Veterans Day Poppies

We learned about Veterans Day last week and made poppies to honor our servicemen.

"Veterans Day: In 1918 on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the war of all war was declared at an end. November 11th was set aside as Armistice Day in the United States, to remember the sacrifices that men and women made during World War I in order to ensure a lasting peace. In 1958 this holiday was renamed Veterans Day in the US.

The Poppy was chosen to honor Veterans because it reminds us of a place called Flanders Field in Belgium where many soldiers from the first World War died in a bloody battle in a field of poppies. The poppies grow there between the crosses that mark their graves.
On Veterans' Day and Memorial Day, groups raise funds for their charitable activities by selling paper poppies made by disable veterans. A Poppy is a red flower which is worn to show others that you are remembering those who died for their country. "

Money Games

This week in math we started a new unit of focus on money. Although we will still be doing some worksheets during this study, many of our activities will be based on role playing and manipulative games. We learned two new games today to practice recognizing coins and exchanging values of coins.

In the sock game two students play together and take turns reaching into a sock to pull out a coin. The other student is challenged to find the same coin just by touch. It sounds like a very simple game, but the kids really love playing it. In the process they internalize the names of the coins quickly.

The second game is called Race for a Dollar. Students take turns rolling a die and getting coins on each turn. For example if a 4 is rolled, then the student takes 4 pennies and places them on his game board. In each turn more coins are added to the board, and students trade in pennies for nickels and dimes, then quarters, and eventually a dollar. Whoever makes the dollar first wins the game. This game helps students learn about money combinations and equivalencies.

Frog Pond Game

We have begun playing a new menu math game today to encourage logical thinking. The Frog Pond Game is an adaptation of a Chinese logic game. It encourages students to think creatively, look for patterns related to the number ten, and refine strategies based on change. The game consists of a game board and 10 plastic frogs that are placed on the lilly pads. The two students take turns picking up either one or two frogs on their turn. It is their choice of how many to select. The goal is to be the person who picks up the last 1 or 2 frogs.

Butterfly Release

Today we said good-bye to our butterflies. We had 9 caterpillars spin chrysalises, and we waited patiently for them to emerge in the butterfly pavillion. Five of the butterflies were released today, but unfortunately not all of them survived. The students were very excited to crawl inside the tent with the insects. They loved seeing them up close.

We are finalizing our insect book this week and I hope to have it shipped and bound over Fall Break. I for one am glad to finally be done with all the little critters in our classroom. Thank you for your support, and for graciously sending in bugs for the last few weeks. I know the children have enjoyed this project and learned so much.

Pumpkins

Today First Grade had another Fun Friday rotation and we learned about pumpkins. Did you know that the largest pumpkin ever recorded weighed as much as a small car?

Students practiced estimating and graphing today, as well as subtraction word problems. We learned about the life cycle of pumpkins too.