Happy Halloween, 2nd Edition

Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope everyone is doing well this week. It has been a bit of a disjointed week, but hopefully this is the worst it will get this winter. 

Today, first grade learned how to read long i words. We were visited again by our good friend Magic E to help us read these words. 

We also practiced today for our All Saints' Day Prayer Service tomorrow. We are all excited to dress up as our patron saint and hear what our 8th grade friends have to say about them. We hope you will all be able to join us tomorrow for the service. It begins at 1:00. 

Just a quick note about the prayer service, the students will process out at the end of it. Then, after a few minutes, the students will be led back into the church for a group picture in front of the altar. Don't forget your camera! 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween (a few days early)! We had a spooktacular time in first grade celebrating Halloween today. First, thank you to all of the parents who helped with the party. Thank you for taking the time to organize the games and crafts and taking time to be with the students. The students and I really had a fun time. 

Well, here is the picture of our pumpkin. I hope everyone has a great weekend. Be safe trick or treating and don't eat too much candy! 

Monstrous Writing!

This week in Writing class we have been working on monster writing. First, we began by creating our very own monsters. Next, we planned our writing by completing a graphic organizer. Finally, we used our organizers to write about our monsters including what our monsters have, what they can do, and what they like to do. I must say, the turned out so amazingly. Here are some pictures of them. 

Well, first grade did it! We successfully moved all of the beans from one jar to the other. So, today we carved our pumpkin. Check back tomorrow for pictures of it. 

Just a reminder that our Halloween festivities begin tomorrow at 1:00 with a parade. We will then have a party in the classroom until 2:15. I can't wait to see everyone's costumes. I wonder what Miss Chalich will be?

Happy Wednesday

Happy Wednesday, everyone. I don't know about you, but this week is flying by for me. I must begin with a big thank you to all the parents and students who participated in the career day today for Red Ribbon Week. It was amazing to see so many students participating in this activity. 

We put our knowledge of magic e to the test today when we read "The Farmer in the Hat." We all laughed at the end of the story when we discovered who was the farmer in the play. 

We also began our studying of the adding 1 facts in Math class today. We discovered that adding 1 is also like counting by 1. 

Just a reminder that Halloween treats are due tomorrow. 

The Magic Continues!

The magic of learning continues in first grade. We continued practicing reading long a words. We are becoming much better at recognizing the long a sound. We also learned today that c and s can have different sounds. 

With Red Ribbon Week in full swing, the students are busy learning about making healthy choices. Yesterday we learned all the things our brain does. And today we talked about things we must do to keep our brains and bodies healthy like eating the right foods, exercising, and getting enough sleep. The festivities continue tomorrow as the students are asked to wear or bring in something that shows what they would like to be when they grow up. Just a reminder that uniforms still must be worn. 

The Magic of e

We had a little bit of magic in Language Arts today. We discovered that when e is at the end of a word, like make, the e makes  the a say its name. For us, 'e' is a magic letter. It took a little while for us to get used to the idea that 'a' can have more than one sound. Practice makes perfect is what I told them today. We will continue practicing reading long a words all week.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Red Ribbon Week fesitivites today. The students really enjoyed wearing the bandannas. Tomorrow's theme is "Stomp out Drugs!" Students can wear sneakers and crazy socks to school.

A Review Day

Greetings! I hope everyone has had a nice week. First grade had a good end to our week. We spent part of our day reviewing things we had learned this week. We reviewed the sounds of sh, th, and al. We also reviewed our double facts. 

We did talk about something new in Religion class and that was the Great Commandment. We talked about how Jesus told us to love God, love ourselves, and love others. I hope you like the mobiles the students made today. 

Next week is Red Ribbon Week. Each day there will be a different theme and activity that the students will participate in. On Monday, our theme is to Band Together Against Drugs. Students are encouraged to wear a headband or bandanna to school on Monday. A flyer with the other activities will come home on Monday. 

Have a great weekend! 

Excited Readers

Well, as I predicted yesterday, our reading story was a huge hit with the students today. They were all smiles reading about Max and Ruby and the trouble Max had in catching a fish. I hope that excitement was still there as they read you the story tonight. 

Just a quick note about tomorrow's dress code. It is a pink shirt dress down day. Students are permitted to wear jeans to school, but they must wear a pink shirt. If they do not have a pink shirt, they may wear a white shirt, and they will receive a pink ribbon to wear. Students may also wear their uniforms. If you have any questions, let me know. 

Today just seemed like an ordinary day in first grade. In Language Arts we learned about the sound al. It took us a little getting used to, but once we got the hang of it we were off and reading. We also practiced our sight words for the week. 

It is amazing seeing the children's writing skills develop. Today, they wrote a sentence describing a picture. Many of them used vivid verbs and adjectives to describe it. They are becoming such wonderful writers. 

We are all looking forward to our reading story tomorrow since it is about Max and Ruby. I'm sure we'll be laughing and smiling. 

Happy Monday!

Greetings, everyone, and welcome to a new week in first grade. Like always, first grade was busy learning new and exciting things today. In Language Arts, we learned the sounds for the letters sh and th. In Math, we continue to practice our double facts. Tonight we have our very first fact homework assignment.

We also held a class meeting today to discuss what it means to be a good friend. We talked about how friends share, say polite things, and include everyone. We all promised to do our part and be good friends!

So Much to Share

Friday was such a busy day in first grade. In Religion we continued our discussion on how Jesus healed many people. The students created a picture with Jesus in the center and wrote the names of 4 people who they would like to pray for around Jesus. The highlight was adding the band aids. Here is a picture of what they did. 

Today also marked the end to Fire Safety Week. Not only did we have a fire drill but also some of the firefighters came to talk to us about safety. With them, we practiced stop, drop, and roll, crawling under smoke, and trying on the fire gear. Back in the classroom, we finished our mini fire safety books and wrote our fire safety rules. Here are pictures from our finished products.  

We ended our Friday with Art Class. This week the students created either a bat or a skull using marshmallows. They first traced a pattern on black paper and then glued marshmallows around the outline. I must say that they look spooktacular. Here a samples of their work. 

Have a great weekend!

Notes from Religion Class

Today was quite a pleasant day in first grade. Our focus this week in Religion has been how Jesus helped many people. Yesterday we read a story about how he healed a blind man by touching his eyes. Today we read a story called Who Wrecked the Roof? which tells the story of how Jesus healed a paralyzed man after his friends lowered him from the roof. This story is interesting in that it is told from the viewpoint of a bystander. After reading, we created a mini of how Jesus helped all kinds of people. The children are really like hearing these stories of Jesus helping others. 

"It just can't be the time to go home!"

This is what one student said when I said it was time to get ready for home. We were all amazed at how fast the day went and sad that we were leaving. I must say that I love seeing the children's enthusiasm for learning. 

In Reading today, we read a story about an animal park in Africa. I hope all of you enjoy your journey to the safari tonight when you son/daughter reads you the story. We continue learning our double facts in Math class. Our Doubles Rap is sure a hit with the students. 

Please remember that we do not have gym class tomorrow because of Living Rosary. Students must wear their regular dress shoes to school tomorrow. 

Growing in Reading!

What a great day we had in first grade. Each week, I love seeing our phonics knowledge grow as we learn more decoding skills. Today we talked about final blends. The students are really working hard at becoming fantastic readers. 

This week is also fire safety week. We began our discussion of fire safety by creating a little lap book. We talked about smoke alarms, the importance of a meeting spot, and other fire safety rules. 

As promised here are pictures of our Columbus Day projects. I hope you enjoy! 

Happy Columbus Day!

Happy Columbus Day! Today in first grade, the students learned about Christopher Columbus. We learned that he discovered America in 1492 and that he led three ships across the Atlantic Ocean. To honor and celebrate him, we wrote about what we would have done if we discovered America and created a picture with his three ships. Check back tomorrow for pictures of these projects.

Besides learning about Columbus, first grade studied the short u sound in Language Arts and how to write number sentences for 'some, some more' stories in Math.

It was an exciting day in first grade!

A Ghost Garden!

Happy Friday, everyone! What a great day first grade had to end the week. We started the day by attending Mass where Msgr. reminded us that God cares about us very much. 

Afterwords, first grade was busy learning new things. We got to experiment building designs with pattern blocks in Math. In Science, we learned about the basic needs of animals and how parents take care of their babies. 

Of course, the big thrill was Art class. Today, we made ghosts for Halloween. As I was hanging them up in the classroom, one student said that they looked like a ghost garden. See what you think! 

                                                     A close up picture of the ghosts!

Have a great weekend!

Something Old, Something New

What a beautiful fall day it was today! I couldn't help but think about that during gym class. It was just the right temperature to be outside.Today just might have been the last day we could spend outside before the cold weather arrives.

First grade worked very hard today on learning new concepts and reviewing skills previously taught. In Language Arts, we reviewed how to read words with inflected endings and continued to practice our sight words. In Math, we learned about rectangles and practiced our Doubles  Rap. 

Just a reminder that if your schedule permits, please join us for Mass at 9 AM tomorrow morning. 

Double the Fun!

Happy Wednesday! Today, the first grade learned the double facts. After using linking cubes to find the answers, we learned a rap to say to help us remember the answers. We will be saying this rap for several weeks while we learn the double facts. I'm sure this will be the highlight of Math class for days to come. 

Just a quick reminder . . . When sending in Snack Shack money with your child, please place the money in a bag, envelope, or the like. That way any change they receive won't get lost on the playground. 

Turning Cloudy Skies to Sunny Skies!

Greetings, everyone! With the rain clouds hiding the sunshine, first grade decided to make their own sunshine today! We practiced reading words with initial blends, practiced our sight words, and learned about ordinal position. 

Some of you might have heard about our bean jar. The goal is to get the beans from one jar to the other by the end of October. If we do, then we can carve a pumpkin. We move seeds when we work quietly, listen, and follow directions. We are trying very hard to move all of the beans. 

Happy October!

Happy October! It is hard to believe that we are already beginning the second month of school. We had a fantastic start to the month. We began by learning how to pray the rosary. Each student received a rosary, and we prayed the first decade of the Joyful Mysteries. Each day through the month of October we will be praying a decade of the rosary.

In Reading, we learned the short e sound and worked in our literacy centers. Math class focused on writing number sentences for addition story problems. Before we knew it, it was time to go home. The day just flew by.