Friday Brain Break

We had a few of the "wiggles" this morning so we needed some energy release.  This is why I love my job!  The kids LOVE these Brain breaks.  They are so much fun!

A FEW FRIDAY REMINDERS

The kids earned their last "brownie" for great behavior!  They voted to have a toy party tomorrow.  Each student is allowed to bring in a favorite toy from home to share with their class.  What a great way to end our week!


Tomorrow CE will be celebrating College Go Week by wearing our favorite college gear to school!
Don't forget to wear your favorite college gear!  Go Hoosiers!

Shared Reading

We are getting into a groove with our new reading series.  Tomorrow we will be finishing up our four week unit about families.  It has been fun learning all about different families and things they enjoy to do together.  During our shared reading block, we sometimes break out into smaller groups.  The kids read as a group, independently, and with a partner. They are reading books at their instructional level.  The great thing about the books they are reading is all the books go along with the big unit theme.  They have worked so well together in their small groups. This week they have been working on setting and finding nouns in their book. As you read at home, have your child describe the setting of their story.  Challenge them to identify 3-4 nouns in the book they read.  Take a look at these hard working students!

NWEA TESTING (MAP)

Parents,
You should have received an email with some information about a new district-wide assessment tool we will be using.  In the past we used DIBELS.  We are now adotping NWEA which will be referred to as MAP (Measure of Academic Progress).  Students in 1st grade will take a reading and math test.  The tests are adaptive which means they are individualized for each student.  We will get a very accurate report of areas of strength and weaknesses for each student.  The tests are not looking for mastery, but rather a student's instructional level.  This test will tell us what a student is ready to learn.
There is now an NWEA assessment widget on your my ccs account on the top left corner of the page.  Here you will find practice tests and games to help your child with the different features of the test.
Here is what the widget looks like:

Please take some time to let your child practice at home.  I am very excited about using this new assessment tool.  See link below for frequently asked questions.

https://www.nwea.org/resources/parent-toolkit/

Brain Break

The kids work so hard throughout the day.  We  try to fit in 1-3 brain breaks a day to either get us up and moving or calm us down.  There is a great website called GoNoodle.com.  It has a variety of breaks...dancing, zumba, breathing activities etc.  It is very interactive and fun for the kids.  They beg for brain breaks.  Here is one from today to the song "Happy."  What a "happy" bunch!  Have a great weekend!

Homecoming Parade

We had so so much fun today!  We are lucky to be so close to Carmel High School.  Each year we get to go watch the CHS Homecoming parade.  What a great afternoon!  Check us out!

What a Fun Week!!

I am so proud of my kids! They are hard little workers and we are "on the go"all the time.  They have learned so much in a short amount of time.  Here are a few things we have been working on:

WRITING
*Smiley Sentences-We just learned about this so it is fairly new to the kids.  Ask your child if they remember "smiley sentences."

*Writing narratives-the kids are working on writing stories.  We have been talking about "zooming in" on one small topic (the seed) rather than one big top (the watermelon).
For example:  instead of writing about a whole trip to Disneyworld, the kids focus in on one small detail..a favorite ride.


SOCIAL STUDIES
*We have been talking about our school family so the kids worked in pairs to interview a school worker.  We will finish up our final writing and portraits this week.  Be sure to check our bulletin board in the next week or so.  They are doing a wonderful job with this task.

Blue and Gold Day

 We will be going to the CHS parade Friday afternoon so don't forget to wear your BLUE and GOLD!

Pajama Day!
Thanks for letting your child wear jammies to school today!

Pajama Party!

Yes it is true...the kids can wear pajamas to school tomorrow. They earned a "brownie" party for great behavior.  They were so excited!  They voted on a pajama party....so, wear your favorite "jammies" to school tomorrow.  Please make sure they are appropriate for school.

Room 4 Rock Stars!

We love to have fun while we are learning!  In social studies, we worked on a unit about getting along with others.  There are many songs that go along with our units and we like to make them fun!  We decided to form a band with and have some fun!  I think there are a few future rock stars in room 4!

Rockstars

 

We are all about having fun while we learn!  We created a band while learning a social studies song about working together.  I think there area few "rockstars" in my class!  Stay tuned for videos!

Learning From Each Other

We recently completed a Social Studies unit on how we learn from each other.  Check us out doing a partner activity on being good listeners.