Field Day Fun!

What a fun day we had in first grade. Our day started out with Music class and kept on getting better from there. We attended our very first Awards Ceremony this morning where every student was recognized for their achievements this year. I am so proud at how much the children have grown this year. 

The fun continued back in the classroom. As we wind down the school year, the students were asked to recall things they have learned this year. We wrote our responses on ice cream scoops and then created an ice cream cone. 

After lunch we participated in various field day activities. The students were divided into teams with teams consisting of students in grades 1-7. Working together, the students participated in various relay races. I'm sure all would say that the water balloons were the biggest hit. 

We ended our exciting day by playing board games. The students loved playing their favorite games with their classmates. 

It is hard to believe but tomorrow is our last full day of first grade. 

Autograph Session

Today was a mixture of fun activities and learning time. We began our day by creating coupon books in Religion. We will use these coupons over the summer promising to do good works around the house. 

 We again worked in our literacy centers today continuing to practice and enhance our fluency and reading skills. In Math class we learned how to subtract a number from a number that is greater than ten. 

Today we also had an extra Science class where we talked about how we use plants for various things. In Social Studies, we wrapped up our unit on economics. 

Our fun project day was a class picture frame and autograph poster. Everyone designed a picture frame. I then put the class picture we took at our field trip in it. Then, everyone signed everyone else's poster. Hopefully this will become a treasure for years to come. 

Please remember that the students are allowed to wear shorts tomorrow. It is also our board game activity day. 

Our Final Week Together

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day weekend. The students were quite excited to tell me about their adventures over the holiday weekend. 

It is hard to believe that this is our last week together. Time surely flies by! As we get ready to end another the year, we are still working hard and learning new things. 

Today, we worked in our literacy centers, which the students really enjoyed. We also had a special Science class where we talked about the parts of a plant that we eat. In Social Studies, we discovered how food gets from field to market. It was quite a busy day in first grade. 

Beach Scene!

Today was a great way to end the week. We wrapped up our story on Ben Franklin. As an extension, we read the book Ben and Now where we heard about all of the things Ben invented. He discovered that he was a very busy, smart man who had to be tired at the end of the day. 

In Math class we learned our last 4 subtraction facts for the year. Please remember to practice these facts over the summer. 

We continue to talk about plants in Science class. Using the leaves we gathered on Tuesday and an iPad, we were able to identify some of the trees the leaves came from. We had a Norway maple leaf and a red oak tree leaf samples in our collection. 

We wrapped up the day by going to the beach. The students created their very own beach scene. We even added a little sand to the picture for an added effect. Many of us can't wait until we go to the beach this summer. 

Have a great Memorial Day weekend! See you on Tuesday!!

Soaring High!

It is so amazing to see the growth the students have made this year. I was listening to them read today and listened with awe had how well they all read. They have all grown so much this year, and I am so proud of them. 

Things today got off to a fast start. We wrapped up our unit of study of the Mass. We talked about different things that we say and do during Mass. This is a great unit for the end of the year as it serves as a nice connection to second grade where they will study the Mass parts in depth as they prepare for First Holy Communion. 

In Language Arts, we spent the day reviewing. To help with our comprehension of our story, we made kites. On each kite we drew the characters, setting, problem, and solution for the story. Here's a picture of the finished product.

In Math, we talked about place value. We used pictures of pennies to show various numbers. 

Have a good night! 

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I hope everyone is doing their best at staying cool. 

Today was a terrific day in first grade. We read our story this week about Ben Franklin. This story tells of a time when Ben used a kite to help him swim across a pond. All of us agreed that Ben was a smart guy who was not afraid to try new things. 

In Math class today, we talked about fact families. We learned what they are and how to write them. We then practiced this skill a few times while learning new facts. 

In Social Studies class today, we talked about the role of factories and assembly lines. We watched a video showing how factories help make things. We learned about how jelly beans are made. 

Just a reminder . . . gym class is tomorrow! 

Class Outside!

What a beautiful, warm day it was. It is a day like today that makes you forget all of those cold, dark winter days. There is something about the sun and warmth that brings smiles to everyone's face. 

We had a great day in first grade. During Language Arts class, we practiced blending and reading long vowel words that are spelled -old, -ost, -ild, and -ind. In addition, we practiced our sight words and began writing our personal narrative about our field trip. 

In Math class we learned about place value to the hundreds. 

It was just too nice to stay inside today, so we went outside for an extra Science class. There we talked about the role of leaves on plants. We each gathered a leaf and went inside to create a leaf rubbing of it. The students really enjoyed their afternoon outdoors. 

Our Last Full Week

It is so hard to believe that this week is our last full week of school. Time is just flying by. I am sad to see the year coming to an end. 

Even with our time winding down, we are still busy learning things in first grade. Today we discovered how to blend, read, and spell words with the prefixes un- and re-. We also talked about finding the theme of a story as well as identified more pronouns that we can use in our writing. 

Today was especially busy because we had Guidance, Computers, and a special program all in one day. We are looking forward to a much calmer day tomorrow. 

Froggy Friday!

Happy Friday everyone! I can really tell that the students just loved their field trip yesterday; they were all quiet and somewhat sleepy today. I'm sure that they are glad that tomorrow is Saturday. 

We had quite a busy day in first grade. We wrapped up our story on Alexander Graham Bell. One of the things that we did was write 3 facts that we learned about him. We then pasted that onto construction paper and glued a telephone on top of it. Have a look at our invention!

In Science class today we talked about the function of roots and stems in plants. We wrapped up our day by creating frogs in art class. 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! 

Field Trip Day!

What a fantastic field trip day! The students just loved Living Treasures Animal Park. Walking around with their friends, they were able to see different animals and given the opportunity to feed some of them. Many of them enjoyed feeding the goats and miniature horses; they ate right out of their hands. Some students even petted a few of the animals. 

The gift shop was another highlight of the day. All of the students brought something home to remember the day by. Many of them bought plush snakes. 

The park even had some baby animals for us to see. We got to see baby bears, baby goats, and baby lions. 

I hope you enjoy hearing all of the stories tonight. Here are some pictures of some of the animals we saw today. 

All About Telephones

Greetings, everyone! Today was a great day of learning in first grade. The highlight came during Language Arts when we read our story Alexander Graham Bell. The students were just fascinated about how the first telephone worked. Many were amazed that telephones had wires; they even asked about how wireless phones work. Some were curious about Alexander's family wanting to know if he was married or if he had any children. I just loved their excitement for this story and their enthusiasm at wanting to know more. 

In Math class, we talked about the words impossible, likely, and certain. We did an experiment where I put 9 yellow and 1 red linking cubes in a bag. The students each picked a cube from the bag and we recorded our answers on a graph. We realized that we were more likely to pick a yellow cube since more yellow cubes were in the bag. 

I hope everyone has a good night's rest so that we are ready for our field trip tomorrow. 

Tricky Words

Happy Tuesday, everyone! What a great day we had in first grade today. The phonics part of our Language Arts class was a bit tricky. A few weeks ago we learned that ea makes the long e sound. Well, today we discovered that it can also make the short e sound. We know that if one sound doesn't sound right that we have to try the other sound. In addition to learning the short ea sound, we also practiced our sight words. We wrapped up class by writing the beginning part to our narrative paragraph. 

In Math class today, we learned some new subtraction facts. Today we practiced subtracting half of a double. These facts seem easy since we really know our double facts. 

Two Full Weeks Left :(

It is hard to believe that the school year is winding down. There are only two full weeks left. We had an awesome day in first grade. We learned how to blend, read, and spell words with the vowels au and aw. We talked about drawing conclusions and the correct way of using I and me in sentences. Finally, we began writing our very own narrative story by completing our outline. Tomorrow we will write the beginning part of the story. 

In Math class, we talked about temperature. We learned what a thermometer does and how to read one. We also practiced showing temperature on a thermometer. 

I hope everyone enjoyed their Mother's Day. Have a good week! 

Happy Mother's Day!

First grade had an exciting day to end the week. We were thrilled to meet Brother Franklin today. He talked to us about the good work he is doing in Haiti, and he thanked us for all that we do for Haiti. The students were excited to hear about the progress being made in Haiti. 

Back in the classroom, we finished up our story Simple Machines by reviewing the phonics skills studied this week as well as taking our test on the story. In Math class we learned how to subtract two two-digit numbers using our dimes and pennies. 

We did have a little sadness today when we visited the library one last time. We really enjoyed going each week and getting new books. We loved hearing the stories our librarian read to us. We look forward to visiting the library next year. Please make sure to return all library books to school by next Friday. 

Our Art class today was focused on Mother's Day. We wrapped our present for our Mom's today as well as made her a special card. We also made a vase of handprints. I wish every mom a Happy Mother's Day. I hope you enjoy your day!!!

Jeopardy Fun!

Happy Thursday, everyone! I hope everyone is having a great week. First grade has been busy learning during the last two days. In Language Arts, we read our story titled Simple Machines where we learned all about pulleys, levers, inclined planes, and wheels and axles. We have also been practicing our phonics skills and sight words. 

In Math, we studied and practiced the difference of two subtraction facts. We also learned how to count quarters. 

These past two days have been busy outside the classroom too. We went to May Crowning yesterday and Mass this morning in honor of the Feast of the Ascension. We also saw a Jeopardy game today between 3 eighth grade students. It was fun watching them play the game. 

Tomorrow is Friday and is full of surprises. Have a good night. 

Irish Music!

Hello! Today was quite a busy day in first grade. We had Computer and Music class plus a special program. The band Full Kilt came to perform for us and teach us about Irish music. We really enjoyed clapping along with their songs and learning about Ireland. This program was made possible through the Home and School Association, so thank you parents for supporting the school and helping to fund these wonderful programs. 

We did manage to learn quite a few things today. We learned how to blend and read words that have the suffixes -er and -or. We practiced our sight words and continued learning about pronouns. 

Tomorrow will be another busy day. We have May Crowning tomorrow afternoon. 

Magnificent Monday!

Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed the gorgeous weekend we just had. We had a great day to start our week. 

We began our day with Religion class where we talked about the Last Supper. We recalled that Jesus shared a meal of bread and wine with his disciples. 

During Language Arts class, we learned how to blend and read words with oi and oy. We practiced our new skill by reading our decodable reader. We also talked about pronouns today. 

In Math class we talked about polygons. We learned what a polygon is, identified which shapes were polygons, and practiced drawing them. 

Tomorrow will be a busy day with both Computer and Music class scheduled as well as a special program in the afternoon. 

Fantastic Friday!

Greetings, everyone! I hope everyone is having a nice weekend. 

Friday was a great day in first grade. We wrapped up our story Dot and Jabber. We even finished writing our class narrative paragraph about going to the spring concert. Our next goal is to write our own narrative paragraphs. 

In Math class we talked about rectangular prisms. We identified the number of sides and how it differs from a cube. 

In Science class we talked about magnets can move objects. We learned that when a magnet sticks to something we say it attracts. When a magnet does not stick to something, we say it repels. The students were split into groups and given a magnet and asked to find 3 things attracted to magnets and 3 things that repel magnets in the classroom. 

Art class today was devoted to Mother's Day. That is all I am going to say or I will ruin the surprise. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. 

What A Day!

Today was a fantastic day! I have to begin by congratulating the Holy Name School Elementary Reading Competition team for capturing a first place ribbon at tonight's competition. I am so proud of them for all of their hard work and dedication. Way to Go! 

That great event ended what was already a terrific day. We did a little bit of reviewing in Language Arts as well as practiced building our fluency. As the students would say their favorite part of class was working in centers. In Math, we learned how to subtract 10 from a number. 

Who could resist spending time in that beautiful sunshine today? We certainly could not, so that is why we enjoyed gym class outside. It was such a gorgeous day! 

Upside Down Day!

Today was an upside down kind of day. Holy Name hosted the Diocesan Spelling Bee which caused us to make a few changes to the schedule. For starters, we went to lunch a little early which the students just loved. To accommodate the change, we had Math class this morning and Language Arts class this afternoon. 

In Math class, we practiced the subtraction facts we learned yesterday as well as identified the fractional part of a set. In Language Arts, we read a mystery today called Dot and Jabber and the Great Acorn Mystery. We had to pay close attention to the clues in the story to help us solve how an acorn got across the meadow. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today we learned the difference between goods and services. 

Just a reminder that gym class is tomorrow.