"Bossy E"

Today during Skills Block we learned one of the most important reading strategies an early reader can learn. The "Bossy E". If you don't have an older child at Chets, you might be wondering what is a "Bossy E". When a word ends with a vowel, consonant, then an "e", the vowel is long and the "e" is silent. We tell the students that the "e" is so bossy that it tells the vowel to say its name but he doesn't say anything. Some examples of "Bossy E" words are: like, cake, ape, lime, Jane, bike, hope, etc. Each night when your child is reading their Book in a Bag have them look for "Bossy E" words. Encourage them to tell you the rule after they read the word.

Pumpkin Exploration

We had a great time this past week exploring a large pumpkin. The students predicted what they thought the inside of a pumpkin would look like. Next, we cut one open. The students loved looking, feeling, and smelling the pumpkin. They even predicted how many seeds would be in their slice. Then they counted how many were actually there.

Farm Field Trip

WOW! What a fantastic field trip. We began the day with an hour long bus ride. It was all worth it though when we got there. We learned how cows are a part of our every day life. We rode pony's and went on a hayride. We got to feed goats and cows. Boy do they have long tongues!!! We also ate lunch. After lunch we spent time in the bounce house. We also saw Grandma Ellis ride this barrel roll that went upside down. Our last stop was a nature trail. On the long bus ride back to school almost everyone fell asleep. This day will be one we remember for a long time.

Game of Compare

Today during Math Workshop, the students learned to play a new game called Compare. It is played just like the card game "War". Our decks of cards only have the numbers 0-10. We encourage you to play this game at home often. Deal the cards so that each member playing has the same number of cards. Hold the cards in a stack with the numbers facing down so you can't see the numbers. Each player will flip over one card. Each player states their number out loud. The child will decide which number is more. The player with the highest number takes the cards and puts them in a seperate pile. This game allows the students to compare numbers and determine which is more or less. If the game is overly easy have your child add 2 cards together before they determine which is more.

Growing Pumpkins

Today we planted some pumpkin seeds that will grow in our classroom. Emily's family donated a kit for growing minature pumpkins. We observed the seeds before planting them in the soil. Then we watered the seeds. Once they start to sprout we will transfer them into a cute pumpkin shaped ceramic pot. We can't wait to see the vines, flowers and hopefully the pumpkins.

Open House

Open House from Michelle Ellis on Vimeo.

Pumpkin Unit

In Science, we have begun a new unit on Pumpkins. Every day we are learning a new fact about pumpkins. Today we learned that the average size of a pumpkin is 12 pounds. However, some pumpkins can be 1,000 pounds. We loved this picture of a huge pumpkin.

Tomorrow we will learn that pumpkins come in many different colors.

Math Game - Grab and Count

This past Friday, we learned a new math game called Grab and Count. The students were given a variety of objects to grab a handful of, then count how many they had in their hand. Before we played the game we discussed what a "good grab" would look like. Our class decided that a "good grab" would be with one hand and the objects would fit into their hand without falling out. After grabbing, the students then counted the objects. The students found it interesting to see that grabbing a handful of bears was different than a handful of pattern blocks. They discovered that the smaller the object the higher the number of items that would fit in their hand. We would like for you to play this game with your child at home. Find different objects that are different sizes and discover together the number they could grab. You could grab legos, blocks, pennies, beans, etc. Have your child begin to use a plan when counting the objects. They need to organize them to help them count the quantities.

Partner Reading

This week the boys and girls learned about Partner Reading. It is a very important routine that the students will engage in throughout the school year. During Literacy stations partners choose books to share with each other. They learned that good partners sit shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee with a book between them. The partners share the reading and discuss the book in a natural way. This ritual is important for young readers because it helps them build stamina and comprehension. It is also alot of fun to read with a friend. Look at these partners in action.

Fuel Up to Play

We would like to thank our wonderful PE teachers that organized "Fuel Up to Play" which is part of a grant through NFL Play 60. Our school following their lunch times ran/walked twice around the big track. Our school together ran more than 700 miles. Our PE teachers are hoping to win $10,000 to support our athletic department at Chets.

It was a hot day and Mrs. Ellis wore the wrong shoes but fun was had by all. We came in and cooled off with ice pops! It was a great way to end a great week at school.

Math Workshop

Last Friday, the students had the opportunity to explore geoboards. They seemed to really enjoy them. They practiced making shapes like squares, triangles, rhumbus', and rectangles. They also had fun making designs

Today during Math Workshop the students explored buttons. They noticed that some of the buttons were smooth or rough. The buttons were different colors and shapes. After exploring the buttons for a while, the students played the game "Button Match". They picked out one button and found another button that would match. It only had to match one attribute. For example some students matched buttons that had two holes or four holes. It was exciting to see how many different groups of buttons they found.

Learning Rituals and Routines

We have completed our first week of school. We have already learned many new things in our room. We learned how to use our wipe boards correctly. We practiced writing on the boards the beginning sounds of the words Ms. Ellis called out.

We also received our Independent Book Bags which we will use every day. Our bags hang on the back of our chairs. We learned that we can turn around without standing up to get a book out of our bags. Right now we have our Poetry Folder and a Star Book in our bags. As we learn to read they will hold "just right" books that we can read.

After reading out of our Independent Reading bags we had a chance to go to our Literacy Stations.
Literacy Stations are libraries we visit each day. Each table has their own library to read from for that day. We also have special places we will sit to read. We have the Book of the Month Library that holds all the previous Books of the Month since Chets Creek has opened.

We also have the Math Genre Library. There we get to read counting and math books.

We have a Series Library. There we find Clifford, Froggy and other books that have multiple stories written about the same character.




The third station is the Genre Library. There we have collections of books about subjects. We have a basket about zoo animals, fairy tales, and transportation.







Our final station is the Science Library. There the students love to read books about insects, sharks, and space.

Day Two

Our second day of school was very productive! We were very busy learning the rituals and routines that we will follow all year long. We started our day with Skills Block where we talked about the letter "Bb" and the sound that it makes. We even put "Bb" words on our word wall. In Readers Workshop we decided that good readers read ALOT and this year we are going to read ALOT! In Writers Workshop we decided that good writers write ALOT and this year we are going to write ALOT! Today we wrote about how we get to school each day. We had Math Worksop in the afternoon. We looked at our calendar and then we learned about some of the tools that we will use as mathematicians this year. We used connecting cubes to build a really tall tower. We counted 35 cubes and that's how many friends are in our class. We also had a great time at lunch together and we played on the playgroud. It was such a good day and we can't wait until tomorrow:)

1st Day of School

WOW! What a day! We had so much fun. After saying goodbye to our parents, we went to our class to begin our day. We had story time in the Media Center. A real farmer read us a story about where food really comes from. After the story we returned to our room for Writer's Workshop. We read the book "Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready For Kindergarten". We loved that story. Then we went to our seat to write about how we got ready for kindergarten. After lunch we went outside to the watermelon patch and ate some yummy watermelon. We then watched Ms. Ellis ride in a wagon that was pulled by two mules. Wow, did they run fast. We also saw a really old tractor and a new tractor. Next we got to pet some animals like lambs, goats, chicks, pigs and a pony. Following that we learned about Bee Farms. We even got to taste some new honey made by the bees we saw. Finally we planted a seed. We can't wait to see what comes up. It is going to be a great year! We can't wait to see what the next 179 days hold for us.

Welcome to Kindergarten

Welcome to Kindergarten at Chets Creek from Melanie Holtsman on Vimeo.

Who better to ask about Kindergarten then the previous students. These old students share their favorite part about their Kindergarten year.

Welcome to a whole new "crop" of students!

Hi new Kindergarten students and parents. We are so excited about the upcoming year. We are looking forward to meeting all the new students. It will be a "blooming" year for everyone. See you soon on August 20th for Orientation!

Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole

Wow! We were spell bound by these two wonderful people. You could hear a pin drop while Ms. Edwards was talking and Mr. Cole was drawing. Ms. Edwards read the story Livingstone Mouse while Mr. Cole was drawing a mysterious picture. At the end of the story when Mr. Cole turned his paper around he a drawn in a matter of minutes and incredible picture from the book.


Next they talked to the kids about the process of how they come up with ideas. Using the ideas from the students Mr. Cole drew a picture of a cat going to a dance with a dog as her partner. All the details came from the students.


We also found out that our new book of the month is Princess Pigtoria and the Pea written by Ms. Edwards and illustrated by Mr. Cole. Our class was so excited because it is another one of their stories using alliteration.

We loved their visit! We wished they could have stayed the whole week.

Author Study - Kevin Henkes

We had a fabulous celebration of Kevin Henkes last week. The students came in very excited dressed as their favorite characters. We had Lilly, Wilson, Chester, Wemberly and many other great characters in our room. The student spent the day making mouse ears, completing fun activities and eating cheesy snacks with other 1st grade classes.