Monday, August 31, 2015

Collect 20

Students jumped right into a math game this morning, called Collect 20!  Partners worked together, taking turns rolling a die and collecting that many tokens. The game was over when they had accumulated 20 tokens. This was a great game to practice our counting skills.  
We also practiced counting by tens to 110, going forward and backward.  A great skill to practice while riding in the car!!

3 Ways to Read a Book

First graders reviewed the three different ways to read a book today as we began laying the foundations for our Reader's Workshop. After reviewing the three ways (ask your child to explain them to you!  Hint: read the words, read the pictures, and retell the story), students were able to practice reading a book using one of the three ways.  They did an amazing job doing this quietly and in a very focused manner!

Friday, August 28, 2015

And Day Three!!!

First Graders had another wonderful day today, which completed a fantastic first week back at school!  During literacy they began creating a page for a class Big Book project. At math time they were finally able to explore and use their math workbooks.  And at the end of the day they started a science journal and put their observation skills to the test!  They closely examined the baby monarch caterpillars that we are hosting in our classroom!  
A HUGE thank you goes out to Lila's family for finding, and sending in, three monarch caterpillars for us to observe!!  What an exciting study we have going on!!



Thursday, August 27, 2015

Day Two!!

First Graders spent some time exploring and playing with various math tools that we will be using throughout the year.  They were very engaged as they made their intricate designs and creations. 



First Graders listened to the story, I Like Myself, this morning, and then shared something special about themselves with the class.  They also worked on a personal super hero sheet. 


And finally, first graders were introduced to the first Theme unit of the year, the life cycle of the monarch butterfly.  Hopefully you found the letter that was sent home today describing what a monarch caterpillar looks like, and how to try and find one out in nature. Students also got to take a peak at the very tiny caterpillars that are now loving in our classroom!  


Wednesday, August 26, 2015

First Day 2015

What an amazing first day of First Grade!!  It was so exciting to have our class together and begin our adventure of this school year.  
Our first Read Aloud of the year was First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg. It's all about being nervous on the first day of school, and when you find out just who it is that is nervous, it's quite a surprise!!  Ask you child to explain!  After listening to the story, students were invited to draw something that either excited them or gave them jitters about their first day.  
We are off to a great start and we can't wait for Day 2!!