Reminders....

Just a few reminders:

Please remember to send a wrapped gift with the name on it that your child drew. Please send it by TUESDAY, DEC. 16th.

The Christmas Party is on FRIDAY, DEC. 19th @ 11:00. Please contact Julie Woods for further information or questions.

I will be leaving for Illinois for my wedding WEDNESDAY, DEC. 17. I will stop taking grades and A.R. tests on TUESDAY, DEC. 16th.

We are currently doing the SGA sponsored "Change Wars." Please send any loose change you can spare to help those in need during this holiday season.

Bubbles Bubbles Bubbles!

We did an experiment with bubbles to learn about how gases can take different shapes and have no shapes of their own. What fun we had!!!

Funny Friday Photos!!

Long time no talk!! Hope everyone had a GREAT Thanksgiving holiday!! I know I did!! I miss Illinois and the cold weather so much... probably just because I love hats and mittens and such! Anyway, I just wanted to drop a few pictures off from the field trip that we had on Friday. We had a great time!!!

How interesting this was!!

Have no fear... Bryant and Sam are here!

Our little jailbirds!!

Suck and innocent face...

Gobble Gobble...

Well this is quite a week! We're reviewing this week, and just taking a break to catch up on some things... especially those fun things that seem to always get pushed a side due to a lack of time! We are doing a lot of Thanksgiving projects and preparing for our little portion of the program on Thursday. Just a quick reminder... you are free to take your child home with you after the feast! Yesterday we read a great story... "One is Enough for a Feast". It was a Thanksgiving tale about a mouse and his greediness! We learned about being content and talked about how blessed we are by God! AFter that, we made some great Indian hats. Here are a few quick shots of them...

I also wanted to take the time to thank all of the parents who volunteered with setting up, working, and tearing down the Book Fair! It was a great time for the kids! I special thanks goes out to Julie Woods for organizing the even this year. Thank you!! Also, I was again overwhelmed at your generosity by purchasing books for the classroom! We've already enjoyed several, and we are excited to read the rest! Thank you for thinking of 1 G's Busy Bees!!

Buzzing, Busy Day!

Hope you had a great day off yesterday and remembered how great our veteran's are!!

We had a quiet, nice day today in 1st grade! We sure were busy bees with making up all our work from Tuesday and doing Wednesday's too! Hopefully your child's scarecrow made it home in one piece. We made those Monday when we read, "The Lonely Scarecrow". It was a great story about how appearances can be deceiving. Today we talked about solids and liquids in Science. We had to sort a list of objects into the categories solid and liquid. The kids did a great job! During devotion time we talked about the story of the Good Samaratin. We also talked about what Christmas time is all about and giving to those who don't have as much. We're so blessed as a nation to have WAY more than we need or could want... but sometimes at Christmas it's easy to get caught up in the buying wars!

Just a side note... check out this link... it will make you think! Look at the 3rd video from the top.... http://www.adventconspiracy.org/resources/category/videos/

Report Cards

I hope that you are all SO proud of your little busy bees! I was really happy with the kids' report cards! Sure there are some things here and there that may need a little tweaking and work, but all in all they did a fantastic job! I hope you give them all some hugs and love for their hard work. We talked a lot before I handed out the report cards about how I was proud of them, and how if they needed to improve in some areas that's OKAY, but it's just something they need to work really hard at! After you've had a chance to review the report card please sign and return it so that I can file it before it gets misplaced! Thanks for all of your hard work with the kids at home... it really shows!

Chapel

There has been an ammendment made by the board:

Elementary students are NOT required to wear their dress uniforms to Chapel. They may wear any uniform they like.

My personal opinion is that the dress uniform looks nice for when we have speakers coming and since you paid for it you may as well get some good use from it... but the kids are allowed to wear either uniform for Chapel. So, please feel free to wear the dress uniform none, some, or all Chapel days. =)

Election Day!

We started off the day going to our polling place... 2nd grade! A big thank you for the 2nd grade hosting an election for the elementary students to participate in! McCain won 35-8 over Obama. It was SO cute to watch my little ladies and gentlemen act so grown up as they cast their votes! By the way some of them were talking I think we may have some future politicians on our hands! Hope you all had a chance to get out and vote today and support your country, and make your choice! I'm excited to vote for the first time in Alabama! =) Please remember to pray for our leaders as we learned about in our devotion time yesterday. (1 Tim 2:1-6)

The rest of our school day went well. We continued working on long "u" sounds and we also got to practice our math wrap ups some too! The kids are getting SO fast at them! I'm so proud! Please keep working on flash cards at home!!

A "Bootiful" Day!

Well today just seemed to float by.... and being sick, I was SO thankful for that! We had a great time making our "Friends Don't Let Friends Do Drugs" posters this morning. We're celebrating Red Ribbon week. I always love this week... mainly because I love the innocence I see. If only it lasted... We also had computer lab where we practiced our math facts some more. We're finally getting a little bit quicker at them. I think it's helped that we've learned the Doubles Rap in math class! We also had a surprise today when Lily and Addison's moms came and we got to do a craft project! Thank you for coming ladies! We all (myself included, because who wouldn't want to do this?!) got to paint a ceramic ghost that was dressed in a cute pumpkin costume! We're letting them dry, but you'll get to see them tomorrow! Don't get too spooked! =)

"O" Boy!

Now, about today!!! We had a pretty cool day today in 1st grade... literally!! Our heater wasn't working, but we were fortunate the man came to fix it before the day even ended, leaving us comfy and cozy and WARM!! I must admit, being from IL, I'm NOT used to this weather! In IL when it's cold, it's cold for a long time. When it's hot, it's hot for a long time. There isn't a 40 degree swing in one day!!! That being said... please remember to send jackets for recess time. We are still going out to enjoy the sunshine and get fresh air to clear our minds!
This week we're learning about long o words. When you're reading your AR books at home see if you can find any in the story. Today I sent home an AR progress slip to let you know how many points your child has currently. Please remember he/she needs 3 or more points by Friday, Oct. 31. We will reevaluate and set new goals for the next 6 weeks. We will be getting a new crate of books that are a little more challenging by next Monday, if not before.
Our devotion today was about the Lord's prayer, and also about integrity. We talked about how it's important to do the right thing even when no one is looking. There are always consequences for what we do and say... some are good, and some are not as good. We had a good talk about how Jesus taught His disciples to pray. I always love devotion time... it's so neat to look into their little hearts!!

In math, aside from our regular work, we also a surprise! We got to use our new "wrap-ups" that came with our math program. Here's a picture of what they look like... ask your child to explain how to use one! They are tons of fun and a great way to learn!

LONG overdue!!!

This post isn't about your kids... this post is about you... the parents. I wanted to take the time to thank those of you who have been so caring and supportive. It really means a lot to me, and it also benefits the school morale. I am continually amazed by the Christ-like love and words of encouragement that some have shown me. So... this is just a long overdue word of thanks and appreciation to you from the bottom of my heart.

Habitat pics

My deepest apologies to Rachel! I couldn't get her picture to save and load right! I'm sorry! I can assure you though, that she had a beautiful ocean habitat that she worked very hard on!

Tickled Tuesday!!

Well I sure have a lot of things to post today! Let's back up and talk about Friday first...

I want to send a BIG THANK YOU to Mrs. Albritton, Mrs. Donald and Mrs. Woods for volunteering to do a wonderful project with our class! They read the Pumpkin Gospel, and then we got to paint pumpkins! How cool is that?! The kids had SO much fun, and I really appreciated the ladies taking time out of their busy days to come hang out with us and have some fun! I HIGHLY recommend that you reread the story with your child... it's a great way to share about Jesus and His forgiveness with your child in a fun and hands on way! Here's a few pics from the day:

Okay, moving on to today...


When the bell rang and the kids came in my room I was so tickled at their proud faces! I'm SOOOO PROUD of their habitats! As proud as I am though, I can tell every student was even more proud! We are presenting several a day during science time, so we will not be finished until Friday. The grades will come home on Monday. Thank you for spending time with your child as he/she worked on his/her habitat project... I hope you enjoyed it as much as they did! Here are the presenters from today:

Also, thanks to the Rays who sent a HUGE soap refill... I think we're going to be okay on soap for awhile!!

Today I also had a Saxon Math inservice. Thank you, thank you to Mrs. Woods and Mrs. McGhee for volunteering to stay with the class and do some projects while I was away... I really appreciate it!!

A few reminders and housekeeping items:

*Thursday is the day to wear the Magazine Sale T-Shirt.

*Thursday is the Fall Festival (5-8 p.m.) Please come and support E.A. and have a great time doing it!!

*Thursday I will be out for the day as a friend of my fiance and mine was killed in a head on motorcycle crash Saturday night and we'll be attending the funeral. Please say a prayer for Alan's family if you think of it... he was only 24... and then hug your family and remember that we're not guaranteed tomorrow, so make the most your opportunities to love today.

Computing in Computer Lab!!

Yesterday and today have been regular days in first grade, and that's always a blessing!! We're working on short u sounds and questions in reading and grammar. Today we got to go to the computer lab to work on our math facts. If you want to practice at home with your child, just visit: http://www.sfsocialstudies.com/ . Your child should be able to show you what to click from there! =) Tomorrow is Friday, and that means a spelling test, so please review the words with your child. Also, just a reminder that words with letters written backwards will be counted wrong from this point forward. I've been encouraging the children to really check their work and look for mistakes. Oh, I also wanted to say thank you for reviewing the dress code policy, signing and returning the reminder form... it's always SO great to have parents that are so on the ball!

Habitat and Behavior Habits

Please check your child's folder tonight for information on the habitat project. I'll copy and paste it below so you'll have it in two places:

Habitat Project

We have been studying habitats in first grade science. For a project I would like your child to make his/her own habitat. Please use a diorama format (an open shoe box on its side). Your child may choose to make any type of habitat that he/she wants: ocean, desert, forest, garden, etc. Essentially it’s a small model of a habitat. It may be constructed out of whatever you have or can find. You may make it out of construction paper, small plastic animals/plants, fabric, foam, just be creative. Please do not feel like you have to spend money on this project!! It’s more about your child thinking through what would be in that specific type of habitat. Also, I will be grading on your child’s work, NOT YOURS!! I know it’s tempting to “help” your child, but I want him/her to have the satisfaction of creating the project on his/her own. It helps them take ownership and be proud of it! Here are the criteria I will use:

Creativity: 5 points

Neatness: 5 points (Did your child take time on it? No, I don’t want it to look
perfect and like an adult made it, but I can tell what a child
does in haste.)

Child-made: 10 points (Did your child make the project, or did Mom/Dad do most
of the work?)

Knowledge: 10 points (Can your child explain what type of a habitat it is to the
class, and can he/she tell me what all it contains?)

Listening: 5 points (Does your child respectfully listen while others are
presenting their habitats?)

This project is worth 35 points. The habitats are due Tuesday, October 7 at the beginning of school. We will present them throughout the week. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me @ ruthginder@yahoo.com. Thank you for your cooperation.

Today went really well. We had a great time in devotion as we learned about Moses and the 10 commandments. In math we continued working on our position order of first, next, last, middle, after, before, etc. Oh, and before I forget... we're starting a new communication chart for behavior (very similar to K-5). Please leave the paper in your child's folder and check to see how his/her day went. I'll paste one below for you to refer to in case you have forgotten:

1. I did not finish my work/do my best.

2. I talked too much or too loud.

3. I did not pay attention during my
lessons

4. I disturbed others during lessons
and/or work time.

5. I was out of my seat without
permission.

6. I played in the bathroom.

7. I was not kind with my hands and/or
feet.

8. I did not stay seated/misbehaved
during lunch/snack.

9. I did not follow directions.

10. I had a worse day than yesterday.

11. I had a better day than yesterday.

12. I had a GREAT day today!

Go Cougars, Go!!

TGIF!!! It's been one crazy homecoming week here at E.A.!! But, we've sure had a lot of fun! Today we had our spelling test, a math test, and finished up our short "e" work. The day just zoomed by as the afternoon was filled with a Cougar Walk and a Homecoming Pep Rally. All the PeeWee cheerleaders did a FANTASTIC job! Hope you all have a great and safe weekend!

A "Peace" of Thursday...

Today was a hip day for sure! We did a lot of groovy work with short "e" and we also made our first bar graph in math. (There's no math homework tonight.) In devotion time we talked about Moses and the Exodus through the Red Sea. The kids were amazed that God could make a sea full of water stand up! In social studies we learned about George Washington Carver and how he taught farmers how to grow peanuts. During science time we learned about habitats and drew our own garden habitats! All in all, it was a radically good day. Peace Out.

Tardy Tuesday

My apologies again! My internet provider hasn't been providing very well!! I decided to write a quick blog before I leave school so that you're not in the dark for even longer!! This week has been crazy so far! Yesterday we had PJ day, which I vote to be EVERY day!! We started working on our short "e" words/story. We had a great time at Storytime with Mrs. Bonner too! In devotion time we learned about Joseph and his dreamcoat and life! What a cool story about how God provides for us, even when we least expect it! It's also a great example for the kids of real-life forgivness... even in the sticky moments! Today we had another great devotion time as we learned about Moses and how God was using him to talk to the King of Eygpt. We're excited to see what happens tomorrow!! In math we continued working on our numbers and working with left and right. Please keep practicing at home with left and right as much as you can. In social studies we read an interview with a farmer. In science we discussed living/non-living things. We wrapped up our day with a j.v. pep rally. This is a busy and crazy week, but we're all excited about HOMECOMING!!! GO COUGARS, GO!!

"Ask and you shall receive!"

Thank you to the few of you who have already sent in soap!! I really appreciate it! Also, thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Donald for donating another TV for the elementary! I also recieved a new electric pencil sharpener today! YAY!!! This week has felt like Christmas for sure!

Soap Hope!!

First grade is in desperate need of hand soap for the bathroom!!! Please send in at least one bottle with your child, or a refill container. We'd really appreciate it! We are trying our best to keep germs away each and every day! Thanks!

Irritating Internet!

Well, I'm going to try to get a few quick updates on here since my server has been down the last two days! I want to start by saying thank you to the Mr. and Mrs. McGhee and Mr. and Mrs. Woods for donating a TV, VCR, DVD, and TV cart!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I'm so glad to have such generous parents in our classroom! If any of you still have items you would be willing to donate I'm sure I can find a home for them in one of the elementary classrooms! Thank you for being so supportive! Also, I wanted to give you my email address in case you need to reach me. I try to check it once a day. You may contact me at: ruthginder@yahoo.com. Please put your child's name in the subject line so that I don't confuse it with junk mail. Thanks!

I know there has been some confusion about library, but we have library on Mondays. We missed it due to Labor Day, and then the following week Mrs. Bonner had strep throat! =( Every Monday your child will go to the library for story time with Mrs. Bonner. However, the books are in a large crate in our classroom. Your child can check a new A.R. book out as soon as you feel he/she is ready to take the A.R. test on the book they have. I will try to get some slips home to you that you can sign and return stating that your child is ready for his/her A.R. test. Once they take and pass the test, they will be able to change books. Due to this system, there will not always be a new book coming home on a specific day. Please keep the books in your child's backpack and send them back and forth daily. This allows for your child to practice at school during silent reading time. Thank you for your cooperation!!

Mega Monday!

Well, I didn't get to blog on Friday, so I owe ya'll extra fun today, right? =) Friday was a lot of fun... especially at the end of the day. We had so much fun making our animal masks in science class. A BIG thank you to Mrs. Albritton for coming in and assisting us with those! We always appreciate an extra pair of hands during projects! Here are some scary animals... see if you can guess who's behind each mask!

Today went well for a Monday! Our new math series finally arrived at the end of last week, and you will see homework in your child's red folder every Mon-Thus night. Please help your child complete the back (side B) of the worksheet that we did in class and return it to school the following day. Every 10 days there will be an assessment. Daily work will be graded on completion, not correctness (as we are just learning some things for the first time =)

During devotion time today we read the Creation story from the children's Message Bible, and then colored a storybook of it. It's always fun to reread how God made everything around us!

Just a question... do you (or anyone that you know of) have a TV that works and is compatible with a DVD/VCR player? We are in desperate need of one in the elementary building. If you have any ideas, please pass them along to me! Thank you!!

9/11

This post is dedicated to the most important time we had today: devotion time. We talked about September 11, 2001 and what happened on that day. It's so hard for me to grasp that my kids weren't even born yet... and that I was still in college earning my teaching degree! We talked about the events that occurred and how the people must have felt. After that, we read Proverbs 18:10, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run into it and they are safe." We talked about how buildings and towers in the world may crumble, but that we can always count on Jesus to be our strong tower. We drew pictures of the 9/11 attack and wrote our Bible Verse on the top. We are a blessed people in the United States. Hug your babies tonight and remember your strong tower. Be blessed!

Wacky Wednesday!

Let me start with a BIG THANK YOU!!! Thank you to Julie Woods, for ever so graciously volunteering to watch my class from 12-3 while I was in a reading service with all of the other elementary teachers! I REALLY appreciate it so much! Today was short... well, as far as my time with the kids went! We worked on our reading, spelling, language, and some math and then it was time for Miss Ginder to hit the road! On a sad note, Audrey has withdrawn from our class and we will miss her dearly! We were glad to have her for 2 weeks though!

Trying Tuesday

Well... it was still a rough go of it today! We had the chatters all day long!! But, as usual, we managed to pull through and still get things accomplished. We continued working on our short "o" words, and spelling list. In math we did some fact practice. I encourage you to visit the site: www.mathfactscafe.com . It is wonderful!! You can print off ready made fact practice for your child to do at home for reinforcement. In science we talked about the parts of an insects body... the head, thorax and abdomen. We also talked about things that all animals need to survive. Our devotion time today was on Proverbs 3:5. We're learning about what it means to trust God in different situations. Just a reminder... book orders are due tomorrow if you choose to participate. I'm hoping to have the order arrive by the end of the month. Oh, and a quick thanks to Maggie Quimby for walking with us to the JV pep rally! It's always nice to have an extra set of eyes and hands!

Startin' Slow...

Well, we had a rough go of it today! It was quite a noisy place in first grade. I guess we all had great weekends and just weren't ready to get into the swing of things at school. We struggled with listening today, and that made for a long day of redoing things from papers to standing in a quiet line... but we made it, and I'm confident that tomorrow will be a better day for all of us! We did have a really great devotion about John 14:6. We talked about mazes and how life can be confusing, but also how Jesus said that He "is the way, truth, and the life." It was fun to hear what the kids thought that verse meant. I love devotion time... I wish every one of you had the opportunity to be blessed by it the way I do. It's so great to be able to share the love of Jesus with my students every day... and I feel so honored by it!

We've "Bean" Busy!

Today seemed to go by even faster than yesterday! We read our story, "Pig in a Wig" today. We also worked on a lot of our workbook pages about short "i" sounds. We studied for our spelling test tomorrow too! In social studies we learned about which continent, country, and state we live in! We found AL on a map, as well as all the states it touches! In science we we talked about insects, and we looked at our bean plants to see if they have grown. We're about 50/50 on them... some just haven't come out of the dirt yet... we hope they do soon! But, we've had fun watching the ones grow that have! In devotion time we read a book called, "The Grouchy Ladybug," by Eric Carle. We talked about how when someone treats you unkindly we have two choices... to treat them unkindly back, or to show them Jesus' love through acting nice to them as we show them the Fruit of the Spirit of Kindness in our lives.

Working for the Lord

I walked into my room today... and SURPRISE!! My table had been worked on and covereed with white board material! I'm SO excited, and I can't wait to use it... after the glue dries of course! Thank you to the helper that worked on that... I'm not sure who all joined in to do that, but I'm VERY appreciative of your hard work! Today seemed to fly by in first grade! I can't believe it's already Wednesday! (It helps when you don't have Monday though...) Everything went smoothly today. We continued working on our short i words, and we are getting ready to read "A Pig in a Wig" tomorrow. I'm sure we're going to be in for some laughs. The rest of the day went well, and we talked about community laws and leaders during social studies. Today during devotion time we read a story called, "Lazy Ozzie." After the story we talked about this verse:

Colossians 3:23 (NIV)

23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

Just a side note... the book orders are due back to me by September 10th. Thanks for your cooperation on that!