Creepy Crawlies

This week we started a new science theme....BUGS! While I want nothing to do with any thing that creeps, I do enjoy learning about them! On Monday we learned what exactly makes a bug a bug, and named a few bugs. We then created our own bugs using paper scraps.

Tuesday we learned about ants and how they work together. The students used their fingerprints to make their own ants all over their ant hill. On Thursday some exciting guest came into the classroom, and will be staying for a few weeks. Caterpillars! The students will be observing and writing in journals as the caterpillars go through their life cycle. Hopefully we will be releasing butterflies before spring break...and yes I'm already praying for nice weather!

In phonics the first grade has been reviewing many word families to help assist in fluent reading. They also learned the "ph" sound. We all agree that we speak an odd language. Kindergarten has been learning the "two vowels" rule. My goal is to get this song permanently stuck in their heads, like it is in mine!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fb3Pdt8kxg&t=34s

In math the kindergarten has been focusing on counting money. They all know all four coin names and values. The first grade has started a new unit in math, and are learning some critical thinking and double digit adding and subtraction.

Next week we will continue to study bugs. and will hopefully see the caterpillars weave their chrysalises. Hope everyone has been enjoying the high school play this week, have a nice weekend!

Read Across America

This week was a fun break from the norm with Read Across America Week! We spend the afternoons listening to guest readers, making books, and reading! Here's a few highlights from each day.

Monday: To start off Read Across America, each student brought in their favorite book to share with the class. Three middle school students also came down to share some stories that they had written!

Tuesday: Tuesday was cozy up with a book day! The students enjoyed reading and doing their school work with blankets, pillows, and comfy clothes. In the afternoon, one student's grandmother came in to share one of her favorite books with the class.

Wednesday: We had a lot of guest readers on Wednesday! First, the principal (also a student's parent) came in to share his favorite book with the class. We also had a mom and a grandfather come in to share their stories! The students also worked together to begin creating their own version of the book, A Case of Bad Stripes by David Shannon.

Thursday: We celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday on Thursday. We read many Dr. Seuss books throughout the day, and also did many fun activities with them! We made word family "hats" from Cat and the Hat, made our own creative socks from Fox in Socks, and ate pop corn from Hop on Pop. We also had a guest reader mom and brother come in!

Friday: On Friday the first graders finished up their book, and it is now sitting proudly on our bookshelf. We also had quest reader cousins and moms come in to finish off the week!

Random Acts of Kindness Week

Just warning before the post, I did terrible at taking pictures this week.  We'll blame it on just having too much to worry about my camera, instead of me just being forgetful! The exciting event this week was Random Acts of Kindness. This week was filled with many kind words, caring actions, and thoughtful gifts. It was neat to see the students spend their free time during the day working on things for their RAK person, and then seeing them "sneak" to that person's locker. On Tuesday the students worked hard to make some cookies for their person. Throughout the week, they also made letters sharing their appreciation. The week ended with the whole school circling around and sharing who their special person was that week.

Another special event this week was President's Day on Monday. The students put on their creative hats to share what they would do if they were president. They then dressed them self as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, AND a modern president.

Big news in the Kindergarten phonics! The students are beginning to learn about long vowels and silent "e", They've enjoyed making sneaky "e" creep up on a word, to scare the vowel into saying his name. First grade has just started a new unit in phonics along with a new reader book this week! They have been reading different stories about instruments in a band.

Math has been full of new concepts as well. Kindergarten has been learning about 3D shapes, while first grade has been adding and subtracting double digit numbers. A highlight of the week was an action packed game where the students quickly spotted out the bigger number (and wore out their teacher).

Next week is Read Across America week. We have lots of different guest coming in to share their love for books with them. On Monday all the students should bring in their favorite book to share with the class throughout the week. Tuesday is Cozy Up with a Book Day. All the student can dress comfy and bring a blanket and pillow to cozy up with week. We will be skipping the desk that day! Thursday we will be celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday!

Valentine's Day!

Tuesday was an exciting day for our class! We celebrated Valentine's Day with a little party at the end. With a lot of help from parents, the students enjoyed a fun craft that was a real life angry birds! They also did a water color craft of a heart with a cross in it. A highlight of any Valentine's Day party is giving and receiving cards. The students were each so creative with making their own Valentine's mailbox, and were full energy when receiving cards from students!

Another exciting thing that happened this week was the beginning of our Random Acts of Kindness week (or RAK). Each student received the name of someone they were to give extra kindness to this week. The students have been having fun making cards and earning prizes to give to their RAK person. This will go on until next Thursday.

With Monday being President's Day, we have also started learning about presidents this week. George Washington and Abraham Lincoln have been our focus. The first graders have learned so much about these presidents, that they did their own Trivia Game Show to test their knowledge!

This week has been full of excitement, and I can't wait to see what next week brings!

Celebrating Love

We kicked off our week doing lots of activities with a Valentine's theme. In phonics, the First Graders spent time preparing and writing stories about someone that they love in phonics. They also have been spending time learning and reading words with the "ow" sound. The Kindergartners practiced hearing initial and ending sounds with a Valentine's themed BINGO using candy hearts, As of this week, they've also learned all their "h" blends (sh, ch, th, and wh).

 Both grades also created a Valentine for a family or friend. For the cover of their card, they rolled paper around with beans and paint to make a neat marble effect.

The excitement on her face is priceless!

We've also enjoyed a few science activities centered around Valentine's day. We asked questions, made hypothesis, and took observation notes when we watched candy hearts placed in different liquids. A few observations we made is that hearts sink and then float to the top in Coke, changes water colors, sink in rubbing alcohol, and get a little fizzy in vinegar. On Wednesday the first graders noticed that each liquid actually dissolves the hearts in a different way!

After reading a book about a man trying so hard, but always failing at a getting a card to his Valentine, we discovered ways we could move Valentines using a foam boat. The students tested different ways to move the boat in water using air, water, and magnets. They then planned their own ways to move the boat!

Our week was cut short with a snow day on Thursday and delay on Friday (thanks Punxsutawney Phil!). But I hope everyone enjoyed the day off! Next week is our Valentine's Party on Tuesday, and we will then start our Random Acts of Kindness Week on Thursday.

100 Days of School!

While we did lots of fun things this week, I'm going to focus on Monday. It was the 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL! It's hard to believe that we've already been in school 100 days. Its was neat to look back through the school year and see how much was learned. The Kindergartners were proud to share how much they've grown in reading over the year! To celebrate the day, we did lots of fun activities!

After singing about 100 and counting 100, the students made their own books about 100th day. They answers many 100 themed questions like... If you were a superhero, what would you carry 100 of, what could you eat 100 of, what would you NEVER eat 100 of? It was fun seeing their answers,

For snack, the students each got 10 pieces of 10 different snacks. Making 100 snacks! I'm glad to say there was plenty left over!

Another activity we did was a 100 day scavenger hunt. The students hunted around the classroom to find number 1-100! The most one student got was 84!

The students also made 100 looking glasses. Now they really look ready to learn!

For Bible time, we read the 100th song, and made a joyful noise with lots of Sunday School songs! Also at the end of the day, the student rotated between 100 themed activities. They painted 100 dots on a paper, made towers with 100 cups, and tried to see how many different things they could do in 100 seconds.

Also, our principal joined us for a round of spelling sparkle with the first grade on Friday. And he won! The kids think pretty highly of him!

From Sea to Shining Sea

It's been a whirlwind of a week in kindergarten/first grade (isn't it always!). In phonics the kindergartners have been working on more consonant blends (pl, fl, and tr). There reading vocabulary is really growing between these and new sight words. They have started to read some beginner-readers from the library! First grade has been finishing up their "Bossy R" section, and are learning more about antonyms and months. One day to help their fluency, they read from their reader books at a podium, just like the president! Both grades enjoyed a review game of "Stinky Feet" this week, which is always a favorite!

In math, kindergarten has been learning about the 30, 40, and 50 number families. A few of them have really shown an interest in money during free time, as they always want to count coins! We might have some future bankers on our hands! First graders have been learning more about weight (ounces and pounds) and how to add double digit numbers. They feel pretty grown up, and they're right! Did these really use to be my kindergartners?

We have been traveling across the county in social studies this week. We made homemade butter at Plymouth Rock, compared the White House to KA in Washington DC, and made leis in Hawaii. The first graders also wrote about their dream vacation in the USA.

This past month the Kindergartners, have been memorizing their address. Last week they were able to say their address when prompted to in a song. This week however, all 4 kindergartners were able to say their address without help! Good job!

The First Graders made a trip to More Than Mail this Friday to deliver a package they have been working on to Missionaries in Mexico. In it was colored pages, a letter from the class, and stickers! They all received an receipt with a tracking number, so we can follow the package next week! If you want to follow it at home, just look up the number on the USPS tracking service.

Next Monday is our 100th day of school! Wow this year has gone fast! I'm excited to do lots of fun activities, and see what everyone brings in!