Dear Parents,
    The children in 1-H would like you to tour their classroom.  Here are the things they would like you to notice:

* I want you to see our school writing. (Z.S.)
* I want you to see our daily schedule. (A.C.)
* I want you to see my mailbox. (M. M.)
* I want you to look for my star. (H.Z.)
* I want you to find the apples around the class code. (P.K.)
* I want you to find the jobs chart. (S.M.)
* I want you to look for the Star of the Week chart. (M.D.)
* I want you to look for the Word Wall. (M.K.)
* I want you to see the apple art project from centers. (E.S.)
* I want you to find the number line. (J.A.)
* I want you to see the birthday graph. (A.O.)
* I want you to see our alphabet. (D.L.)
* I want you to find the books in the bag on the back of my chair. (E.H.P.)
* I want you to see everything! (A.K.)

Enjoy your Open House!
Sincerely,
the Students from 1-H
 
The children arrived this morning ready to learn!  Miss Nina and I so enjoyed meeting all of the children, and taking the first steps of our learning journey together.  They are a remarkable group of students, and we feel incredibly fortunate to be the teaching team to work with them.

Once everyone arrived, we began the day with a quick morning meeting.  We introduced ourselves and shared our favorite flavor of ice cream.  We also sang one of my favorite Dr. Jean songs, "Rise and Shine!  Welcome to School Today!"  We also began some of our first grade learning routines, including chanting the alphabet and adding a word to our word wall.  Today's word was "me".  Please ask your child to spell it for you! 

We also explored some routines and aspects to our life in first grade.  We discussed our classroom jobs as well as our commitment to our class code.  We had our first music class with Ms. Koebel, and we had lunch in the cafeteria.  We even read two different books that - by coincidence - both featured dinosaurs. 

In all, we had a wonderful day.  The sunny weather was the perfect setting today!  I hope your children were full of excitement and a sense of accomplishment at the conclusion of Day #1.  They really did a great job. 
 
The excitement is building.  Miss Nina and I have been busy this past week preparing the classroom for our students.  While we have been having fun hanging posters and organizing supplies, both of us shared a certain wistfulness, the suspense of imagining our new group of students at work in our learning space. 

The first day of school is now just three days away.  I wonder if the children are as excited to begin as Miss Nina and I are.  Or, perhaps we will have some children who aren't quite sure that they are ready to return to school.

Regardless, we will welcome each child with care and enthusiasm.  And the next post here will have some stories about our first day together.