Second Day!

We are beginning to settle into a routine here in room 12.  Please remember to leave our behavior checklist in you child's folder each day.  We will use the same one all week! 

This morning we learned how to use our smartboard in math.  Ariana and Kaleb lead our Monster Squeeze game and were able to move objects around using our special smartboard pen.  We also explored more with pattern blocks today and used the names of the shapes as we designed and played.  We are learning how to use our classroom materials very nicely.  

We played our first Pax game today!  Pax games are so fun because they're short, you win by following directions, and EVERYONE works together to find success!  When we win a Pax game, we earn a Granny's Whacky Prize.  This morning's prize was to speedwalk through the hallways!  We couldn't BELIEVE Granny would suggest that we break a rule, but we had SO MUCH FUN speedwalking silently through the hallways we couldn't be totally silent because we were giggling the entire time. 

During Reader's Workshop we learned about our classroom library and how to take care of our books. We also used Post-Its to record our thinking as we read.  We read many funny stories and even listened to a story on Tumble Books.  We played a secret Pax game during Reader's Workshop and the Granny's Whacky Prize was... backwards chair sitting!  We just think Granny is so funny with her prizes.  Backwards chairs, YIKES!   

Our Teaching Point for Writer's Workshop today was, "I can write a small moments story by thinking, planning, and writing."  We wrote many stories across the pages to tell about ourselves and our life. 

Fantastic First Day

Wow.  What a day!  I think we have some of the best first graders in the whole state of Vermont in room 12.  We learned SO much about our school, classroom and each other today.

We explored with pattern blocks in math and admired each other's hard work.  We made flat designs, stacked designs and even... wait for it... designs with PATTERNS!  (Imagine that!)  As we walked around the classroom I heard first graders say, "Wow! I like your design!" and "It looks like you worked hard!"  We were so kind and polite to each other.  They are really impressive.  

We learned about our Awesome Work checklist. (You'll see this in your child's folder this afternoon.)  We earned ALL check pluses!  Please initial your child's checklist under the day and send it back in their folder tomorrow. 

In the afternoon we read a funny book, Ready, Set, SCHOOL and talked about different things we like to read.  We had P.E. with Mr. Pecor and started to think about stories from our lives in writing.

We worked REALLY hard all day and had so much fun! 

Open House

It was so wonderful to see so many excited faces at open house this morning.  I am really looking forward to the first day of school.  Those of you who noticed that directions were missing for the "special" paper in your packet- they are for our Student of the Week and will be in homework folders tomorrow.  I'm so sorry I neglected to get them in there today!

The first week of school is always a little hectic and certainly can feel out of the "norm."  As we settle into our regular routine please don't hesitate to send an email or stop by the room, it's going to be a great year!

 

Welcome to First Grade!

Welcome to First Grade!  I am so excited to get to know all of you.  I hope you’ve had a wonderful summer doing lots of fun activities with your family and friends- - and that you’ve had a chance to eat lots of ice cream.

This year will be full of fun projects and learning experiences.  As school is approaching quickly, I wanted to share some information about what to expect so you can be prepared for our first days together!  If you want to shop for school supplies, these are some of the items you will be using:

 

            pencils                         crayons                        markers

A small pencil box       glue sticks                   durable one or two-pocket folders

 

Writer’s journal

On the first day of school I would like you to bring in something that would tell us more about yourself.  It may be a book, stuffed animal, a picture or a favorite item.  We will not all know each other yet, so this will be a fun way to learn about our class. 

We will be having  breakfast every day so remember to pack something to eat.  You may also buy milk, juice or breakfast.

 

I cannot wait to see all of you.   There will be an open house for you and your parents on Tuesday, August 26th from 8:00-9:00am.  It will be an informal hour for you to see the room and meet some of your classmates.  School starts Wednesday, August 287h at 8:10am. 

I hope this will be a special year for you.  Please talk to me when you have something to share, when you don’t understand or when you are upset.  I will always listen carefully.

Happy Summer!

Happy August everyone!  It's been a busy, busy summer for my family and I, but I've been in my new classroom lots so far this month getting ready for a new school year! 

Jordan and I got married on July 12, and have been settling into married life quite nicely.  I'm still not used to my new last name, so I can't wait for school to start so I will start hearing, "Mrs. Hershman! Mrs. Hershman! Mrs. Hershman!" multiple times a day which should get us all used to it fairly quickly! 

Here are a couple of pictures from the day that I thought you all might like to see:

If you are reading this post and you were in my class last year, you might wish to unsubscribe to the blog. You can do that by clicking "unsubscribe" in the bottom of your email or by visiting the blog and unsubscribing.  If you have trouble doing this, send me an email and I can do it for you! 

My new emails are:

margaret.hershman@colchestersd.org (my preffered email) or,
hershmanm@csdvt.org

If you are visiting the blog for the first time and you are in my new class. WELCOME!  Our classroom has moved to Room 12, Mrs. Randall's former room.

Our unified arts schedule this year is as follows:

Monday: P.E.
Tuesday: Art
Wednesday: P.E.
Thursday: Library
Friday: Music

Please wear sneakers on the first day so you're ready for P.E.!