Welcome to 1st Grade!

Dear New 1st Grade Families,

Welcome to the 2018-2019 school year! I am thrilled to be your child's teacher, and look forward to being your partner in educating your child during the year ahead. Please be sure to check out the "All About Mrs. Mueller" tab above to learn more about me and my family. Also, please subscribe to this blog to receive email notification on blog updates. (You should receive an email once you do. If you don't see an email in your inbox, check your spam folder. They often wind up there.) If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at hmueller@hpseagles.net.

For those of you wanting to get a head start on school supplies, here is the suggested 1st grade list:

• 24 count box of crayons
• Pre-Sharpened Pencils, standard yellow #2 pencils work great (shared with the classroom)
• 2 Glue Sticks
• A pencil box - 5x8, standard size, please. A flat, smooth surface on top makes it easy to tape name tags to.
• WHITE, 1" clear view binder (the kind with a clear sleeve on front cover that paper can be inserted into)
• 3x3 Post it notes (for the classroom) 
• Scissors (Optional - I do have a class set, but they are aging!)
• Thin Crayola markers
• An empty Pringels container - standard size (if you have more than one, please send in extras!)
• A framed picture of your family (this will be returned at conferences in November)
• Box(es) of tissues

I will also send out a sign up genius as we get closer to the start of the year with some other helpful items for the classroom. Our open house will take place on Wednesday, August 22nd 6:30-7:30pm. I look forward to meeting you all then!
Enjoy the remainder of your summer, be sure to read to your child often, make lots of memories, and I will see you before we know it!

For your children,
Holly R. Mueller (pronounced Miller)

Updates/Reminders

No formal newsletter today, just a few updates/reminders:

1. LIBRARY BOOKS: Today was our last day of library. Please make sure all library books are returned ASAP. If your child does not bring home a book today, that means they have one already at home that is past due. Please start looking! Thanks!

2. WEB BOOKS: The last time these will head home is next week Thursday. Please make sure your child returns his/her WEB book bag by Friday, June 1.

3. 2ND GRADE BRIDGE NIGHT: A reminder to make sure you have Monday, June 4 7:30-8:00pm reserved for one parent to attend this meeting. A note with an RSVP will go home on Tuesday. Keep your eye out for a yellow note!

4. BEACH TOWELS: Your child may bring one beach towel to school to keep here for the final two weeks of school. There may be a few times when we are able to head outside for reading, and having towels to sit on helps. These will be stored in their lockers.

I think that is it for now! Be sure to check the Bauer Bits for other important dates and details for the final weeks!

Field Trip!

I am pretty sure that our field trip could not have gone any better. What an amazing day with some amazing kiddos! Thank you to the many volunteers that joined us for our trip today. You were a fantastic group. You will definitely have some tired (and sandy!) kiddos this evening!
Enjoy these pictures:)

We started off on a hayride at the farm. 

Next we headed into the barn to meet some animals. We were able to touch baby ducklings, chicks, a lamb, bunnies, and more. 

Our third station was fishing!

And Marissa caught one!

Pony Rides!

Duck, Duck Goose while waiting to head to the park. 

Some pretty awesome kids!

The beach was amazing! Absolutely beautiful!

And half of the crew took a little nap on the way home. Precious!

Such an amazing day - wonderful memories made! 

First Grade Update

Coming Up:
Friday, May 18: Spirit Day - Sports Attire
Thursday, May 24th Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast - 8:45am-10:30am 
Thursday, May 24th: 1st grade field trip 
Monday, May 28: No School
Monday, June 4: 7:30-8:00pm - Second Grade Bridge Night - One parent per family plan to attend
Friday, June 8: Last Day of School, Early Release Day

Assembly:
We enjoyed a wonderful assembly from the children's singing group Gemini yesterday. Ask your child to share with you what their favorite song. Check out their music and find performance dates when you can see them in concert: https://www.geminichildrensmusic.com/ 
Check out some pictures and videos below. 

Routines:
Anyone else feel like the nights are jammed full this time of year? Between baseball games, soccer games, playing outside, and more, our nights seem to be anything but routine in the spring. This time of year, especially as students are anticipating the end of the school year approaching, keeping to a routine when possible is key. I am noticing more students forgetting to bring a snack, less WEB books being returned, library books, etc. While some routines will naturally change as the seasons change, remember how important it is for children to have a good night's sleep and keep to some sense of routine. (I keep trying to remind myself of this with my own family!)

Library Books:
Yesterday we had 9 students missing their library books. We switched our library day to this Monday instead. If your child has not returned their book yet, please help them search at home for it and place it in their backpack.

Reading and Writing:
We have completed our first animal research story. These first graders worked hard and wrote some amazing pieces! It is so fun to watch students researching, taking notes, writing in their own words, and learning some interesting facts along the way. This week they chose a new topic to write about. Some students chose another animal, some chose other topics such as: weather, trains, seasons, and more. This will be the final piece to work on together before our on demand assessment piece.

Math:
The past two weeks we have explored 2D and 3D shapes, as well as halves and fourths. Ask your child to point out the following shapes in their environment: sphere, cube, rectangular prism, cone and cylinder. We will move into measurement using nonstandard units of measure.

First Grade Update

Just a few quick dates to share:

Coming Up:
Friday, May 11: Early Release Day - Gemini music assembly 
Friday, May 18: Spirit Day - Sports Attire
Thursday, May 24th Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast - 8:45am-10:30am 
Thursday, May 24th: 1st grade field trip 
Monday, May 28: No School
Monday, June 4: 7:30-8:00pm - Second Grade Bridge Night (see below)
Friday, June 8: Last Day of School, Early Release Day

Second Grade Bridge Night:
On Monday, June 4, please plan to join me in our classroom for a night we are titling "2nd Grade Bridge Night." Please plan to send at least one parent to this event. Your children have made tremendous strides with literacy this year. This meeting will be important to wrap up 1st grade and make sure you have everything you need to know to help make the summer and transition to 2nd grade as smooth as possible. If childcare is needed, please let me know ASAP. Please let me know ASAP if this will be not be possible for your family to send one adult. 
If you have any questions, please let me know! 

Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast:
We have had some pretty wonderful parent volunteers in our classroom this year. They have read with your children, made copies, sorted data binders and more! 

Please join me in thanking: Cat Rische, Katelyn Gates, Tim Nolte, Vanessa Nolte, Renee DeGood and Joy Lamfers. 

These parents have generously given their time and efforts by volunteering at Bauer Elementary this year, and as a result, the BES Staff would like to invite them to a Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast. Thursday, May 24th 8:45am-10:30am in the Teacher's Lounge. Whether they have made copies, read with students, organized events or countless other things, we want to thank them! Parent volunteers, please join us for this open house style breakfast.
(Knowing this fell on the day of our field trip unfortunately, please stop in at 8:45 before we head out to grab a quick bite to eat!)

First Grade News

It has been such a wonderful SPRING week of sunshine! Finally! It was a very busy week. Please see below to check out what has been happening!

Coming Up:
Monday, April 30: Class book order due
Friday, May 4: Field Trip Permission Slip Due
Friday, May 11: Early Release Day
Friday, May 18: Spirit Day - Sports Attire
Thursday, May 24th: 1st grade field trip 
Monday, May 28: No School

Book Orders:
If you are interested in ordering books from the book order, please have your order in by Monday, April 30. This will be the last class order before summer. I love seeing the great titles some of you have chosen for your children already! Head to www.scholastic.com - our class code is LGVW7.

Family Read Aloud Books:
Those that are participating in the family read aloud this time around will be receiving the book and study guide home today. Have fun reading!

Reading and Writing:
We have learned so much about our animals! We have researched and written about their life cycle, homes, food, and fun facts. Ask your child to share what animal he or she is writing about and what they have learned. Next week we will be writing our introduction and conclusion. It is exciting to see students apply all they have learned as readers and writers as they research and write!

Math:
We have begun unit 7 and have learned how to tell time to the hour and half hour on both analog and digital clocks. Any extra practice students can get at home, especially to the half hour, would be great.

Social Studies:
Some students have mastered writing their address independently, others are still working on it. Next week we will practice drawing maps of spaces and using a key to do so. 

First Grade News

We are back and rolling. I hope everyone had a wonderful spring break. Hold on tight - the next 8 weeks will absolutely fly by (yes, I said 8 weeks. Yikes!). We are working hard and have a lot to accomplish to be ready for 2nd grade!

Coming Up:
Monday, April 16: Family Read Aloud form and money due
April 19: Mother/Son Bowling
Monday, April 23: Bauer Art Show 5:30-7:30pm
Monday, April 30: Class book order due
Friday, May 11: Early Release
Friday, May 18: Spirit Day: Sports Attire
Thursday, May 24th: 1st grade field trip - details to come next week
Monday, May 28: No School

Family Read Aloud, Part 2:
Hopefully you received the blue note that came home Tuesday about our next family read aloud: The Mouse and the Motorcycle. I wish you could have seen the excitement in the classroom when students saw the note in their mailboxes! We looked for a book that was a little shorter this time, and one that was still a minimum cost. If you choose to participate, please be sure to send in $2 by Monday. If you already have the book and would like to participate, please return the note indicating this. If you have recycled the note already, an email will also work.

Book Order:
I will also be sending out forms for one final book order on Monday. This is a great chance to stock up for the summer. There are several other inexpensive read aloud options available through Scholastic. Keep in mind that there are hundreds more titles on the website, so be sure to browse there. You can order at https://clubs.scholastic.com. Our class code is: LGVW7

Addresses: 
We have begun working on learning to write our addresses. Some students have had a head start by practicing at home. Thank you for your work. We have practiced Hudsonville, MI 49426 thus far. Next week we will add on house numbers and street names.
Students were introduced to Google Earth today - talk about some excitement! They would enjoy exploring this site at home if possible. They could enter their address, a relatives address, favorite vacation spots, and more!

Reading and Writing:
We have begun new reading and writing units that work hand in hand. Each student selected an animal to write about. They have been researching this animal, and are writing an information book about it. It is so exciting to see students reading with such purpose. If your child would like to do any online research at home and print out what he or she finds, they may bring it in to use the information in class. Ask your child what animal they have chosen!

Math:
We are wrapping up unit 6 with our test next week. Our next unit starts with telling time to the hour and half hour. Feel free to start exposing your child to these at home on a digital or analog clock.

Word Work:
If you have not done so yet, grab those whiteboards and have your child practice writing his or her address this weekend. This will be so helpful heading into next week!