Saturday, August 30, 2014

Week 1

We had a great start of first grade! What a fun group of first graders:) We will have a great year this year.

On the first day of school, we talked about our feelings. Enjoy the video we created!

Throughout the week we focused on developing friendship, working habits, teamwork and expectations in the classroom.
or click here to view the photos

Important Dates
Thursday, September 4 --- School Picture Day 
Monday, September 15 --- NO SCHOOL (Professional Development Day)

**Please send a refillable water bottle to school so that your child can get a drink when needed. I will send it home every Friday so that you can wash it and send it back to school on Monday.


Monday, August 18, 2014

Welcome to First Grade!


Daily Schedule for First Grade
The school bell rings at 8:20 each morning.  First grade students that arrive between 8:00 and 8:20 will meet in the gym(with supervision) until the bell rings.  School dismisses at 3:20. 
Friday Folder
I will send home with your child all the notes and students’ work for each week in the Friday folder.  Please take them out and look through them.  Please send the empty folder back to school on Monday.

Star of the Week
As part of our curriculum, we want to learn about ourselves and others.  Each week I’ll have one of our students be “Star of the Week.”  This student is encouraged to bring snapshots or photos (8-10) of themselves and their family, or anything that tells about them.  
I will let you know when your child will be the star of the week by sending a note home on Friday before your child’s turn.  (This is different from a snack helper.)
To make this week a “special” time, I would like to invite you to come and have lunch with your child and meet our class.  We eat lunch at 11:40.  Please remember to let us know the day you will be coming so we can add your name to our lunch count.  

P.E.
Our class will have P. E. on days 1 and 3.  Athletic shoes are important for your child on those days.  Children cannot do their best or have as much fun if they are wearing sandals or fashion shoes with high platforms or slippery soles. Girls usually prefer to wear shorts or slacks on those days.    

Beginning 1st Grade 
 The first few days of school can seem long for a first grade student- they have new rules to follow and tasks to complete. You may find that your child is a little tired  after a day of important work.  Please be prepared to give your child a little extra attention and a listening ear.  Do not hesitate to call, if needed, so that I am aware of any problem that arises. 

Let’s communicate
Letters and notes will be sent home via this blog to inform you of activities and special occasions here at school.  Although formal parent-teacher conferences are scheduled in the fall and the spring, I welcome a call or  e-mail from you anytime you have information to share or questions to ask.  At school I can be reached at 336-2822 (ext.4360).  However, please DO NOT leave an urgent message on the voice mail, call the office and leave the message with Mrs. Loveall instead.



Thursday, May 22, 2014

Zoo Trip, End of Year & Summer Reading

We had a blast at Sioux Falls Zoo! Please ask your child what he/she learned at the zoo.



This year we shared many learning opportunities with Mrs. Cavin's class in Atlanta, Georgia. Here are our final collaboration projects. Enjoy!






We have accomplished so much this year!  I am so very proud of every one of my students for working hard to get to where we are today, and we have had a lot of fun along the way.  I would like to thank all of the families for your support and for sharing your child with me.

The students are so excited about summer!  I hate to burst their bubbles, but I am stressing the importance of reading over the summer.  I would like to share this info-graphic about reading. As you can see, reading everyday makes so much difference in children's lives.


Your child learned so much this year.  Please have him/her keep reading!  Here are fun ways to promote summer reading.




http://www.spiritlake.lib.ia.us/patrons/children2/children

I'm happy to inform you that your student has access to hundreds of eBooks using the school's
subscription to www.raz-kids.com. Children can read and listen to books on Raz-Kids and even
record themselves reading. Afterwards they can take a quiz to check for comprehension.
To access your child's assignment, log in at www.raz-kids.com/login/ldegroot0 using the
information below:

Teacher Username: ldegroot0
**NO Password needed

Your child can also keep blogging at http://kidblog.org/MrsDeGrootsClass2013-2014/ 
**Password is abc

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Spring Music Concert

Here are some photos from the music concert. What a wonderful concert it was!



Upcoming Events
Wednesday, May 14 --- R.I.F. (Reading Is Fundamental) Celebration
Tuesday, May 20 --- Zoo Trip 
Friday, May 23 --- Last Day of School

Happy Mother's Day to you all! 

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Week 32

"My Father's Dragon" Book Club
We spent past two weeks reading a chapter book called "My Father's Dragon" by Ruth Stiles Gannet. We were joined by many other first grade classes in the U.S. and Canada via Twitter. We read a chapter each day then shared our predictions, visualization, our thoughts and asked some questions. We enjoyed corresponding with other classes. Please ask your child about the story and favorite part of the book! If you would like to see our book club conversation, please search #1bc14 or you can view our tweet feed in the sidebar. Here is a map of classes that participated. (It was created by Mr. Kagei from Illinois.)

May Events & Water Helpers

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Poetry Party

Thank you for coming to the poetry party. Everyone did a fantastic job performing their parts!

The Spice of Life

Kids Rule!

Snack Time


Senses Alive


Play Time


Big Fat Hen


No Fear


Happy Birthday to You

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Week 28 & 29

St. Patrick's Day
We had fun participating a global project counting Lucky Charm cereal charms. We shared our predictions with Mrs. Malchow's class in Wisconsin via Twitter. Later we shared the results with them on a Skype call.  Our class findings were; 1) We had more clovers than any other shapes (91). 2) Mrs. Malchow's class had more charms in their box even though we had the same size of box. 3) Ten frames were good tools to count the charms. 








283 classes, 5366 students in the U.S. and Canada participated in this project. Here is the result.

Community Comparison
Our learning buddies, Mrs. Langus's first graders in Portland, Oregon were learning about communities just like us. We decided to ask about each other's community via Twitter. Here are some questions and answers.


After corresponding we came to a conclusion that we live in a rural community and Mrs. Langhus's class live in an urban community. We also enjoyed "visiting" their community on Google Earth. Please check your child's blog to see their comparing and contrasting.
Also please stay tuned for the poems that we wrote about our community!

Rock Unit
We will be learning about rocks next few weeks. Please help your child find a rock outside. We talked about "just right" rock to bring to school:)
Charles Vigdal came to teach us about rocks & minerals and different kids of rocks. We are ready to think and learn like geologists! 

Please Mark Your Calendar!
We will have a poetry party on Wednesday, April 16 from 10:30-11:00. Parents, siblings and grandparents are invited!!

April Water Helper Calendar