Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone enjoyed their extra time at home this morning. The students seemed to enjoy their time relaxing.
Because of the delay, our schedule was a bit disjointed today. We began our day with Math class. Today we took a test on shapes. Next week we will begin a short chapter on ordinal position.
That lead us to lunch and recess; our mornings do go quick when we have a delay. After recess, we began Language Arts. Today we wrapped up yet another week of learning. We practiced using our oral vocabulary words in sentences. When then read words with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, and ph and words with the inflectional ending -es. After that we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. Next we wrote sentences using our sight words. Following that we completed pages in our close reading companion which helped us practice our map skills. We ended class by taking our weekly assessment and writing irregular plural nouns.
We ended our week with Art class. Today we made Christmas trees. The students used a square stamp to make the tree. They then used special cut-out stamps to decorate them. Finally, they added snow around their trees. They look so good! I can't wait to put them in the hallway for all to see. Here are two of the trees:
As promised, here are pictures of Jingles, our classroom elf, and all of his doings this week. The students especially loved the chair he made using linking cubes!
Because of the delay today we had to postpone our extra gym class. We will now have our class on Monday. Please remember to wear your sneakers to school!
Have a great weekend!
Greetings! Happy Thursday! I will admit that it was nice waking up to no snow blowing around today. It made the drive to school much more enjoyable. I am hoping for the same for tomorrow.
We began our day with Religion class. Today we learned about the season of Advent. We learned that during this season we wait and prepare for Jesus' birth. We do this by sharing his light with others. When we help others, are kind, and share we bring Jesus' light into our world. We will be working very hard this Advent to be light for others.
Language Arts was a busy class today. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words. We also practiced reading words with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, and ph along with words with the inflectional ending -es. After that we practiced reading our sight words. Then we switched gears. We partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets before reading Fun with Maps, a nonfiction piece all about maps. After reading that story we completed pages in our close reading companion. We ended the morning by reviewing irregular plural nouns.
The students were quite excited about Gym today; it has been several weeks since our last class. Today we went to the Gym and played 'Good Ship Spark'. The students performed various loco-motor activities based on the command given. They got a lot of energy out today.
Math class was action packed. We began by reviewing patterns; the students are excellent with them. Then we used our thinking caps to solve problems. Finally, we reviewed all that we learned about shapes.
That took us to the end of another great day. Just a reminder that tomorrow is our extra Gym class. We also have library and Art!
Greetings! I hope everyone had a wonderful Wednesday! The highlight of our day was the Secret Santa shop. They were so excited this morning and a little disappointed that we had to wait a little bit before going shopping. I am happy to say that everyone was able to buy all the gifts they wanted. They were so happy leaving school today with their presents. I just loved seeing the Christmas spirit in their eyes!
In Religion class today we talked about Ordinary Time. We learned that during this church season we will hear stories about Jesus helping others, teaching others, and forgiving others.
We began Language Arts class by reviewing the oral vocabulary words we learned yesterday and learning three new words (height, model, and separate). Next we worked on rereading for understanding as we read a nonfiction piece about different kinds of maps. After that we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, and ph. Then we learned to add -es to words that end in ch, sh, tch, and zz to make the word plural. We ended our morning by using our sight words in sentences.
This afternoon we reread Which Way on the Map and wrote the main idea and key details from the story. We then read our decodable reader and answered questions about it. We ended our day by writing in our Elf Journal.
In Math class today we worked with patterns. We practiced identifying the next shape in a pattern. We also used pattern blocks to make our own patterns.
Just a reminder that tomorrow is Gym day!
Greetings and Welcome Back after our Thanksgiving break. I hope everyone had a wonderful time with family, ate lots of good foods, found a bargain or two (someone had fun Cyber Monday shopping), and maybe had luck in the woods. The students were quite excited to tell me about their break.
When we walked in today, we had a special visitor. Jingles, our elf, has come! Every day the students will be writing in a journal detailing where Jingles is hiding or what he has been up to. I'll post pictures of Jingles every Friday for all to see.
Our Religion class today turned out in to be Secret Santa previewing. The eighth grade students helped us make our lists. Tomorrow we will be going shopping. Please remember to send all money in an envelope with your child's name on it.
We began Language Arts class by working in our literacy centers. Then we began a new week of learning. Today we learned two new oral vocabulary words (locate and route). We practiced rereading for understanding as we read Me on the Map. Next we learned how to blend and read words with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, and ph. Following that we learned our new sight words. We ended the morning by reading Which Way on the Map, a nonfiction story about students using a map to locate places in their town.
This afternoon in Language Arts we learned about irregular plural nouns like men, feet, and children.
We did several things in Math class today. We created a picture using plane shapes and then identified how many circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles we used. Next, we talked about how shapes are all around us. Looking around our classroom we found examples of both plane and solid shapes.
Enjoy your night!
Happy Thanksgiving! Today was a short day in first grade, but it was filled with Thanksgiving activities.
We began our day with Mass. Today Msgr. Lockard reminded us to take time not only tomorrow but everyday to thank God for all that we have.
After Mass we worked on several Thanksgiving themed projects. First we finished the Pilgrims we started yesterday. The students wrote about something they would do if they were a Pilgrim. I just loved how they turned out:
Next, we read This is the Feast about the First Thanksgiving. We learned that the first Thanksgiving lasted for three days. The Pilgrims and Indians danced, sang, and ate not only turkey but fish. We also learned that they did not have mashed potatoes, stuffing, or cranberry sauce back then.
Then, we read Turkey Trouble a funny story about a turkey who disguises himself in various costumes to avoid being eaten at Thanksgiving. After we read the story, we sequenced the costumes he used. We then created our own disguise for the turkey. The students were quite clever with their creations.
Before you knew it it was time for lunch and then dismissal. It was one quick day.
May you and your family have a Happy Thanksgiving! Have fun shopping and stay safe hunting. See you on Tuesday!
Greetings! Happy Tuesday! It is hard to believe that today was our last full day of the week. It seems like we just got started. Nonetheless, today was a busy day!
We began our day by going to Eucharistic Adoration. We spent quiet time praying to God, asking Him to help people, and thanking Him for all of the things we have.
When we returned from Adoration, we began our Language Arts lessons. First we worked in our literacy centers to build our fluency and comprehension skills. Then we wrapped up our week of learning. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with the digraphs th, sh, and ng, read closed syllable words and identified the closed syllables, and wrote sentences using our sight words. We ended the morning by taking our weekly assessment and writing proper nouns correctly.
Because of the snow day on Friday, we missed our weekly visit to the Library. However, we were able to go this afternoon. All of the students came home with a library book. They will need to read their book over the next week and be prepared to take an AR test on the story. If you have any questions, please let me know.
In Math class today, we learned that shapes can be used to make designs. We looked at various designs using plane and solid shapes and identified the number of shapes in each one. Next week, we will create our own designs using shapes.
Just a reminder that tomorrow is an Early Dismissal day.
Greetings! Welcome back after that impromptu four day weekend. I know it has snowed in November before. I just can't remember having snow days before Thanksgiving. Maybe this was our only blast of winter. One can hope!
We began our day with Religion. Today we talked about the church seasons. We learned their names, colors for the seasons, and what we celebrate. No matter what season in the church it is, we know that we will always praise Jesus.
We picked up were we left off at last week in Language Arts. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading words with digraphs th, sh, and ng, and segemented words into syllables. We also reviewed our sight words. After that we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. Finally, we practiced writing proper nouns correctly.
Today we had our annual Thanksgiving luncheon. We got to eat a wonderful turkey meal with all of our friends. Msgr. Lockard joined us for our lunch. When we finished, we got to see the fifth grade perform a Thanksgiving play. They did such a wonderful job!
After our extended lunch, it was time to get back to work. We began our afternoon with Math class. Today we learned the names of solid shapes: sphere, cone, cylinder, cube, pyramid, and rectangular prism. We then experimented with them to see which ones can slide, roll, and stack.
We ended our day by learning about the first Thanksgiving. We watched The Peanuts: Mayflower to learn about the Pilgrims trip on the Mayflower and their first winter here in America.
Just a reminder that book orders are due tomorrow!
Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone had a good day. We had one busy day in first grade.
We began our day with Religion class. Today we wrapped up our chapter on the Great Commandment. We reviewed ways we love God, love ourselves, and love others.
We began Language Arts class by reviewing our oral vocabulary words. Then we practiced reading words with the digraphs th, sh, and ng along with closed syllable words. After that we practiced our sight words. Our focus then switched to reading. We partner read a story in our decodable reader before reading a story in our literature anthology book. Today we read Nell's Books. This afternoon we completed pages in our close reading companion that went along with the story. We also practiced writing proper nouns with capital letters.
In Math class today we learned how to divide shapes into halves and quarters. We divided squares into halves to different ways and did the same thing as we divided squares into fourths. As one student said, "This is fun!"
Just a reminder that tomorrow is Gym day. Please remember your sneakers. Also, in the event of bad weather, our spelling test will still be on Friday.
Stay warm!
Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. The students really seemed to enjoy their four days off. From playing with friends to crafts with grandma to pizza night to football games it seemed that everyone did something special. I really enjoyed hearing all of the stories this morning.
We began our day with Religion. Today we completed our final magazine of the ARISE season. We talked about how St. Paul changed his ways and helped people grow closer to God. That led into a discussion on how we love others going back to the Great Commandment we learned last week. To help us understand who are neighbors are, we read the Good Samaritan story where Jesus told us that everyone is our neighbor. We ended class by talking about ways we can love others.
We began Language Arts class by working in our literacy centers where we worked on our fluency and comprehension skills. Then we got back to our weekly learning. We reviewed the oral vocabulary words we learned last Thursday and then learned three new words (connections, enjoy, and rely). After that we worked on rereading for understanding as we read a nonfiction piece about a man and his biblioburro. Following that we reviewed the digraphs th, sh, and ng by using our letter tiles to spell and read words. Next we learned how to blend and read closed syllable words by first dividing the word into syllables, reading each syllable, and finally putting them together. In addition to that we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended the morning by rereading Thump Thump Helps Out and writing about the characters, setting, and events in the story.
This afternoon in Language Arts we read our decodable reader and answered questions about the story. We also reviewed common and proper nouns by sorting the nouns into each group. Finally, we practiced for AR. We read Curious George and took an AR test. We learned that it is not to hard, and we are quite excited to begin using this program.
In Math class today we began a new chapter; this chapter will focus on shapes. Today we learned properties (sides and corners) of the following shapes: circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles. We then practiced sorting these shapes into various groups. This came very easy to the students. In addition to beginning a new chapter we also began working with new Math facts. Today we began learning the subtracting 0 and subtracting 1 facts.
Tomorrow will be a busy day. We will be getting ready for our Thanksgiving luncheon on Thursday.
Greetings! Today was the end of our learning week. We had a great day to end our week!
We began our day with Religion. Today we continued our focus on the Great Commandment. Today we talked about ways we love ourselves. Also, to help us remember the Great Commandment we created a giant heart. Here are some of our creations:
In Language Arts, we began a new week of learning. We learned two new oral vocabulary words (leadership and admire). We then worked on rereading for understanding as we read The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr.. Next we learned how to blend and read words with the digraphs th, sh, and ng. Then we learned our new sight words.
This afternoon we read Thump Thump Helps Out. We also learned about common and proper nouns.
For Gym class today we headed outside to the playground. Yes, it was not hot but the weather was just nice to play outside one more time before the cold weather comes.
In Math class today we took our chapter test on subtraction. Next week we will switch our focus to shapes.
We ended our week with Social Studies. Today we wrapped up our chapter on communities and talked about Veteran's Day.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow! Have a great weekend! See you on Tuesday!
Greetings and Happy Wednesday! It is hard to believe that tomorrow is the last teaching day of the week.
In Religion class today we learned the Great Commandment. Jesus told us that we must love God, love others, and love ourselves. We then spent time talking about ways we show God love. We said that when we help others, are kind, pray, and go to Mass we show God our love.
We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts today. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with end blends and inflectional ending -ing, and wrote sentences using our sight words. We then took our weekly assessment. We ended the morning by using possessive nouns in sentences.
This afternoon in Language Arts we wrote the final two steps in making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. We then wrote the names of six things/people we are thankful for. We will turn that writing into a thankful turkey for all to see on Friday.
In Math class today we reviewed subtraction. We practiced solving subtraction problems, writing subtraction number sentences, and writing fact families. Tomorrow we will take our chapter test.
As promised, here is a picture of the turkeys we made last Friday in Art:
Just a reminder that tomorrow is Gym day. Don't forget your sneakers.
Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is having a great week!
We began our day today with Religion. Today we talked about how many people followed Jesus. They came to hear Jesus teach them how to pray, to learn about God's love, and to help them.
In Language Arts, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading words with end blends and inflectional endings -ing, and read our sight words. Following our review and practice, we switched our focus to building our fluency and comprehension. We partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets and our story from yesterday, At a Pond. After that we read and discussed a poem and completed pages in our close reading companion that correlated to the poem.
This afternoon was devoted to writing. We wrote the first two steps in making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. We then wrote about why we love Thanksgiving. This writing will be on display for everyone to read at Parent-Teacher Conferences on Friday.
In Math class today we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. We also spent time reviewing how to solve subtraction problems.
Just a reminder that tomorrow is our Spelling test. Have a good night!
Greetings! Happy Monday! Today began a string of short weeks for us. Even though they may be short in length, none of the days will be short on learning.
We began our day with Religion class and our ARISE magazine. Today we learned the names of the four Gospels as well as the importance on calling upon the Holy Spirit to help us in times of need. After that, we had our good touch/bad touch lesson. We gave examples of good touches (hugs, high fives) and bad touches (hitting, pushing) and talked about what to do when someone touches us in a way that makes us feel uncomfortable.
In Language Arts we reviewed our oral vocabulary words. We then practiced reading words with end blends and the inflectional ending -ing. In addition, we practiced reading our sight words and using them in sentences. Following that we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets before reading a story from our literature anthology. Today we read a nonfiction piece titled At a Pond. The students sure like reading about animals. This afternoon in class we completed pages in our close reading companion that went along with this story. We ended the day by writing possessive nouns correctly in sentences.
We began Math class today by practicing writing fact families. Next, we reviewed how to tell if a number sentence is true or false. We did some together, and then students worked with a partner to solve problems. Finally we practiced our adding 0 and 1 facts.
Have a good night!
Greetings! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! Friday was a busy, crazy day to end our week.
We began our day with Mass. At Mass, Msgr. Lcokard reminded us to pray for all of those who have died as Friday was All Soul's Day. He also reminded us to be kind and helpful so that one day we too may join everyone in heaven.
After Mass, we got back into a saint costumes to get pictures with our faith families. I cannot express who well behaved the students were during this period. I am so proud of them.
In Language Arts, we learned how to read words with the inflectional ending -ing and how to use those words in sentences. Next, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. After that, we reread The Best Spot and wrote the main idea and key details from the story. Then we read our decodable reader and answered questions about it. We ended class by using possessive nouns in sentences.
In Math class today we determined whether a number sentence was true or false. The students really enjoyed solving these problems.
In Science class, we classified things as living or nonliving. The students worked in groups to sort pictures into these two categories.
Finally, after a long day, it was time for Art. Our focus today switched to Thanksgiving. We made giant turkeys. I will post pictures on Monday once I have them hung up in our classroom.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Greetings! Today was such a special day in first grade. I will admit that today is my favorite day of the year. I just love seeing the students in the saint outfits and the reverence they show.
We began our day with Mass. Today Msgr. Lockard reminded us that saints aren't people who lived long ago but are people who live today. They don't have to be recognized to be saints. He told us two stories about people who lived their lives by helping others and who he considers saints.
In Language Arts class today we learned three new oral vocabulary words (hibernate, tranquil, and tolerate). We worked on rereading for details as we heard about animals in the desert. Finally, we practiced spelling and reading words with end blends.
In Math class we practiced writing fact families. We also used our knowledge of fact families to help us solve problems.
This afternoon was dedicated to our All Saints' Day prayer service. The students looked amazing in their costumes. Thank you for helping with that. The prayer service was beautiful; the eighth grade did such a nice job reading about the saints. It truly was a special afternoon.
Tomorrow will be busy in first grade. We have Mass, Library, and Art. We also will be getting back into our saint costumes to get pictures with our faith families.
