Hello December!

The next three weeks of school will go by fast!  Hold on!

I hope your Thanksgiving break was restful, filled with delicious food and cherished memories with family and friends.  Scroll back to earlier posts of pictures when Room 114 dressed up as Pilgrims and Indians.  The children worked hard to get everything ready for their transformation to Indians and Pilgrims.   Click on this link to see the concentration and hard work involved.

The children will rotate to Coach Grant for PE for the next three weeks.  I will not be taking the children outside.  Coach Grant will be responsible for their outside play and instruction.

If you have not done so, please pay for the December secret.  The cost for the secret is $9.00.  Your secret will come home on December 18. 

There will be a book order in Monday's binder.  Book order money is due Thursday, December 4.  If you choose to order on-line use the code GL88R.  I will be placing the order on Friday morning.  Turn around time is 5-7 days.  Let me know if your order is a Christmas Secret and I will find a way to get the books to you without anyone knowing.  Bookorders are optional.

Monday is library day for our class so please return library books.

Monday is Nancy's Italian Ice for $1.00. 

Please return poetry journals on Monday. We had two poems the last week of school.  One was an excellent song to practice reading the high frequency word "are."

This week is a review week for the high frequency words.  I will start assessing high frequency words the week of December 8 for report cards.  Your child will be responsible for reading upon sight all of the high frequency words from the beginning of school up to the words introduced in November.  


 Information for our February 10 field trip to see children's recording artist Stephen Fite will be in Tuesday's binder.   Money is due by Wednesday, December 10.  Chaperone tickets must be ordered at this time.

Room 114 will begin to learn how to use Accelerated Reader this month. Accelerated Reader is where students read their library book and take a 5 question test on the computer to assess comprehension.  I will send home more information about Accelerated Reader (AR)  the week of December 8.  To prepare for AR, all you need to do right now is make sure your child knows his/her lunch number without assistance.  I will send home a slip of paper in the money pouch if you need to work on it with your child.

In reading this week, we are still working on the letter "Ii." We learned that when the letter "Ii" is tall, long and strong, he is a super hero and makes the sound of his name.  However, when Super Hero "Ii" is in disguise, he is short and lazy.  To help your child make short "i" sound, tell them to put his/her index fingers on each end of his/her lips.  Then tilt their head sideways so that mouth and fingers are making the capital letter "I." Tell them to make the short "i" sound.  By putting their fingers on the ends of their mouth, it prevents them from making the short e sound.  It is a common mistake for children to mistake the short e sound for short i. The more they practice, the less mistakes they will make.

In math,we have learned the basic foundations of adding.  We are going to work on this skill for the remainder of the year until we can add fluently (that means without counters and fingers) up to five. Don't panic that is the end goal for May....and some of Room 114 will go past 5.    This week, we are going to be given a number and the children have to come up with different number combinations to make that number.  We are thinking very hard about numbers in Room 114. 

We did a modified version of the Thanksgiving tradition of the wishbone in class.   Maybe you did too at your house.  A December holiday tradition is the singing of songs.  Don't give anything away but check book bags on Thursday for a catalyst to sing holiday songs at home.  Helpful hint: songs that have been made into books are an excellent way to help beginning readers become stronger!

No need to save toilet tissue rolls.  We have enough for our secret project.  Thanks for helping me out!

I will be absent on Friday.  The children will have a great day with a substitute.

Be sure to check the dates below.  One of the dates is our classroom December party!  Information will be coming home soon about ways to help make our party great!

Contact me with any questions or concerns you may have. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!  I'm thankful for your support and love of Room 114!

Upcoming Events:
12.3: Cookie orders due
12.4:   Book order money due
12.10:  Chaperone and student money due for the Stephen Fite concert.
12.17:  Cookie dough scheduled to be distributed
12.18:  December Classroom Party (schoolwide) at 1:45
12.19:  Polar Express Day:  wear pajamas to school
12.22-1.5:  Winter Break:  no school
1.6.2015:  Children return to school
2.10:  Stephen Fite's  "Giddy Up and Learn" concert - Kindergarten Field Trip

A Second Day of Thanks

Thankful that my days are spent with these Pilgrims and Indians.  Click here for photos from Day 2 of Thanksgiving.

We are missing a few members of Room 114.  Get well soon and hurry back!  You are missed. 

Have a fun break from school.  Be safe!  Can't wait to see everyone on Monday, December 1!

A Day of Thanks - part one

Just the beginning of a two day celebration of giving thanks!  click here from today's photos

Thanks for Sharing Your Child With Me

The book fair starts on Monday and runs through Thursday.  We visited the book fair on Friday.  The children saw lots of books they would like to own.  You may send money to school for the book fair or you may come to the school and shop with your child.  You may come at any time during the book fair hours and take your child shopping.  My editorial of the book fair:  The book fair has a table full of "trinkets and treasures" commonly found at a dollar style store.   The items on this table are very popular with the children but may not be  made of the highest quality of material.  If you are not coming to the book fair to shop with your child, I suggest setting boundaries as to what your child can purchase.  At the McDevitt house, only books can be purchased at a book fair.

Due to the book fair, we will not be going to the library this week.

Nancy's Italian Ice is Monday for $1.00.

There will be a PTA meeting this Tuesday at 6:00.  Mugshots will be selling a box dinner for $6.00 to make dinner plans easier.

Information went home last week about the Cookie Dough Fundraiser.  Orders need to be placed by December 3.  Delivery of cookie dough is planned for December 17.  Thanks for supporting our school.

I'm a firm believer in the benefits of fresh air.  Even though the temperatures are dropping, I will take the children outside unless it is raining.  So bundle up!

Please label all sweaters, jackets, hats and gloves that are sent to school.  I try my best to keep track of everyone's belongings but sometimes things get left behind.  There is a lost and found box located in the lunchroom.  After a few days the articles in the lost and found box are moved to huge bags located in the lunchroom closet.  If you are missing an item, then please check those large bags.  Parents must check those bags.  They are too huge for a child to do the checking.  It is overwhelming the amount of stuff in those lost and found bags.

Poetry Journals did not come home on Friday.  They will come this Wednesday.  Keep them at home for the duration of the Thanksgiving break.  Pull them out at night and use with your 20 minutes of reading or share the poems with visiting family members.  Stay in your daily reading habits even during the holiday break.

In reading this week, we will be focusing on the letter "Ii."   This is a difficult sound for the children to distinguish from the sound the letter "e" can make.  Having southern accents and pronunciations doesn't help either.  Help your child distinguish the two sounds by the letter Ii makes the "itchy, itchy insect bite" while Ee makes the "elephant and egg" sound.  We will also be talking about the long sound the Ii makes when it says its own name.  We will be spending two weeks on the letter Ii so help out by reinforcing the different sounds at home.  High frequency words are:  one, two, three, four, five. 

In reading, we are learning how to use our schemas to understand stories.  Our schemas are everything in our brains that we know to be true.    Before you read a story, tell your child that good readers try to figure out what  book will be about.  Ask your child to look at the cover/title and use his/her schema to guess what will happen in the story.   As you read the story, have your child guess what will happen next.  Your child will know that good readers can change their thinking in the middle of the story.  Don't ask your child these questions on every page because that would ruin the enjoyment of it all.  Rather, ask them every once in a while.    Praise the connections your child makes as he/she reads/listens to a story.

We've been working with nouns and adjectives.  We know a noun is a person, place, thing or animal. An adjective gives us more information about a nouns such as size, number, or color.

In math, we are working with the beginning stages of addition.   We use the word "plus" and this week add the word "the sum."  The sum is another word for the answer when you are adding.   November calendar pages will come home on Friday.   Check out the learning from this month by going over each calendar page with your child.

We will be dressing up as Pilgrims and Indians for lunch on Wednesday and Thursday.  Our lunch time is 10:45-11:10.  Half the class will be pilgrims on Wednesday and the other half will be Indians.  We will flip flop roles on Thursday so that everyone has a chance to be a Pilgrim or Indian.

Please send in the $9.00 for December's Family Secret by Monday.

  A great way to end a week is to have a Crafternoon.   Room 114 has so much to be thankful for and you can see the biggest blessings celebrating fall by clicking on this link.  Thank you to the families that supported the Crafternoon from home by sending in supplies and those that volunteered in the classroom.  Our next Crafternoon will be at the end of January with a Cowboy and Cowgirl Western theme.

 I am blessed beyond measure to work with these sweet fingers everyday.  I know how lucky I am to teach at Blount and have the parental support that is found in Room 114.  Please know that when I give daily thanks for my blessings that your child and your family is included in my thoughts.  Enjoy your week off from school.  Spend time talking and listening to your child.  Get outside and become a Nature Spy.  Don't worry about the laundry or the housecleaning.  All that can wait!  Just cherish your family.

I appreciate you.  Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Upcoming Events:
11.17-11.20:  Book Fair in the library
11.18  PTA program at 6:00 pm
11:19:  Pilgrim/ Native American lunch (10:45-11:10)
11.20  Pilgrim/ Native American lunch (10:45-11:10)
11.24 - 11:28:  Thanksgiving Break - no school
12.18:  December Classroom Party (schoolwide) at 1:45
12.19:  Polar Express Day:  wear pajamas to school
12.22-1.5:  Winter Break:  no school
1.6.2015:  Children return to school
2.10:  Stephen Fite's  "Giddy Up and Learn" concert - Kindergarten Field Trip

The Entry With No Pictures of Students

Last week, this book was donated to our classroom library.  It literally has no pictures.  It forced the children to listen to comprehend.  They comprehended with big belly laughs and a request for "Read it again!"  Well this blog entry will have no pictures of students because I left the camera at school.  I know the photos of the children are the real reason you come to the blog but today will be a change of pace and comprehension will be the goal!

The big news will be Friday's Thanksgiving Crafternoon.  I will let the children in on the big event Friday morning.  (In the last couple of weeks, I have had several requests from Room  114 to have another Crafternoon so they are going to be thrilled with Friday's announcement.)  Preparing the classroom will begin at 1:15.  If you can't join us in the classroom, then please support our Crafternoon by sending in supplies to make the afternoon great. Contact Room 114's room parent if you need more information.    If you are coming for the Crafternoon, park in the carpool lane so that you can be one of the first Blount families to begin the weekend. If you don't park in the carpool lane, you may be one of the last Blount families to begin the weekend.

Monday is Italian Ice for $1.00.  Please return library books and poetry journals on Monday.

Our December secret money is due this Friday for $9.00.  Please send exact change if your are sending cash.  You have the option to pay for our May 2015 secret by sending $18.  Eighteen dollars will cover both secrets for this school year.

In math, we are continuing to work with the number ten.  We are also getting serious about addition.  The vocabulary words for upcoming math lessons will be:  add (to join two sets), plus (add to, a symbol that shows addition), is equal to (a number or amount that is the same as).  

In reading there was an error last week, we learned the word "they" and not "then" so make the change in your high frequency word practice.    They is a difficult word to learn so please add the change.

Reading this week will be the initial and final sound of Cc.  High frequency words for the week will be:  are, that, do,  Due to no school on Tuesday, the decodable reader will come home on Monday.

Reading enrichment from last week.  We learned the "ay" is a very cool combination of letters.   When we found words that had the "ay" combination, we would put our thumbs up, tilt our head and say "aaaaaa" (Fonzie style for those of you that know about Happy Days.)  There is a special person in our class that starts with the letter C that has this combination in his name.  Plus one of our favorite words "play" has it. As does every day of the week.  So as you are reading with your child look for words that have the cool combination of "ay." 

On November 19 and 20 the children will be dressing up as Pilgrims and Indians for lunch.  You are invited to join us from 10:45-11:10.  I will send home a RSVP in Monday's binder.  If you are just joining us and not eating lunch, then you do not need to return the form.  But if you plan to eat from the lunchroom, then please return the form by Thursday.  This allows the lunchroom to prepare food for the large amount of visitors that come for this day to eat with Kindergarten.

Our poem last week focused on multiple meanings.  Hopefully, your child can tell you two different meanings for the word gobble.  Be sure to check this week's poem because it focuses on a Thanksgiving tradition for many families.

 I will be out of the classroom all day on Wednesday.  The children will have a great day with our substitute.  I will return Thursday.

MPS worked on their email service this weekend, especially their SPAM filter.  In case you email me and don't hear a reply within twelve hours, there may be a chance it went to SPAM.  So resend it.  I'm going to carefully monitor my SPAM folder this week but help me out if you don't get a reply in a reasonable manner.  

Remember no school on Tuesday in observance of Veteran's Day.  Big, big thanks to the military families in Room 114.  What a special, special bunch you are!

Upcoming events:
11.11:  No school in observance of Veteran's Day  
11.14  Payment due for Room 114's December Secret
11.14:  Room 114's Thanksgiving Crafternoon  (classroom set up begins at 1:15)
11.18  PTA program at 6:00 pm
11:19:  Pilgrim/ Native American lunch (10:45-11:10)
11.20  Pilgrim/ Native American lunch (10:45-11:10)
11.24 - 11:28:  Thanksgiving Break - no school

Hello November!

One of the most popular books in our classroom for the past several weeks has been a homemade book of our Halloween costumes, plus the repeated use of the word "see."  In case all of Room 114 showed up at your door on Halloween night click here to see who we would be. 

Monday is Nancy's Italian Ice for $1.00.  Please return library books and poetry journals.

  Our poem last week used our high frequency word "see" and another kind of "sea."  We learned the rule of when two vowels are right next to each other, the first one does the talking and the second one does the walking.  Look for a handout in Monday's binder about how we are learning more than just one letter a week in reading and how to help us at home.

In math, we are still working with the number 10.  Our October calendar pages came home last Friday.  In the month of November we will be working with the beginning stages of addition in our calendar notebook. 


We have a lot of birthdays in the next few months.  I wanted to remind that birthday invitations cannot be distributed at school.  A class directory was distributed and emailed  earlier in the fall.  Contact me if you need another copy.

Last week in reading we read a book called Nature Spy.  We took our learning outside one day and became nature spies ourselves.  Check out the photos of spying experiences by clicking here.  A magnifying glass is an excellent tool to have at home.  In the past, Kazoo Toys sold a solid magnifying lens and use your Blount spirit card for a discounted price!

This week in reading we will be working with the letter Pp.  High frequency words will be:  then, you, of.  For Halloween, I took the teacher route and passed out literature when Room 114 came knocking on the classroom door looking for treats!  It is a classic and fun to read and act out.  Check out the school Halloween treat photos by clicking here.

There will only be fifteen school days in November.  Time is going to go by quickly.  We are going to spend each day in November talking about Thanksgiving and the importance of gratitude.   I hope you spend the month of November counting  your blessings and keeping Christmas until December. 

We are planning for a fun filled and thankful Thanksgiving Crafternoon on Friday, November 14.  Thank you for supporting our Crafternoons from at home or volunteering in the classroom.  Contact me or the room parent for more information on how to help out.

What a wonderful day at the Pumpkin Patch.  The weather was perfect, the patch was organized, the parents were wonderful and the children were well behaved.  Thank you for making sure our morning started out smooth!  You guys make my job easier.  Enjoy these photos from our field trip to the pumpkin patch by clicking here.

Upcoming events:
11.11:  No school in observance of Veteran's Day  
11.14:  Room 114's Thanksgiving Crafternoon  (classroom set up begins at 1:15 and the Crafternoon with the children will begin at 1:45)
11:19:  Pilgrim/ Native American lunch (10:45-11:10)
11.20  Pilgrim/ Native American lunch (10:45-11:10)
11.24 - 11:28:  Thanksgiving Break - no school