Talking Like a Pirate!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! Happy March! It is hard to believe that another month is upon us! 

In Religion class today, we learned the Great Commandment: to love God, love others, and love ourselves. We talked about various ways we can love God, others, and ourselves. We also created a giant heart to help us remember this commandment. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week, we are reading about ways to sort and classify things. We began by learning our oral vocabulary words (classify, distinguish, entire, organize, startled). Then, we worked on making predictions as we read the classic fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Following that, we learned how to blend and read r-controlled -ar words; we really enjoyed talking like a pirate as we read them. We ended our morning by learning our new sight words (four, large, none, only, put, round). 

This afternoon we read A Barn Full of Hats. I just love seeing their fluency grow and become more expressive. After that, we talked about how to combine sentences using and, but, and or. 

In Math class today, we learned how to subtract with regrouping. We did great taking one away from the tens. We want to take one away from the ones as well. We are working on adding a ten to the given ones already. We will continue to practice tomorrow. 

We ended our day with some Dr. Seuss fun. I just love celebrating this week with the students. Each day, we will read a story and do an activity associated with the book. Today, we read Horton Hears a Who. We wrote about how we can be kind like Horton. We are working on adding our writing to a craft. 

Have a wonderful night! 

Wash Away the Germs!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great day to end the week. We had one awesome, busy day in first grade today. 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian talked to us about the importance of forgiveness. 

After Mass, nursing students from St. Francis University visited first grade. They talked to us about germs. They showed us how to properly wash our hands and reminded us to cover our coughs and sneezes. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with long e and compound words, and wrote sentences using our sight words. We also read a short nonfiction piece about saving bees. Finally, we took our weekly assessment. 

In Math class today, we learned how to subtract a one digit number from a two digit number. We began by writing the problem vertically. First, we subtract the ones and then we subtract the tens. The children picked this skill up quickly. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today, we made a mosaic rainbow coming out of a pot of gold. The highlight was adding glitter to the gold coins. 

Have a great weekend! 

Forces and Motion!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone enjoyed the snow yesterday. It is already gone! 

In Religion class today, we talked the Bible. We learned that the Bible is a book of stories written by God. We learned that the Bible has two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read long e words spelled with ey and y, read compound words, and read our sight words. We also practiced using our vocabulary words in sentences. After that we read Koko and Penny, a nonfiction story about a gorilla and her caretaker. After reading that story, we wrote about the details in it. Finally, we practiced finding adverbs that tell when in sentences. 

This afternoon we were treated to a program about force and motion. This program was sponsored by the Home and School Association. We learned all about Newton's three laws of motion and gravity and enjoyed watching the various experiments. 

Have a great night! 

The Beatitudes!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is hanging in there. Winter just won't go away! 

In Religion class today, we talked about the Beatitudes. We talked about how Jesus calls us to be humble, kind, and peacemakers in our world. We also talked about the third and fourth Stations. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We began by answering questions using our oral vocabulary words. Then, we used our letter tiles to spell and read long e words spelled with -ey and -y. After that, we learned how to blend and read compound words. We were so excited about compound words that we even found them in Spanish class today. Next, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. Following that, we learned our vocabulary words clever and signal and wrote sentences using those words. Finally, we switched our focus to comprehension. We reread From Puppy to Guide Dog and wrote about what makes the story nonfiction and sequenced the events of how a puppy becomes a guide dog. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced finding adverbs that tell when in sentences. We also wrote sentences with adverbs. 

In Math class today, we continued to practice subtraction by counting backwards. Tomorrow, we will learn how to subtract without regrouping. 

Here is a picture from Friday's Art class.

Have a great night! 

A Delayed Delayed Start!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! Today was quite the surprise. I was not expecting that delay. I am hoping everyone made to and from safely today. 

Even with the late start, we still accomplished a lot today in first grade. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we are reading about how animals help people. We began by learning our new oral vocabulary words (career, soothe, advice, remarkable, trust). Then we worked on retelling as we read a story about a boy training a dog. After that, we learned how to read long e words spelled with ey or y, words like key and happy. 

After lunch, we learned our new sight words (found, hard, near, woman, would, write). Then, we read From Puppy to Guide Dog which helped us practice our new reading skills. Finally, we practiced finding adverbs that tell when in sentences. 

In Math class today, we switched our focus to subtraction. Today, we learned how to count back to solve problems. We used a 100 number chart to help us. 

We finished our day at church praying the Stations of the Cross with our schoolmates. The children did a nice job following along with everyone. 

Have a great night! 

A Heartful Walrus!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great day to end the week. 

At Mass, Fr. Brian reviewed with us the three facets of the Lenten season: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. 

In Language Arts, we wrapped up another week of learning. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, practiced reading vowel team i word, reading and spelling words with inflectional endings where the final y is changed, and wrote sentences using our sight words. To build our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read a nonfiction story about insects and completed pages in our Reading/Writing companion that focused on key details. Finally, we took our weekly assessment and practiced using see and saw in sentences. 

In Math class today, we reviewed adding two two-digit numbers with regrouping. We are doing very well with this skill. 

In Science class, we talked about how our shadow changes during the day because the sun moves. Our shadow is long in the morning, short at lunchtime, and flips and grows long in the afternoon. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today, we made a walrus out of hearts. We then made the walrus look like it was emerging from water. We even painted snow around it. 

Have a great weekend! 

A Fun New Fact!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is doing well tonight. I don't know about you but I was soaked just going from my car to my house tonight! All I can say is that I am glad that it is not snow! 

In Religion class today, we talked about the Good News Jesus told people, that God loves them. We also began our daily Lenten reflection video series. Every day during Lent, we will watch a short Lenten mediation video from Brother Francis. Finally, we started to learn the Stations of the Cross. Each day, we will talk about two stations. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read words with vowel team i, spelled and read words with inflectional endings where the final y is changed to an i, and practiced our sight words. To help us build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read Hi! Fly Guy, which became an instant hit. After reading that story we wrote about how the characters felt in it. Following that, we practiced using see and saw in sentences. Finally, we wrote the steps in making an ice cream sundae. 

In Math class today, we learned how to add two two-digit numbers. The key for us is not to forget the extra ten. 

In Social Studies today, we learned about George Washington. I think their most entertaining fact is that he died when he was 67 years old. I'm sure you can hear the kids saying that now. 

Have a great night!