! by Dr. Seuss
6) Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
7) Mr. Brown Can Moo Can You? by Dr. Seuss
8) One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss

Math:
Counting by 1's, 5's, and 10's
Patterns
Addition
Graphing
Shapes

Science/Social Studies:
Weather, Teeth, Healthy Choices, Bullying

Families,

I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to meet with you again during conferences. Even though last week was our last conference, please don't hestitate to call or e-mail if you would like to talk.

Tuesday is Dr. Seuss's birthday. We are going to spend all of this week and some of next week exploring his books.

March is National Nutrition Month! We will be discussing healthy choices all month!

March 4

Music Program

The kids need to be in the classroom at 6:45.

The kids have been working really hard. I can't wait to watch them!

Thanks,

Mrs. Torneden

Families,

We have been really busy at school. Over the last two weeks, we have been working on assessments. The kids are very excited about me meeting with you at conferences. They have been working hard! You should be proud!

If you have not confirmed your conference with me, please contact me as soon as possible.

If you would like to help out in the classroom, please let me know!!!

Animated Alphabet:

Old Joe Crow (Long O) /oa/ /ol/ /ow/ /oe/

Drawing "Goat"

Leaping Eve ( Long E) /ee/ /ea/ /e_e/ /ie/

Drawing "Bee"

HWT:

-Practice Writing Letters and Pencil Grip

Math:

-Graphing

-Addition

-Subtraction

-Counting by 5's and 10's

- Writing Numerals

-Recognizing Numerals

-Ordering Numerals

-Patterns

-Tallying

- Estimation

Social Studies/Science:

Weather, Counselor (Discussed how to be a good friend), George Washington, Bullying

A Few Of The Books We Have Read In Class:

1) Fox in Socks by Dr. Suess

2) My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza

3) The Night Before Valentine's Day by Natasha Wing

4) Three Billy Goats Gruff

5) Russell the Sheep by Rob Scotton

6) Will You Be My Valentine?

Thanks,

Mrs. Torneden

February 1

Families,

We do not have school February 1!

Friday was our hundredth day of school and Kansas Day. We celebrated by counting a hundred objects, completing individual hundred charts with our ten frames, counting by fives and tens to a hundred, exercising for a hundred seconds, and making special headbands. To celebrate Kansas Day, the kids discussed and identified Kansas’s symbols such as the state reptile, bird, amphibian, flower, and tree. We located Kansas on the United States map and then map a special snack that was shaped like the state of Kansas. It was a great day! We learned a lot!

If you have a chance and would like to help out in the classroom, please let me know!!!

Overview of Activities:

Animated Alphabet:

-Ichabod Ichthyosaurus

-Drawing "Pig"

-Chauncy Chipmunk

Handwriting:
-Practice forming letters (big line, little line, big curve, little curve)
-Pencil Grip

Math:
-Graphing (We graphed our favorite cookies!)
-Counting
-Addition
-Subtraction
-Patterns
-Counting

-Measurement

-Estimation

Science/Social Studies:
-Weather

-Kansas Symbols

Books:
The Three Little Pigs

The Three Little Jayhawks by Don Fambrough

The Night Before the 100th Day of School by Natasha Wing

If You Give a Pig a Party by Laura Numeroff

Sightwords:
the, was, in, to, I, like, A, is, for, this

January 25

Families,
'

Thank your for all the snacks!

If you have a chance and would like to help out in the classroom, please let me know!!!

Overview of Activities:

Animated Alphabet:
-Review

-Ichabod Ichthyosaurus

Handwriting:
-Practice forming letters (big line, little line, big curve, little curve)
-Pencil Grip

Math:
-Graphing (We graphed our favorite cookies!)
-Counting
-Addition
-Subtraction
-Patterns
-Counting

-Measurement

-Estimation

We practiced using rulers to measure different items in our classroom.

Science/Social Studies:
-Weather

Books:
The Hat by Jan Brett

The Mitten by Jan Brett

Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni

Go Dog Go! by P.D. Eastman

Sightwords:
the, was, in, to, I, like, A, is, for, this

January 15

Families,

We are running low on our snack supplies. If you would like to send crackers, the kids enjoy Scrabble Cheez-Its. They get a quick snack, and they enjoy writing words with their snack. Cheerios, Life Cereal, and Goldfish are great too. The kids can count this snack before they eat!

I'd like to thank everyone who has been volunteering in our classroom. You are doing great things for the children.

If you have a chance and would like to help out in the classroom, please let me know!!!

Overview of Activities:

Animated Alphabet:

-Lou Lou Moose /0u/ /oo/ u-t/ /ew/ /ui/

Drawing "Moon"

-Woody Woodchuck /00/

Drawing "Book"

Handwriting:

-Practice forming letters (big line, little line, big curve, little curve)

-Pencil Grip

Math:

-Graphing

-Counting

-Addition

-Subtraction

-Patterns

-Counting

Science/Social Studies:

-Weather

-Martin Luther King

-Mrs. Jennings taught us that it is okay to different (Egg Book)

Books:

Goose by Molly Bang

Happy Birthday Moon By Frank Asch

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff

Snowballs by Lois Ehlert

Sightwords:

the, was, in, to I, like, A

January 11 Newsletter

Families,

I'm so glad that we are back at school!!! I've heard that you and your children had a great break and a wonderful long weekend. I wanted to send this blog out so that you had an update on our classroom activities.

The gingerbread day and holiday party were a huge success. Thank so much for all of your help.

We are running low on our snack supplies. If you would like to send crackers, the kids enjoy Scrabble Cheez Its. They get a quick snack, and they enjoy writing words with their snack. Cheerios, Life Cereal, and gold fish are great too. The kids count their snack before they eat!

If you would like to help out in the classroom, please let me know!!!

Animated Alphabet:

The Thick Thorny Thing

Drawing "Tub"

Nellie Newt ( Letter N)

Drawing "Hen"

HWT:

-Practice Writing Letters and Pencil Grip

Math:

-Graphing

-Addition

-Subtraction

-Counting by 5's and 10's

- Writing Numerals

-Recognizing Numerals

-Ordering Numerals

-Patterns

-Tallying

- Estimation

Social Studies/Science:

Holidays Around the World, Weather, Counselor

A Few Of The Books We Have Read In Class:

1) Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins

2) The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

3) Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett

4) Ginberbread Friends by Jan Brett

5) Gingerbread Man by Karen Schmidt

6) The Napping House by Don and Audrey Wood

Thanks,

Mrs. Torneden