Newsletter 11-24-15

Mueller Moments

1st Grade * Bauer Elementary * Mrs. Holly Mueller * hmueller@hpseagles.net

November 24, 2015

Thank you for your love and support over the past few days. My brother-in-law’s journey is not over, but it will be soon. I am thankful for the thanksgiving holiday break to be with our family. Should anything arise next week, and I need to be out, I will for sure pass that along.

When I think of things I am thankful for, your incredible children are definitely one of them. I have the best job ever! And your children are such a blessing to me. I hope you enjoy your time together this thanksgiving. 

• Coming up:
• Star Student: Savanah K. 
• November 25-27 - No School
• Wednesday, December 2 - PE Day - Wear your gym shoes!
• Thursday, December 3 - Shopping at Santa’s Secret Shop 
• Thursday, December 10 - Holiday Music Program

• Reading: Your child may have mentioned the new book we are reading, Meet Addy, from the American Girl series of books. This is very heavy to read, but is excellent literature, and depicts the era of slavery well. I love seeing the boys react the first day I tell them they will read an American Girl book, and within a day or two, they are completely captivated! We have continued to work on characters this past week as we think about what our characters are doing, how they are feeling, what they like and don’t like, and what they are thinking. 

• Writing: We began writing opinion letters. We wrote a letter altogether, chose topics to write about, chose an audience, and used a graphic organizer to supply reasons. We also had some fun writing some things we are thankful for with our classmates, and wrote a persuasive letter for what we think we should eat at thanksgiving dinner. 

• Spelling: We began unit # 4 in spelling. Our words this week were is, you, in. Next week our words will be you, that, it. 

• Math: We continued to work on story problems, and moved into subtraction story problems. Please be sure to log on to xtra math at home over this long break. It is fun for me to log in and see which students are practicing at home. Thank you to those of you that are doing so. If you need another sheet with login information, please let me know. 

• Social Studies: Next week we will begin a social studies unit on economics. We will be studying producers and consumers, wants and needs, scarcity, and more. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

~ Holly R. Mueller

Newsletter 11-13-15

Mueller Moments

1st Grade * Bauer Elementary * Mrs. Holly Mueller * hmueller@hpseagles.net

November 13, 2015

Well, 70 degrees last week, and our first snowflakes today! Good old Michigan weather was in full swing this week. This is a good time to make sure snow pants, boots, and the rest of your child’s winter gear is ready to go. Be sure to LABEL each item with your child’s name! Also, once we are wearing boots, please be sure to send your child with shoes that he/she can put on independently. If they cannot tie shoes yet, wait until spring to tackle that one! With 28 students, it takes a long time to tie 56 shoes each day! Thank you for your understanding and help with this. (And let’s hope we have a while before those need to be worn!)

We have some exciting news coming at the end of the day today - we had the greatest percentage of participation for our spirit day today! Be sure to check out our photos on the blog. Students won a candy treat. 

Coming up:

Star Student: Luc Gunnink

Through November 20 - PE Cares food drive. Send in any non-perishable food item. Any items will do. The winning class receives a bowling field trip and t-shirts! Get those donations in any day of the week. (We have not had too many yet - please consider helping with this!).

Monday, November 16 - PE Day - Wear your gym shoes!

Thursday, November 19 - PE Day - Wear your gym shoes!

November 25-27 - No School

Thursday, December 3 - Shopping at Santa’s Secret Shop 

Thursday, December 10 - Holiday Music Program

Reading: We wrapped up Charlotte’s Web this week. It doesn’t matter how many times I have read this book, I still get goosebumps as children hear this story for the first time! We enjoyed all of the emotions that are felt with this story. 

This week we started Unit 3 - Readers Meet the Characters in Our Books. We explored with Library Mouse, Biscuit, and Elephant and Piggie. We learned ways we can talk with our partners about our characters.

Writing: We began Unit 3 in writing - Writing Opinion Letters for Social Action. We focused this week on opinion vs. fact. We also talked about how to support our opinions. Thank you for playing the game I emailed home earlier this week: “What do you prefer”. Continue to do so this weekend, encouraging more detailed reasons why. Next week we will write our first letters.

Spelling: We have completed our first 2 spelling units. On Monday we will take our first dictation assessment. Students are bringing home a paper in folders that has their 5 spelling words to practice: the, and, of, a, to. Of would be an especially good one to practice!

Math: We began Unit 3 this week, and dove into story problems with unknown partners. On Tuesday a parent letter went home that explained some background that is helpful for you as you work with your child. I also posted two examples on our blog that you can look at as an example as well. Along with starting our new unit, we switched our format to math workshop. Students are split into 3 groups, and rotate among three stations: Teacher Time, Math Journal, and Math Games. It has been an adjustment for everyone as we learn this new structure and routine. 

We also used xtramath.org in the computer lab for the first time. Your child is bringing home a letter in their folder today with information on how to use this site at home, as well as their password. The neat thing is that your child can log in at home and pick up where they left off at school, and at school, they will pick up where they left off at home! It is a great resource for practicing math facts. If possible, please give it a try this weekend. 

LEAD Time: This week our lead time focused on telling the truth. We read “Ruthie and the not so Teeny, Tiny Lie,” and watched the movie, “Howard B. Wigglebottom and the Monkey on His Back.” Our quote this week was: “The truth may hurt for a little while, but a lie hurts forever.” We were able to have great discussions this week!

For your children!

~ Holly R. Mueller

Spirit Day Champions!

We headed out west today! Enjoy these cowboys and cowgirls! 

Homework

Need help in how to help your child with honework? The parent letter that went home Tuesday is helpful. And here is an example of how showing work can look. Please encourage math mountains! 

6 Mistakes Article

I found a great article tonight, and I wanted to pass it along to you. These are fantastic suggestions. (And yes, I was guilty of a few of these when my children were younger!) Great reminders for everyone. Enjoy reading it!

http://cloudmom.com/baby-basics/6-mistakes-that-make-your-kids-hate-reading/

Newsletter 11-6-15

Mueller Moments

1st Grade * Bauer Elementary * Mrs. Holly Mueller * hmueller@hpseagles.net

November 6, 2015

It was so wonderful to connect with all of you this week! I appreciate you taking time out of your evenings to meet. If you have any thoughts or questions following conferences, please do not hesitate to contact me. The weather surely cooperated this week, and we enjoyed it! 

Coming up:

Star Student: Ava Geissler

Through November 20 - PE Cares food drive. Send in any non-perishable food item. Any items will do. The winning class receives a bowling field trip and t-shirts! Get those donations in any day of the week!

Wednesday, November 11 - PE Day - Wear your gym shoes!

Friday, November 13 - Spirit Day - Wear your Western Gear!

November 25-27 - No School

Thursday, December 10 - Holiday Music Program

Reading: This week we wrapped up our unit on reading strategies. We practiced partner reading, as well as telling who and what in fiction stories. Next week we will dive into unit #3 which focuses on characters. We are also wrapping up Charlotte’s Web - one of my favorite reads in 1st grade!

Writing: I enjoyed sharing small moment stories with you at conferences. This week we fixed and fancied our favorite pieces, and we enjoyed celebrating by reading them to students in Mrs. Farrell’s class today. We shared our stories and played outside with our writing partners. Next week we will begin a new genre: Persuasive Writing. 

Spelling: This week we began our first spelling unit. Our words this week were: and, the, of. We explored the two sounds that /th/ makes, and we looked for words with -and in them. Next week our words will be of, a, to. The pre-assessment of all 35 words we will do this year is in data notebooks.

Math: We took our unit 2 math test this week. They are included in data binders. We also took a pre-test for unit 3. Next week we will start unit 3 which focuses on story problems. We will be switching to a workshop style for math on Monday. 

On a Personal Note: If you happen to be at the Jenison Christian School Craft Show on Saturday, please look for me. I LOVE running into students there! My sister and I make hooded towels for children, and have a booth there every year. It runs 9am-2pm on Saturday. Our booth is straight out from the gym, at the end of the hall. 

For your children!

~ Holly R. Mueller

Writing Celebration!

We celebrated our writing with Mrs. Farrell's class!