Ruark-Timmons

100th Day of Kindergarten!

2012-02-05T16:50:00.000-08:00

Teachers came in ready for the 100th Day!

Then our 5th grade partners joined us for the stringing 100 Fruit Loops! No sure who enjoyed the necklaces more - the Kindergartners or the 5th graders!

While they worked, the Math Whiz worked with the Math Whiz!

One of our students is moving so we made a chart of 100 reasons why we love her!

The children also enjoyed making hats with 100 stars or stickers.

We also loved making our 100 snack! We had 10 snacks and got to count 10 of each! 10 marshmallows, 10 raisins, 10 Cheerios...

The children ended the day by hearing Zero the Hero read a big book. He then had them do 100 jumping beans and 100 jumping jacks, etc.

We had so much fun that we are going to continue our celebration on Monday! We still have a 100 cake to eat, 100 words around the room to find, 100 Hershey Kisses to find for the number chart... And the celebration continues...

2nd Nine Weeks Awards

2012-01-31T17:56:00.000-08:00

Today some of our parents joined with us as we presented our Second Nine Weeks Awards. Awards were presented for "E" Citizenship, All E's, Readers-to-Leaders, and Perfect Attendance. A few special awards were given including the highly coveted "Soaring Eagle." The "Soaring Eagle" is given in every classroom to the student who has done something exemplary during the nine weeks. This nine weeks our classroom presented "Soaring Eagles" to two students. Congratulations to two of the sweetest little girls in the world who have worked so hard this nine weeks. We are proud of you!

Word Problems

2012-01-30T17:56:00.000-08:00

In math we have started doing word problems. Today one student helped us read the problems and then chose students to act it out.

We have been doing word problems every day. You can help at home by thinking up some problems for your own child such as, "If we have 5 forks and then 5 spoons, how many do we have in all?" or "I'm giving you ten Goldfish. If you eat 4 of them, how many do you have left?" Or at the grocery store, "Let's get 3 apples and 4 oranges. Now how many do we have?"

Report Cards Go Home Today!

2012-01-29T08:40:00.000-08:00

Report cards go home TODAY and we will celebrate in our room tomorrow. Make sure to join us at 9:15 for our Second Nine Weeks Awards Ceremony.

Last week the children that will be receiving the "Readers-to-Leaders" Award enjoyed time with the Principal playing Bingo. Each night your child brings home a form to write down the book that is read. This coming nine weeks, the children are being encouraged to write the book title down themselves. No more parent help with the writing! The children are expected to read 25 books each nine weeks. That same expectation is for every student K-5. Reading nightly is a habit and expectation that your child will have as long as they are at Chets Creek. Children that read, write down the books, and then remember to turn them in each week receive the "Readers-to-Leaders" Award at our Awards ceremony. To help encourage students, Mrs. Phillips has a special event for all of the students that meet that goal. This nine weeks the kindergarten students were invited into the Dining Room to play Super Hero Bingo with the Principal. Each child left with a prize. What did your child win? It's fun for the children and reminds them that reading is important. Children that don't meet the goal remain in the room to read ): Have your child started on the goal for the third nine weeks?

Happy Birthday, Chets Creek!

2012-01-20T19:58:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to Chets Creek! 14 years old today. Just think, none of the children in our class were even born when Chets Creek opened!

An Author Visit

2012-01-06T10:55:00.000-08:00

Today the children at Chets Creek had the delightful experience of hearing children's author Carmen Agra Deedy, and what a treat it was! Carmen was born in Cuba and came to the United States when she was three years old. She told the children the story of leaving Cuba and her first year in school in the states. She is such a wonderful story teller and so funny! The children were captivated by her stories! Make sure to ask your child about Carmen's story about the peanut man and baseball.

Children were offered the opportunity before the break to order a book by the author so those that ordered a book were given the opportunity to meet the author one-on-one and have their book signed. Each year Chets Creek Media Specialist KK Cherney brings a children's author to the school so that the children can hear from someone who is a published author or illustrator. What a treat!

New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-05T15:27:00.000-08:00

As we eased back into the New Year we read and talked about goals and new year's resolutions (or "revolutions" as Luke called them!) These are some of the things our children are thinking about as they ring in the new year!

Jaiden - My resolution will be cleaning my room.
Luke - My resolution will be I will run six laps every day.
Mikaela - I will take care of my guinea pig.
Subhangi - My resolution will be to go to Sea World because my dad helps me go to Sea World in a car.
Liam - My resolution will be to run laps as a family.
Jaylene - My resolution is to wash dishes and help Mom.

Nicky - I will recycle because it can help the environment.
William - My resolution will be to walk two laps around my neighbor's house.
Richie - My resolution will be to do my homework.
Griffin - I will clean my room.

Hailey - My resolution is to clean up my room.
Ethan - My resolution is to play more football.
Braylen - I will run laps.
Alyssa - My resolution is to eat less chocolate.
Gabriel - I will try to make better choices outside with my brother.

Austin - taking out the garbage
Manny - My resolution is to clean my room.
Grace - I am going to take care of my baby sister.
Christian - I will go to the beach.

Morgan - My resolution will be to help my sister make better choices at home so she does not get in trouble.
Jacob - My resolution is to run the track.
Nathen - My resolution is to sleep in.

Lilly - to clean my toys up
Avery - I am going to run.
Addison - My resolution is to clean my room.
Will - My resolution will be to exercise a lot more so I can get stronger.
Kayla - My resolution is to run laps.
Nelson - I want to go to more places with my friends.
Asher - I want to play on the computer more.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T22:49:00.001-08:00

Welcome 2012!

Run run as fast as you can...

2011-12-16T21:26:00.000-08:00

So what do you do on the last day before the holiday? Why you look for the missing gingerbread boy, of course! He came in for a visit and before we knew it, he was missing! However, he did leave us some clues as to where we might find him. The first clue sent us to the stage in the Dining Room.

The second clue sent us out to the portables where our fifth grade partners were waiting.

They told us they had seen the gingerbread man and he left a clue that he was on the playground. So... it was off to the playground we went just to find out we had missed him once again.

Of course, he did leave us another clue and we finally found him by the kindergarten class with the gingerbread house - of course!

We just couldn't believe that he had taken us on such an adventure. He did leave some gingerbread cookies for us to eat!

Since we have been writing pattern books, the children each wrote their own Gingerbread Boy pattern book. The following is an example. Angel used his vast knowledge about animals to incorporate into his pattern book. Once upon a time the gingerbread boy ran away from a ... If you listen carefully you will see that Angel had his gingerbread boy run away from animals in alphabetical order beginning with A until he finally got to Z where the zebra ate him all up!

Letters to Santa

2011-12-16T18:53:00.000-08:00

Go to Timmons Times to read Letters to Santa from our class.

Holiday Party

2011-12-15T13:33:00.000-08:00

If you were not able to join us for the holiday party, you missed such a treat. There's nothing like sharing the holiday with children. Below is just a little peek into the fun!

Rainy Days and Mondays...

2011-12-12T10:35:00.000-08:00

What do you do on that rare occasion when you can't go outside for recess because it is raining? In Kindergarten we often teach the children to play games. We have found that young children need lots of lessons on playing fairly! They just want to WIN and good sportsmanship is often a taught skill! One of the games that is always a school favorite on rainy days is Heads Up, Seven Up. Maybe you played it when you were in school!

To play Heads Up, Seven Up, seven children are chosen to come to the front.

The rest of the class puts their heads down on their desks with their hands in a fist with thumbs up.

When the teachers says, "Go!" the seven children each go and put one child's thumb down and then go back to their place at the front of the room. The teacher then tells the children they can look up. The children who had their thumbs put down get to try to guess which child at the front put their thumb down. If they are right, they take that child's place and if they are wrong the chosen child stays at the front for another turn. This is a simple game but it is sometimes hard for kindergartners not to "cheat" by opening their eyes.

Make sure to ask your child about this game. You might want to spend some time playing games with your Kindergartner at home because this is such a great time for them to grow and enjoy games. You might even whisper in Santa's ear that you would love to have a few games included in this year's gifts! Let us know what your favorite game is to play with your child!

Our Giving Project

2011-12-07T08:16:00.000-08:00

Each year classes at Chets Creek are encouraged to adopt a giving project for the season. So many of our children get so much at the holiday and we want to remind them that there are people who also have a difficult time during the holiday and who need our help. With our economy slipping and so many people out of a job, we know how stressful this time of year is on so many.

We started this project by reading a book, The Giving Tree, which tells the story of a tree that gives and gives and gives out of love. We want our children to capture that feeling and so we took the name of a family from our Angel Tree in the lobby. All of the families that are represented on the tree are from our own Chets Creek family. For some of the families, the gifts of love that are purchased by the families in our class will be the only Christmas that the family will have. We so appreciate those of you who are able to help with this project this year and if you are not, we certainly understand. It will not diminish the pride that each of the children will feel as we take the presents and deliver them under the tree.

As part of our display in the Lobby to let others know what we are doing as our giving project, we asked each of the children to write something they could do to show kindness on an ornament that we put on the tree. We love that our children will be thinking about others during this season. When you have a chance, stop in the Lobby and read all of the ways that they decided that they could show kindness this holiday season!

You better not pout...I'm telling you why...

2011-12-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

These are the children's non-pouting bags because... we all know who's coming for a visit at the end of the month! And we also know that every teacher has a special phone to call Santa and let him know who's been naughty and who's been nice. Each day for the next two weeks each child can earn a small treat at the end of the day for having a good day and staying on the nice list. The children will take home their bag of treats on the last day of school so be looking for this special red bag on the last day. Make sure to ask your child if they earned their treat each day because...

You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout. I'm telling you why.

Santa Claus is coming to town...

Our Gingerbread Bulletin Board

2011-12-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

Our new bulletin board is up and it is based on a class activity of decorating a cardboard gingerbread cookie using a "glyph." A glyph is a fun way to graph information. For instance, if the child is a boy he give his gingerbread cutout circle eyes and if she are a girl, she gives her cutout triangle eyes. If the child has siblings, the cut out makes their nose face right and if they are an only child, the nose faces left and so on. After the children make their gingerbread cookie, they looked at the class data. they sepearted themselves into categories and graphed the information and then answered questions about their representation. This was a fun activity with lots of learning!

How long is your foot?

2011-12-05T19:35:00.000-08:00

Today we used one inch cubes to meaure our foot!

Then we compared our foot size with that of a friend and talked about longer, shorter and the same. Make sure to ask your child about it!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2011-12-03T18:33:00.000-08:00

Make sure to stop by the lobby and see the beautiful Chets Creek holiday tree. The tree is an annual tradition and includes a picture of every single child at the Creek. Our class ornaments actually decorate the Christmas tree skirt this year. They are the colorful coffee filters with each of our pictures. The tree is an amazing sight!

Pow Wow 2011

2011-11-20T10:22:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful day!

Personalize a slideshow

Pow Wow Family Night!

2011-11-16T16:54:00.000-08:00

We loved seeing so many family at our Family Make 'n' Take.

Iroquois lived in l-o-n-ghouses...

Practicing, Practicing, Practicing!

2011-11-15T16:54:00.000-08:00

We have been practicing every day! Can't wait to see you all on Friday at our Kindergarten Pow Wow!

Reading a Million Words

2011-11-11T18:49:00.000-08:00

Each year we ask that student read 25-30 books each nine weeks with the goal of reading one million words each year. Research tells us that the more students read the better they get at reading! In Kindergarten we log the books in class and also ask parents and students to begin the lifelong habit of reading every single day by having each student take home a "book in the bag" and log that book each night. In first grade we will hold the students responsible for this habit and only those students who log the 25-30 books will get the Readers-to-Leaders Award each nine weeks. To encourage students across the school to read, the Principal always promises to do something outrageous or fun for the students who meet the goal. Last year she was slimed, kissed a pig, invited students to play Bingo with her and invited them to a carnival. This year she started this first nine weeks by being duct taped to the wall for two hours while she read! Two of our students were chosen to help tape her to the wall and then all of the students had a chance to go by the wall after lunch and hear her tell them that she would do absolutely anything to encourage them to read. i guess now they know she really will do ANYTHING!

Knots on a Counting Rope

2011-11-05T06:56:00.000-07:00

With this week's homework, you received a short length of rope. This piece of rope is related to a story that the children have heard in class. It's a story with some depth and children actually have to hear it several times and talk about it before they realize that the little boy in the story is blind and that his grandfather is preparing him for the time when he will no longer be with him. Our children have heard the book Knots on a Counting Rope in class where a Native American grandfather tells his grandson stories about his life. Every child loves hearing stories about themselves - on the day they were born, the stories about when they were a baby - those funny and happy family stories that are a part of your family's oral history. That is the point of this homework. We want of our children to hear about their life from you. They are actually writing "All About Me" nonfiction books in class so you may find some of these stories seep into their writing! Before starting, watch the video on this link (look for the story Knots on a Counting Rope) or below and then explain to your child that you are going to do the same thing that many Native American families do - you are going to share stories about your family! Then sit in a family circle and just make this a part of your dinner time each night and tell your children stories - share memories - about your family that make you happy, that make you laugh or even sad stories that are a part of your family's history. With each story tie a knot in the counting rope. The day before you bring the counting rope back to school, practice with your child a favorite story that they have heard so s/he can share it with the class. Happy memories!

Nonfiction

2011-11-04T08:31:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful world nonfiction opens up for our youngest children! This week we began a new unit of nonfiction literature. The children began by meeting with their partners. They noticed that these new books have photographs. They have a Table of Contents with numbers to help navigate the text. They are about real things instead of stories. For the next few weeks we will be enjoying this new genre! Make sure to choose some nonfiction books to read at home!

Homework - Oral Reports

2011-11-04T08:26:00.000-07:00

One of our standards in Kindergarten falls under Speaking and Listening. Kindergartners are expected to be able to talk with a partner and in front of their peers about the books they love. Today they brought in a favorite book and objects in a bag that they could use to give an oral book report. They sat in a circle and took turns reporting and listening. They were amazing as they wowed their friends with pop up books and books with pictures and recording of their grandmothers and so many other heart-felt and funny facts. They each responded in the complete sentence, "I like this book because _________." Believe it or not, this simple homework activity and "show and tell" in the classroom is the foundation for the Literary Analysis of a text that they will be required to write about in 4th grade. They have to be able to talk about the books they are reading before they can write about them. And... to be able to talk about books, they have to learn to be silent when someone else is talking (no small task!) and to look at the presenter while he is speaking and the presenter needs to learn to talk so his friends can hear and to make eye contact with his audience. All of this out of a simple homework assignment!

We Won!

2011-10-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

We won! We really, really won! Our class won the Super Board Award! This award is given every few months when new bulletin boards go up. Our award is for the best board in K-1. It is given to the class that best represents the learning that is going on inside the classroom - and our class won! We represented the work that the students are doing with "Star Names" each day. I hope your child has come home and told you who is the "Star Student" each day, and by now, you have probably received a booklet of pictures that the other children have drawn of your child when they were the featured star.

The board was designed by the teachers, of course, but it features the outstanding work of the children and the special artistic talents of our Homeroom Mom, Artist-in-residence, Kim (Will's mom). Thank you Kim for making our board shine! Make sure to stop by and see our award winning board! Woo hoo!

Read all about it!

Independent Reading

2011-09-30T06:24:00.000-07:00

Even this early in Kindergarten we have a time devoted each day to independent reading. You might wonder what in the world the children are doing during this time if they can't really read?!! During the first weeks of school we teach the children that they are readers. Before they can read the words they can read the pictures and the pictures tell a story. So... during this time, some of the children are actually reading the words in books and others are "telling" the story through the pictures. The children also have books in their "Book Buddy" such as Nursery Rhymes that they have been studying, alphabet books because they recognize the letters which helps them figure out the pictures and the words and "Star Books", the books they have heard over and over. There is lots to learn during independent reading!

The Ruark Connection

2011-09-18T08:10:00.000-07:00

Last Friday our kindergarten class partnered with Mr. Ruark's 5th grade class in a mentor reading program. We thought it would be a great idea to keep it in the family by having both Ruark and Ruark/Timmons classes team up throughout the year. This program pairs one of Mr. Ruark's 5th graders with 2-3 of our kindergartner's. The older students model reading books with intonation, as well as, discussion about the books many elements (characters, setting, plot, etc). This not only provides a great read-a-loud to our class but also builds a big brother/big sister relationship with our older students. Both the 5th grade students and our students loved the experience and can't wait for next Friday's read-a-loud. Mr. Ruark told me later that evening that his students were arguing over how each of their little reading partners were better than anyone elses! They absolutely loved it!

Open House

2011-09-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

Thank you for joining us at Open House! We had a blast!

A Rhyme Hunt

2011-09-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

Today we had a Rhyme Hunt! We gave the children a list of pictures and words and had them go around the room with a partner and find a word that rhymed. The partners then drew the rhyming word and for those that like the challenge, they tried to write the word! Here's a little peek into the FUN!

Retelling

2011-09-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

One of the things that we ask our kindergartners to do early in the year is to retell a story that we have read many times. The ability to retell a story orally tells us about a child's language development. When a child realizes that letters make sounds and that sound make words and when they can retell a story in a way that sounds like they are reading it, even though they can't read any of the words yet, we know that their oral language has developed enough so that they are ready to begin reading words. Below is an example of a child that is retelling the very popular Three Billy Goats Gruff, a story that we have read in class many times and a story that we have acted out in many different ways. Listen to the way that he changes his voice when he talking like the littlest billy or when he is roaring like the mean and ugly troll. Much of the change in this voice sounds exactly like the teacher has read the story in class. This is exactly what we want each of our children to be able to do.

Untitled from dayle timmons on Vimeo.

So far in our class, we have read and practiced,

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Caps for Sale

Where the Wild Things Are

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Make sure to ask your child all about his favorite story!

Caps for Sale

2011-09-01T18:07:00.000-07:00

Our newest "Star Book" is Caps for Sale. Enjoy watching this video of the book with your child. After watching the video, ask your child to retell the story!

Favorite Things

2011-08-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

We've been in Kindergarten for a week now so we thought we'd like to know what the children really love about their new school experience. Enjoy their answers!

What do you like best about Kindergarten?
Jaylene.....books
Madison.....recess
Abdul.....playing at the playground
Gabriel....math!
Griffin.....drawing
Jaiden..... I like to draw.
Braylon.....doing math
Angel.....making dinosaurs
Morgan.....writing
Alyssa.....doing math
Malynn.....doing activities like coloring
Koen.....going outside
Manny.....dancing
Robert.....playing
Cameron.....toys
Addison.....I like to color a bunch.
Avery.....playing on the playground
Richie.....dancing
Grace.....the food in the lunchroom
Luke.....I like to make new friends and to play outside.
Michael.....coloring
Nicky.....building
Maria.....the books
Will.....PTA and doing all these fun crafts
Nelson.....I like reading books.
Austin.....I make new friends.
Keith..... My favorite things are toys.
Cadin.....building with shapes
Shubhangi.....play with blocks and games
Ethan.....play
Liam.....making a book box
Nathen.....playing
William..... playing with my friends
Hailey.....coloring
Kayla.....going on the carpet like a little mouse. That's so fun!
Jacob.....the equipment on the playground

Jack and Jill

2011-08-26T09:52:00.000-07:00

Nursery Rhymes began this week and oh what a fantastic time we have had. Our first rhyme is "Jack and Jill." You may remember the rhyme from your own childhood (whew, long time ago for some of us).

The teachers acted it out first, one playing Jack and one playing Jill...what a picture...hehehe!

And then some of the children had an opportunity to do the same. ADORABLE!

We'll be working with these rhyming words and this nursery rhyme all week. Make sure to ask your child to say or sing "Jack and Jill"! If they choose to sing you the song, ask them to show you the motions along with it. Seriously, they couldn't be any cuter!!! We love each of them so much!

Our First Day

2011-08-22T14:09:00.000-07:00

We had such a great first day! First we met in the big Dining Room with all the other kindergartners and said "goodbye to our loved ones". We are BIG kids now!

When we got to our room, we unpacked all of our stuff and sang a good morning song. Then Mrs. Timmons and Mrs. Ruark told us the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone. They were so funny! We even got to act during the book. The girls were the billy goats and the boys were the mean, ugly troll.

Somebody even had a birthday today and we got to sing! Happy Birthday to our newest five year old!

We ate lunch in the big Dining Room. It was noisy but we met new friends and talked about summer vacation.

After lunch we played on the playground. Boy, was it hot but we had FUN anyway! Then we let our creative juices flow and drew pictures of superheroes. Our teachers hung them around the room on stars. That was way cool!

We practiced walking in a line and the teachers were so-o-o-o proud of us! You would have been proud of us too!

Finally we got to see a real superhero - Omega Man! Ask me about his AMAZING feats.

What a wonderful day we had together. Kindergarten is a really special place to be! Can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring...

First Look!

2011-08-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new Ruark-Timmons Family! We loved meeting you all at Orientation! Remember, be ready on Monday to come with your superhero powers fired up and ready to...10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 BLAST OFF!!!!!!

Hello and Good-by

2011-08-13T09:56:00.000-07:00

We say good-by to our awesome first graders and welcome a new group of kindergartners. We are so proud of our first graders and send them off with lots of confidence, knowing they will fly right into second grade as superheroes! For our new superheroes, we welcome you with our exciting new theme! It's going to be a GREAT new year!

Chets Creek Elementary – Empowering the Future! from Melanie Holtsman on Vimeo.

1st Grade Talent Show!

2011-06-11T09:59:00.000-07:00

This was the most fun ever! You had to have been there!

Readers-to-Leaders Carnival

2011-06-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

Readers-to-Leaders is a goal set for first graders each nine weeks that basically requires them to read a book each night at home from Monday-Thursday. No reading required on the weekend. There is a large chart as you enter the room so that the children can keep track of how many books they have read at any time. It is a ritual that will continue for a child's entire life at Chets Creek. Each nine weeks those children that make their goal get a certificate at the Awards Ceremony and then are treated to a special event arranged by the Principal. This year they got to watch the Principal get slimed, played Barnyard Bingo with the Principal, got to watch the Principal kiss a pig at a picnic and finally got to go to the carnival for this last nine weeks. The idea is to provide these over-the-top events to help the children remember to read each night. We reinforce that it is the child's responsibility to remember to get a "just right" book each morning and put it in his backpack. It is the child's responsibility to remind his parent that he needs to read and it is the child's responsibility to log the book and turn in the sheets. 24 of our 30 students met their yearly goal! Woo hoo! The children that did not meet the goal were disappointed when they did not get to attnd the carnival and it would have been easy to just let them go anyway, but it would not have helped them next year when they needed to read each night. After all, a child only gets better at reading by reading and making our children lovers of reading is what this program is all about!If your child got to go to the carnival, let him tell you all about the pictures below!

Homeroom Mom!

2011-06-09T10:49:00.000-07:00

We have been so fortunate this year to have Autumn's mom as our homeroom mom. she has been the one to organize everything and to stay in contact with the parents. Thank you Rachel! You have been the BEST!

CCE Field Day

2011-06-07T17:47:00.001-07:00

After Awards this morning the children had a wonderful time at Field Day. The weather was warm but there was a little breeeze. Enjoy the pictures!

From The Minds Of Our Little Architects!

2011-05-25T13:08:00.001-07:00

I did a church with people praying inside the church. the city is called NEW Raurk city. I used 3D shapes To build my building. it was hard because it kept falling down. it was in the midle of the city and it has a cross on top of the church. Angelina

We made the church in the midel of new Ruark city. it was Nicole and Catherine's church. The shapes were rectanguler prisums and a cube. there is 14 places in New ruark city. Nicole

My Math partner was Natali and we made a zoo. I wanted to call are city Las Timmons but our city was named New Ruark City. But I like it too. There was one zoo, one church, one police station, one mall, one park, one restaurant and one school. We have a grate city! Claudia

Me and Jeffrey made the houses. we disidid to make the houses because it was the easyist. I still think we shooda made it biger . Do you know what shapes I yoosd? We yoosd a cube, a rectangular prisome and a cone. Alaina

I thout it should be surf's up city. I like the name. The city had a lot of space! My favorite part was building the house. My partner was aliana. She was funny!!!!! Jeffrey

My building was the city mall. Me and vincent put a stage and a automatic door that takes people to there car. Two guards were at the door. Dazha

Me and michael builded a hopstal we put a bed in there.We put a waiting room in our hospital. We put it in the east.autumn

I built a mayors house. i built it with 12 peaces. I like whin i got to build with cubes and rectangular prisms and triangular prisms.connor

Me and Autumn used 12 shapes and we made a hospital out of 12 shapes. Can you believe that? I built a hospitl. I yoused 5 cylinders, a triangler prism, a cube and a rectangular prism. Michael

Me and Nevin builted a hosbitel. it was so hard. it keept falling down so we builted a new hosbitel. we builted in the southeast corner.david

Me and david built a hospital. our town is called New Ruark city. its a very nice place. We built it in the south east. nevin

I wanted to name it joe town but my class chose New ruark city. parker

We built a park and we did a slide.we used a cube and we used a retangeler prisom.we did a skate board ramp and a tunol.we also used a traingeler prisom. we made a slide for little kids too. the city was named new Ruark city. we put the park in the south west corner.jesse

Me and Jesse did a park. we did a slide and a skate baord ramp .it was on the south side and it was by the mall and restaurant. Taylor

I like our building. I like New Ruark City. I and Sean billd a restaurant. It name is Mrs. Timmons restaurant. Soma

Me and Soma bilt a restarant. The peepul that work in owr restarant make good mony. We bilt it nekst to the park in the west. Sean

Me and Shawn built a police station for NEW RUARK CITY! One of the shapes that we used was a sphere.The name of our police station is Duval County police station. Our police station is next to the house.It was fun! Gabriel

I made the new ruark city police station with Gabriel. we put a antina on the roof top and a car in the drive way and its name is very cool. it was very fun.shawn

I built a hospital in New Raurk City.My parther is johanna and nicholas. we are friends . I wanna name the city Skeleton City but my class named it New Raurk City. well I had fun any way so I hope you read this. Jardale

We used 3 ramps and some retanegr prisims. we used 4 trianigulal prisims...NicholasBlack

Me and Connor were building the mayors house.We made it 3D.my favorite part is new Ruark city.It's cool.I have never seen a city like that but I still like the name. I hope you like it too. Dede

We build New ruark City. I build the hospital. My favorite part is when I build the top part of the hospital. My partners were nick and jardale. johanna

me and Claudia made a zoo out of bloks. My class chose the name new Raurk city. I'd rathor
have named it Writingville because I like the word ville because it's a fun word. You cod
say it all day if you ask me .It was pretty hard to make it at first.Natali

me and nick billd a hospehtl on a city calld new ruark city the hospehl is at north of the city.Brendy

My favoirte part is when we did the map because that was a very good idea. and that
kinda helpt me alitte bit any way that was very fun and I cant what until we do it again and it was funy that we used the bears as cars.Jacob

I love the name new ruark city but I thought of las timmons was a better name.me and dazha built city mall and it was in the south near the hospital.it was fun I used 2 cubes, 3trianglearprisims,2recteagrerprisims,2 have circles,1 hectagularprisim and I had a lot of fun.Vincent

One of Our Own

2011-05-22T06:16:00.000-07:00

One of our own classmates was chosen to be part of the ARC chorus that performed the National Anthem at the ARC birthday party last week. We are so proud of the students that attend this extra tutoring each week and especially proud to have a student selected for the chorus. They sounded like angels!

MOSH

2011-05-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

Our last first grade field trip was to the Museum of Science and History. What a great day! We visited the planetarium, which was a kid favorite, to review some of the ideas we learned during our Sun and Stars Science unit. After lunch we had time to explore the many exhibits inlcluding the human body and machines! Thanks to Dazha's mom and dad, Autumn's mom and Taylor's dad for going with us!

Douglas Wood, Children's Author

2011-05-07T14:19:00.001-07:00

What a treat! On Friday the children were entertained by children's author, Douglas Wood. Each year our Media Specialist, KK Cherney, chooses a children's author and helps find the funds to bring the author to Chets Creek. In year's past we have had some of the most amazing experiences with children's authors and illustrators. It is just such a revelation for the children to actually see and meet an author that they know and love. Mr. Wood delighted the children by telling them the story of Rabbit and the Moon. Some of the children may remember hearing these kind of Native American legends when they were involved in Pow Wow as kindergartners. It's one thing to hear a book read by a teacher, but it's quite something else to hear a book read by the person that wrote the story! Mr. Wood also sings so he taught the children two different songs with motions. He obviously has a heart for nature because his books and songs all help us celebrate the world around us.

Mr. Wood told the children that he has ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and that it was very hard for him to sit still or to just think of one thing at a time. He said that instead of writing just one book at a time, he really had ten books in his mind at the same time! He also talked about how hard it was for him to learn to read until he had a very special teacher in the second grade that really took time with him and helped him learn that all the little squiggles and blots on a page actually held a message. He said that even after he learned that he didn't learn to read quickly. It took a lot more time but he did learn that he was smart and that he could learn. Now he ways he loves to read! He showed the children a copy of his newest book which hasn't even hit the shelves yet.
Douglas' Wood's first book was Old Turtle which is probably his most famous book. It has sold a million copies and has won lots of awards.

Mrs. Phillips chose one of Douglas Woods books, The Secret of Saying Thanks, as the May Book of the Month. She actually read the book to the faculty while Mr. Wood watched! The book in now in our classroom and will be read this week. Hope the children enjoy it as much as the teachers did!

Ladybug, Ladybug!

2011-05-02T18:36:00.000-07:00

Have you heard? The ladybugs went into their pupa stage while we were away on the weekend, so when we returned today the larvae were gone as they had curled into the pupa stage.
Ask your kids all about it! I'm wondering if we have yellow ladybugs or the red ones with the black spots? What does your child think?

We Won the Purple Cow!

2011-04-30T05:07:00.000-07:00

Each month each class puts up a new standards-based bulletin board that reflects the work that is being done in that classroom. The boards are suppose to be a window into the instruction in the classroom and really try to reflect what we are learning during the month. And each month a primary and intermediate board are selected as the BEST boards of the month. The award is called the Purple Cow Award because teachers are encouraged to be a purple cow in a brown cow world and of course, it goes with our farm theme. Our board in March featured our work around our Kevin Henkes author study and featured so many of our students. We are so proud to have so much student work on our board.

Many of the children have their photographs on the board that were taken when they were dressed up as one of the mouse characters. All of the children have a pair of Lilly's movie star glasses in the border and the top border features their drawing of their favorite Kevin Henkes character. Owen ended up being their favorite character!Those are Connor's amazing clay puppets coming out of Lilly's purple purse at the top of the board!
Jesse's small moment narrative story is featured. It is a story about Wendell finding the roller coaster at Busch Gardens.

Dede's compares herself to Kevin Henkes' Chrysanthemum using a graphic organizer.A graphic organizer worked on as a pair describes the beginning, middle and end of a Kevin Henkes story and then Dazha took that a step farther and used the same graphic organizer while reading a book from her independent reading bin.

Jacob's work in Readers' Theatre is described on how he worked so hard on his fluency!Nevin's response to literature is a retelling of Kevin Henkes' Chrysanthemum and is the culminating piece.

We are just so proud of the children's work and love that their work is being recognized! And all we could say was, "WOW!"

Easter Celebration

2011-04-22T19:15:00.000-07:00

Could the day have been any more packed? We started the morning with our 3rd Nine Weeks Awards Ceremony highlighted by Jardale and Taylor being named this nine weeks "Soaring Eagles." Then it was Easter themed centers - using watercolors to paint large egg shapes, making yellow construction paper chicks, coloring eggs, and making a little nest with chowmein noodles and icing, jelly bean eggs and little peeps for snack.

We followed this with a little jelly bean work on family facts before inviting those students who met their Readers-to Leaders goal, which was 85 books read so far this year at home, to a picnic lunch and watching the Principal "kiss a pig!" The children were treated to the event with included popsicles under the school's front porch. Then it was back to the room to get ready for our Easter Egg Hunt and Dazha's birthday cupcakes. We ended the day with an Easter Bunny movie and PE! Looks like we all will need a 4-day Easter break to recouperate! Hoppy Easter!

Jack's Beanstalk

2011-04-22T06:02:00.001-07:00

Last week we dissected a lima bean to see what was inside. First we removed the thin covering on the outside and split the bean in half. Then we discovered that there is a tiny plant growing inside the bean (an embryo). We learned that the two sides of the bean seed are the food for the embryo. We decided to plant some lima beans and see if they would grown. Each child wet a paper towel and put the damp paper towel and seed inside a Ziplock bag. Some children decided to leave the bean so you could see it and others wrapped the seed with the towel. We hung them in the window so they could get sun (we decided they need sun and water to get started). We have been letting them soak in the sun and water all week. We have been watching as the bean seeds change a little each day. On Friday Johanna's was the first to sprout!

Can't wait to see what they look like when we get back after the long weekend!

Celery is a stem

2011-04-17T10:52:00.000-07:00

We have been identifying the parts of a plant, so to help the children understand what the stem does, we put celery, which we decided is a stem, into colored water. We put two large celery pieces in water with red food coloring. Then we sliced another celery stalk and put half of it in red water and half in blue water. What do you think happened?

We let the celery sit overnight and then when we observed them again, they had changed. Ask your child what happened.

We learned that the stem is like a straw and moves the water from the roots to the leaves so they can make food!

Book of the Month

2011-04-15T15:46:00.000-07:00

Each month our principal chooses a special book for the month. She uses it to teach the faculty a specific strategy and then each teacher is expected to read the book and use the strategy in her own teaching. Each classroom is gifted a copy of the book! As a result we have a wonderful collection of books to share with students each year. During March, as a new March Madness tradition, Mrs. Phillips came to each classroom and read one of the previous books-of-the-month to the children. She read our class the delightful Apple Batter. The kids loved it! They loved having Mrs. Phillips in their class. They loved hearing her read the book. They loved hearing about the book-of-the-month tradition at chets Creek. As a result of that visit, the students and teachers prepared this special little message for Mrs. Phillips.

There is a back story to this video, of course. During her visit and discussion with the children, Mrs. Phillips asked them about other books of the month. One of the books that she mentioned and questioned them about was the January, 2011 Book-of-the-month Butterflies in my Stomach and other School Hazards. This is a book of idioms. I have to admit that when she read the book with the faculty, I thought it was cute, but as we worked with the idioms, I thought the concept was a little high for first graders. I didn't think they would really get idioms and probably weren't sophisticated enough to use them in their writing. So... (listen for the BIG mistake!) I just never got around to reading that book to the children! Out of the mouth of babes and much to my embarrassment - when she asked the children about that book, they very honestly told her that we hadn't read it! OUCH! Of all the teachers in this school, you would think, after all these years I would know better! And, of course, I have since found out from my colleagues who did what they were suppose to do, that it was one of the books that their students have enjoyed the most! Always being one to just "fess up" to my shortcomings (of which there are many!), I just admitted that I hadn't particularly liked the book and hadn't read it to the class! However, I did decide that it would NEVER happen again. In our class (raising my right hand) we WILL read the book-of-the-month EVERY SINGLE month. And I have to admit that I LOVED this month's book, Sophie's Masterpiece. I think the kids liked it too! Lesson learned!

Spirt Week at the Creek!

2011-04-08T16:43:00.000-07:00

This week, before settling into the serious and quiet FCAT testing week, we enjoyed Spirit Week at Chets Creek. On Monday we dressed for our theme - farmers, of course. On Tuesday we wore mismatched clothes. On Wednesday it was wacky hair and socks. On Thursday we dug into our closets and searched out an old Chets Creek tee-shirt, and on Friday it was "rock star" day. We finished the day with a parade of the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders dressed as our star idols. They enjoyed a pep rally that included skits by the intermediate teachers. It was a fun, fun, fun week!

Don't tell anyone... but some of us will be glad to usher in the quieter, "no movement in the building" week, as our intermediate friends are testing. While it's a week with very few resources, it's a week of extra instructional time - Science labs, here we come!

Planting an avocado seed

2011-04-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

We have begun our unit of planting and one of the things that we planted was a avocado seed. Because we assumed that many of the children might not be familiar with avocado, we peeled the black avocado and gave each student a small piece of the green fruit to taste. Then we gave each child a small bit of guacamole, made from the avocado, on a cracker to try. From Jeffrey's enthusiasm over eating the fruit often at home to Soma telling us all about how his mom uses avocado in making fresh sushi to Nevin holding her nose and closing her eyes to give it a try, the students very much enjoyed the experience and making prediction about what will happen to the seed. This is what they had to say:

Jacob - It tasted really good.

Dazha - The avocado tasted nasty but I liked the guacamole.

Chance - It was good!

Connor - They were both good.

Joe - Delicious!!

Gabriel - I like guacamole but didn't like the avocado. It tasted b-a-a-a-a-d.

Vincent - I didn't taste it! The guacamole looked gross.

Nicole - HORRIBLE!!

Sean - It tasted bad.

Alaina - Dis-gusting!

Soma - GOOD!

Parker - I didn't like it. They were both bad, bad, bad.

Natali - I liked the guacamole but not the avocado. It was gross.

Nick - They both tasted really, really nasty.

Claudia - The guacamole was good. The avocado tasted nasty.

Shaun - I think I kinda liked the guac but the avocado was despicable.

Dede - Horrible.

Jeff - Both were really good. I eat them at home. You take the avocado and cut it in half. Then you take out the seed. Add salt and eat it with a spoon. It's really good.

Autumn - The avocado wasn't really good. I had never tried it before.

Michael - The avocado was gross. I had never tried guacamole but I liked it on the cracker. My mom should start buying me some.

Nevin - I liked the guacamole. The avocado was squishy. I didn't like it. It didn't have a flavor.

Angelina - I hated both of them.

Taylor - The avocado was terrible. The guacamole was awesome.

Catherine - It tasted horrible.

Jesse - I hated the avocado but the guacamole was good.

Brendy - I didn't like them.

Tanner - I like the avocado because it almost tasted like eggs. The guacamole was alright.

Spring Break from Hendersonville NC

2011-03-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

I know it's only our third day into spring break but I told you guys I would keep you updated on what the Ruark clan is up to on Spring Break. We are at our cabin in Hendersonville, North Carolina. As you can see from the pictures we have had one good sunset. That picture was taken off the back porch of our cabin. As for the others...well we have been relaxing and sleeping a lot. It has been pretty cold up here. The temperatures have been in the 30's so we have had a fire every day. As you can see our pugs Kiska and Snuffles are the laziest dogs in the world. Kiska likes to sit on Mr. Ruark's lap as he does his 900 situps everyday. They love laying in front of the fire and napping with us.
Well, I have to go for now but stay tuned for more updates. See you all on April 4th. Enjoy your break!

Kevin Henkes Day Celebration!

2011-03-19T14:48:00.000-07:00

The RTR's celebrated Kevin Henkes Day on Friday in style. We played Kevin Henkes bingo, made purple purses, ties and sunglasses, watched Owen, Chrysanthemum and A Weekend with Wendell while we ate cheesy snacks. The mice cookies we made with icing were simply scrumptious. We ended our day with readers theater as the children acted out the many books of Kevin Henkes. In the words of one student "This is the best day ever!"

Shared Reading and Readers' Theatre

2011-03-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

The children have been practicing individual parts in plays, called Readers' Theatre. They have also been practicing group parts, called shared reading. Shared reading is reading that is done chorally or together. Reading together helps support readers who are having difficulty and helps all children learn to read with more expression. Listen as the children practice this type of choral reading of a Kevin Henkes Readers' Theatre script!

Untitled from dayle timmons on Vimeo.

In the Computer Lab

2011-03-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

We scheduled an appointment in the computer lab this week. Although we have a system for each of the children to get on the computer each week, it often takes most of their computer time just for the students to log on. Duval County requires a rather long username and password to log in each student. Students have to be able to use the shift key and the delete key. They have to be able to recognize the differences between the number 1 and the letter l and the number 0 from the upper and lowercase letters Oo - not always so easy for young students! The good news is that if they can ever master the process, it will not change from year to year. The username and password will stay the same, so it is worth the time it takes to teach our youngest children the process. We have done several lessons on how to log on to the classroom computers but the children hear a lesson on Monday and it takes some children until Friday to get a turn and actually apply the lesson. You can imagine the problem! So... we scheduled time in the lab with our Instructional Technologist Melanie Holtsman. Melanie took the children through the process of signing on step-by-step and let them practice. This way the practice followed directly after the instruction. Each of our children should be able to log in to the computers in the classroom with very little difficulty. Can they log in at home? We hope so!

Readers' Theatre

2011-03-12T18:07:00.000-08:00

This past week we have been practicing Readers' Theatre! Readers' Theatre is a lot like reading a play except the actors don't have to memorize their lines or move around on the stage. Instead they stand in a straight line and read their part from a script. The purpose of Readers' Theatre is to practice reading like you are talking. Students practice reading fluently with expression. On Friday the groups that had been practicing in small groups all week, presented their Kevin Henkes story to the group. Next week the children will be reading new Kevin Henkes stories in new Readers' Theatre groups!
Owen

Weekend With Wendell Sheila Rae, the Brave

Lilly's Big Day

Apple Batter

2011-03-09T15:10:00.000-08:00

Guess who came to do a read aloud in our class? Mrs. Phillips! As part of her "March Madness," Principal Phillips is reading in every single classroom this month! She is reading some of our previous books-of-the-month. Yesterday she came in and did a delightful reading of the book Apple Batter which was a 2001 Chets Creek Book-of-the-month! The book is the story of perseverance. As she read the story Mrs. Phillips asked the children questions that caused them to think deeply about the characters and the story line. Make sure to ask your child about this opportunity to spend time with one of the best storytellers in the building!

Mrs. Phillips' Reads to First Grade from Melanie Holtsman on Vimeo.

Puppet Project

2011-03-08T03:38:00.000-08:00

Each year we ask families to work together to produce puppets of one of the Kevin Henkes books. The children have been deeply embedded in this author and his stories. The purpose of this project is to encourage the children to retell these beloved stories to their parents at home as they create ideas for the puppets. This year we tried to post some of the stories on this blog and to encourage the children to check out Kevin Henkes books from the Media Center so the books could be shared with families. It's hard to make puppets for a story you don't know! We even made puppets in class to show at least one way to make puppets easily. This year I even color copied the characters for each story and encouraged the children to take home the characters from their favorite story to give families of visual of the characters. Below is the evidence, of what we hope, was fun learning!

Zoo Celebration!

2011-03-07T14:58:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful time at the zoo today. The weather was perfect! We started at the Education Center and learned about life cycles, which was the perfect opening for our next Science unit. We learned that a corn snake is named for its markings like Indian corn. We learned that most snakes are helpful as they kill rats and mice. We even got to feel the snake and learned that it is smooth and not slimy. We saw a small owl that had been rescued after its wing was hurt and part of the wing had to be amputated. We learned that the owl was nocturnal but since living at the zoo he had adapted and mostly sleeps at night now. Both the snake and owl, along with butterflies and frogs all lay eggs. Then we got to feel the soft fur of a chinchilla and learned that it is a mammal and its babies are born live. We heard about animals that look like their parents and animals that don't. This is just the beginning of our new Science unit.

Before we knew it, it was time for a quick lunch and then a stroll through the zoo. We saw elephants and rhinos and even watched as the giraffes were fed. We saw baby giraffes and a zebra that was only a few weeks old, born on February 26. We caught one of the zoo helpers at the gorilla exhibit and were able to ask questions about the silver backs. We learned that gorillas cannot swim and that one had drowned at the zoo about eight years ago. We watched the monkeys and saw birds of all sorts. We didn't make it to the end of the zoo and Parker was very disappointed that we missed the kimono dragon at the far end, but that's just more to see on another day!

DUVAL COUNTY SCHOOLS NEED YOUR HELP!

2011-03-06T09:46:00.000-08:00

I have been a teacher for over 30 years, 25 years in Florida, and I have never been as worried about the future of public school education as I am today! My own children have completed their time in our public schools and have both completed college. They had a strong public school education that well prepared them for the rigors of a post secondary education. But next year a new generation of my family will walk through the doors. My first grand daughter will enter Chets Creek as a Kindergartner. I am thrilled with the education that our children get at this A+ school, but I have to wonder how even more budget cuts will slash our ability to continue to provide the same quality education that has been our cornerstone. Will she continue to get Music, Art and PE? Will our school be able to squeeze out the dollars to provide character education and an outstanding bully prevention program? Will there be someone at the desk when she wants to check out a book from the Media Center? Will there be someone to read her beautiful stories and teach her to use the computer as she grows up in this technology-rich society. Will there be someone to warn her about social networks and teach her to infuse technology into every fiber of her learning? We our schools even be able to keep up with basic technology needs or will she have to learn from friends (both the good and the harmful) on the fly outside of school? If she is gifted or if she struggles with words and numbers, will there be a guidance counselor and special teachers to make sure that she learns to the best of her ability? Will her teachers continue to get quality professional development so that they can continue to learn and grow as new research becomes available? As I look at the cuts, all of this seems in jeopardy to me!

This is the time to step up and be counted - to advocate for those that have no voice of their own. We are asking you to use your voice to advocate for every child in our community. Now more than ever, our school system needs a funding source that they can count on. We cannot afford any more unfunded legislative mandates - things we are required to do but get no funds! We know that the State of Florida is facing an overwhelming budget shortfall; however, we need education to be funded FIRST so that we are investing in our future. If we really believe that our children are our future, then we need to make sure that our voice is heard. With just a few minutes of your time, you can ensure that our legislators know that public education is important. If you are unsure which of the legislators is a representative of your area, you can logon to http://www.myflorida.com/. There is a small box at the bottom right of the page that you can use by typing in your zip code to get a list of your respective legislators. Each call, letter or e-mail to our legislators counts! I have e-mailed my legislator. It's time for you to do the same. Our united effort will send a strong message throughout our community and our state and to our elected officials that we value public education. Take the time. Make a difference and let your child know that it is all of love of a very special child!

Barnyard Book Bingo!

2011-02-17T17:16:00.000-08:00

Today was the pay-off for students who met their Readers-to-Leaders goal! In our class students are required to read each night at home. It's important. If students can develop a habit of reading every night, it will improve their reading and it is a routine that will be expected of them for their entire career at Chets Creek. It's not an easy routine for a first grader. He must remember to change out his book each morning and get a new book - a "just right" book from his book bin. He must remember to take the book home and remind mom or dad that he is suppose to read. It is the child's responsibility. After reading he needs to log in the book. On Friday he needs to remember to turn the book log in at school so that he gets credit for all that he has read. If the log is full he needs to remember to get a new sheet.
If the child read and logged in 55 books at the end of the second nine week, then he met his Readers-to-Leaders goal and today earned the right to go to the Principal's Barnyard Book Bingo! What a wonderful time we had. The children earned lots of prizes! Last nine weeks, Mrs. Phillips got slimed and rumor has it that students who meet their goal next nine weeks will get to watch her kiss a pig!!! Now that should be worth a little reading time1

Retelling Lilly

2011-02-15T18:27:00.000-08:00

Today we worked on retelling Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes. You may have already heard this story on a previous blog post. Below is a first grade class reading the story. Enjoy it with your child and then ask your child to bring out the five story pieces that we ordered. glued on a strip of black paper and used today to retell the story. Make sure your child tells about each piece. As your child retells the story, the beginning should include the name of the main characters (Lilly and Mr. Slinger), where the story takes place (it begins at school) and the problem (Lilly wants to show everyone her new purple plastic purse). The middle should include at least three events (1-Lilly shows her classmates her purse and so Mr. Slinger takes it away, 2-Lilly gets mad and writes an ugly letter to Mr. Slinger and 3- Mr. Slinger returns the purse at the end of the day and Lilly feels terrible about her note. She runs all the way home) and then the ending should include the solution to the problem. The solution of course, is that Lilly takes cookies to Mr. Slinger, apologizes, and they do the happy dance together at Share Time!

Owen by Kevin Henkes

2011-02-14T18:45:00.000-08:00

Owen by Kevin Henkes is the story of a little mouse named Owen who is attached to his fuzzy yellow blanket.

Today our students cut out stick puppets and practiced retelling the story to partners during Writers' Workshop. In order to write a retelling, you first have to be able to retell the story orally. The children brought their puppets home today so invite your child to show you the puppets and practice retelling the story. Below is the story with a beginning (including the characters, setting and problem), the middle (with three events) and the ending (with the solution). See how well your child can retell this delightful story!

Owen had a fuzzy yellow blanket at his house that he loved and took everywhere that he went, but he could not take it to school.

His neighbor, Mrs. Tweezers, asked his parents if they had ever heard of the Blanket Fairy that takes blankets during the night and leaves big boy gifts. They had not, but Owen hid the blanket in his pajama pants.

His neighbor, Mrs. Tweezers, asked his parents if they had ever heard of the vinegar tick that makes the blanket stinky. they had not but Owen buried the blanket in his sandbox to get rid of the smell.

His neighbor, Mrs. Tweezers asked his parents if they had ever heard of just saying no. they had not but Owen cried and cried.

Owen's mother had an idea and she snipped and sewed. she cut the blanket into little handkerchiefs so Owen could carry a piece of the blanket everywhere he went. Owen was happy.

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse

2011-02-08T20:36:00.000-08:00

We have been reading several of Kevin Henkes' books featuring his little mouse characters. Lilly is one of our favorite characters. We will meet her again in several of Kevin Henkes' other books that we will be reading in the weeks to come! Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse is actually a former Chets Creek Book-of-the-Month. We have been encouraing the children to make connections to the stories as they read because that is what good readers do. They relate things that happen in the story to things that have happened to them in real life or to books that they have read. Those connections help them understand the story and how the character feels. Make sure to ask your child about how the actions in the story remind them of something that has ahppened to them or maybe you can relate a story from your own life. Enjoy this delightful story below.

Chrysanthemum

2011-02-07T20:28:00.001-08:00

We have started our study of author and illustrator Kevin Henkes! We are studying his "mouse" books. If you would like to check him out, visit his web site where you will find interesting information and also games to play. The first book that we read by Kevin Henkes was Chrysanthemum which is a wonderful story about a little mouse who gets bullied at school. Enjoy the book with your child!

Measuring Fish.

2011-02-06T06:40:00.000-08:00

HOW LONG IS THIS FISH?

We have been measuring fish. First we measure them and then decide if they are keepers. They have to be a certain length to be a keeper. You will enjoy this game, Time to Move, that helps practice the same concepts of measuring and then deciding which tank certain fish need to live. Practice this week before our Math test on measuring!

We are 100 Days Smarter!

2011-02-03T17:27:00.001-08:00

Happy 100th Day!

We have been in school for 100 days!

Can you get to the center of a Tootsie Pop in 100 licks? Just in case you wondered, nobody got to the center in 100 licks!

Happy, Happy Day!

We had such fun looking for 100 numbered chocolate Kisses and putting them on our 100 chart. It looks like one of them got eaten before it made it to the board because one was missing!

We had such fun today learning all about the number 100. The idea is to help our students visualize the number so they better understand what the number represents... but nobody said that learning couldn't be lots and lots of fun!

Number Worlds

2011-01-31T16:02:00.000-08:00

We are so excited to be offering another computer program to our students that can also be used at home. The interesting thing about this program is that your student starts with first grade math activities and then as the computer gets to know your student, it moves him/her up and down in the different strands of Math. This is the perfect program for our students who have mastered the First Grade Math Diagnostic at this time of year because they will quickly move up to second grade activities. This is also great for students who have an area where they need extra practice. We will be getting most of the students on for a 20 minute session each week but we would love if you could get them on for sessions each day or several times a week. We demo-ed the program in class today for the students so they should be vaguely familiar with it. Your child's password is taped to the inside of his/her planner today, so try it out and let us know how it works!

Lobsters and sea stars and crabs - oh my!

2011-01-30T17:55:00.000-08:00

What an exciting day in our classroom. Even Mrs, Phillips came to watch! Each of the children had a chance to check out 3 different sea creatures. Mrs. Roberts showed them videos and books but she also had a live sea star! You'll have to ask your child about how the starfish eats! Next Mrs Timmons had borrowed a hermit crab from 5th grade Scientist, Mrs. Swidorsky. She showed the children videos and read a book about hermit crabs but the kids really ohh-ed and ahh-ed as she lifted the real crab out of its habitat. She also had a great specimen of a hermit crab that had died. The children were especially fascinated as they watched the video of the hermit crab lifting himself out of one shell and into another!

Mrs. Ruark showed the class a live lobster! It was so-o-o-o cool. She had the lobster's powerful claws taped so that the kids couldn't get hurt.

This was one of the last lessons in our Science unit of the things that animals need to survive. Make sure to ask your child what animals need to survive (Hint: food, water, air, space, shelter)!

Measurement

2011-01-28T18:11:00.000-08:00

We have completed our math unit on Addition and Subtraction Story Problems and today began a new unit on measurement. We have been using non-standard units to measure. Today we measured with linking cubes and one inch tiles! It was fun!

Taking a Walk on the Spacey Side!

2011-01-20T14:25:00.000-08:00

Today was our BIG first grade Sleepover! We started the morning with a parade filled with first graders in pajamas carrying their space pillows, flashlights and glow bracelets. The upper grades lined the hallways as the proud first graders marched by. They ended in a flurry of flashbulbs as they met family in the Dining Room for Breakfast and entertainment led by the Principal. Then it was on to centers led by our Resource Team. Many of the parents probably got better pictures than we did so send them on and we'll share them on the blog. It was a galactic adventure!

Pillow Talk!

2011-01-17T19:56:00.000-08:00

As part of our "Starry, Starry Night" solar system unit, parents were invited to make pillows with their child. They came in shaped like suns and planets, quarter moons, stars, and space ships. They were creative and fun and the children were so proud! Hope you had a chance to see them displayed in the lobby! The students will be carrying them to the Constellation Ball on Thursday as we all come in our pajamas and enjoy a day of sleepover and solar system fun! Can't wait!

A Night Under the Stars!

2011-01-13T19:04:00.000-08:00

Tonight families came to school to enjoy a movie under the stars. Unfortunately, the night time temperature fell to 29 degrees - a little too cold to enjoy being outside even in sunny Florida so we had to move the event inside, but we were so glad to see so many of our families. Several telescopes were set up in the night air so I hope everyone was able to see the craters in the moon and Venus - our brightest planet. Don't worry - we didn't REALLY spend the night - see everyone tomorrow!

Mystery Beads

2011-01-06T17:16:00.000-08:00

Did your child come home today with mystery beads on a pipe cleaner bracelet? I hope your child insisted that you listen while he related the story of how we started with white beads but when we went in the sun, the beads turned colors! I hope s/he actually dragged you outside so you could see for yourself!! These amazing beads have photochromatic dyes that react to UV light and cause the normally white beads to change into vibrant colors when exposed to the sun's ultraviolent rays. Then when removed from the sunlight, the beads revert back to white! We did this experiment in our class to show children that the sun emits powerful rays. These same invisible rays that can change the colors of the beads can also change the color of our skin when we go to the beach! Tomorrow we will be coating the beads with sunscreen to show the children how the lotion/ spray can protect skin from the invisible rays just like it protects the beads from changing colors. Super fun!

Center Day

2010-12-17T17:54:00.000-08:00

Today we enjoyed holiday centers. We turned cupcakes into ornaments, turned ice cream cones into holiday trees, made cookie plates for Santa and food for his reindeer, laced seasonal necklaces, made gingerbread, pine cone and reindeer ornaments, and reindeer bags to give them all as gifts. We topped it all off with pizza for lunch and a holiday movie. Thanks to those that sent in donations and special thanks to Dazha's grandma, Michael and Nicole's moms and Taylor's dad for joining us for the fun. Also a special thank you to our homeroom mom, Autumn's mom, for coordinating everything. We couldn't have done it without you guys! Enjoy the pictures below for our fun day.

Petite Rogue

2010-12-15T21:12:00.001-08:00

Today the children listened to mystery reader Melanie Holtsman as she read a delightful Cajun rendition of Little Red Riding Hood. Red Riding Hood took on a duck personality while an alligator took the wolf's role. Melanie front loaded the children with much of the vocabulary so they would understand the Cajun elements of the story. Melanie was raised in Louisiana so her Cajun accent is a natural. What a treat!

A Partnership in Functional Writing

2010-12-14T13:05:00.000-08:00

With just a few more days to go before our holiday break we have been trying to get in as much writing as possible. Two weeks ago we started our Functional Writing unit. This unit teaches children to write a How To piece. Now that we are well into this unit we are teaching the students to confer with a partner. This is where two students pair up and swap their How To pieces and read them aloud to each other to see if they make sense. This allows the author to hear if edits or changes need to be made. Working together in pairs gives the students the opportunity to make the needed changes while getting feedback from their audience. From How To Feed My Baby Sister a Bottle to How To Throw a Football our students are becoming amazing functional writers!

Holiday Program

2010-12-07T17:05:00.000-08:00

Today we went to the Second Grade Play. It's one of those special activities that is a traditional Chets Creek holiday event. Many of our students tried to do the motions right along with the second graders. Maybe they are already ready for 2nd grade!

A Visit from Auntie Claus

2010-12-03T14:33:00.001-08:00

Today was one of those very special days when we celebrated a school tradition. Each year, Auntie Claus makes a special visit to our school and reads a holiday book to the grade level of children. Today all of the first graders gathered in the Media Center for a visit from Santa's sister, Auntie Claus (aka Principal Susan Phillips), who was left in charge of the school for the day. As the children gathered together, Auntie Claus swooped in to greet the children and then read them a holiday story about Auntie Claus. The children love this annual tradition. The teachers love it too!

After the story, Santa's holiday elves (all of the Resource teachers), served cookies and milk! Take a look at all of our Resource teachers dressed as Santa's elves below! What a great afternoon. What a great Chets Creek tradition!

Thanksgiving on Thursday

2010-11-27T13:43:00.000-08:00

Many of our young readers are ready for chapter books - more words, fewer pictures - so we thought we would begin by reading aloud some of the first books in some of the series that they can choose such as the Magic Tree House series. By reading the first book in a series, the students can meet the characters and get a feel for the books to see if they might be interested in others in that same series. We started by introducing the class to eight year old Jack and his seven year old sister Annie as they are transported to another time when they open a book in their magic tree house. We first read book #1, Dinosaurs Before Dark, which the children loved. We just couldn't resist adding book #27, Thanksgiving on Thursday right before the holiday. Of course, we realized that we might need to add a little additional background knowledge to this historical fiction when we asked them to guess who the characters might meet on this adventure and they guessed George Washington and Abe Lincoln! We did fill in with some traditional Thanksgiving books of the first celebration between chapters! Make sure to ask your child about the adventures in the Magic Tee House! And have a wonderful, gratitude-filled holiday!

Guess who got slimed?

2010-11-11T17:32:00.000-08:00

I hope your child told you that after our Veteran's Flag Raising on Friday, all of the students gathered to watch our Principal get slimed! She had agreed to be slimed if 90% of the students met their Readers-to Leaders goal for the first nine weeks! 92% met the goal!

In our classroom students had to take a book home every night, Monday through Thursday, read it to an adult and then log the book and bring the log back each week to get the books counted. We believe that there is nothing better that you can do for your child than to listen to him read every night. The book that your child brings home is from the collection of 12 books that he keeps in his "Book Buddy" and practices reading during Readers' Workshop. We want the children to read the same book many times because each time they reread the same book, they become more fluent and understand better what they are reading. Your child changes out his books each week. If your child happens to forget to bring home a book one night, you can substitute with a book from your own home library or a book from the public library or you can ask your child to bring home two books the next night. Occasionally you might want to do something different, so for about one week out of each nine weeks you can also choose to read to your child and have him log the book that YOU read. Choose a chapter book that is something that you both will enjoy. Reading at home is all about developing a love for reading and developing a habit of reading every day.

If your child did not meet his goal the first nine weeks, he should make it up this nine weeks and then read the 30 books for the second nine weeks (that's 55 books in all). If you ever want to know how many books your child has read, just ask. We are really trying for 100% of our children meeting the goal the second nine weeks!

Creating Mental Images

2010-11-04T14:33:00.000-07:00

Our class has been working on creating mental images when they read. By visualizing what they read our students become part of the story which in turn helps them comprehend. As I read Miss. Rumphius by Barbara Cooney the children closed their eyes and created mental images in their minds. Using white boards each child drew what they saw and we discussed each student’s visualizations. As the week went on the students began to compare their mental images. Discussions abounded about color and details. I can’t wait to see how they can use this process in their writing as well!

Tinkering with Science

2010-10-31T10:17:00.000-07:00

What do you find on the earths surface? Over the last couple of weeks our class has answered this question with rocks, soil, sand, clay and water. After discussing each of these elements we decided to create a tinkering project. Using clay, sand, soil, rocks and water the students created their own semi-biomes. With the help of a few of our fifth grade students our class worked in groups creating their own images of the earth surface. Imagination and creativity abounded.

Our Fall Festival

2010-10-30T17:20:00.000-07:00

What an exciting time of year! Our pumpkins turned into a Down on the Farm (our favorite class book) display in the lobby as our children entered the building all week. We have Shawn's family to thank for donating the pumpkins!

The children were just so excited on Friday! They burst into the classroom in costumes of their favorite book characters. They loved the parade with its high fiving all of the upperclassmen lining both sides of the hall and then the walk through the Dining Room as the families snapped pictures! Then it was back to the room for Fall Centers. We couldn't have done it without Dahza's grandma, Autumn and Catherine's moms and Taylor's dad helping out. After lunch it was back to the room to cut the pumpkin that Soma's family had donated. We had a contest to see who could cut a length of yarn that was the same length as the circumference of the pumpkin. We'll be counting the seeds that were in the pumpkin on Monday and comparing them to our estimations! Next we used our pattern blocks to decide which shapes should be used for the eyes, nose and mouth of our jack-o-lantern. We used triangles for the eyes, a rhombus for the nose and then a trapezoid with rhombus fangs for the mouth! It was a spooky delight! After going to Media we decorated the photos that the children brought home.

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Many of our families returned for the night adventures. The Ruark and Timmons' families gave out candy in front of our door for the trick-or-treaters and then joined the families for all the fun outside. We can't thank the families enough who agreed to donate their time to man our booth. Autumn's mom worked so hard that Autumn missed all of the trick-or-treating! We can't thank her enough for organizing all of of our families. Hope you all enjoyed the rest of your weekend!

We Skyped the Fox!

2010-10-24T19:41:00.001-07:00

What an unbelievable Friday we had! We started our Mem Fox celebration day by Skyping a first grade teacher in Australia, Amanda Marrinan! What an experience! It was actually 1:00 am in Australia, but the Aussie teacher stayed up to answer our questions. Each of our eight first grade classes had prepared a question to ask that included everything from her knowledge of the Crocodile Hunter and the Australian Zoo to her first hand knowledge of meeting Mem Fox and studying her books. She had even prepared some of the foods in her kitchen such as pavlova and lamington and had brought some Australian treats such as minties and tim tams for us to see! How often do children get to actually speak with someone from so far away? It was a GREAT moment!

After our Skyping experience, Mrs. Ruark introduced the first grade to Sam Shannon. Sam is a student at the University of North Florida. He was a student at Chets Creek and his mom, Kristin Shannon, is a fifth grade teacher. The Shannons actually lived in Australia when Sam was in first grade. He played an authentic didgeridoo which is an Australian aboriginal wind instrument. The instrument he brought to play and show the children had beautiful hand burned Australian animals and pictures. The children were fascinated by the sound!

Then it was back to the classroom for some Mem Fox Readers' Theatre! The children have been practicing all week and had a part in Koala Lou, Hattie and the Fox, or Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge, all books we have studied by Mem Fox. The children also tasted our American version of pavlova, a food mentioned in Possum Magic. Make sure to ask your child how they liked it! We even read some books by Mem that were new to us. Then it was on to making a crafty kangaroo and naming and writing all of the Australian animals that we have learned on the back of the kangaroo. You may be familiar with a kangaroo and a koala bear that live down under but how about a bandicoot, possum, wombat, or emu? We even learned about all of the poisonous snakes that live in the Outback!

We finished the day with a review of all the books, characters and Australian facts that we have learned in the last four weeks by playing our own first grade version of Mem Fox Bingo! Mem is a fascinating author, from the pattern books that she has written to the beautiful stories that she has written. We were able to visit her web site and even found videos of her reading many of the books with her Australian accent. Make sure to ask your child which book was their favorite!

Confessions of a Struggling Reader

2010-10-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

There are many things we do as a class throughout the day but the most satisfying to me is skills block. This is where the students get their backbone in reading. We work on decoding, word attack, automaticity, encoding among many others. I guess this is so important to me because when I was growing up I struggled terribly as a reader. It took me forever to sound out words which slowed my fluency which also kept me from comprehending accurately. I would slouch in my seat praying that the teacher would not call on me to read aloud. My friends were so much further ahead of me in reading that I would never be in the same classes because I would have to go for remedial help. I felt stupid plain and simple. It wasn’t until my seventh grade year that my parents finally found a reading program at the State University of New York at Stony Brook that saved my educational life. They taught me how to hear myself when I read and to listen to the sounds of the words. I remember recording my voice on a tape recorder as I read through my Social Studies homework. I would play it over and over again.

Unfortunately reading was not my only shortfall when it came to book smarts. I also had trouble with math. No matter how hard I tried it just didn’t make sense. Over the years I learned to compensate and actually became very successful in business. I worked hard for what I accomplished but nothing ever came easy. As the years passed I eventually became a mom to an amazing little girl. I remember thinking to myself when she was born “Please don’t let her struggle when she gets to school.” At the beginning of her third grade year she began to struggle severely with reading and math. We had her tested and she was diagnosed with severe Dyslexia. I broke down in tears thinking that I failed my daughter. That due to hereditary reasons she was guilty by gene association. Not long after her diagnosis I sat down on the couch with her one night and read the book Thank you, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco. This book is about a little girl who was ridiculed and picked on and felt stupid because she struggled in reading until a special teacher came along that taught her that she really wasn’t stupid. He taught her that she simply learned differently than most people. As I read the book to my daughter I began to cry. My daughter said “mom, why are you crying?” I said “because this little girl was me growing up.” She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said “you do understand.”

Skills block is my favorite time of the day because I am doing everything I can to keep my students from feeling the way I did growing up. I am bound and determined to do all I can to make my class ravenous readers through and through. Not everyone learns the same way. What a boring world this would be if we did.

Beginning/ Middle/ End

2010-10-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

As we have been studying Mem Fox' books in our class, the children have begun to practice writing retellings of the books. After watching the teacher model a retelling of Koala Lou, the children then divided into partners and chose a different Mem Fox book to retell. They divided their papers into three sections. Before you know it, they had an entire retelling!

Comparing and Contrasting Books by Mem

2010-10-15T15:37:00.000-07:00

Comparing and contrasting books is a good way for our children to begin to understand books across a single author. Today we demonstrated the way that Koala Lou and Possum Magic, both books by Mem Fox, are alike and the ways that they are different by using a Venn diagram. Next the students were divided into partners and allowed to select two other Mem Fox books to compare and contrast using their own Venn diagrams. What great work!

Swattin' Those Flies

2010-10-14T17:19:00.000-07:00

There's nothing more fun than playing a game while we practice a skill. Welcome to the fly swatter game! This competition requires us to divide the class into two team, write high-frequency words on the board, call one word at a time and seeing who can swat the word first! Boys won today, but it's girls revenge tomorrow!

Sliding Through Science

2010-10-13T16:57:00.000-07:00

What do we find on the earth’s surface? Well today the T&R’s explored the grounds of Chets Creek Elementary to find the answers. Our class has been discussing soil, sand, clay, rocks and water over the last few days. Today we got an up close and personal look at a few of these things. The students created slides by cutting out the centers of index cards and placing packing tape over the hole to make a microscope slide. We visited the garden that was recently planted where we found an abundance of topsoil. The students trampled the baseball field that is full of red clay and we took samples from the playground sand, as well as, from the gravel behind the school. After our outside adventure the students came back into their classroom science lab and looked closely at each sample. Through the use of magnifying glasses they wrote down what they observed in their science journals. As the students compared and contrasted the room filled with scientific thought and conversation. Bill Nye would be so proud!

Our Trip to the Corn Maze!

2010-10-09T15:21:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the farm! We went through a corn maze, went on a hayride and saw sunflowers and pumpkins, has lunch at a picnic table, bounced on the popper, played on the playground that had the coolest corn box and slide and even saw farm animals! We were exhausted coming home but what a day! What a day!

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How Many Am I Hiding?

2010-10-07T15:41:00.000-07:00

As you can tell by now math games are a huge part of R&T's math workshop. These games are designed to engage the students in making sense of mathematical ideas. Today we played How Many Am I Hiding? This game teaches children how to break numbers apart. In this game, the students have to figure out what part of a number is hidden or missing. After breaking down into groups of two the students worked on combinations of 10. This is a difficult concept for the students to understand because they have to keep track of the total number of cubes, the number visible, and the number that is hidden.

As difficult as it is to grasp all of these strategies at once the class stayed focused. There is nothing better than learning and having fun at the same time. That's what it's all about!

Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge

2010-10-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today we read the delightful story of Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge by our favorite author Mem . who Wilfrid lived beside an old folk's home and helped Miss Nancy get her memory back. It is a delightful story that we will be revisiting for the next few days. On Wednesday Mrs. Ruark will bring a item from home that evokes a memory and will write her story for the children. On Thursday Mrs. Timmons will bring an item (make sure to ask your child what item they each brought to school!) On Thursday your child is invited to bring an item that reminds him of a favorite memory and then he will be invited to write the story of that memory. If you would like to hear the story or share it with your child, go to this web site and find the book. Maybe you have a memory item that you would like to share with your child!

Heads and Tails

2010-10-04T19:28:00.000-07:00

Today we welcomed Mrs. Rebecca Roberts to our class. She is Chets Creek's newest teacher and will be joining our class for the afternoons for Math Workshop. Mrs. Roberts comes with experience in first grade and has recently moved to Jacksonville with her husband. We were so lucky to find her! Today she helped us while we played a game called "Heads and Tails." Each child was given 8 pennies. One of the partners dropped the pennies and then the other recorded how many heads and how many tails. As the children worked with the pennies they were really finding combinations of 8! We had a great time!

Word Frog

2010-10-02T19:17:00.000-07:00

On Thursday we played a new game in class on the computer called Word Frog. The game helps children practice pairs of words that are opposites like yes-no, good-bad, girl-boy. To access the game all your child has to do is click on Word Frog (antonyms) in the right hand column at the top of our blog or click on Word Frog right here. The game gives your child a word that is on a frog and then six opposite matches show up. The child chooses the word that is an antonym and the frog grabs the word with his tongue. The game is timed and moves up to more difficult levels as the child chooses the correct answer. It's a fun way to practice vocabulary!

Peas and carrots!

2010-10-01T18:11:00.000-07:00

Today during Math Workshop Mrs. Ruark told a story about peas and carrots. According to her story she dipped a spoon into a pot of peas and carrots and scooped out 7 vegetabe pieces, but how many peas and how many carrots. The task for the children was to figure out how many different combinations of peas and carrots they could discover! Some of the children worked in a small group with Mrs. Ruark. Others worked by themselves as Mrs. Cordoza and Mrs. Timmons went from one child to the next so each child could explain his thinking. Peas and carrots! What's for dinner?

Team Impact

2010-09-30T18:11:00.000-07:00

Today the children were treated to an assembly sponsored by Chik-fil-A. The presenter from Team Impact was an ex-body builder who hooked the children by bending a metal pole, breaking a bat and lifting two second graders up over his head! The children were absolutely amazed.After he had captured the children's attention he began to talk to the assembly of Kindergarten through second grade children about making good choices early in life, of listening to parents and teachers, and of having dreams and goals. The children were totally enthralled as the ex-body builder completed the program by making a soda can explode with his bare hands! Mke sure to ask your child all about it!

Time for bed

2010-09-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

Today we read our first Mem Fox book and tomorrow we will be writing our own version of the books. Watch the video below as a mom reads it to her child before bedtime.

Five in a row

2010-09-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

Today during Math Workshop we played "Five in a Row." This is a game that we learned on Friday while we were away at training so we decided to try it with the class. To play the game each pair is given a pair of dice. They roll and then combine the two numbers for a total. We are watching to see what strategy the children use to combine the numbers. When they find the total the children cover the number. The game is over when they cover five in a row!

What a great time!