Welcome to First Grade!

“Inside all of us is hope. Inside all of us is fear. Inside all of us is adventure.
Inside all of us is… A Wild Thing.” "Let the wild rumpus start!"
~ Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are

I earned my B.S. Degree in Child Development with a K-6 License from Meredith College in 2003. My first year teaching was in Chowan County at White Oak Elementary School, teaching 1st Grade. I began teaching in Suffolk Public Schools in 2004, and taught there until June 2016. I spent all of my 12 years in Suffolk teaching at Nansemond Parkway Elementary School. There, I taught 1st Grade for four years, looped to 2nd Grade and stayed in 2nd Grade for four years, and then taught 4th Grade for four years. I earned my Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction through the University of Phoenix in 2007. This will be my fifth year here at T.S. Cooper; my first two years here, I taught 5th Grade Reading and Writing, and this will be my third year as a 1st Grade teacher at T.S. Cooper. I am so excited to be in 1st grade, again, this year, and look forward to new adventures!

I love teaching! Ever since I was a little girl, I have dreamed of being a teacher. I can remember playing school with friends, and even my stuffed animals! Helping others is one of my passions, and I truly enjoy teaching my students to love learning and to have fun while doing it!

I have a wonderful family, and am forever grateful for my many blessings! My husband, Brian, and I have been married for ten years, and have two wonderful boys.
Carson is eight in the 3rd Grade, and Henry is five in Kindergarten.
We enjoy living the simple country life, and are the happiest outdoors!

Some of my favorite things:
Favorite Color: Yellow
Favorite Drinks: Coffee and Arizona Green Tea
Favorite Music: Contemporary Christian
Favorite NFL Team: Carolina Panthers (GO PANTHERS!!)
Favorite ACC Team: NC State WOLFPACK!!
Favorite Vegetable: Okra (fried is the best)
Favorite Fruit: Watermelon
Favorite Book: Charlotte's Web
Favorite Flowers: Daisies and Sunflowers
Favorite Animal: Dolphin
Favorite Season: Fall

Since we are going virtual for the 1st 9 weeks of school, all of our class meetings and work will be completed through Google Classroom. While we are virtual, you will get to have BOTH of us as teachers! Mrs. Chambers will teach math, Mrs. Saunders will teach Letterland. We will both teach reading and writing to our homeroom class. When we come back together at school, you will stay with YOUR HOMEROOM teacher ALL day like normal. Let’s get started! The first step is to join Google Classroom!
You need to download Google Classroom to your device and enter the following codes for each class:

-Mrs. Chambers (Math/Reading/Writing): 76hxogx
-Mrs. Saunders (Letterland/Reading/Writing): rcwjf2d
-Mrs. Wright (PE): bpntpey
-Mrs.Steiner-Winn(Music): yebxvbg

*** To join Google Classroom you MUST use the gmail address we gave you! ***

Please do this ASAP so that we can get going first thing Monday morning! :) Don’t forget, on Monday, you will follow the schedule on the colored paper and go to your teacher’s class at the right time!

PLEASE, do not feel intimidated by this online format. Once you join Google Classroom you will have access to all of the other links, live videos, and recordings. You will need to help your child at first, but we will work together to make them independent!
Thank you for your support! We can do this together!

FREE ONLINE BOOKS TO READ!!!!! EPIC, An Online Access to Many Books!
EPIC (online books!) (class code zyt4044)
***What is EPIC??? (This is a video to showcase EPIC, and all it has to offer!!)

FREE ONLINE LIBRARY BOOKS!!!!
Free Online Access to AR Books!!!
School Name: Read at Home
Username: readnow
Password: myon

Make a Time Capsule!!
What an amazing idea to help us remember this time that we are going through!

Chlorophyll Painting!!! (video lesson)
Chlorophyll Painting Directions

Are the books you are reading at home AR books? Find out here!

Great Resources!
Online Activities for 1st Graders!

Accelerated Reader (AR)
(All books that are being read aloud are AR books!)

Letterland (K-3)
School ID: gates655
[Student’s Name] Password: 1234

Making Words with Oscar Orange and Mr. O (o. oa. ow; Unit 22)
You can either print this out or recreate with paper (it would also be neat for your 1st grader to create this game)!

Storyline Online (famous actors/actresses reading stories) (Many of these books are AR books!)

Starfall (K-3)

Free Rice (increase vocabulary while donating rice to countries for food)

Art:
Home Based Art Lessons
Virtual Museum Tours
Free Art Tutorial
Free Drawing Lessons
Color Our Collections
Google Arts and Culture

Reading:
Learning Vocabulary Fun

Starfall: lettter, number, word, direction and reading skills

Word Sort

Story Starters: Write your own stories!

Math:
20 Math Games for Children (5-8 years old)

Math Playground: Have fun with math!

Counting with Ten Frames

Math Skills Practice

Science:
San Diego Zoo for Kids! (You can watch videos, learn about animals at the San Diego zoo, and watch live cams of some of the animals!)

Save a Species Videos (brought to you by SeaWorld)

Georgia Aquarium's LiveCams!

Computer Skills:
Bees and Honey: Practice using the mouse!

Mini Mouse: Practice using the mouse!

FREE Typing Lessons and Practice!

First Grade’s Remote Learning Schedule

8:00-9:00 Teacher's Planning
9:00-9:30 Reading with your Homeroom teacher
9:30-9:35 Break
9:35-10:05 Mrs. Chambers Homeroom: Letterland
Mrs. Saunders Homeroom: Math
10:05-10:10 Break
10:10-10:40 Connect
10:40-10:45 Break
10:45-11:15 Writing with your homeroom teacher
11:15-11:20 Break
11:20-11:50 Mrs. Chambers Homeroom :Math
Mrs. Saunders Homeroom: Letterland
11:50-11:55 Break
11:55-12:25 Independent Practice with iReady and Letterland
12:25-12:55 Lunch
1:00-2:00 Intervention/ 1:1 time
2:00-3:00 Office hours for parents or students to call in for
questions or help and time for parent contacts

This is where I will post news and information, as soon as possible, to help keep everyone aware of what is going on this school year.
I am so excited for a new adventure with my 1st Graders! We are going to have a blast!
Explore the website and check out the read alouds and other links!

One way that I like to keep parents informed of what is going on in the classroom as well as upcoming events is through the Remind app. This is an amazingly free app that allows me to stay in contact with parents/guardians on a daily basis! The messages come straight to your cell phone like text messages! Below, you will find ways to subscribe and join the group,
Mrs. Saunders~1st Grade 2020-2021, for my class. Choose which method is best for you!

Due to the pandemic with the Coronavirus, we will begin our school year remotely. Thank you for your patience as we all try to navigate through these uncharted waters together! Please don't hesitate to ask any questions that you may have. I will do my best to find the answers for you!

August
12th - Drive Through Open House ~ I hope to see you there!
4:00-4:30 - Last names beginning with A - E
4:45-5:15 - Last names beginning with F - K
5:30-6:15 -Last names beginning with M - She
6:30-7:00 - Last names beginning with Si - Z

17th - 1st Day of Remote Learning!

Email: (This is the quickest and easiest form of communication for me.)
saundersmc@gatescountyschools.net

School Phone Number:
(252)465-4091

Welcome to First Grade!

About Mrs. Saunders

Virtual Classroom

Read Alouds

Great Websites

Our Schedule

Supply List

News

Important Dates

Delays and Early Dismissal Schedules

Contact Mrs. Saunders