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Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Back to School

We've had a super start to the year, despite the record high temps! We are getting to learn the routines, learning each other's names, and diving right into some of our reading, writing, and math curriculum.

The heat wave has slowed us down a bit, but these kiddos are troopers and I couldn't be prouder of their first days as first graders!!

Here's a little snap shot of how we got our year rolling...

Writing
We worked on our hopes and Dreams for the year. We read Rufus Goes to School; a story about a pig who just wants to go to school and learn how to read. We brainstormed what we wanted to learn this year and then wrote about our First Grade goals. Reading, math, and making new friends topped the charts :)

Image result for rufus goes to school







Math
This year we are excited to be implementing a new standards based math curriculum called enVisions. There are a lot of great interactive and online tools to take advantage of throughout the year. There will also be connected homework that will help support your child's learning. Look for the parent letters that will come home with each new topic for detailed info.

For the first few days though, we decided to go low tech and just do some exploring. We learned about some of our math tools like Geo blocks and Connecting cubes. We learned about how to use the tools appropriately and how to put our things away. Most importantly, we used our imaginations and played!





Rules
It's always so important to take time at the very beginning of the year to establish rules along with routines. We created a class generated list after reading David Goes to School and How do Dinosaurs Go to School. We call our rules a Pledge and then we all signed it as a promise to do our best to follow the class rules.

Image result for david goes to school                           Image result for how do dinosaurs go to school                 



I am really looking forward to getting to know each and every child and their families this year. I can already tell we have a great group with lots of positive energy and an eagerness to learn!

Hope you enjoyed this sneak peak at our week!! Come back soon for more highlights!!

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Welcome Post of 2015!

Summer is flying by and that means it's time to start getting excited about the new school year! I know I am! I can't wait to get to know all of my new Firsties and their families!

But first, here are a few things about myself that will help you get to know a little about me before the new year even begins.

Favorite colors: purple and green
Favorite animals: chocolate labs and little piggies
Favorite sport: hockey (Ryan has been playing since he was 3)
Favorite activities: reading, cooking, taking family trips, going to sporting events
Favorite food: pasta
Favorite holiday: Christmas and the 4th of July (we love fireworks and cookouts!!)

I have 2 boys; Ryan and Cameron. Ryan is going into First Grade so this is a BIG year at the Elrick house!! Cam is 2 1/2 and full of energy!! We have a chocolate lab named Cooper who loves taking walks and jumping into kiddie pools. I have been teaching First Grade at Memorial School for 13 years. I love what I do and have wanted to be a teacher since 2nd grade!!

Meanwhile I hope everyone has (and is still having!!) a fun-filled summer! I had a great time with my family visiting new places, hanging by the pool, and going to the beach. I can't wait to hear all about your summer too!

Here are a few highlights from our last weeks :)

Took the chair lift to the top of Bear Peak at Attitash Mountain

Visit to Story Land 2015 

Playing soccer on the field at Gillette Stadium at Meet the Revs night


Newport Beach
And OF COURSE we always carved out some time for summer reading!!

Hope you enjoyed learning a little more about your 1st Grade teacher. We are going to learn so much together his year. I can't wait to welcome you all back on Wednesday, September 2nd. Until then, enjoy the sun and warmth and keep making those summer memories!

Love,
Mrs. Elrick

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

End of the Year Post

I can't believe I am writing the very last post of the year! This year has just flown by! I want to thank you all for the end of the year gifts and notes. Most importantly I want to thank you for sharing your children with me this year. They have grown in confidence and independence and are all so ready for 2nd grade (even though I am not quite ready to let them go!!) I am so proud of them and so grateful for you and all of the support you have shown throughout this year. I truly hope you have a restful, memorable, and enjoyable summer vacation!!

Here are just a few pictures of our end of the year gatherings. Enjoy!

Open House










Creature Feature (with siblings)







Ice Cream Social




And Finally....our End of the Year Class Picnic!









Thank you again! Have a fun summer! And please keep in touch!


Friday, June 12, 2015

Flag Day and Wonder Project

Thank you so much to everyone that helped make today so special. The children felt so proud singing America the Beautiful and sharing their hard work and classroom routines with you. I have included links to our Wonder Project on American Symbols as well as a short video from the Flag Day concert. Enjoy!

Flag Day Song

https://drive.google.com/a/email.medfield.net/file/d/0B5tavqFlGIcSLUJSRXhrQlJDTWc/view?usp=sharing_eid



Wonder Project

https://voice.adobe.com/a/oZ6Yj

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Summer Reading Review

What a fun filled week at Memorial! Between Field Day and getting ready for our Open House it was hard to focus long enough to get anything done...but we sure did! We wrapped up our final writing unit this week. The children learned all about opinion writing. We started by writing about our collections from home and choosing our "best in show." Next we learned how to review a topic and persuade our reader of our opinions. Children reviewed restaurants, games, movies, and so much more! Finally, to close out the unit children chose a favorite book to review and recommend.

They have grown so much as writers this year! They are independent with their topics, excited to share all they know, and this time around convincing with their persuasive voice!! They got to share their reviews in small groups. At the end, we put together a summer reading list, first grade reviewed and approved! Enjoy!


Sharing Book Reviews 








Our Class suggested summer reading list:

Vehicles-Hayden
The Stray Dog-Lindsay
Pokemon Chapter Book-Brayden
I Broke My Trunk-Ava K.
The Notebook of Doom-Kendall, Lily
The Case of the Race Against Time-Adam
Biscuit-Rebecca
My Father's Dragon-Mitchill
Junie B. Jones-Megan
The Adventures of Captain Underpants- Henry, Charlie
Dinosaurs Love Underpants-William
Emmett's Guide to Being Awesome-Tess
The Yeti Files-Brendan, Louie, Emily
The Kingdom of Fantasy-Colin
The Long Haul-Corinne
The Official (LEGO) Movie Handbook-Joseph
Fly Guy-Tyler
Flat Stanley-Ava M.