Jelly Bean Jamboree!

 Greetings! Happy Easter! The students were greeted with quite a surprise today. The Easter Bunny came! He left baskets filled with treats for them. I'm sure you can picture the smiles on their faces! 

In Religion class today, we reviewed the events of Holy Week. We watched a short movie about Holy Week and created a cross with pictures from the events of Holy Week. 

Our Language Arts class centered around jelly beans. We read a book which told the meaning behind the colors of jelly beans. Next, we used jelly beans to measure different objects. Finally, we created a graph of our jelly beans and answered questions about our graph. 

After lunch, we watched It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown. Then, it was time to go home. 

Here is a picture from the cross scene was painted yesterday. 

May everyone have a blessed Easter. See you on Tuesday! 

A Peep-tastic Day!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! We had a peep-tastic day in first grade! 

Our focus in Religion today was the events of Good Friday. We talked about how Jesus was arrested and how he carried his cross up the hill. We also talked about how he was nailed to the cross and died. We created a cross scene to remember these events. 

Our Language Arts class centered around Peeps today! Each student adopted a Peep. He/she created a nest for it, named the Peep, and watched the Peep all day. We also did a graphing exercise with peeps which helped us review tally charts and picture graphs. Finally, the students worked in Peep centers. They used place value blocks to show various numbers, identified whether the word had a short or long vowel sound, and matched synonyms. 

This afternoon was our Haiti reward of a movie. We really enjoyed A Bug's Life. 

Have a great night!

An Egg-cellent Day!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone enjoyed the sunshine today. We had an egg-cellent day in first grade. 

We began our day by going to Adoration. It is the perfect week to spend some quiet time with Jesus. 

When we returned to the classroom, we continued learning about the events on Holy Thursday. Today, we focused on the Last Supper. We learned that the meal was simple, just bread and wine. We also learned that we remember what Jesus said and did at the Last Supper every time we go to Mass. 

Our Language Arts class centered around Easter eggs. We began by doing the 'What's in My Egg?' activity. The students wrote some very good clues. We enjoyed guessing what was in each other's eggs. Then, the students worked in Easter egg theme centers. Working in groups, they determined the number of syllables in words, made compound words, counted coins in Easter eggs, and unscrambled letters to make a sight word. They students worked so well together and enjoyed each station. They were surprised when I said it was time for lunch. 

In Math class today, we began our chapter on shapes. We reviewed the names of shapes. Next week, we will begin a deeper dive into shapes and their attributes. 

Have a good night! 

Jesus' Call to Serve!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. 

In Religion class, we continued our study of Holy Week. Today, we focused on Holy Thursday, particularly Jesus' call to serve. We talked about how Jesus washed the Apostles' feet and then commanded them to follow his example. We talked about how Jesus calls us to serve one another. We made a simple craft reminding us of his call. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we are reading about buildings. We began by learning our oral vocabulary words (project, structure, contented, intend, marvelous). We then worked on retelling as we read a folktale. Following that, we learned how to blend and read words with the diphthongs oi and oy, words like coin and boy. Next, we learned our new sight words (above, build, fall, knew, money, toward). Finally we read The Joy of a Ship which helped us practice our new skills. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned about prepositions. We practiced using them in sentences. We also learned about paragraphs particularly the sentences in a paragraph. Then, together, we wrote a persuasive paragraph on why we love Easter. 

In Math class today, we learned how to solve problems using the guess and check method. The key is to not give up and keep trying until we find the answer. 

Have a great night! 

Learning About Holy Week!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful spring day we had. It was also a great day for Opening Day in baseball. Unfortunately, the Pirates lost, but there are still 161 games left. Things will get better! 

In Religion class, we began our study of Holy Week. Today, we focused on Palm Sunday. We talked about how Jesus rode into Jerusalem and how the people waved palm branches and shouted 'hosana'. We made a palm branch to help us remember his triumphant entry into the city. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with the diphthongs ou and ow and words ending in -er and -est, and wrote sentences using our sight words. To build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklet. We also took our weekly assessment and practiced using a, an, this, and that in sentences. 

In Math class today, we wrapped up our chapter on graphs by taking our test. Next, we will turn our attention to shapes. 

In Social Studies class, we learned the difference between city, town, and rural areas. We sorted pictures based on where we would find them. 

Have a great weekend! 

A Wonderful Wednesday!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone had a wonderful day! 

In Religion class today, we talked about how our faith in Jesus helps us. We read about how Jesus helped the Centurion's servant because of his faith. 

In Language Arts class, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words, read words with the diphthongs ou and oi, spelled and read words ending in -er and -est, and read our sight words. To build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read Whistle for Willie. After reading that story, we completed pages in our Reading/Writing Workshop that focused on cause and effect. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced using a, an, this, and that in sentences. 

In Math class today, we reviewed picture graphs and tally charts. We practiced making both and answered questions about the data. 

We ended our day with Music class. Today, we talked about different voices. We practiced using our whisper, speaking, singing, and calling voices. 

Have a great night! 

Writing About Spring!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! The children really enjoyed the warm weather yesterday as many told me of their fun in the sun. 

In Religion class today, we talked about what it means to believe in Jesus. We said that we believe in Jesus because we trust him and because he is the Son of God. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about sound. We began by learning our five new oral vocabulary words (volume, senses, distract, nervous, and squeaky). Then we worked on retelling as we listened to a story about a squeaky bed. After that, we learned how to blend and read words with the diphthongs ou and ow, words like cow and out. Following that, we learned our new sight words for the week (color, early, instead, nothing, oh, thought). We ended our morning working on our fluency skills as we read Now, What's That Sound?

This afternoon in Language Arts, we learned when to use a and an in sentences. We also wrote about what we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch in spring. 

In Math class today, we reviewed graphs. We looked at the data on graphs and answered questions about them. 

Have a great night!