We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

Watch Our 12 Days of Christmas Video!

Christmas Party

Our Christmas party will be Wednesday December 22nd (the early out day before break).

The party will be from 1:00-2:00. We will eat treats, play a few games, and open presents from Mrs.Carlson.

The people who signed up to bring treats are as follows:

1 gallon water- Shawn Kenyon
Rice Krispie bars or cookies- Lydia Leith & Isaac Larson
Crackers and cheese (or other nutritioius snack)- Sydnee Babcock
Take home Treat- Chris Krueger & Teage Bruns
Christmas Napkins- Paige Condon
Christmas Cups- Paige Condon

Thank you!

Ready...Set...Go!!!

We couldn't resist going to the gym during our last 5 minutes of school Friday to "race" our Show and Tell items. Cael had a Zuzu pet, Isaac a monster truck, and Levi a car. We decided to make a better race we need to race the same thing, just like in real car races. First Grade sure is fun!

Christmas Program

K - 4 Winter Concert
Monday, December 13, 2010
MNW Elementary Auditorium

Kindergarten program @ 6:30 PM
Please have your child at their classroom by 6:00.
After the concert is over, please pick up your child at their classroom.

(Because of limited seating in the auditorium Iʼm asking you to please leave the
auditorium when your childʼs program is over and allow first and second grade parents
and guests to have seating priority for the next program.)

First and Second Grade program @ 7:00 PM
Please have your child at their classroom by 6:30.
After the concert is over, please pick up your child at their classroom.

(Because of limited seating in the auditorium Iʼm asking you to please leave the
auditorium when your childʼs program is over and allow third and fourth grade parents
and guests to have seating priority for the next program.)

Third and Fourth Grade program @ 7:45 PM
Please have your child at their classroom by 7:15.
After the concert is over, please pick up your child at their classroom.

Thanks for your support!
Happy Holidays,
Brad Bleam
K-6 Music

Character Counts in First Grade!

Character Counts!

We have a new classroom behavior program called “Character Counts in First Grade.” Today is our 70^th day of school and we have had plenty of days to practice following rules and exhibiting good character. The program will focus not only on negative behaviors but on positive as well. It is so important that kids “get caught being good!” Each child will have a smiley and frown face envelope on a bulletin board. For each smiley (positive) and frown (negative) behavior students will have slips put in.

Smiley:

When students have 10 green slips in their envelope they will receive a positive reward.

Positive behaviors include behaviors that show good character such as: helping someone, saying kind words, being a respectful listener, following directions, walking quietly in line, etc.

The pillars of character are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship.

Rewards include: staying in the classroom for free time during recess, being Mrs. Carlson's special helper, candy, stickers, computer time, etc.

Frown:

Students will get one red slip for a warning, because everyone deserves a reminder.

If they get 2 red slips they will miss 5 minutes from recess.

If they get 3 red slips they will miss 10 minutes from recess.

If they get 4 red slips they will miss the whole recess.

If they get more than 4 slips they will visit Mrs. Davis or Mrs. Bleam to talk about making decisions showing good character.

Frown behaviors include behaviors that do not follow the pillars of character including, but not limited to: being disrespectful to others, not following directions, being a disrespectful listener, etc.

Gingerbread Project

Happy Thanksgiving

Mrs. Carlson's cousins from Spirit Lake volunteered their time (and their day off of school) in our classroom. Their names are Morgan and Emma. They helped us make turkeys with real feathers and read us books about Thanksgiving. We really enjoyed having them and wish they could come back again. Thanks Morgan and Emma!


Morgan with her turkey!

Emma reading a Thanksgiving book.

One of our beautiful turkeys.

Austyn with his creation!

Teage says "gobble, gobble"!

Emma helping her group pick out the perfect feathers.

"meow" Show and Tell

Thanks to Lydia and her grandma for bringing their cat to Show and Tell. It was a real cutie!

Happy Halloween!

Customize your own digital slideshow

Monster Exchange

We have been working on drawing monsters on the computer for a Monster Exchange project we are doing with our Arizona Skype Buddies.

Here is how it works:

1. We draw a monster

2. We write a description about our monster

3. The AZ kids use our description to draw a monster to match

4. We compare the 2 monsters to see if they look alike

Here are a few samples of monsters we have worked on so far....

Cael: My monster is sloppy. Its an alien. It scares people. It has a red eye and a green body. It has black legs and black arms. Its circle and its ears are are circle. His legs and arms are rectangle and its eyes are circle and its legs are circle and its body is circle.

Paige C.: It's a monster sun holding something long and black. It has a yellow body and the points are orange. The eyes are pink and the mouth is white with square teeth. The background is blue and the grass is green. The sun is orange and yellow.

Adam: My monster has an electric tail that is blue, at the end of the tail there is a spike that is red. It has spikes on its back. It shoots out lighting. The color of the body is green its kind of like an S. It is swivery and it has teeth. He has four legs shaped like the letter b.

Devin: It lives in the underworld. It has red eyes. He is wearing jeans, a belt, and he has green skin. His head is a circle and his arms are like twisted rectangles. He no fingers and there is a yellow background.

Bear Party & Gumball Reading Incentive

Today we celebrated finishing our Bear Reading Incentive. We had teddy grams and watched Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Where is my Bear? on the Smartboard. We also worked on a bear maze, coloring sheet, and drew and dressed a bear. It was fun!




Today, we also started a new reading incentive. It is gum ball reading. The kids will be bringing home a pink reading slip to be signed each night after students read their guided reading book. After each student has "filled up" their gum ball machine, we will have a gum ball reading party.

BOOK FLIX

Mrs. Weltzheimer's First Grade: BOOK FLIX: "This is an exciting learning tool that has been made available to our students you may access it by going to: http://bkflix.grolier.com. u..."

First 24 High Frequency Words

Hey Kids! Watch this jing to see what websites to go to in the computer lab.

Skype Date?

Do you have something interesting you would like to teach our class? Do you want to read a picture book to our class? Would you like to share something about where you live? If so, let's set up a skype date! We are looking for family members and friends to skype with.

Ideas:
-Show us how to make something
-Teach us a skill
-Read to us
-Tell us a story
-Tell us about where you come from

If you are interested, please e-mail me at jcarlson@manson-nw.k12.ia.us

We would love to skype with you!

1st Grade Conference Schedule

This morning we scheduled conferences. Below is the schedule. Please note that every time slot is filled in on Tuesday so you will need to be on time in order to have your conference. Also we will have to stick to a 15 minute time limit to keep things running smoothly. If something is not going to work for you, please let me know as soon as you can so we can get things changed. I look forward to talking with you all! Thanks!

Tuesday November, 2nd

4:00-4:15 Adam Stange
4:15-4:30 Paige Condon
4:30-4:45 Austyn Wright
4:45-5:00 Sean Peters
5:00-5:15 Shawn Kenyon
5:15-5:30 Devin VanZee
5:30-5:45 Tristan Hood
5:45-6:00 Cael Oswald
6:00-6:15 Amber Dangelser
6:15-6:30 Abbi Holloway
6:30-6:45 Levi Tucker
6:45-7:00 Meghan Doan
7:00-7:15 Drayden Hall
7:15-7:30 Paige Wilson
7:30-7:45 Brayden Bates
7:45-8:00 Carson Peterson

Thursday November, 4th

4:00-4:15 Teage Bruns
4:15-4:30 Kierra Birkey
4:30-4:45 Isaac Larson
4:45-5:00 Jayne Wiese
5:00-5:15 Sydnee Babcock
5:15-5:30
5:30-5:45 Lydia Leith
5:45-6:00 Odyssey Hanson
6:00-6:15 Christopher Krueger
6:15-6:30
6:30-6:45 Adam Stange
6:45-7:00
7:00-7:15
7:15-7:30
7:30-7:45
7:45-8:00

Kidblog & 3rd Grade Tech. Buddies

Mrs. Pearson's 3rd Grade class helped us write a post on kidblog about what we are going to be for Halloween! They were a lot of help! Thanks 3rd Grade.

You can read and comment on our posts at:

http://kidblog.org/MrsCarlsonFirstGrade/

Who is visiting us?

Get a Voki now!

Get a Voki now!

Halloween Party

Our Halloween Party will be on Friday, October 29th. We will have the party from aprox. 2:00-3:00. Your student can bring a costume that is easy for them to put on. Please no make-up or pretend weapons.

We will have enough with the people who signed up to bring things, but If you still want to bring something that is fine with me. Just please e-mail me or write in planner so I know what to plan for.

The kids that signed up to bring treats are as follows:

Sydnee- 1 gallon water
Amber- Rice Krispie bars or cookies
Isaac- Rice Krispie bars or cookies
Adam- crackers and cheese or other nutritious snack
Levi- Take home treats
Drayden - Halloween napkins- (he already brought these)
Sean P.- Halloween cups

Conferences

Today your students are bringing home a blue conference sign up sheet. It is stapled in their planner. Please return this as soon as you can, tomorrow preferably. Parent/Teacher conferences are scheduled for Tuesday, November 2nd (4:00-8:00) and Thursday, November 4th (4:00-8:00). We will schedule all students grades OK-6th. We will try to keep siblings within a 15 minute time span. If you have a child in preschool, you already signed them up for a time at open house. You will need to schedule accordingly because we do not schedule with preschool, we can only do our best with the information you provide us. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns about scheduling. If you would like to do it a different day, I will be available from 3:15-3:30 Monday-Thursday.

STOP, DROP, AND ROLL

Watch us Stop, drop, and Roll!

FIRST GRADE FIRE SAFETY

What do the First graders Have to Say About Fire Safety?

Tristan says: “It's important to know about fire safety because if there's a fire you have to have a meeting place, and if you don’t have a meeting place you just go outside. There was a lady who didn't have a meeting place and she ran back inside to look for her kids and died.”

Drayden says: “It's important to know about fire because you could get hurt”

Abbi says: “Don't touch anything that can start a fire”

Cael says: “If all the windows are on fire and the door is blocked wait for the firemen to come”

Levi says: “If you shirt is on fire, STOP, DROP, AND ROLL!”

Adam says: “Test your smoke alarms and if they work you will know there is a fire”

Teage says: “Never be scared of a firefighter”

Sean says: “It's important to know about about fire safety because if there's ever a fire in your house you won't know what to do”

Shawn says: “If there is a fire just get out as quick as you can”

Sydnee says: “Don't be scared of firemen they are just here to help you”

Devin says: “Never touch a cord or an outlet”

Austyn says: “Don't put a match in an outlet”

Paige W says: “Never play with lighters or matches”

HOMEWORK!!!!!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

YOU have homework! Your homework is DUE by Monday.

The class and I are going to check back on Monday and see who did their homework.

Your homework is to comment on this post and respond to this question:

What is your favorite thing about your child? (Make sure to tell us the first name of your child)

We are so excited to read the posts and "check" your homework!!!!! :)

How to Make a Pattern

What are you doing today?

Hi First Grade!

I am at a technololgy convention listening to Alan November speak today.

What are you guys doing on your day off? Parents?

Welcome Our New Student Devin!!! :)

Yesterday we got a new student named Devin. Devin came here from Prairie Valley and moved to Manson. Devin is a good reader and writer. Devin likes to play video games for fun. His favorite video games are alien video games. Devin has four brothers and one sister. There names are Kenny, Marcus, Jacob, Lucas, and Hailey. We are excited to have him in our class!!

Farewell Sarah! We Will Miss You!!

Yesterday was Sarah's last day at MNW. She is one of the sweetest, kindest girls I know. She is a poster child for using following the 5 pillars of character. She is moving to a new school and we wish her the best of luck! We know she will do great there!

We had a farewell party for her. Each student made her a card with their picture on it and we gave her a frame that said "friends" with our class picture in it. We also had a treat. Sarah brought Kit Kats and Mrs. Carlson brought cookies. Sarah got to choose what we did for fun. Her choices were Smartboard, heads up seven up, or extra recess. She chose to have an extra recess.

Magic Math Show

Today we had some fun during math (If you would have came, you may have thought I was a little loopy). I had all of the kids set their chairs up like a movie theatre. They had to each pay $100 dollars to come to the "Magic Math Show" and some gave tips. ;) (Pretend Money of course). I was the magic host of the show and there was audience participation, drum rolls involved. The kid's boo'ed me when the show was over....so I had to pretend leave and (pretend cry) and go in the hallway and come back in the room for a little bit longer "Math Magic Show". The kids sure were having fun, and so was I. We used the Smartboard to learn about counting nickles and pennies. We stressed the point of counting by fives to count nickels and counting big coins first. They are getting better at counting nickels and pennies and practice each day helps.

Book Order

Book orders due Friday, October 8th.

It's been awhile....

I must apologize for the lack of posts I have had lately. I will try to do a better job keeping you updated.

So what's been going on lately in first grade?

-Today, Picture day was a success. I tried my best to wipe off any left over breakfast faces, fix hair, and check clothing before each student got their pictures taken.

-Reading, I have been impressed with the amount of students who have been reading their Guided Reading book and getting Bear slips signed daily. All of the extra practice at home is sure showing at school. We have a lot of really good readers. Student's are passing sight word levels quickly and trying hard to pass the levels. If your child has been on a level for a while, continue to practice at home and remember they are only required to pass level 9 by the end of first grade.

-Word Journeys- These last few weeks have been a good trial period. Your child may move groups and that is because we want them to be learning at the right instructional level. We want them to be challenged, but not frustrated. Please take time to look over Friday tests scores, and continue to practice Word Journey words each week. I would like to suggest allowing your child to go to http://www.spellingcity.com/ to practice spelling their words. You will have to type in their word lists. I hope it helped to have their word lists stapled into their planner Monday?

-Math- The Everyday Math spiral curriculum has had students counting pennies and nickles, telling time, problem solving, measuring, etc. already. Students are in the stage of getting exposed to concepts and are by NO means expected to master any of these skills. I cannot believe how many students are bringing home-links back daily. You parents don't know how much this helps your child at school! I can not say thank you enough. Math seems to be a fun part of the day, the students have enjoyed playing the games.

I will try to post some pictures this week.

Thanks for all you do!

Blue and Orange Day...Homecoming 2010

Silly....

Serious...

School Pictures

School pictures will be Tuesday, September 28th.

Your child brought home a school picture order form yesterday. Please fill it out and return it even if you are not purchasing the pictures. They will still get their picture taken for the yearbook and for their student lunch ID cards.

Mrs. Smith's Class in ARIZONA

Yesterday we skyped with a first grade class in Arizona! Each student was able to introduce themselves. Next time we Skype, we are going to share about the areas we live. This is truly an interesting experience. Never would I have dreamed our students could interact with students in across the US. I will share more about our experience after our next meeting.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Today (for my 7^th time) I started reading aloud The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. We read 8 chapters, and the kids were begging me to keep reading. There is nothing better than that!

This is my ALL time favorite book to read aloud! The book is about a china doll rabbit who goes through the journey of life. Life takes him from home to home and throughout his journey the china doll changes from a selfish-rich china doll to a caring friend.

There is just something appealing to me about knowing what a stuffed rabbit is thinking. It always takes me back to my childhood. I can remember having an innocent imagination and having conversations with my dolls and stuffed animals. I remember thinking how cool it would be if they could think like humans do. I think every child has their own “Edward Tulane” whether it is a doll, teddy bear, or comfort blankie.

Please take time to talk to your child about this book and if you have a chance, read the book yourself. I just BEG you not to read it to your child until we are finished in class... haha! I have to hide the book in the classroom so the kids don't read ahead..

Homecoming

Today the kindergarten, first, and second grade teachers decided to celebrate Homecoming with dress up days. Please feel free to have your children participate in as many days as you would like. Thanks!

Tuesday- Silly Sock Day

Wednesday- Favorite Sports Team Day

Thursday- Spirit Day- Orange and Blue

Friday- Spirit Day

Guided Reading and 7 Things to Remember

Today was our first day of Guided Reading. There are four groups. The teachers are Mrs. Carlson, Mrs. Weltzheimer, Mrs. Nelson, and Mrs. Bleam. Each day your student will bring home a book in a baggie. Please have your child re-read the book to you. This will help them practice fluency. After your child has read the book to you, please sign the bear slip. Please send the book baggie and the bear reading slip back to school with them daily. The students will have a "bear" party after they have 20 slips signed.

I know there is a lot to remember in first grade, but please bear with me. This gets easier once the students are in a routine. Below is a list of 7 important things to remember. As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions.

7 THINGS TO REMEMBER FOR FIRST GRADE

1. PLANNER: This is sent home DAILY. Please sign and return with any notes you may have.

2. WORD JOURNEYS: New words are sent home each MONDAY. Word Journeys (Spelling) tests each FRIDAY.

3. GUIDED READING: A new book is sent home DAILY in a baggie. Please return them the following day.

4. BEAR SLIPS: A new slip is sent home DAILY please sign and send back to school in the baggie.

5. MATH HOME LINKS: Home links are to be done at home with help from family and sent home the following day. These are not sent home everyday. Please keep the "Family Letters", they do NOT need to be sent back to school.

6. SIGHT WORDS: New lists are sent home as needed. Mrs. Hokinson works with the kids approximately every other day on practicing reading the sight words. They do not need to spell these, just read them.

7. SHOW AND TELL: Show and Tell is each FRIDAY.

Birthdays this week!

Happy Birthday Chris!!! September 8th

Happy Birthday Shawn!!! September 5th

Real Money for Math Class

I am sending home a note today that asks you to send 10 pennies, 5 nickels, 10 dimes, and 2 quarters with your child in the baggie provided. Each child will need their own money for math class. We will start using the real money the beginning of next week. This money will be sent home at the end of the school year.

Word Journeys

Today we started Word Journeys which is our spelling program. We have four teachers teaching Word Journeys to allow for smaller groups and will be doing this daily from 8:45-9:05. The teachers are: Mrs. Carlson, Mrs. Weltzheimer, Mrs. Bleam, and Mrs. Nelson.

Your child will be bringing home a “refrigerator sheet” with the weeks words and the flash cards to cut out and review. This is your copy and does not need to come back to school. The words will be sent home each Monday. If you notice that your child did not bring them home in their take-home folder, please write a note in the planner to let me know. I will make sure they get home the following day. I am trying to get the kids into a routine of bringing these home each Monday and practicing during the week to be prepared for the tests on Friday.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

13 Ways to Motivate Kids to Read

*See a movie that’s based on a book. Then, read the book together.
*Encourage your child to read for fun by reading entertaining books, newspapers, and magazine articles together.
*Have your child read the recipe as you make something fun, like a favorite family dish.
*Read stories out loud, either to your child or with your child.
*Encourage your child to explore new interests by signing up for a sports team, summer camp, or even a fun summer class.
*Then, find books and magazine articles about his or her new interests and read them together.
*Have older children read out loud to their younger siblings.
*Make reading together enjoyable by focusing on the meaning of what you read rather than focusing on reading accuracy.
*Talk to your child about things he or she has read in school or at home.
*Get a library card and help your child check out books related to his or her life and interests.
*Play board games that involve reading, and include siblings and friends whenever you can.
*Have your child watch reading-focused television programs on PBS.
*Make reading a family event by having 15-30 minutes of family reading time every day.

Listen to our favorite part of the 3 Little Pigs

Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin......

Today we read two different books based on the tale of the 3 Little Pigs. We then re-told the story to our friends!

Teage tells Isaac the story of the 3 little pigs.

Lydia, Sydnee, and Paige W. take turns telling their version of The 3 Little Pigs!




Tristan and Adam get their characters all ready!



Meghan and Odyssey are careful to line the parts up in order.


The first little pig built his house out of straw..the second little pig built his house out of sticks...and the third little pig built his house out of bricks...

Book Order Due Friday

Just a friendly reminder that the book orders are due on Friday, September 3rd if you want to order anything.

EARLY DISMISSAL TODAY

In case you haven't heard...we will be dismissing early today, due to heat. 1:10 shuttle and 1:30 route buses. Buses will arrive in Manson at 1:30 and the starlite bus will arrive there at 1:45.

With a Quack Quack here, and a Quack Quack there......

I will apologize now for any unusual farm animal noises you are hearing from your first grader. :) We have been learning about farm animals this week and have enjoyed every minute of it. We have each designed and shared a farm. Some of us had some interesting animals at our farms including: elk, alligators, turtles, and the normal farm animals. One of us even had a TRAIN at our farm. We watched/read a fiction book flick on the Smart board called Click, Clack, Moo and watched/read a non-fiction book about pigs. We have also solved and made farm riddles, sang Old McDonald, and colored muddy pigs.

We still have a lot of fun things to do!! Tomorrow and Wednesday we are going to do an activity with The Three Little Pigs, read One Red Rooster, and listen to Funny Farm. I encourage you to have a conversation with your child about farm animals. It sure is fun to listen to what they know!

Our First Skype Experience

We just got the webcam up and running. We are going to Skype with Mrs. Carlson's cousin (Emma) who is a 7th grader at Spirit Lake Middle School and Mrs. Carlson's grandma and grandpa. Emma's school just started the 1:1 laptop inicitive just like MNW did. They do not start school until Monday, so she is able to talk with us today. Also, Mrs. Carlson's grandparent's health will not allow them to travel to school to visit. Skype will let them meet us and see our classroom.

We are hoping to meet with other family members via Skype. If any of you would be interested in Skyping with us at school, please let us know. You could read us a story, meet our class, or help us with a class project. More details to come...

Watch the short video clip...We have a question for you!

Monster Squeeze

Playing "Monster Squeeze" on the Smart Board. The students think of a number between one and thirteen. They call on other students to guess what number they are thinking of. They then give them a hint and tell them if they need to guess a higher or lower number.

Book Order

Parents/Guardians,

I will be sending a Scholastic book order home monthly. This month's book order will be due September 3rd. You may order online, or send the order form to school with your child. Please note... this is for fun, you do NOT have to order. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Thanks,

Mrs. Carlson

Scholastic Book Order

Order Due Date: September 3

Online Ordering Information
Web address: scholastic.com/bookclubs
Class Activation Code: GM33L

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Now it's easier than ever to find the right books for your child — and help us earn FREE books for our classroom library at the same time! With new online ordering from Scholastic Book Clubs, you can choose from a much wider selection of books than in the printed flyer. Plus, you can send your orders directly to me online and use your credit card. Best of all, our class earns a FREE book every time a parent places their order online.

It's so simple! Here's how it works:

1. SIGN UP at www.Scholastic.com/bookclubs. On the parent page, click the "Don't have a User Name and Password?" link, and then register for your own username and password. When prompted, enter the one-time Class Activation Code shown above. This code ensures that your order is sent to me.

2. SELECT the books you'd like to order from over 500 titles available online...and take advantage of online-only specials and discounts.

3. SEND your order to me online by the due date. Books will be delivered directly to our classroom, as always.

Of course, you can still order using the form from the printed flyer. But why not experience for yourself how convenient it is to order online?

Ordering online is fast, easy, and secure. Plus our whole class benefits thanks to the FREE books we'll earn with every parent online order.

Go to www.Scholastic.com/bookclubs now to get started.

Thank you,
Mrs. Carlson

Our First Virtual Feild Trip

Today we used our imaginations to fly from our school to the San Diego Zoo. When we got there we saw pandas, elephants, polar bears, and apes. Your child may ask you to take them there and below are the directions to do so:

1.) Go to http://www.sandiegozoo.org/pandacam/
2.) Click on the "live cams and videos" to view the other animals
3.) Have a great time!

Mrs. Carlson

"Making Faces"

Today we "made faces"... literally, not at each other. haha! It was a lot of fun to see the different faces and all the creativity that took place. This activity reminded us that no two people are the same, and that it is important to treat people with differences with kindness and respect.



Paige looks just like the face she made!


Teage's face has a BIG smile!! :)

Brayden, Cael, and Drayden are proud of their twins.

Amber does a nice job cutting.

Chris and Isaac are having fun "making faces".

Paige is hard at work!