Wed.

I wanted to keep everyone up to date on tomorrow's plans.  All this week we are working on comparing/contrasting Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.  We are listening to some of the audio play and watching 3 versions of the story.  Students will then be comparing/contrasting them with each other.  We will be identifying plot, characters, setting, etc...  This work will continue on Wednesday.  Whenever we finish with these projects we will have our Christmas snacks.  Students can just bring their snacks in the morning and we will keep them in the workroom until they are needed.  Students have also had work plans this week, so they will be finishing that tomorrow as well.

Thanks :)

Mrs. B

Snack List

December 17^th Wed.

Christmas Celebration

Snacks

String Cheese – Aubrey M. and Elisabeth

Yogurt (Gogurt) -  Aubrey R. and Chase

Fresh Fruit – Sara /Clare/Khaki

Tortilla Chips – Kristian/Breanna/Elisabeth

Salsa – Allen/Kristian

Pretzels – Marygrace /Annelise/Sara

Capri Sun (100% juice) – Marcus and Ethan

Mini Cupcakes – Nova/Rebekah/Aubrey M.

Juice boxes – Ethan and Drake

Baked Potato Chips – Chase and Reid F.

Fresh veggies – Noah and Todd

Rice Krispy Treats – Reed C. and Will

RIFA and Hawaiian Ornaments

Thanks again for all your help with the RIFA donations!

RIFA donations :)

262 Items

We have 262 items for RIFA! :)  Our next goal is 300 :)

150 Items

We collected 150 items today!  We reached our first 2 goals, and we are half-way to 300 :)  The kids are super excited, and I am happy to see them learning about helping others!

42 Items :)

Yay!  We have 42 items to donate to RIFA!  We only need 8 more to get to our first goal!!  Remember you can bring any canned food item, non-perishable food, or anything on RIFA's list.

Thanks so much!!

Mrs. B

RIFA

Our class will begin collecting items tomorrow for RIFA.    We want to learn about helping others and giving to people in need.  I am attaching the link to the RIFA website where you can see the list of items that they need.http://www.rifajackson.org/

We would like to have everything by Friday, so we can take it before Thanksgiving week.
Our classroom goals will be in 3 increments:

When we reach 50 items -  We will have 30 extra minutes of Free Choice on Friday

If we reach 100 items - We will have 30 extra minutes of Free  Choice and 30 extra minutes of Recess

If we reach 300 items - We will have 30 extra minutes of Free Choice , 30 extra minutes of recess, and a movie with popcorn.

If we reach 500 items - We will have 30 extra minutes of Free Choice, 30 extra minutes of Recess, a movie with popcorn, drinks, and mini-cupcakes.

An item can be any canned good, non-perishable food item, or an item on RIFA's list of needs.

Thanks for helping!
Mrs. B

Book Fair

Our Book Fair times next week are Monday 12:30 - 12:55  and   Thursday 9:00 - 9:25

Updates

Thanksgiving Lunch will be Thursday - 11:25 is our lunch time

Students need to come up with an idea for a Hawaiian Christmas ornament by Friday.  They DO NOT need to make anything!  They just need an idea.  We will make the actual ornament in class next week.

Thanks,

Mrs. B

ASL

http://www.aslpro.com/cgi-bin/aslpro/phrases.cgi

http://www.aslpro.com/cgi-bin/aslpro/phrases.cgi

Great Places to visit in Jackson

http://www.jacksonrecandparks.com/leagues/custom_page.cfm?clientid=3046&leagueid=0&pageid=558

http://tnstateparks.com/parks/about/pinson-mounds

ASL

http://www.aslpro.com/cgi-bin/aslpro/aslpro.cgi

http://www.aslpro.com/cgi-bin/aslpro/aslpro.cgi

Projects

I apologize for the infrequent updates to the blog; the school system network frequently blocks Blogger, making it a little more difficult for me to update.  I want to thank all the parents for coming to Parent-teacher conferences; it was great to see you!  For those of you that could not make it, I will get in touch with you about setting up another time.  We will have time on Friday in the classroom for students to work on their Hawaii projects if they need to finish anything.  The projects will be put out on display next Tuesday afternoon.  For the food aspect of our culture, we are just going to serve pineapple juice.  If anyone would like to contribute juice or small juice cups, just make sure you bring them in before next Thursday October 30th.  Thanks in advance!

Mrs. B

Tomorrow students can bring $$ to buy a treat at the cone-ball tournament.  The concessions will be 50 cents each.  I hope everyone was able to figure out the report cards; I apologize for filling them out incorrectly!

September 8th

Picture Day is tomorrow, however students still have to wear school uniforms.  This week students will be working on addition facts, living and non-living things, nouns, and growing up :)

Friday

Parents,

This week students did a little better on their work plans.  They will come home Tuesday, so you can see what they completed and read any comments I may have made.  Next week I will give my 1st levels and some 2nd levels sight words to bring home.  They should practice reading the words each night.  All students are encouraged to practice reading, handwriting, or math facts a little each night.

Flat Stanley

Spelling Words for week Aug. 25th - 29th

1st Levels

• pin
• kiss
• win
• sad
• hit
• map
• sit
• be
• miss
• ride

2nd Levels

• bag
• cap
• ham
• bake
• ate
• mad
• back
• cape
• made
• rake

3rd Levels

• fail
• bay
• pail
• ray
• plain
• tray
• May
• braid
• sway
• gray
• plays
• paint
• snail
• great
• safe
• rice
• globe
• lady
• afraid

August 25th

Parents,

Tomorrow is Blue/Yellow Day. Students may wear  a blue shirt, yellow shirt, school shirt, or spirit shirt with uniform pants.  This is to celebrate the selling of 300 Smart Cards.  We are continuing to work this week on our workplans and group lessons.  Many students are having trouble completing their work, so we may switch from working on all our week assignments to working on one day at a time.  We are trying to figure out what works best for the class.

Monday August 18th

Today we read the story The Very Busy Spider, this will be the basis of our activities this week.  I met with small groups to discuss work plans and explain each assignment.  We completed a whole group activity, before beginning our work plans.  Students had the opportunity to work independently from 9am-11:20am, 12:00-12:35, and 1:00-1:45.  Students should have their work from last week in their folder for you to sign and return tomorrow.

Wed. August 13, 2014

Good Evening Parents :)

Friday is Hat Day, so your child can wear a hat if they would like.  Today we continued working on our work plans.  Remember that their work plans are for in-class work, they have PLENTY of time to do this work in class.  Some of our new students are still adjusting to the new Montessori style, so they may be a little behind and that is fine.  Students do not have to work on their workplans at home, unless they have a meeting with me on Friday and we decide this is the best opinion.  I do always encourage students to practice their Spelling words at home and to read any books that they enjoy!


Reminder of our schedule:

Lunch - 11:25 - 11:55

Tuesday - Art/Music 9:45

Wed. - Computer Lab 8:30

            PE 9:35
         
            Guidance/Library 12:30

There are no scheduled activity classes on Monday, Thursday, and Friday.

Spelling Words

1st Grade

• man
• ran
• cat
• can
• hat
• up
• mat
• down

2nd Grade

• has
• wag
• bad
• six
• will
• sat
• had
• fix
• him
• if

3rd Grade

• clap
• step
• sick
• rock
• luck
• crop
• snack
• mess
• head
• shut
• miss
• stamp
• jump
• click
• pond
• cat
• man
• can
• bathtub
• anthill

Work Plans/Learning Plans

Parents,

I forgot to send home the Snack Schedule today...so sorry!  We will send it tommorow.  Today we began our work plans.  The students are responsible for working independently on their plans throughout the day.  Students should complete at least 5 works a day to stay on schedule.  Our 1st and 2nd levels had no problems staying on task, some of our 3rd levels however spent a lot more time socializing rather than working.  Please talk to your children about the importance of using our time effectively.  All papers and the work plans will be sent home on Mondays for parents to sign and look over.  Thanks,

Mrs. B

Reminder- We have Art/Music on Tuesdays at 9:45 and we have Computer, PE, and Library/Guidance on Wednesdays.

Week 2

Parents,

I will be sending a snack schedule home this week that goes through Christmas.  Mrs. Harris asked us to remind parents to try to bring healthy snacks for the classroom.  She also wanted us to remind our parents that fast food is not allowed in the building at any time.  Also, if you are checking your child out early, you must do so before 2:45.

This week we will start working on our lessons and workplans/learning plans.  These will come home on Friday for you to review and sign.

Mrs. B

Day 4

This morning we are creating portraits of our life:)

And we were entertained by music:)

Day 3

Today we completed our ABC books, had library, PE, and computer lab! The kids had lots of fun:).  We have decided as a class that to preserve the peaceful learning environment we will only have ice cream at lunch on Fridays.  Students can purchase ice cream for $0.75.

Day 2

Today we continued to work on our ABC books,went over rules and procedures, and practiced working independently with our Montessori materials.  The students did great!  Tomorrow we have computer lab, PE, and library.  If your child does not have a pair of headphones, feel free to send some tomorrow for them to use in computer lab.  I am enjoying getting to know all of your children:)

Day 1

We had a great first day of school!  Today we went over rules and procedures, created illustrations of rules, and started working on an alphabet book.  We also had an opportunity to have lunch together and go out for recess:). We will continue to talk about rules and procedures throughout the week, with an emphasis on being courteous, respectful, and effective in the classroom.

First Week of School

Parents,

The 1/2 day of school went very well; everyone seemed to settle in nicely!  Your child may have made it home with a brown paper bag that they decorated.  If they did, they can put something or multiple things in the bag that represent themselves and we will share with the class Monday morning.  This is not an extensive project, it can be as simple as a family photo or their favorite toy.  This week we will be working on procedures such as, lunch choice, eating breakfast, walking down the hallway, restoring our environment, raising our hands to speak, practicing our sign language, gathering on the carpet, etc..  We will be sending home folders tomorrow with info from the office and an info sheet from me to be filled out whenever you have time. :)  I also wanted to introduce my children that will be a Bemis this year: Gavin, Glory, Gracie, and Gibson.  They also have a little brother Griffin that is 1 year old :)

Mrs. B

Supplies

Parents,

It is my personal opinion that sometimes teachers get a bit excessive with supply lists.  Being a mother of 5, I always try not to do this!  What I usually do is add some things as optional, that why you can contribute them if you want.  In the Montessori classroom everything will be community goods, so you don't have to label anything.  I am going to work off of Mrs. Everette's list that she had already made, so if you already purchased those items you will be fine:)  Also, if you have some of these items already that are used, such as binders, colored pencils, crayons, jars....that is fine!  There is no need to buy brand new stuff if you have items that are still functioning!

• 2 boxes of Kleenex
• 1 box of washable markers (regular or fine line....get both is you want to:)
• 1 box of colored pencils
• 1 box of crayons
• 1 composition notebook
• 1 red plastic folder with brads
• 1blue folder with brads and pockets
• 1 glue stick (or a pack if you prefer)
• 2 large erasers
• 1 - 1-2 inch binder (feel free to let students pick a binder of their choice/design...they love that:)
• 3 pkgs of #2 pencils
• 3 pkgs of regular ruled notebook paper
• 1 pkg of cap erasers
• 1 pack of Cleaning wipes or baby wipes

Optional items

• Lysol spray
• Paper towels
• set of headphones or ear buds
• mason jars (to keep supplies in)
• clipboard
• envelopes and stamps (I am working on getting us Pen Pals :)
• ziploc snack bags
• small bottled waters