Mrs. Ahonen's First Grade News

Week of January 16th!

2012-01-16T12:22:00.000-08:00

Hello all! This is Miss Katie Coonan, and I will be spending the next couple of weeks with your children as Mrs. Ahonen recovers from her knee surgery. We were informed earlier this afternoon that her surgery went well. Hopefully she will be on a great road to recovery.

I had a great day with all the students in the classroom today! I am sure that it is difficult for them to adjust to a new teacher visiting in the middle of the school year, but we will try to make it as smooth of a transition as possible.

This week's homework:

Monday: Read for ten minutes (any book)
Tuesday: 2 Phonics Readers - Gram's Trip and Pets in a Tank
Wednesday: Read for ten minutes
Thursday: Spelling worksheet--to be turned in on Friday.

Have a great week and please contact me with any questions or concerns! I am supposed to have access to Mrs. Ahonen's email for correspondence, but today I had difficulty logging on. I hope to have it solved by tomorrow. Thank you and God bless!

Updated information for when I am gone

2012-01-13T11:00:00.000-08:00

Report cards are coming home today, Friday, January 13th as well as an explanation sheet attached to your child's W.R.A.P. results. Please look over these carefully. Please sign the report card and return to school on Monday.
Also while I am gone, Miss Katie Coonan will be subbing for me. She is a recent graduate of Marian University. She is originally from Ft. Wayne and has attended Catholic grade school and high school. I will be in touch with Katie while I am gone. Please communicate with her any questions or concerns you might have and she will handle them or get them to me as needed. She has been in our room all day yesterday and today so she knows the ropes. Please help her feel welcome to Holy Spirit School.

Welcome Back! Week of January 9th!

2012-01-09T12:19:00.000-08:00

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE GIFTS I RECEIVED FOR CHRISTMAS! Your generosity is greatly appreciated. I hope all of you had a restful break and are ready to help your children finish out strong in first grade. This week we are back focusing on skills to help us become better readers. In math, we are discussing surveys and how to represent answers to our surveys. We will then progress to measuring.

Homework:
Monday - read any book (at least ten minutes)
Tuesday - phonics readers Shep and Hen's Chicks
Wednesday - spelling activity, please sign and return top portion
Thursday - spelling activity due back on Friday

Week of December 19th!

2011-12-20T10:20:00.000-08:00

     This week we are completing projects for the grading period which ends Thursday, December 22, 2011!
I want to take this time to Thank You for the tasty treats that have been crossing my desk lately. Yum! Yum! Also a GREAT BIG THANK YOU for the books I received as gifts from the Book Fair! I also received books from the Book Fairies, if that happened to be anyone of you, your generosity is greatly appreciated!
     We had our class spelling bee yesterday. Congratulations to Aiden Langley our representative! Great job to everyone!
     I wanted to make all of you aware that after Christmas I will return for the week of January 9th and then be out for sure the following two weeks.  I will be having surgery on my knee. The third week is up in the air right now until I see how recovery is. Please be sure that this is not what I would like to have happen but needs to be taken care of so that I can get on with recovery from my fall earlier this year. I have been planning for the days I will be gone and please know that I will be checking in on the class while I am gone. In my absence, I will make adjustments with assignments when needed.
     As a final note, I hope you have been going through your child's papers. We have been using activity sheets to help explain some of our traditions at Christmas time.

Thank you for a great first semester! See you in 2012!
Merry Christmas to you and your family and Happy New Year!!!!!

Third Week of Advent

2011-12-12T10:56:00.000-08:00

     Just a reminder about our Advent service project, please continue to have your children do odd jobs around the house to earn money for uniforms for our twinning parish in Honduras. You may also donate gently used shoes. This is our only service project for Advent.
     I am in the process of assessing our present reading level for each child. These take awhile to complete and the results will be sent home with the children once completed.   I am excited about the growth I have seen so far! We are continuing to work on our reading skills and also journal and write about specific topics.
     In math we are switching over to discussing graphs, data, and surveys. We will continue to work on addition and subtraction facts. Please continue to work on math flashcards. Knowing these facts will help with our activities in the classroom.

Homework: Reading logs!!!!
Monday - Story problem
Tuesday - spelling activity (Please let me know how it went.)
Wednesday - phonics reader Jess and Mom and The Shed
Thursday - Christmas program

Week of December 5th!

2011-12-05T09:05:00.000-08:00

     Please consider helping your child raise at least a $1.00 for our Advent Project. Remember we are collecting funds to purchase uniforms for the children in our twinning parish. Also if you have gently used shoes or new shoes you would like to donate that would be greatly appreciated.
     We will be practicing for our Christmas program this week and next. The children will need help in choosing what they will wear for the evening performance next week. The first graders are to wear nice clothes, what they would wear for Sunday Best.
     This week we are continuing with our rules for reading. Each day we read a poem that I have chosen for the month of December. We practice this poem to help with fluency. You could do the same at home with a poem or favorite book. The more times they read something they are familiar with the more fluent their reading becomes. In math, we are continuing with our number combinations and have branched into subtraction activities. Please continue to review flashcards with your children. The more familiar they are with the addition combinations the better. This will in turn help with the subtractions activities.
     Our science, social studies, and religion activities the next few weeks are centered around our Time For Kids Magazines, the season, and Advent.

Homework:
Monday - Coming home with your children tonight is a spelling list. We will be having a Spelling Bee in our room before we leave on Christmas Break. This is in conjunction with our school wide Spelling Bee. The younger grades hold a spelling bee in their classrooms.   Our winner will be announced at the Spelling Bee for the older kids in February or March.
Tuesday - spelling activity (letter cards are coming home with your children today) Please have your children cut the cards apart. Use the cards to practice the spelling words we have had so far and the ones introduced last week. Please keep these cards for activities to come. You can also use them to practice at night making short vowel words and long vowel words. I also included an extra set of vowels. Spelling words we have had: the, of, and, a, to, in, is, you, that, it, he, for, was, on, and are.
Wednesday - phonics readers Buzzing Bug and Duff in the Mud
Thursday - story problem due back Friday

THE CHILDREN ARE BRINGING HOME A SAMPLE STORY PROBLEM TONIGHT, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5TH! IT SHOWS HOW WE DO SUBTRACTION STORY PROBLEMS. PLEASE POST ON THE REFRIGERATOR!

Week of November 28th!

2011-11-28T08:17:00.000-08:00

     I hope all of you had a Happy Thanksgiving!
     I am very sorry for the lack of communication on my part. The past two weeks I have had computer issues that seem to be taken care of  at this time.  I am sorry for any frustration I have caused. Please keep in mind, I have been very frustrated at this end as well. More than once I had typed my blog and then lost all the information. I was unable to successfully save anything I typed. Since all these issues, progress report time has passed. Please check your child's grades online. I was unable to update attendance until today so that may not show up correctly until tomorrow.
     The past few weeks we have been reviewing long and short vowel sounds. We also have been working on consonant blends with the letter "r." Your children have had a lot of exposure to the sounds that "th," "sh," and "ch" make.  When you read at home with your children please take the time to ask your child to tell you who the characters are in the story, where it takes place, if there is a problem and was the problem solved. These are all strategies we use here at school as well.
     In math, we have been working on number combinations and specifically addition. We have also gone back to working with story problems. The procedures we are using to solve story problems are very important. The procedures we have set are preparing the children for standardized tests when they get older. Please review any story problems your children bring home after they have been graded.
     Today is the first Monday of Advent. In religion, we will be preparing for the coming of Jesus. Our discussions and lessons will  be around the birth of Jesus. We also will be focusing on our school wide Advent project. We will be raising money to help our partnering parish in Honduras purchase uniforms for the school children. Please have your children do extra chores, odd jobs, or even give up cookie or ice cream money to help our classroom with this activity. We will be collecting money over the next couple of weeks. When sending money in please mark your child's name on the envelope as well as what it is for. Please don't just give your child the money. Please help me teach them about helping others by doing good not just expecting the money. We also are having a $2 jeans day this Friday. The money collected will help purchase a gift we are giving to the parish priest and sister from the our partnering parish in Honduras.
     We also are focusing a great deal on active listening and following directions. We have been practicing a lot on this so far this year. I have placed emphasis on the fact that it is not always the correct answer and how quickly we get it that I am looking for. The children need to follow directions.


Homework:
Monday - spelling homework (Please send a note stating you did the homework and how it went.)
Tuesday - phonics reader Jock's Hut and Knock, Knock
Wednesday - phonics reader Miss Nell and Deb and Bess
Thursday - story problem due back tomorrow, Friday, December 2nd!

Updates for week of November 7th!

2011-11-09T08:59:00.000-08:00

Homework tonight, Wednesday, November 9th is Family Connection for our Ambassadors. It has a due date of Monday the 14th, but I would like it back tomorrow the 10th!

Please look for the Homework Watcher notice that told of our different dress codes next week for Spirit Week.

GREAT NEWS!!!!! TUESDAY WAS THE FIRST DAY WE HAVE HAD ALL YEAR WHERE EVERYONE TURNED IN THEIR HOMEWORK!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

New spelling words are: "for," "he," and "was."

Week of November 7th!

2011-11-07T09:04:00.000-08:00

This week we continue to review vowel sounds. We are also talking about consonant clusters with "r."
We will be taking our second spelling test and will start a new unit. In math, we are again working on number combinations and story problems. In religion, we are talking about taking care of ourselves. We are also trying to help collect money to purchase hymnals for the church. I have had one child do chores and bring in money to help our class purchase hymnals. Please help me help the children learn about giving back to the church.

Please keep Braeden in your prayers. He is recovering, but it is in baby steps. He will be in the hospital for awhile. Keep Jay in your prayers as well. We hear updates on Jay, and I share them with the children. We pray for these two young men daily. The children have seen pictures of these young men and we talk about how their lives have changed.

Homework:
Monday - Spelling activity due back Tuesday, November 8th!
(Reading logs were due back today, Monday, November 7th!)
Tuesday - phonics readers Let's Trim the Track and Brad's Quick Rag Tricks
Homework will be updated at a later date.

Week of October 31st!

2011-10-31T09:13:00.000-07:00

I want to start out by asking for prayers for a friend of my son's. Braeden ( 16 years old) was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma in July. He has had chemo and surgery to remove the tumor and part of his bone in his thigh. Braeden has had the bone replaced with a cadaver bone and was on the road to recovery. He had started another round of chemo about two weeks ago. This past Friday he had a major set back and is in Riley Children's Hospital downtown. He had surgery on Saturday evening. The doctors are cautiously optimistic but there are signs that Braeden is improving. Please keep him and his family in your prayers as well as their close friends. This is hard enough to understand as adults but even harder to explain to teenagers.

On a different note Happy Halloween! There is no specific homework assigned for tonight!
This week we are working on patterns within our geometry unit. We are also continuing to work on word endings "s," "ed," and "ing." We will be discussing contractions as well as words that show ownership.

Homework:
Tuesday - phonics readers Lots of Picking and Pam Can Pack
Wednesday - math flashcards (These can be purchased at Wal Mart/Meijer.)

Week of October 25th!

2011-10-24T08:17:00.000-07:00

I look forward to meeting with each one of you at conferences tomorrow. I am excited to share your child's progress with you. Thank you for your help in teaching your children responsibility by turning in homework. I appreciate it and your children will learn to appreciate that skill being taught.

Homework:
Monday - phonics reader Bill Bird and Tim's Cat
READ! READ! READ!
PRACTICE MATH FLASHCARDS

Week of October 17th!

2011-10-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

     Last week on our field trip we learned a lot about safety. I hope the children were able to share what we did on our field trip. We were unable to make it to every station they had set up but what we did make it to was very beneficial.
     Please review short vowel sounds and long vowel sounds with your children. They really need to have a firm understanding of vowel sounds. We review them everyday in class. I have been explaining and showing them examples of how to sound out words with long vowels.   They need to be able to hear the differences between the vowels. We have talked about the rules when two vowels go walking the first one does the talking and about bossy "e." When you are reading with your children please ask them questions about the story they read or you read to them. We talk about the characters, setting, problem in the story and if there was a solution to the problem. We discuss what happened at the beginning, middle, and end of a story. Please keep in mind that comprehension of what one reads is a lot of times different than when read to especially at this age. Our process is to teach them how to read but also give them tools to help them with the understanding of a story.
     I hope you have had the chance to review some of the papers your children have brought home in regards to our math activities. I ask for a specific format for story problems because as they get to the upper grades there are certain expectations on standardized tests required to explain their answers.
     In religion, we are talking about learning and growing. We do not just grow by weight and height but in our learning as well.   I have had one child work to collect money for our hymnals for the Church. Please have your children do jobs to earn money to donate for our class to purchase at least one hymnal for the Church.

Homework:
Monday - phonics reader Cabs, Cabs, Cabs and Fall Naps
Tuesday - spelling activity
Wednesday - math activity
Thursday - religion activity (Please discuss questions #2 and #3. See if there is one of these that you can do and let the class know what it was and how it went.) You have until Monday to return the form with that information written on it.

Conference Information

2011-10-14T11:05:00.000-07:00

Please make sure you turn in conference forms by Monday, October 17th! These forms can be accessed via homework watcher sent earlier from the office. Please send one form back per family. If you have sent it back with your oldest child then I will receive it when we schedule. If your child is the oldest and/or only here at Holy Spirit School it needs to come back to me. I have had two turned in already. Thanks! Mrs. Ahonen

Week of October 10th!

2011-10-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

Today we read a couple of stories about Columbus and talked about them. We read a new story in our phonics reader and discussed adding "s" to words and how it changes the words meaning. This week we will be concentrating on the long "i" sound. We will continue to develop our reading skills. We began our unit on geometry last week and will continue to work in this area. In religion, we will talk about being a child of God and learning and growing. We also talked about two different kinds of bats in connection with our Time For Kids article last week. We are discussing living and nonliving things as well.

Thursday is our field trip on fire safety to the state fairgrounds. The children are to wear their school uniforms. If the girls wear a jumper please make sure they wear shorts underneath.

Homework:
Have you turned in your child's reading log? These are due every week!
Monday - phonics reader Rug Tug
Tuesday - math activity
Wednesday - read over word list from reader (sight words)

Week of October 3rd!

2011-10-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

     This week we are continuing to work on games that help us with number combinations for various numbers. Ask your children about the games Heads and Tails, How Many am I Hiding?, Three Towers of Ten, and 9 Peas and Carrots.
     We had our first spelling test last week   Please look for your child's test as it is coming home today.   The children take a word test and a skills test. Our spelling test is not like a traditional spelling test. Our words fit into a story and the children are required to know whether the spelling word need to be capitalized or not. We also do dictation sentences. I will give them a sentence orally and they are to spell each word in the sentence on their paper. Those are also coming home in their green folders today. Our new spelling words are "in," "is," and "you."
     Last week during religion we made cards for a Cathedral student who was injured in a diving accident this summer. If you have anyone that you know of that would appreciate a card or in need of extra prayer please don't hesitate to tell us. We would love to help out! Also how are your children doing with participating in odd jobs to help us purchase a hymnal for church?
     Reminder our field trip is Friday. The children are to bring a disposable sack lunch and drink.

Homework:
Reading logs!!! Math flashcards!!!
Monday - handwriting/spelling page
Tuesday - phonics reader The Bug Kit
Wednesday - handwriting/spelling page
Thursday - phonics reader Quit It, Zig!

Week of September 26th!

2011-09-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

Permission slips were sent home on Friday for our first field trip. Please fill out the form and return with $11.00 by Friday, September 30th. Please make sure your child's name is on the envelope.
Service project: The church is purchasing new hymnals. I would like to have our class collect money to purchase one of these hymnals. Please do not just send money in. I would like to have the students do odd jobs around the house or for grandma and grandpa to earn the money. There are many lessons to be learned by doing such and activity. Please mark the envelope as to what it is for and who it is from when you send it in. We will start today and have the money collected by Monday or Tuesday of next week.

Homework:
Reading journals were due today!
Monday - phonics reader Not Yet! and Once Upon a Dig

I will update additional homework tomorrow!

Week of September 19th!

2011-09-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

     Last week I was gone on Monday due to a previous commitment. Thursday, I was out because I fell on Wednesday night and tore something in my knee. I am following with a doctor's appointment tomorrow to see what the prognosis is. I am sure the children came home with all sorts of stories. It is slow going but we are continuing with our activities in the classroom. At this point, I do not know if I will be missing more days to this injury or not. Please bare with me through this time. I had just joined Team in Training and had planned to run my first marathon in January. I am hoping my recovery will be speedy and uneventful. Because of the way the week went some of our homework was delayed. I had a math activity down for homework on Thursday it is coming home today. Please keep this activity at home to play. The number cards may be used for another activity down the road. Please remember reading logs are due every Monday.
     We have started story problems during math. I will be sending an informational sheet that will explain what I am looking for as I assess their ability to solve story problems.
      In religion, we have been discussing belonging to a community. We have mentioned the many types of communities that exist. One of our communities is that of the Catholic Church.
     We are collecting box tops. I have had a few of the students already bring them in. Please check for these at your house and send them in with your child.

Homework:
Monday - Double Compare (please send a note in saying you played the game)
Tuesday - phonics reader Who Can Hit? and One Big Fat Fig
Wednesday - phonics reader Dot Fox and Pig Wig and Dan Ox
Thursday - spelling activity

Week of September 5th!

2011-09-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

     Welcome Back! I hope you are rested after your long weekend. I really enjoyed our professional development on Friday. It gave me a lot to think about and ideas to use in the classroom with your children.
     This week we are working on short "i" words. We are continuing to talk about strategies we use when reading. We are also working with words during our spelling lessons. Our spelling program is based on words the children are expected to know and carry over into their writing. We will start a new unit of words towards the end of this week.   In math, we are learning games to help in combining numbers (addition). In religion, we are working on family, being thankful for things we take for granted such as our ability to see, hear, taste, touch, and smell.
     I am sending home a list of words that were handed out at Back to School Night. Please post these words on your refrigerator. These are the words your child will be responsible for this year in spelling. Also please remember to print off the reading log from the attachment on homework watcher. I have sent it again.

Homework:
Reading logs! Read everyday! Math addition flashcards!
Tuesday - phonics reader Fat Cat
Wednesday - vowel page
Thursday - spelling activity

Week of August 29th!

2011-08-29T10:56:00.001-07:00

     As a reminder, this week and next are four day weeks! We do not have school on Friday, September 2nd or Monday, September 5th!
     This week we will be continuing to work with our spelling words. We do numerous activities to help with the spelling of these words. Our spelling words are given in a test format. Once the children have learned the correct spelling of a word they are expected to carry that over into their writing.
     We have been reviewing the short vowel sounds for "a" and "e." We are sounding out short vowel words. We are learning our procedures for our literacy centers as well as those for our math activities. In math, we have been working on counting activities and numeracy.
     In religion, we have helped with the service projects as well as talked about Moses. We also are working on a book about being Thankful. We are talking about the gifts God has given us.
     You should have received a homework watcher with explanations of our reading logs as well as an attachment with reading log pages. If you do not receive homework watcher, you will be receiving a paper copy of that information as well as this letter.

Homework:
(Reading Log due back Tuesday, September 6th) Please record phonics' stories on the reading log.
Monday - phonics reader Cat Sat
Tuesday - phonics reader Nan Cat
Wednesday - short vowel page

Updates for the week of August 29th!

2011-08-26T10:21:00.000-07:00

Reminder...
     Pictures are on Monday, August 29, 2011! Order forms were sent home last week. Children do not have to wear uniforms for pictures; however, jeans are not permitted. Please keep in mind that only the top half of your child will be seen in the picture.  Send your child in shoes appropriate for school. No sandals please!
     No school on Friday, September 2nd. This is a professional day for teachers!
     No school on Monday, September 5th. This is Labor Day!

Week of August 22nd!

2011-08-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome Back to another week of school! We are busy with procedures. I have listed this week's homework below. I will at times have the student's put the letters H.W. at the tops of their papers. This will mark their work as homework. For example tonight's homework is for you the parents. The children have marked it with H.W. It is due back by Wednesday the 24th! The homework for tomorrow is a short reader and will not be marked with the letters.
I introduced our first spelling unit today in class. Our words for this unit are "the," "of," and "and." The activities we do with our spelling units may take up to two weeks to complete but you can practice the words at home as often as you like.

Homework:
Monday - parent homework due back Wednesday
Tuesday - phonics reader Cat
Wednesday - phonics reader Cat On The Mat
Thursday - practice spelling words