Ms. Rodzik's blog

Today we had the Gingerbread Games. We spent a portion of the morning doing centers and activities related to The Gingerbread Man stories. There was a Candyland game center, Candyland Bingo center, a life-size gingerbread man center, and a few others. A special thank you to Ms. Kelley, Mrs. Rodick and Ms. Rodzik #2 (my sister:-) for their help with the centers. I couldn't have done it by myself.

Yesterday in math we started talking about measurement. We discussed how a foot is a foot, but you can't measure with everyone's foot. We read the book How Big is Foot? by Rolf Myller and completed a demonstration. Yes, I did walk across a table to measure with my feet. The children were amused, but I hope the goal was met:-)

We've been working with different versions of the Gingerbread Man. So far we have have read an original version, The Gingerbread Boy, and The Gingerbread Baby. On Friday we used a Venn diagram to compare the first two versions. We looked at the similarities and differences. Tomorrow we will be spending part of the morning doing centers and activities centered around the books. I'm calling it The Gingerbread Games.

Please note that I will not be sending home handwriting homework this week.

We visited the computer lab today. The students had a great time visiting www.northpole.com . We were decorating Christmas trees and snowman. There are also other areas to play Concentration and to color.

Yesterday we read my favorite Christmas book and the children were laughing through the whole thing. If you haven't read Olive, the Other Reindeer by J. Otto Seibold, it's definitely one to check out! Have your child tell you about Olive.

My Internet has been down at home, so I apologize for the lack of recent updates. We have been very busy in the classroom.

On Friday, we worked on a fun creative writing project. We discussed how Santa might get very busy around this time of year. The students then brainstormed some elf job positions that could become available at the North Pole. Some of their ideas included a reindeer feeder, a cookie baker, Santa's bodyguard, a toy inspector, sleigh manager, and toy wrapper. I was very impressed with their creativity. Check out our hallway to see some of their work!

Tonight they brought home the poem, "Get Ready, Rudolph". This was the first year I've used this poem and I'm very happy with how well the students read it. I hope you enjoy it as well.

We've had a busy week. Yesterday we made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches now that we have finished our How-To papers. The students did a great job and were proud that they can all make their own sandwiches now. It only got slightly messy:-)

Please remember to have the children wear their 1st grade shirts tomorrow. We're having a class spirit day! We will also be shopping at the P.T.O. Santa Shop at 10:30 tomorow.

I just realized that the new handwriting folders did not go home today. I will have to get used to the new schedule too. I apologize. I will sent them home tomorrow and will change the due date (for this week) to Friday.

Ask your child about our fruitcake tasting today. We finished the book Junie B. Jones and the Yucky Blucky Fruitcake a little while ago. Most of the children had never tasted fruitcake before. Out of 25 of us, only 2 seemed to like it. Along with the fruitcake we did a miniature tree lighting. We sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and plugged in our mini-Christmas tree. Unfortunately I messed us the song (it's been a year!!), but I told them we would have another chance to sing before we go home on holiday break.

Parents- Please make sure you are looking over the handwriting homework. I have received a handful of folders already that are very sloppy. I don't expect perfection, but they should be neat. If you have any questions, please let me know.

We have been very busy the last two days. In writing we are working on a "How-To" paper. We are writing the steps to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

We are also finishing our unit on spiders. Today the students put some of the important information we've been covering into a graphic organizer. Our next step is to move that information into a report.

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 I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I've posted our Thanksgiving Feast pictures. Go to the "links" section of the blog and you will see the area for student pics!

I would like to give a special THANK YOU to our room moms and other parents who helped at the feast and to everyone who donated something. We can also thank Jenell's great-grandmother, Mrs. Stevenson for cooking our turkey. She made it look so pretty it was hard to cut into!

Juliet is thankful for her family.

Emma is thankful for her family and that she can go to school.

Halle is thankful for Thanksgiving and for her friends.

George is thankful for the Pilgrims and Indians.

Brooke is thankful for her cat.

Jimmy is thankful for his family.

Elijah is thankful for his mom.

Christopher is thankful for his dad.

Ava is thankful for her family and friends.

Christine is thankful for her family.

Faith is thankful for love.

Andrew R. is thankful for his cousins.

Hannah is thankful for her family.

Zachary is thankful for his family.

Joey is thankful for his toys.

Jenell is thankful for the pilgrims.

Maddison is thankful for her family.

Dhamon is thankful for Thanksgiving.

Drew is thankful for his family.

Gregory is thankful for his mom.

Olivia is thankful for her dog and her two hamsters.

Edmond is thankful for his dad.

Will is thankful for his dog.

Ms. Rodzik is thankful for her wonderful class and Ms. Kelley! I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!