Vocabulary Review

Last year we learned lots of new vocabulary words while we were reading some of the books that we loved. Remember? Below are some of those books and the words that we learned. Ask an adult to copy this list and put it on the refrigerator. Next ask them to circle each word when they hear you use it. Do you think you can use every word before we go back to school?

Caps for Sale
disturb – ordinary – imitate – refreshed – finally – mischievous














Three Billy Goats Gruff
meadow – gobble – villain – creak – hooves – wise













Where the Wild Things Are
private – tame – adventure – frighten – rumpus – longing








Goldilocks and the Three Bears
tempting – gruff – enraged – necessary – shrill - terrified












Harry, the Dirty Dog
clever – dashed – disguise – furiously – lovingly – content













Red Riding Hood
considerate – delighted – devious – horrid – alarmed - hero

Happy birthday, Mrs. Timmons!

Today is Mrs. Timmons' birthday! You might remember that you all wrote Happy Birthday postcards to her before you left for the summer. Remember... it was a secret. We wrote them on one of the days that she was not there! Mrs. Conte mailed them all last week so Mrs. Timmons should get over 20 postcards in her mailbox on her birthday! I'll bet you can see her smile all the way from Richmond, Va. Feel free to leave her a comment to wish her a Happy Birthday! Happy, happy birthday, Mrs. Timmons!

Opposites

One of the things that 1st graders are asked to do during the first few days of 1st grade is to demonstrate that they understand opposites. They are given a sheet of 10 words that they have to read and then write the opposite word. Spelling doesn't count. The assessment is repeated at mid-term and again at the end of the year as one measure of growth in vocabulary. To help your child prepare for the antonym, or opposite, assessment, read the Looky Book below.






Next practice on some of the opposites below. Say the word and encourage your child to say the opposite. I'll bet you and your child can think of some other opposite pairs!

slow - fast

ugly - pretty

good - bad

yes -no

clean - dirty

kind - mean

short - tall

soft - hard

big - little

low - high

hot - cold

sad - happy

hard - soft

old - young

rich - poor

near - far

thin - thick

near - far

light - dark

Enjoy this final book slection of opposites.

Meet Cathy Daniels!

As you know, Mrs. Conte will be staying home next year and spending time with little Charlie. She will also be keeping Kallyn Timmons, Mrs. Timmons' daughter. Mrs. Timmons and Mrs. T will be looping with the class but that means that we need a new teacher to take Mrs. Conte's place. We are so excited to introduce you to Ms. Cathy Daniels who will be our new co-teacher. Here's a letter to our Chets Creek family from Ms. Daniels!My name is Cathy Daniels. I am a native of Jacksonville, Florida. As long as I can remember, I’ve always loved working with children. After graduating from the University of North Florida in Special Education, I added Regular Education to my degree. I began teaching fourth grade at Parkwood Heights Elementary in 1983. I enjoyed teaching fourth grade for 14 years. Then, I took seven years off to raise my daughter, Kayla.

Once Kayla began kindergarten and first grade at Chets Creek, I was able to volunteer in her room and I started substituting in the primary grades. I was thrilled to become part of the Chets Creek family in 2005, as a first grade teacher. This will be my fourth year teaching first grade at Chets.

Teaching is my passion, and I can honestly say, my heart is with the children each and every single day. Words cannot express the excitement I have when students become independent readers, and it’s almost as if little light bulbs are going off throughout the room. I want children to not just love learning and become independent readers, but I try and build their self-confidence, so they know that nothing is impossible.

I am especially excited this year to work with Randi Timmons and dayle timmons (Mrs. T). I am looking forward to meeting each and every one of you, and consider it an honor to be able to teach your child this year.

I hope that you all are having a wonderful summer. Kayla and I are having a great time. We have been staying up late, and sleeping in, and everyday, we ask ourselves, “Is today Saturday?” She and I have been to Melbourne Beach, and Orlando. We had a blast on the fourth of July. We spent it with my family at a lake, and went tubing, and jet skiing, and watched the fireworks from the roof of a dock. Also, Kayla and I went to a farm/ranch and got to feed deer. We’ve been going to the beach every week, and love the water parks, and like to shop 'til we drop at the Town Center.

I can’t wait to meet all of you, my new first grade family. I’ll see you all at Orientation on August 15th.

Yours truly,
Cathy Daniels

A Few of Our Favorite Things

Try some of these activites this week and then use the comment button at the bottom of this post to tell us what you did!

1. Write the numbers from 1 to 100.

2. Find an object in your house that begins with each letter of the alphabet.

3. Make a card to someone special that doesn't live in your house (could be me!). Ask a parent to help you mail it.

4. Cook something with an adult. Then write the directions and share them as a comment so we can make it too!

Mrs. Conte's 4th of July

Mrs. Conte, Mr. Conte and Charlie went to Keystone Heights, Florida, for the 4th of July. Charlie got to see his first parade and didn't even cry when the firetruck sirens played, the cars beeped and the cannon boomed! Only in Keystone does the parade start with a cowboy on a bull accompanied by a dog and 2 geese!

After the parade, they went out to the lakehouse to cool off by splashing around in the lake. They loved spending time with their family!

What did you do for the 4th of July? We would love for you to leave a comment and let us know!

Reading on the Internet

Happy 4th of July! Hope you are having a fireworks kind of weekend!

This week we'd like to share one of our favorite book sources on the Internet. If you can't get to the library this summer (or even if you can), enjoy some of the books from LookyBooks. Here is one of our favorites to get you started.

Summertime FUN!

What are you doing this summer? Mrs. Timmons is spending the summer in Richmond, Va. Her husband, Coach Timmons, plays for the Atlanta Braves AAA Team that is located in Richmond, so as soon as school was out, she and baby Kallyn headed for the hills of Virginia. However, about a week ago Coach Timmons broke a bone in his foot during a game and had to have surgery. Can you tell he has a "boot" on his left foot and his crutches are nearby? He's doing fine now but he won't be playing baseball for about six weeks! They'll all be staying in Richmond so he can rehab. Mrs. Timmons and Kallyn will be returning to Jacksonville in time for school to start and Coach Timmons will return after Labor Day. What are YOU doing this summer? We'd love to hear from you! Leave us a comment so we can share your summer adventures!