Pajama Day

Today we had Pajama Day as a reward for our first 10 Castle Coins. We read the book Ira Sleeps Over, a story about a little boy's first sleepover. Even though we were relxed in our pjs, we still spend the day learning.

What a Snowy Weekend

Well, fortunately we didn't get as much snow as they said we might. Several students will be out this week due to family vacations, so a lot of our work will be review. I am also continuing to meet with students regarding their reading levels.

Today we read another Jan Brett book, Daisy Comes Home. Students have been anxiously looking for Hedgie in Jan's books and are keeping track of where she is on large chart paper in the room. Hedgie is found in all but 3 of Jan's books, but sometimes is very difficult to find.

In math we practiced using money by learning some new games. These games give the children hands-on experience identifying and counting coins.

I'm Back!

Today was my first day back since my maternity leave. It was an emotional day for me. I was happy to see all of the children and they were so excited to see me too. I know they will miss Miss Dishon as well. I am impressed with how well they are reading now. I had individual conferences with about 1/3 of the students and we chose new books for their book bags. I will be working with the remaining children next week.

We took our second set of quarterly assessments today in math and language arts. I am anxious to get the results, as well as review the first set. Other activities we did today were minute math, journal writing about our favorite part of school, and what we want to learn about next. We also read one of my favorite Jan Brett books, The Umbrella. We will continue to read her beautifully illustrated books next week. I shared with the class that I met Jan Brett a couple years ago and spent the day with her when she visited Indianapolis on her book tour. This afternoon I read a non-fiction book about reindeer, and we created a chart listing lots of facts we learned about this animal. The students made some great connections between reindeer and other animals such as cows and penguins.

Hope you have a great weekend. We're supposed to get a lot of snow, so stay safe and warm.

busy times in first grade!

We are always keeping busy in First Grade! Our reading and writing skills are coming along quite nicely. Our new author of the month for November is Tomie dePaola. We have already read many of his books, including the chapter book On My Way. In writing, we have been focusing on "stretching our story out", or adding more details to our writing. So many of the children have shown a great deal of improvement in their writing recently.

In Math this month, we have been using hands-on activities to work on place value. Many of the children already had a good foundation in this from Kindergarten. As always, we are constantly reviewing and practicing our previously acquired skills in addition, subtraction, time, and money.

In Science, the students have watched their mealworms go through their lifecycle (larva, pupa, adult beetle) and we now have a large container of darkling beetles to observe. The students will continue to observe their beetles as they lay eggs and the lifecycle continues. This has really been a great opportunity of discovery for your children! Throughout the process, we have also learned about other cycles as well, including apples, frogs, and seasons.

In Social Studies, we are beginning our unit on Native Americans. The children will be making pocket books representing many of the different tribes. They are very excited to begin the process and can't wait until they can take their books home to share with you!

Thanks for all your help with the turkeys! They were so creative!

Mealworms

I apologize for not posting in a while, but things have been very hectic! I will also try to post some pictures soon.

Last week in Science, we began a mealworm project. Each student was given two mealworms to care for and observe over the next several weeks. Students are keeping a calendar and journal to record any changes they notice in their mealworms. I have not told them what will happen with their mealworms, so the students are learning through discovery. They have been so excited about the project!

This week in Math, we began subtraction. We have been using hands-on activities as well as a concrete follow up activity to practice. The students are doing a great job!

In Social Studies, we have been learning about civics and government. The students are developing an understanding of who the President is and what his job is.

Also, just a reminder that library books are due every Monday.