Mrs. Zarnik

RAZ Kids!

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Happy New Year! 2012

Hello Parents,

Yes, 2012 has arrived and we will be back in school before we know it. December was a very busy month filled with many fun activities and lots of learning. The students enjoyed getting together with our fourth grade Book Buddies from Ms. Rosa's class. Together they wrote creative new endings to the traditional Gingerbread Boy story and enjoyed some gingerbread boy cookies.

We also had a visit from Mrs. Holman who came to read a few books about snow and snowmen for Adventures in Reading. She taught the children how to make snowflakes from coffee filters and sent them home with a little snowman treat. Hopefully, we will be able to enjoy a few flurries this January as we continue the snow and snowmen theme this month.

I encouraged your children to read over this break and to complete the two book reports that went home in Thursday Folders that last day of school. I believe the program is being sponsored by the Media Center's upcoming spring book fair.

These upcoming weeks, please focus on learning addition and subtraction facts to 18. Also, we will begin telling time on the hour and half hour. Please encourage them to tell time at home when possible. As always, nightly homework includes reading for at least ten minutes and reviewing math facts. There are many websites that you can link to from this blog or any of the first grade teachers's blogs. Also, Skills Tutor is always an option.

I am always excited about a new year. I wish health and prosperity to you all! I look forward to seeing all of my 19 smiling faces on January 10, 2012! :) Mrs. Zarnik

 

Another Exciting Day at TR!

     

Hello Parents,

Today we were so lucky to have a classroom visit from author and illustrator, Mr. Brian Lies! The students were so excited to see him and I was honored by his visit. I was also fortunate to get both of our books, Bats at the Library and Bats at the Ballgame autographed by Mr. Lies. Thomas had met Mr. Lies this past summer in Cape Cod, Massachusetts and Mr. Lies had remembered the book signing. This year, Thomas' family purchased Bats at the Ballgame from our school Book Fair for our classroom and so now it has been autographed.

Next Friday, our class will celebrate winning the coveted Golden Plate Award with a Pajama Day. We will also make the bugmallows that Mr. Lies writes about in Bats at the Beach. He told us to take photos of our creations and he will have them added to the Bugmallow Gallery on his website.

It was a fun experience! Thanks, Mr. Lies!

November Update

Our Class

Pumpkin Olympics!

       

Making Ice Cream

              

TRNN and Recess

   

Twin Day!

   
   
   

Hello Parents, 

November is here and it will be a very busy month. I am sure it will go as fast as October did. 

Thank you for attending our fall conferences. I had the opportunity to meet with all of you and discuss how well your children are doing. If you have not already done so, you may return the conference evaluation forms. During our conferences, I again mentioned the Skills Tutor website that your children may use to review math skills. I will put a link on this blog for your children to access. The user name is your children's student numbers. The password is cobb and the site login is timber03 (zero not the letter o). I will attach an index card to your children's folders with their student numbers. 

It was also great getting to see all of you at the Monster Mash and at our Pumpkin Olympics. The children had so much fun. Thank you for all of the wonderful Book Fair books purchase for our classroom. 

The last few weeks have been filled with lots of activity and hands-on learning. We have enjoyed getting together with our fourth grade book buddies, turning liquid milk into solid ice cream, creating subtraction stories, and partner reading with our friends. 

This month, we will participate in an in-school "field trip" when a High Touch-High Tech science expert brings the Magnet Makers unit to our school. Permission slips will be going home soon. We also have a school-wide author visit from Brian Lies. His bat books are beautifully illustrated and the writing is so poetic. 

Do not forget about our Celebrate Families Luncheon right before our Thanksgiving break. I will send an email with our class' day and time. Also on that day, we will have a quick holiday presentation for you. You will want to have your cameras!

Thank you again for all of your donations for snacks, class store and classroom items. I appreciate all that you do. Enjoy this upcoming holiday season! :) Mrs. Zarnik

Fall Has Arrived!

Our Class Johnny and Johnnie Appleseeds!

  

 




 


 

     How do first graders celebrate the coming of fall? They eat, weigh, measure, and write about apples! We had a lot of fun this week celebrating Johnny Appleseed's birthday. The favorite activities of the week were the Apple Centers especially dipping slices of apples in some old-fashion caramel. My favorite activity was making the applesauce and watching them taste it. They took turns chopping and peeling and we used all three types of apples, yellow, green and red, in our recipe. The students did a great job measuring the weight of some apples as well as measuring the circumferences. Some students even collected seeds to plant in our playground. I took some fun pictures for all to enjoy!

   

  

 

Even Hershey enjoyed some green apple slices!

 
 

September Update

Hello Parents,

Thanks again for attending Open House last week. As I mentioned, I enjoy getting to see all of you and share a glimpse of our day. 

We brought some of those caterpillars into our class and watched them change into their cocoons. They are hanging out in our butterfly house. We are not certain if they will morph into moths or butterflies so we are excited to see what happens. We hope at least one of them will complete its metamorphosis. 

In science we continue to study weather. We have begun to graph different types of weather and we will continue to track long term temperatures. This week we will investigate how to read thermometers and other weather tools. 

In math, we continue to work on our math facts and we will introduce subtraction facts this week and next. We continue to learn about place value and greater than and less than concepts. Please encourage your children to review their numeral writing to catch any reversals they may make. We had fun estimating both large and small marshmallows and we contrasted both weight and area of them as we used them to measure the area of a sketched foot. We will delve into centers that will reinforce many math skills including the technique of counting up. Calendar math is a daily activity and I believe a visit from Zero the Hero comes this week as we regroup our base ten blocks, coins, straws, and tally marks. 

In guided reading, we have been reading weather books and other nonfiction text focusing on the five important reading strategies to include using pictures clues and beginning and ending sounds to determine unknown words. The children have been bringing books home to reread and practice fluency. Please have them return the books the next school day. 

Thank you for volunteering to run our duck pond game at the Fall Festival. The children are very excited about the festival and I am sure they will have lots of fun that night.  I will be looking for them. 

I know we will have a stupendous September. Feel free to contact me after September 16 if you want to review your child's progress report. 

Enjoy the end of summer and the transition into fall. Go Falcons and Braves! :)

Come to Open House!

The TR Caterpillar Tree

 

 

Our First Week Together

 
Hello Parents and Students,  

We had a wonderful first week in first grade at Timber Ridge. I cannot believe how much we have already discussed and learned.

Thank you, parents, for returning all of the necessary forms this week. I will send one more form home to verify dismissal plans now that the first week has passed. Also, I have received all of the class tee shirt orders. I will let you know when to expect them. We do order them as a school so it depends on when all first grade students return their orders.

Thank you, parents, for all of the volunteers for Room Parents. I will notify the two parents whose names I have submitted. I know that we will need lots of help this year with several activities and I am grateful for your support.

A big thank you for the supplies sent in on Friday. The bright green tubs will be used for centers this year. I have also added the treats to our Treasure Box Class Store that will occur this Friday.

Students, keep looking in the mail for something I have sent you. :)

Parents, please return the yellow A Week in Review behavior notes sent home Friday signed. Your children will earn a ticket for their returned forms every Friday.

Also, do not forget that Monday is Picture Day. I will do my best to see that we all look picture perfect.

Students, I am so happy that we will get to spend this year together! Have a great weekend and see you on Monday.   :) Mrs. Zarnik