Mrs. Veldman's 1st Grade Classroom Blog

Our class is scheduled to visit the Holiday Shop (located in the Library) on Tuesday, December 8, from 1:05 to 1:40 pm. A shopping planner will be coming home soon to help you and your little shopper prepare for their visit.
This event is planned, prepared and staffed by the Georgetown PTC. We thank them for their generosity with their time and talents.

Please refer to the calendar for daily specials. (I think I finally have it right!) Please, also, consider keeping a pair of indoor only tennis shoes here at school. It is especially helpful for those days when we wear boots to and from home…..just one less thing to pack in the backpack.

One of my most favorite and silly things to do is sit down in a quiet corner of the children’s book section at Barnes and Noble with a HUGE pile of books. While my family is looking for the books or music that they are interested in, I sit and read picture book after picture book after picture book. I could stay there for hours!  And, almost every time I do this, I end up with lots of little friends around me…..listening to the stories. And it never fails, my family has to come looking for me when they are ready to go. My kids think I’m just plain silly!

We continue to work in our small guided reading groups. Students are matched with a book which is slightly more difficult to read independently than WEB books. During our group time, we learn about features in words, practice using decoding strategies, fluency and comprehension skills. The guided reading groups are always changing….students are matched with others reading at the same level and ability. I am so excited to see the changes already in these young readers…..each one seems to have grown in his/her confidence.

When your child is not working in a guided reading group, he/she is working independently to complete several literacy activities. The literacy packets are designed to help our students practice skills that good readers and writers use everyday. This is a big change from the literacy groups in kindergarten…students are in charge of their own learning for the day. I just love to watch first graders grow into capable and confident readers!

Wow! We have really been working hard the past few weeks….we are coming up on the end of our second unit in our new math series. We have worked on addition and subtraction, using pictures and circle drawings to show our thinking. We have even spent time working on writing equations, both horizontally and vertically on the paper.
After a few days of review and the unit assessment, we will be spending a few days working in ability groups and learning new math games.
(Just a note: this means there may not be much homework over the next week.)

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I had to remove the earlier post about the Holiday Gift Shop. The schedule is being “tweaked” and I will need to sign up again next week. Updates will be coming soon…..

With all of the yucky germs around the classroom lately, we’ve been talking a lot about ways to keep ourselves germ-free.
I have tissue and hand sanitizer available to use in the classroom. We also take time for frequent hand washing breaks with anti-bacterial soap.
Please help your child practice sneezing and/or coughing into their elbow, as they turn their head away from others. Remind them also to always wash their hands after using the restroom and before eating.
Thank you so much for your help!

This week we finished up and took the final assessment for our first science unit. Properties of Matter was especially exciting since we spent some time each lesson experimenting with different types of matter. We found out which types of matter were able to float or sink in water. We learned about magnets and how they work. We even learned about attributes….what a great beginning for us!

You have another opportunity to RSVP for our upcoming December 1st Kids Art Fair! An RSVP form and Art Fair information will be sent home with students this week.

Please note that returning your RSVP to Mrs. Brouwer does NOT mean that you must purchase your child’s framed artwork. The RSVP just lets the Kids Art Fair people know how many frames to ship to Georgetown for the event. So please RSVP if you plan to attend and celebrate your child’s creativity, enjoy a fun make-n-take art project, and register for some cool door prizes to be given away during the evening.

Also – Georgetown’s December Kids Art Fair does not take the place of the annual district-wide Student Art Show, which will be held as usual in April 2010.

We hope to see you at Georgetown’s Art Fair on December 1st between 4-7 PM! Volunteers are still needed to help out – please contact Mrs. Brouwer!
Email: jbrouwer@hpseagles.net

Phone: 616.797.9797 ext. 22412
Art Blog http://josettebrouwer.edublogs.org

Save the Date!

Just a quick note to SAVE THE DATE for our 2009 Georgetown Holiday program!

Although it seems like a long ways away, it will be here before you know it. So mark it on your calendar!
December 10, 2009 at 7:00 pm, Resurrection Life Church*
More details will be coming from Mrs. Bretz soon.

*This is the facility that we rent for our school wide performance.