The First of the Lasts

We are at the beginning of the end. I can't believe how the time has flown by this year.  But, I look with amazement at how much these students have grown physically, academically and in maturity.
The long awaited ice cream party will be May 16th.  The students can accumulate points until May 12.  Then I have to turn in the final list of those students who achieved the 200 points.  There are a few students still working for the invitation to the party.  So, don't let them give up.  Read, read, read at home.  My greatest fear is for all but one or two students not to attend.  The rest of the class is now reading books to earn raffle tickets for the great prizes that will be given away at the party.  So keep on with the nightly reading at home.
This is the first of the many lasts to come in the next few weeks.  The last Scholastic book order of the year went home on Friday.  Please have the orders sent in by this Friday.  I have to finalize by 3:00 pm Friday or it may not arrive before the last day of school.  Whether you order Scholastic books or not, please have your children read to a couple times a week through out the summer.  There reading levels will regress if they don't continue practicing over the summer break.  They have worked so hard and the lexile levels are SOARING!!  Let's  keep practicing over the summer to give them a strong start to second grade.
Today I will send home the LAST list of Word Journal Vocabulary!!!!!!  Please return it signed by Wednesday indicating your child has read the words to you without hesitation.  Recognition of these words goes hand in hand with the reading series they will use in second grade.  So, it is a great idea to review these words over the summer, too.
This is also the last week for a spelling test.  The pretest is Thursday and the final test is Friday.   Most of the children know these 35 words quite well.  They will be expected to use correct spelling of these words in written language next year in second grade.  It would be a good idea to review them over the summer, too.
The First grade has their last Mass on Wednesday, May 10.  I will be sending home the parts for the children to practice so be on the look out for them in the book bag.
We have money problems in first grade right now.  I am doing the final testing for report cards this week.  Some of the students are having trouble counting dimes, nickels and pennies mixed to a value of a dollar.  Throw a few dimes, nickels and pennies out on the table and see if your child can count them.  The hang up seems to be when they transition from counting by 10's with the dimes to counting by fives with the nickels.  We will continue having math homework until the last week of school.  So keep checking the book bag for those papers. 
The countdown to the end has begun!