Specials Schedule

Monday: Guidance

Tuesday: Music

Wednesday: P.E.
Remember your sneakers!

Thursday: Media/Technology
Don't forget your library book!

Friday: Art

X Day: Dance
Upcoming X days are October 1, October 8, October 17 and October 24.  This means that instead of going to Guidance on Monday, October 1, Ms. McHenry's class will go to Dance.  

Classroom Wishlist

Since our classroom was added shortly before school, we could use your help gathering supplies and resources for our little learners.  Below is a list of items we could use in our classroom.  I'll try to keep this list updated and remove things as they are received.  Thank you so much for your generosity!

• Stapler - it doesn't need to be brand new; it just needs to work :)
• Working pencil sharpener (we have three electric pencil sharpeners but none of them work!)
• Healthy snacks to pass out when students don't have their own.  Graham crackers or animal crackers are preferred.  
• Large construction paper (12 x 18)
• Small construction paper (9 x 12)
• Card stock (white and colored)
• Reams of computer paper (white, pastels)
• Filing folders (colors are preferred!)
• Socks - those mateless socks in the laundry basket make great chalk holders and erasers for our mini chalkboards.
• Staples, paper clips, and other office supplies
• One-hole punch
• Stickers (smiley faces, stars, etc.)
• Small baskets to organize classroom supplies
• Ziplock bags (the slider design is easiest for little fingers to open and close) in sandwich, quart, and gallon sizes

What Goldilocks Can Teach Us About Reading

Remember the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears?  When Goldilocks sits in Papa Bear's chair and she finds that it is too big.  Mama Bear's chair is too big, too!  But Baby Bear's chair is just right.  Sometimes we find books that are too big for us.  Just like a chair that is too big, a book that is too big can make us feel small and frustrated and maybe even a little scared or sad. 

Just like Goldilocks, first graders in Mrs. McHenry's class are always searching for the perfect books to take home at night.  We call these books our "just right" books.  For a book to be "just right," students know they should be able to read all or almost all of the words in that book.  Reading these "just right" books help develop oral expression, fluency, comprehension, and confidence. 

As you listen to your first graders read their "just right" books at night, they should be reading with 90%+ accuracy.  If there are more than 1 or 2 tricky words on a page, that book is too difficult for the purposes of the "just right" book.  Please leave a comment in your child's reading log if you think the book he or she brought home is too difficult.

"Just right" books are kept on a special bookshelf in our classroom.  They are organized according to Fountas and Pinnell's Text Level Gradient.  To learn more, visit http://www.fountasandpinnellleveledbooks.com/aboutLeveledTexts.aspx. 

Math Games

Math games are a great way to practice skills and develop problem solving strategies.  Your child will be learning math games at school that you can play together at home.  Two of the first graders in Mrs. McHenry's class helped put together this tutorial for a game they named "Roll the Die."  This is a great game to play at home with a sibling, parent, neighbor, or friend to practice counting and comparing numbers.  Have fun!

1. Start with 20 counters and one die.  You
can use pennies, Cheerios, or anything else
you can find around the house as counters.
Decide who will roll first.

2. Roll the die and count the number of
dots.  Take the same number of
counters as the number you rolled
 on the die. 

3. Now it's the next person's turn!  Roll
 the die and take the same number of
counters as the number you rolled
on the die.

5. Take turns until all the counters are gone.  If there are
 not enough counters left on the last turn, take all the
 counters that are left.

6. When all the counters have been taken, count the number
of counters both partners have.  Who has more?  The
person with the most counters wins!