Math Tunes!

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful, rainy day! The kids enjoyed inside recess. They are very excited to make a tree out of hand-prints.  I couldn't believe how many students chose to use recess time to trace their hands!

Today, we talked about grouping objects and counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's. The students greatly enjoyed singing songs to review this skill.  The counting by 10's song was a CD; however, I wanted to post the other two songs for your enjoyment at home!

Counting by 2's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wwydguSKOU

Counting by 5's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_awKlEMyleA


Spelling City is updated with this week's spelling list. This is a great resource in order to review and learn the spelling words weekly!

Have a wonderful evening!

Happy Weekend!

We were very busy elves today! Students completed a "Brown Bag Report" related to Biscuit. Ask your child to tell you the sounds that the following blends make: dr, fr, tr, cl, sl, and fl. We read How the Grinch Stole Christmas and completed some reading comprehension activities related to the story. Your child has some "Grinch Dust" in his or her folder to help keep the Grinch away on Christmas Eve!  I am certain you will enjoy having the dust around your home!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Fire Safety/Columbus Day

Happy Christopher Columbus Day! Ask your student why we still celebrate Christopher Columbus in 2012!

This week is Fire Safety Week and we will be having a special program tomorrow afternoon that will help us remember to stay safe both at home and at school.

I just updated Spelling City with this week's spelling words and sight words. If you are looking for a fun way to review the spelling words, click on the Spelling City link to the right of this post.

Have a wonderful evening!

Don't forget that we have the Book Fair tomorrow from 1:30 until 2:00! You are welcomed to come help your student shop!

Today, your student is bringing home letter cards that we cut in class. We made several words with them. Tonight, you could review the phonics skills we are learning by telling your student words that they can make.  Suggested words: rat, mat, pat, sat, tap, rap, map, nap, ran, man, pan.

Have a wonderful wet night!

Our First Grade Blog

Welcome to our class blog! I am very excited to use this tool to communicate information to you throughout the week! Please reference this page for information regarding upcoming special events, assignments, and tidbits about our day! Some of my favorite educational websites are posted under "Links to Learning." Students love using these websites to learn during the school day and would benefit from visiting the websites at home! I hope you and your student enjoy the blog!

Have a wonderful evening! :-)

Summer is here!

I am sitting in our classroom, checking over report card comments, and missing my little first grade friends! It feels so strange for the room to be empty at this time of day. I am very proud of their accomplishments this school year. I don't know if I have ever had a group of students who had so much enthusiasm about reading! I hope to keep this blog updated throughout the summer. Who knows what kind of trouble Brady the dog might get into that I will need to report!


Enjoy your summer and keep in contact with me through my email address! edgarj@cmsd.k12.pa.us

First Grade Preview!

My computer CRASHED yesterday, and I was not able to print the preview! They are bringing a new computer first thing Monday morning, so I'll be able to send a letter home! Now that we've finished the readingn series, we'll be reviewing a lot of the concepts we have covered throughout the school year over the course of the next couple of weeks. I'm really excited to have this time to review!

Yesterday, we continued practicing the "oi/oy" sounds by writing words in soil! If you child came home with dirty hands, you now know the cause! I found this idea on a fun teacher blog I follow!



The students did a FABULOUS job with DIBELS testing this past week! I can't wait for you to see their scores!


Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Monday! We have had a lot going on in first grade! Our field trip to Oglebay Good Zoo was a blast! We had beautiful weather and the program we saw about habitats was very interesting! We continued discussing habitats today in class. You can find some more information about several habitats and animals that live in them on enchanted learning. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/rainforest/animals/Sampling.shtml

Today, "That Guy with the Birds" came to our school! He had a very interesting program and the birds were hilarious!!! Your child may be interested to check out his website: http://www.budwings.com/.
Here is a video with some of  the birds! One bird does a little bit of talking and funny laughing! Your child will definitely be curious to see this! http://www.wqed.org/ondemand/onq.php?id=10. (You'll probably have to copy the link and paste it into your browser.)

 I'm doubtful that we will have Field Day tomorrow due to the wet conditions, but we will see!

Have a great night!

Reminders!

• We will be taking the spelling test on Thursday this week due to the field trip to Oglebay on Friday! 

• Our field trip is this Friday, May 11th! Please make sure your child wears his/her Field Day shirt and brings their lunch if you indicated this on the permission slip! I cannot wait for this fun trip!!!!

• We will try again to have Field Day next Tuesday, May 15th! Please remember students can bring sunglasses, hats, and wear sunscreen! Please make sure your child wears his/her Field Day t-shirt!

Fun Phonics Review Ideas

In stations today we completed some fun phonics review activities that you could do at home!  I made bags with gel, glitter, and food coloring. Students wrote the sounds I dictated on the outside of the bags. All you need to do is gather hair gel from the dollar store, glitter, and some food coloring. I would suggest saying the following sounds and having your child write the letters that make the sounds on the bag: /ar/, /or/, /ir/, /ur/, /er/, /ue/, /ew/, /ay/, /ai/, /oa/, /ow/, /igh/, /ie/, etc... You could then say words with the above sounds in them and have your child write the sounds they hear in the middle of the words.

We played a "cup toss game."  Students tossed counters into cups. They had to say the sounds printed on the cups and say a word that had the sounds in it.  This would be a fun review activity to complete at home!

Happy Friday Eve! :-)

I'm so sorry it has been so long....

It was been a very busy couple of weeks. I apologize for the long break I have taken from this blog! We have been learning some very exciting things in first grade.

Although we have taken the chapter 9 test and have completed the money unit, please continue to practice counting on with coins at home.  This is a skill students will need to remember for second grade as well as every grade that follows! :-)

The B.A.B.E.S program is in full swing. Ask your child what they are learning about during B.A.B.E.S. at school.

We are working hard to remember to be "Bucket Fillers" to our friends and family. Students want to fill other people's buckets by doing and saying nice things to them!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Happy Friday!

We had a very busy week and are getting ready to start yet another busy, fun week! I can't wait for next week. It is so much fun to have time to review concepts we have been learning through the use of games and seasonal activities! Students will be reviewing the long vowel spelling patterns and taking dictation quizzes to demonstrate their knowledge of the patterns. We have some fun stations ahead as well as a few interesting writing projects! Next week we will be taking the Unit 5 Skills Test since we have completed Unit 5. Where is the time going? Our spelling test will consist of 10 of the 15 sight words listed on the First Grade Preview. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of students knowing how to spell their sight words this year and in years to come!

My favorite "spring" activity of all time is having students fill eggs and seeing if we are able to guess what happens to be inside the egg. We will get to complete this activity on Wednesday.  On Monday, I can't wait to see students dress "foolishly." I have a couple of April Fool's Day tricks up my sleeve!

Don't forget about the Book Order that is due on Wednesday!


Have a wonderful weekend!

Money, Money, Money, Money!

We started our chapter that covers money yesterday. We were counting on with nickels and pennies. Today, we are counting dimes.  Please continue to practice counting by 1's, 5's, and 10's. It would be beneficial to practice going from counting by 10's to 5's to 1's with your child. For example, students may have to add three dimes, two nickels, and four pennies. They would say, "10, 20, 30, 35, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44."  Eventually, we will be counting on from quarters! Practice starting at 25 and counting on by tens, fives, and ones.  Put a stack of coins on the table and tell your child to hunt for all of the dimes or all of the quarters. Students seem to confuse nickels and quarters often.

We have been discussing the concepts of reducing, reusing, and recycling! If the rain comes as they have predicted, you could work on reusing some garbage you have around your house!

Have a wonderful first full weekend of spring!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Happy Spring!

What a beautiful day we have been blessed with! I am hoping this weather sticks around a while longer!

Today we continued talking about compound words.  As you read with your child, draw attention to compound words from time to time. This will help students retain this concept.

We wrote in our journals about what we would do if we had a pet dinosaur. Students had to use adjectives to make the sentences more interesting.  Needless to say, I had a few chuckles while editing journals today!

Don't forget to study for the math test tomorrow! I know it will be difficult to stay on task with this beautiful weather! Hopefully everyone will get the chance to go outside!

If you have shoe boxes at home, please send them to school with your child. I only have three shoe boxes right now.  I may be taking a trip to buy some new shoes! :-) Obviously I'm kidding! We'll just wait to do the project until we collect enough shoe boxes!

I hope you've had a great first day of spring!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We have had a very busy, yet fun couple of days! Yesterday, we set made traps and left them out for the leprechaun.  Unfortunately, we were not able to trap him; however, he messed our room up and left golden chocolate for us! He messed up our room and wrote a message on the chalkboard. He is a sneaky little guy!

We thought about a thing that is green.  Students wrote clues on a shamrock and we had to guess what "green thing" they were describing!

If you have shoe boxes at home, please send them to school! We are going to make dioramas and need a shoe box for each child.

Have a wonderful weekend! I hope you are able to get out and enjoy this fabulous weather!

New Math Review Website

If you go to http://www.dadsworksheets.com/, you can find some good review activities for first grade math concepts. If your child is advanced, you could go to an older great level to find review activities.  I will post the link on the side of the blog as well!


I hope you are all getting the opportunity to enjoy this beautiful weather!

Check out the "Family Times" that is sent home on Mondays. It has some great review activities that you could complete with your child. I use some of the activities in class to reinforce the new skills.

Today in math we were sorting by shape, size, and color.  Before completing our math activity, students were divided into three groups. The groups had to decide how they would sort themselves. It was fun for the rest of us to guess how they were sorted.  It took us a long time to figure out that one group was sorted based on whether or not their front teeth were missing! This was VERY creative! 

Thank you to everyone who came and read to the class. The kids had a wonderful time listening to a variety of stories and getting some insider information about your children! :-)

Dr. Seuss, Seussy Synonyms, Contraction Surgery, Accelerated Reader

I am so sorry that it has been a while since I have posted! We have been very busy completing various learning activities and there is a lot to write about!

We have been learning about contractions. On Thursday, we selected a "patient" and cut apart the letters. We stitched them back together in order to make contractions. Some letters had to disappear while an apostrophe filled in the empty spaces.  I took some cute pictures of your little doctors with masks and gloves. Students were extremely excited about this activity and we will be doing it again in the near future!

 

Friday was Dr. Seuss Day! We have read several Dr. Seuss books and completed several activities related to his books. We completed rhyming activities, completing a "Seussy Synonyms" game, played "I Have, Who Has" with our sight words, and made Thing 1 and Thing 2 with our handprints! We topped the day off with a "Green Eggs and Ham" themed snack. It was quite a fun day.

This class has done an excellent job using the Accelerated Reader program! I am amazed with their accuracy in taking quizzes as well as their enthusiasm toward the program.  It is exciting to see their growth in the area of reading comprehension as they practice reading stories and answering questions related to the stories!

Happy Friday!

We had a very busy, exciting short week! Time flies when you're having fun!  This week, we talked about adding -ed to the end of words when we are talking about something that happened in the past. We learned when to double the final consonant and when to leave it the way it is. Ask your child if they can tell you the rule.  We continued talking about words with the "long e" sound and continued talking about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Students had very interesting questions about George Washington and good old Abraham Lincoln! We completed a math review activity today to get ready for the test on Monday. I think we are going to rock this math test! I don't like giving tests on Mondays; however, I don't want us to fall behind.

Next week, we will be celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday. Feel free to send Dr. Seuss books in with your child. Please write your last name on the inside of the cover so we can make sure the books are returned to their proper owners!

We have some fun projects coming up in the near future. If you have extra cotton balls or Band-Aides at home, feel free to send them our way!

Enjoy your weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day!

It is such a special day to be a teacher! I feel so blessed to spend the day with my 22 valentines! :-) We read the story, Will You Be My Valenswine? and completed several Valentine's Day themed academic activities. The PFA was kind enough to provide a heart cookie for all of the students! I can't wait to have students pass out their valentines later today! I still remember doing this when I was in school.  I'm sure most of you do as well!

Have a wonderful night!!! 

Hundredth Day!

We had a great time celebrating hundredth day yesterday! When students walked in, they were instructed to find 4 Hershey Kisses that were hidden around the classroom.  We kept track of the 100 Hershey Kisses on a 100's chart.  Students read 100 words with partners, rolled the dice to tally numbers up to 100, built towers with 100 Dixie Cups, and made pictures of what they will look like when they are 100 years old! We still need to finish doing our writing.  Some students were pretty convincing as senior citizens! I was very impressed with their costumes!

Today, we continued talking about the numbers up to 100 in math and talked about the long u sound.  Please continue to practice counting to 100 by 2's, 5's, and 10's.

Students have a day off tomorrow! It sounds like they may have some snow to play with!

Have a wonderful evening! 

Happy Groundhog Day! (Yesterday!)

Yesterday, we talked about groundhogs and discussed the burrows they hibernate in. We created our own burrows and wrote about them. One student added a disco ball to his burrow! We had elevators, hot tubs, and food courts in many burrows! One burrow even  had a security system!

Monday is 100th day. I look forward to it each year. We are going to make pictures of what we will all look like when we are 100. Eating 100 pieces of cereal together will be great fun and I have many other fun surprise activities! I sent home a letter today telling students to bring 100 pieces of their favorite cereal, 100 items of their choice, and dress like they will look when they are 100! Suggestions are provided in the letter. I may add a little baby powder to my hair to make it look gray.  This should be a really fun day!

Don't forget about sending in money for the American Cancer Society "Daffodil Days." What an amazing organization and event!

 I need to get my lesson plans finished and get home! Have a wonderful weekend!

We had a wonderful day in first grade today! Students wrote a letter to Punxsutawney Phil (say that ten times fast!) telling him what he misses out on while he is sleeping! One student told him that he is missing her dad's birthday! We made predictions as to whether or not Phil will see his shadow in the morning. I am crossing my fingers!

Don't forget about the donations for the American Cancer Society. What a wonderful cause!

I finally updated Spelling City, so give it a visit! :-)

Poor Mrs. Allen is still out sick. I am hoping she is able to come back tomorrow.

 We started talking about Groundhog Day today and shadows.  I was very amazed with everything students already knew about shadows and groundhogs! I can't wait to continue discussing this interesting phenomenon this week. We will make  predictions about the groundhog on Wednesday! I cannot wait to find out if he sees his shadow! We are going to be writing a letter to Phil letting him know everything he has missed while he has been hibernating!

The copy machine was not working on Friday, and I was not able to print the First Grade Preview. I am hoping it will be fixed today and I will be able to print the letter!

I apologize for not keeping up with my blog.  I have been staying busy in the classroom with grades, activities, RTii, and many other things.  I promise to get back into the groove and post more often. 

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, concerns,etc...

Today we completed a "craftivity" related to There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow. I can't wait for you to see them!

We have class pictures tomorrow! Tell your child to bring their best smile!


Have a wonderful evening!

 Flag Ceremony Article Links

http://canon-mcmillan.patch.com/articles/elementary-students-given-special-military-thank-you

http://canon-mcmillan.patch.com/articles/elementary-students-given-special-military-thank-you

·         There is no school on Monday to a teacher clerical day.

·         Don’t forget to bring in Box Tops! The class who has the most Box Tops receives a donut party.

·         Class pictures will be on Wednesday!

·         Report Cards will be going home on Friday. Please sign the envelope and return it to school. The copy of the report card is yours to keep. 

·         We have a student teacher coming on Tuesday! Her name is Mrs. Allen and she will be a great addition to our classroom! If your child is looking for a craft over the three day weekend, I would suggest that they make her a little card welcoming her! J

·         Please send gloves to school with your child next week. I know they often lose them, but we are going to do some activities with snow and it will be uncomfortable for them to touch it without gloves. (This activity will take place in the classroom!)

·         On Friday, we are going to have a snowman birthday party! I will send more information on Tuesday. We will need large marshmallows (snowballs), mini-marshmallows, chocolate milk (since snowmen can’t drink hot chocolate!), and vanilla ice cream cups. If you are willing to send any of these items, please let me know! Thank you very much!

WEAR RED, WHITE, and BLUE for the flag ceremony tomorrow!

Humane Society Fundraiser

Happy Valentine's Day from Washington Area Humane Society! Dear WAHS Supporters- Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year!  It is time for our Valentine's Day card fundraiser.  For $6 you can provide a treat for a shelter dog and cat plus send the special people in your life a Valentine's Day card.  This beautiful card will include a picture of one of our shelter dogs or cats and also a personalized message from you.  Attached is the order form.  We hope you all will support our shelter animals by sending cards to your loved ones.  Valentine's Day card order form Thank you from Washington Area Humane Society!   Washington Area Humane Society PO Box 66 Eighty Four, Pennsylvania 15330

Today we read There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow and wrote what we would swallow if we were cold ladies and gentlemen. I cannot wait to read what all of the kids wrote! Tomorrow, we will finish our writing and work on a little "craftivity."

Happy Tuesday!

We had a great day today! We took our spelling test, reading comprehension test, and completed several Gingerbread activities.  I am very impressed with the creative Gingerbread Man stories students wrote! Ask your child to tell you about the egg cracking experiment we did when we talked about Martin Luther King.  

Have a wonder long weekend!

 

You and your family are invited to scurry over to Petco for Meet the Critters on January 14th and 15th. This event will feature educational interaction

with a variety of small animals including hamsters, betta fish, leopard geckos and parakeets!

The fun-filled weekend will teach: • Which animals make great first pets • What pets are good for children and families • How to care for small animals