Merry Christmas!

Holiday Greetings! We were quite excited in first grade today! 

We began our day with Mass. Msgr. Lockard reminded us to listen when we need to need and always use kind words. After Mass, we completed our Advent calendar that we have been using in the classroom. Here is a picture of how our Nativity scene turned out: 

Today we read The Polar Express. It is one of my favorite holiday books. The students loved the pictures in the book. After we read it, we sequenced the events in the story. We then decorated our own bells. Needless to say, joyous sounds were coming from Room 102 all day. 

May all of you have a blessed, Merry Christmas and a healthy, Happy New Year. Enjoy the time with your family and friends. I'll see you in 2015. 

P.S. Here is one final picture of Jingles:

Merry Christmas!

Santa Claus!

Happy Thursday! I hope everyone had a fantastic day just like we did in first grade! 

In Religion class today, we heard the story of the legend of the candy cane. We then made a candy cane ornament to help remind us of the legend. They turned out awesome: 

In Language Arts today, we worked in our literacy centers to build our fluency and comprehension. We also read the story How Santa Got His Job. Afterwards, we completed an elf application and attached it to an elf craft. 

During Math class today we used linking cubes to measure objects in the classroom. Students worked in pairs when measuring the objects. Eventually, we will be using rulers to measure objects. 

This afternoon we attended the choir's Christmas Eve musical. They did such a wonderful job. I got chills listening to the music. The students enjoyed the drums during Carol of the Bells. 

Since tomorrow is our last day of school before Christmas vacation, we had a special Art class today. We made a Santa Claus. They will be bringing them home tomorrow. 

Finally, Jingles left us a surprise today. We gave us a book from Santa. Santa told us that we did a great job during our play last night! 

Have a great night! 

Christmas Play, Part 2

Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone enjoyed the Christmas play tonight. The students worked so hard and did such a fabulous job! 

We had one busy day in first grade before the excitement of tonight. In Religion class today, we read the story The Christmas Baby and then designed our own Nativity scenes. They did a great job on them. Here is a sample: 

In Language Arts class, we wrapped up our story Honey Bees. We reviewed long e: ee, syllables VCCV, and our sight words. We then took a test on the story. We also practiced finding nouns in sentences. 

During Math class today we practiced the adding 2 facts. We used a wrap-up to help us do this. 

We finally had gym class today! The students were so excited and waited all morning for this. Today we played a game where we talked about healthy foods and unhealthy foods. We learned the importance of exercising and eating healthy. 

For Social Studies class today we talked about weather in the different seasons. Students illustrated activities they do in each season. 

Now, for some Christmas fun. Yesterday we read the story Santa's Stuck and wrote about what we would do if we found Santa stuck in our chimney. Here is how that project turned out: 

Today we read How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We then illustrated or wrote how we would make the Grinch grin. Here are some pictures: 

Finally, we made Christmas ornaments out of clay and painted them. They came home today. And here is how they turned out: 

Making Sunshine by Learning

Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone was able to find some sunshine on this dreary day. We were able to make our own sunshine in first grade today. 

In Religion class, we again reviewed the Christmas story. We also talked about ways to share God's love during the season. 

During Language Arts class, we reviewed our sight words, long e, long u, and inflected endings. We partner read our story to build our fluency skills. We then wrote two sentences telling what we learned about bees. We made a bee to add to our writing. Finally, we practiced finding nouns in sentences. 

In Math class today we covered a design using pattern blocks. We then sorted them and recorded the number of each different block we used on a chart. 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is now a Jean Day. Also, tomorrow night is our Christmas play. Please have your child wear his/her outfit to school tomorrow night. All students will need to be in their classrooms by 6:00. If you have any questions, please let me know. 

A Busy Monday!

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. It is hard to believe that we are only a week and a half away from Christmas. Today was a busy start to our week. 

In Religion class, we began our study on Christmas. We have been reading a part of the Christmas story each day as part of our Advent prayer. Today we reviewed why Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem and where they stayed when they got there. 

During Language Arts class, we reviewed long e: ee, VCCV syllables, and our sight words before reading our story Honey Bees. They really enjoyed learning about the different honey bees and each job that they do. 

Math class was full of learning today. We identified the odd numbers to 100. We then practiced adding 2 to odd numbers. Finally, to review all of the adding 2 facts, we made our fact cards. Please begin to practice the adding 2 facts with your child. 

As promised, here are pictures of the gingerbread houses the students made on Friday. 

Also, look at Jingles. Someone was sleepy today. 

O Christmas Tree

Greetings! I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. I have been busy getting ready for Christmas by baking cookies. It is hard to believe that we have only one more week of school before Christmas break. Where has the time gone? 

In Religion class on Friday, we wrapped up our our study of the Holy Spirit coming to Jesus' friends. The students illustrated what happened at Pentecost. 

During Language Arts class, we learned to blend and read VCCV syllable words. To do this, we break the word into two small parts (between the double consonants), read each small word, and then put it together to read the whole word. We also practiced our sight words. In addition, we identified nouns in sentences. 

Finally, we wrote about how to decorate a Christmas tree. Then it was time to decorate one! Here is our classroom Christmas tree: 

Next, we made a Christmas tree using strips of green paper. We added white fingerprints around the tree as snow. They turned out awesome. 

In Math class today, we solved a problem by looking for a pattern. 

During Science class, we wrapped up our study of the properties of matter. We reviewed characteristics of solids, liquids, and gases. 

Finally, for art class, we made gingerbread houses. Students were given a gingerbread house and they decorated it using foam shapes, buttons, and sequins. They turned out wonderful! I'll post pictures tomorrow. 

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend! 

Christmas Play, Part 1

Greetings! I hope everyone had a nice day. We had a great day in school. As you know, the evening performance of our Christmas play has been postponed. It is rescheduled for Wednesday, December 17 at 6:30 PM. 

In Religion class today, we reviewed what happened on Pentecost. We also learned the Glory Be prayer. 

During Language Arts class, we reviewed long e: ee by reading our decodable reader, We also compared and contrasted pictures. In addition, we practiced finding nouns in sentences. Finally, we wrote the final steps in how to plant a seed. 

For a change, we had science class today. We talked about the three phases of water. We learned that ice is a solid which will change to a liquid when it melts. That water will become part of the air when it evaporates. 

We did have fun performing our play this afternoon. We can't wait for you to see the entire play next week. Even Jingles was excited for us. Look what he did today: 

Have a safe and warm evening!

Christmas Music in the Air!

Greetings! I hope everyone is enjoying their week. It is hard to believe that it is half way over. 

In Religion class today, we talked about what happened at Pentecost. We learned that the Holy Spirit came to Jesus' followers. We also talked about how his followers felt before and after the Holy Spirit came. 

In Language Arts class, we learned to blend and read long e: ee words. We also wrote the first two steps in how to plant a seed. 

During Math class, we practiced adding 2 to an even number. We then identified all of the even numbers to 100 and practiced counting by evens to 100. We discovered that all even numbers end in a 0, 2,4,6, or 8. 

This afternoon we attended the Band's Christmas Concert. We enjoyed hearing all of the music. I am always amazed at how well the children sound. They all put in so much practice time. It truly was a great show! 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is our performance day. Students must wear the dress pants to school. For the evening performance, students must be in their classrooms by 6:00. Please have them wear their outfit back to school. After the show, students will return to the classroom and be dismissed from there. If you have any questions, please let me know! 

To end with, here is a picture of Jingles, our elf. The students loved his spot today! 

Have a great night!

Dress Rehearsal!

Greetings! I hope everyone had a nice day. We were quite excited to see the sun shine for a little while this afternoon. That made everyone happy!

We began our day by attending Adoration. It was nice to spend some quiet time with Jesus before beginning our day. 

In Language Arts class, we wrapped up our story Life in the Forest. We reviewed long e, long u, inflected endings, and our sight words. We then took our test on the story. In addition, we practiced identifying plurals and using plurals in sentences. Finally, we worked in our literacy centers. We enjoyed this time of practicing our phonics, fluency, and comprehension skills. 

During Math class today, we learned how to number a clock face. We then practiced showing various times on the clocks. 

This morning we had our dress rehearsal for our Christmas play. We were quite excited to put on our costumes for this practice. Everyone did such a fabulous job. We can't wait for you to see it on Thursday. 

Just a reminder that because of the Band Concert tomorrow, we will not have gym class. 

Have a great night!

An Exciting Week!

Happy Monday! I hope everyone was able to enjoy their weekend and perhaps get some holiday stuff done. We had a busy start to this exciting week. 

With today being the feast of the Immaculate Conception we went to Mass this morning. Msgr. Lockard reminded us to always say 'yes' to God just like Mary did. 

For Language Arts class today, we focused on building our fluency and comprehension. We partner read Life in the Forest and then wrote three facts we learned from the story. We also worked on identifying plurals in sentences. 

In Math class today we identified the odd numbers to 21 and then practiced counting by odds to 21. Beginning tomorrow, we will be counting by odds during our Math Meeting. 

As promised, here is a picture of the carolers we made on Friday. 

Just a reminder that play shirts are due tomorrow. Please place them in a labeled bag! If you have any questions, please let me know. 

Season of Advent

Greetings, everyone! I hope you had a fantastic week like we did in first grade! 

We began our day with Mass. After Mass, we talked about St. Nicholas (whose feast day is December 6th) and watched a movie on his life. While doing this, we placed a shoe in the hallway because legend says that if you leave your shoes out, St. Nicholas will fill them. Well, as it turns out, St. Nicholas did come and fill our shoes with a candy cane and pencil! 

I forgot to mention what first grade is doing to celebrate the season of Advent. We have an Advent calendar in the room. Each day, we pull out a picture which relates to the Christmas story. We then read that part of the story before adding the picture around our manger bulletin board.  For example, today we read how Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem on a donkey. We added a donkey around our manger. Here is a picture of our Advent calendar. I'll post a picture of the manger bulletin board next week. 

During Language Arts class today, we reviewed our sight words, long o words, and contractions. We choral read our story Life in the Forest too. 

In Math class today, we again practiced identifying lines of symmetry.We also talked about fractions and identifying one half of a whole. We even wrote the fraction one half. 

In Science class, we talked about the differences between a solid, liquid, and gas. We then sorted pictures based on whether they were a solid, liquid, or gas. 

Finally, it was time for Art class. Today we made Christmas carolers. They are so cute. I'll post pictures next week once they are hanging in the hallway for everyone to see. 

Below you will see a picture of a small project we did on Thursday. Students made Christmas ornaments using tissue paper. They are hanging in our classroom. 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Wonderful Day of Learning

Greetings and Happy Thursday! Today was a wonderful day full of learning in first grade! 

In Religion class, we talked about how Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to his followers. We also talked about how the Holy Spirit would help his followers teach others about Jesus, help others, and love one another. 

During Language Arts class, we reviewed long u, long e, and inflected ending -ed. We also reviewed our sight words. Then, it was time to read our story Life in the Forest. The students loved reading about the animals and plants in the forest. After reading the story, we practiced identifying one and more than one. 

In Math class today, we studied lines of symmetry. We first looked at what a line of symmetry is and how both sides are symmetrical. We then made Christmas trees and identified the line of symmetry on them. You should have seen their faces when they opened up their trees after cutting them. The awe and amazement was something else. 

Tomorrow will be a busy and exciting end to the week. 

Back to the Gym

Greetings! Today was such a normal, calm day compared to yesterday. It was nice getting back into our routine. 

In Religion class today, we switched our focus from Advent back to the life of Jesus. In the chapter we began today, we will study the life of Jesus after he rose from the dead. Today we learned how Jesus visited his followers to let them know that he is alive. 

In Language Arts class, we learned to blended and read words with the inflected ending -ed. We also learned that when we add -ed to a word, it makes the word past tense. In addition, we learned and practiced reading our new sight words. We talked about plural nouns. For writing, we began an elf journal. Each day the students will write where Jingles is hiding and then draw a picture. Today, Jingles was hiding on the bookshelf. Here is a picture: 

In Math class, we learned how to count dimes and pennies together. We used our coins to help us practice this skill. 

Finally, we made it back to the gym for gym class. We were quite excited about this. Today we played a favorite game 'Alligator, Alligator.' 

Have a great night! 

Welcome December!

Welcome back, everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family. Today was a busy, crazy, action-packed day for us to begin the month of December. 

The students were greeted today with an Elf on the Shelf. We named him Jingles. We talked about how Jingles will be watching us in school and will report to Santa whether or not we were fantastic first graders. I'll post pictures tomorrow of Jingles. 

In Religion class today, we continued our discussion about Advent. We talked about ways we can be light for others this Advent and reviewed the Advent wreath. 

During Language Arts class, we learned to blend and read long u and long e words. We practiced spelling these words using our letter tiles and reading these words by reading our decodable reader. We also talked about the author's purpose for writing a story. 

That was all we managed to get in before going home because of the weather. Please remember that tomorrow is Wednesday and we will have gym class. Also, we will be visiting the Secret Santa shop where students can make their purchases tomorrow. Please send in any money in an envelope. 

Have a safe and warm evening!