Week 15

It was a short and snowy week!

To celebrate the end of our "Good Habits" reading unit, the first graders got to choose one of the reading habits that they do best and write it on a sentence strip. Their good habits will be posted on the bulletin board to show off to the school! As we continue to build our reading skills and strategies at school, it is important to encourage and model those good habits when reading at home! 


Reminders: 

 12/15 -- Cozy Cocoa Read-In @ 9:30 - 10:30 am
*If you are interested in volunteering, please let me know!

12/12 -- Auction Art Project @ 9:30- 10:30 am
*A HUGE thank you to Tiffany Hammer, Lindy Nesse and Kim Martin for making this happen!

12/19- 1/2 -- Winter Break! 

1/3 -- School Resumes!

Photos from the week... 

Week 14

We have started our 12 Days of Kindness, which coincides with the 12 days before winter break! We will be adding to our song each day (to the tune of the 12 days of Christmas) and practicing both the song and acts of kindness throughout the next two weeks :)

Our word study unit is up and running and the first graders are building their understanding of phonics through word sorts and picture sorts. We will continue to learn and practice the sorting routines and as we get more familiar, the word study will become more independent. This program will provide skill instruction that will cover spelling patterns and focus on examining and manipulating words, not memorizing them.  Students will be thinking more critically about words and work on transferring their skills to reading and writing. 
 

In math this week we really reinforced our understanding of fact families with making our fact family triangles and playing a game called "missing addends." This is a game you can play at home! There there are 2 "card keepers" who each have a card with a number on it (1-10), but they do not see their own number card. It is the audience's job to figure out the sum of the 2 cards and tell the card keepers. Once they know the sum, the card keepers try to figure out what number is on their card based on the number on the other card. The first graders were really excited about figuring out the missing addends!

Reminders:

*Rock sharing: The next 2 Friday's during the month of December, the first graders can bring in rocks or rock books to share in our "Rock Museum." I will assign two table groups to each Friday. On their assigned Friday, students may bring in their rocks or rock books. The "Rock Museum" will be open at the very beginning of the day and very end of the day. Please bring items in labeled bags.


Friday, December 9 - Blue and Green table groups


Friday, December 16 - Red and Yellow table groups

Here are some photos from the week...

Week 13

Here are some highlights from the very short week...

For science, we continued learning about our igneous rocks. We have been focusing on the features, textures, colors and location of each rock and adding information to our rock journals. The students also got to see what happened to their rocks (basalt, scoria and tuff) when they put them in water. They made great observations about the changes that not only happened to the rocks, but also to the water! The first grade geologists are doing a great job and I am excited to continue our study of rocks!

We ended our short week with our 4th grade buddies. The kiddos enjoyed a popcorn "feast" and shared what they are thankful for. All of the kiddos had lots that they are thankful for :)

Reminders:

11/29 -- PTA Pizzacato Dine Out

Here are some photos from the week...

Week 12

Here are some highlights from the week...

Science is off to a great start! We have started our Rocks, Pebbles, Sand and Silt Unit and the Room 112 geologists got their official rock journals. They explored and sorted 3 different igneous rocks (basalt, scoria, tuff). We will continue exploring rocks and learning how they are formed. The first grade geologists ROCK -- pun intended :)

In math this week we really focused on place value. The first graders are learning and identifying that the different place of a digit represents a different value (34 -- 3 tens and 4 ones). Place value is an important concept as we continue to build our number sense. 

Reminders:

11/23 - 11/25 -- No School - Thanksgiving

Here are some photos from the week...

Week 11

I loved getting the chance to meet with all of you and I am looking forward to continuing to work together to make this a successful year for your students!


The short week started with Grandparents/Special Friends' Day! It was truly special to see and meet all of the guests in Room 112, and the first graders were absolutely beaming! What a great way to start the week :)

On Tuesday we had a busy day filled with writing Veterans Day cards, decorating place-mats for Meals on Wheels with our 4th grade buddies, and participating in a Room 112 election day vote. 

Reminders:

11/14 -- Ms.Soulas gone - Substitute Day
11/15 -- Picture Retakes @ 8:00am 

Here are some photos from Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day...