Happy Thanksgiving!

Greetings on this Wednesday before Thanksgiving! I hope everyone is ready to celebrate the holiday tomorrow. 

We had a short but action-packed day in first grade. After starting our day with Music class, we reviewed the season of Advent in Religion class by coloring an Advent wreath and reviewing the order that the candles are lit. 

For Math class today the students created a pattern using pictures of harvest vegetables. 

For Language Arts class today we read Turkey Trouble. After reading the story, we sequenced the different disguises Turkey used in the story. The students then created their own disguise for Turkey. 

Finally, it was time for a break. We enjoyed watching Peanuts Thanksgiving. 

May you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving. Enjoy time together, good food, and laughter. See you on Tuesday! 

The First Thanksgiving!

Greetings! Happy Tuesday! Today was another day filled with Thanksgiving fun! We also did some regular learning, too. 

Today in Religion class we made our own Advent wreath. Before we did that we reviewed what we learned about Advent yesterday including the importance of the Advent wreath. Each student was given paper flames to cut and glue onto their wreath at home during the Advent season. 

We began Language Arts class by working in our literacy centers. From there we returned to our weekly learning. We practiced reading long i words. After that we learned our six new sight words. Following that we read a play titled Time to Grow. The students really did a nice job reading the play. Next we practiced using present tense verbs in sentences. Finally we wrote the final two steps in how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

Today's Thanksgiving activities focused on the first Thanksgiving. We read about how Squanto helped the Pilgrims that first year, how bountiful their harvest was, and how the first Thanksgiving lasted three days. We created our own Thanksgiving story booklets, compared and contrasted Thanksgiving today to Thanksgiving back then, and wrote about what foods we like to eat on Thanksgiving. We added that writing to a pumpkin pie craft. 

In Math class today we practiced counting the numbers 11 to 20. First we identify a group of ten and then count on. The students are very good at this. 

Just a reminder that dismissal tomorrow is at 12:00! 

Pilgrim Fun!

Greetings on this Monday! I hope everyone is doing well. It seemed that everyone had a great weekend! 

In Religion class today, we talked about Advent. We learned that this church season is a time for waiting, waiting for Jesus to come. We talked about the Advent wreath and how we can be light to others during this season. 

We began Language Arts by working in our literacy centers. We then began a new week of learning. We learned two new oral vocabulary words (bloom and sprout). We then worked on making predictions as we read Mystery Vine. After that we blended and read long i words. 

With this being Thanksgiving week, we will be taking time to learn and celebrate Thanksgiving. Today we focused on the Pilgrims. We read stories about the life of Pilgrim boys and girls. We sorted activities based on whether they happen now or then. Finally, we wrote about something we would do if we were a Pilgrim. We added that writing to a craft. Have a look: 

In Math class today we began a new chapter. This chapter focuses on the numbers 11-20. Today we took a close look at how to build these numbers by identifying how many tens and extra ones we need. For example, we said that 13 is the same as 10 and 3 more. 

Have a great night! 

Mayflower Fun!

Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great day to end their week. As I was preparing the room at the end of the day for next week, I realized that this was our last full week of November. Where has the time gone? 

We began our day with Mass. Today Fr. Brian talked to us about always being thankful for what we have and to show that thanks to God. 

We wrapped up yet another week of learning in Language Arts today. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read long a words, spelled and read words with the contraction for not, and wrote sentences using our sight words. Finally, we took our weekly assessment. 

Library class was extra special today. The students picked their first colored dot book of the year. They know that they are to read their book and bring it back to school to take a test on it. They are quite excited to do this. Thank you for helping them with this. 

In Math class today we took our test on shapes. Next week we will begin looking at the numbers 11-20. 

In Science class today we talked about how objects can be grouped into solids, liquids, and gases. We took pictures and classified them based on their state. 

We finished up our Social Studies lesson from yesterday. We are learning about Thanksgiving and focused yesterday and today on the Mayflower. We read a story about the Mayflower. Then, using what we learned from yesterday and today, wrote about that voyage. We took our writing and added it to a craft. They look so awesome: 

In Art today, we created Indian corn. The students used Q-tips dipped into paint to design their corn. They did a great job. They were so quiet while doing this. Have a look: 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Thanksgiving Feast!

Greetings! Today was quite an exciting day in first grade. We had our annual Thanksgiving Feast. The students waited all morning for the special lunch. And they were not disappointed! 

We began our day with a program from Prince Gallitizin State Park. The presenters talked to the students about woodpeckers. Afterwards, the students were able to create a woodpecker pecking away for bugs. Thank you to the Home and School Association for providing this awesome program for us. 

In Language Arts, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read long a words, read and spelled contractions for not, and practiced reading our sight words and using them in sentences. We then partner read a story from our decodable reader booklet and our story from yesterday. After that we read a nonfiction piece about time and completed pages in our close reading companion. Finally, we identified verbs in sentences.  

In Math class today we reviewed shapes. Tomorrow we will take our test. 

Because we did not get to Science last Friday, we had a special Science class today. Today, we learned that we can sort objects into groups. We then conducted an experiment to see which classroom objects floated and which ones sank when placed in water. 

We began our study of Thanksgiving today in Social Studies. We watched Peanuts: Voyage on the Mayflower to learn about the Pilgrims trip and first year in America. 

Tomorrow is a Faith Family Mass. The students can wear their red Christ is RICH in me shirts to school. 

Gym Class Fun!

Greetings! I hope everyone is having a great week. This week is surely flying by. 

In Religion class today we wrapped up our chapter on Jesus teaching his followers. We recalled the story of Jesus calming the water and how Jesus taught his followers the Our Father. 

In Language Arts, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words. We then practiced reading long a words and contractions for not. After that we practiced our sight words. We then switched our focus to fluency. We read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We ended our morning by reading On My Way To School, a fantasy story about what makes a boy late to school. 

This afternoon we wrote about the characters, setting, and plot in the story. We also practiced inserting commas into a list. 

For Gym class today we talked about how we need to exercise to break down fats. The students were divided into teams. Each team was given beans bags (which represented healthy foods) and balls (which represented unhealthy foods). They had to run to another group's area and exchange a ball for a bean bag. They had lots of fun doing this! 

In Math class today we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. The students also created their own patterns by cutting and gluing shapes. 

Tomorrow will be quite an exciting day. It is our annual Thanksgiving Feast. We also have a special program tomorrow morning! 

Awesome Day!

Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone enjoyed the sunshine today! We had an awesome day in first grade. The students really worked hard and learned lots today.

In Religion class we took a close look at the Our Father. We took each verse and discussed what it means when we pray it.

We began Language Arts by working in our literacy centers. We then jumped back into our week of learning. We reviewed the oral vocabulary words we learned yesterday and then learned three new words (calendar, occasion, and weekend). We then worked on making predictions as we read a nonfiction piece about measuring time. Following that we used our letter tiles to spell and read long a words. Next, we practiced writing contractions for the word not. After that we practiced using our sight words in sentences. Finally, we reread Nate the Snake is Late and wrote about the events in the beginning, middle, and end of the story.

This afternoon in Language Arts we read our decodable reader and discussed the characters, setting, and plot in that story. We then created a superhero. Around our superhero we wrote action verbs of all the things he/she can do.

In Math class today we worked with patterns. The students used pattern blocks to create several patterns. They are quite good with this.

Just a reminder that tomorrow is a Jean Day. Students can wear jeans and sneakers to school. They do not need to wear a uniform shirt but can wear a shirt that is appropriate for school. Tomorrow is also Gym day!

Have a great night!

Magic E!

Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. My weekend was really busy and went by way too fast. I was joking with my parents that I came to school today for a break. 

We began our day with Religion. Today we talked about how Jesus taught his followers how to pray. We learned that Jesus taught them the Our Father. We also wrapped up our ARISE lessons. Today we talked about how everyone has the right to work. 

We began Language Arts by working in our literacy centers. We then began a new week of learning. Today we learned two new oral vocabulary words (immediately and schedule). We also worked on making predictions as we read A Second is a Hiccup. After that we learned how to blend and read long a words. We learned that if "magic e" is at the end then the a says its name. Following that we learned our six new sight words. We ended the morning by reading Nate the Snake is Late. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned about action verbs. We came up with 22 verbs that we then acted out. After that we practiced finding the verbs in sentences. 

In Penmanship class this week we will be practicing F and f. 

New today . . . There has been a change in the Spanish schedule. For the foreseeable future, I will be teaching the first grade Spanish. Today we completed a flip book of things we are thankful for. We read the Spanish and wrote what it means in English. 

In Math class today we worked in groups to create a design using three dimensional shapes. We also looked around our room and identified the various shapes, both two and three dimensional, that we saw. 

Have a great night! 

A Different Day!

Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great day. It was a bit of a different day in first grade. I was at a professional development workshop this morning and returned right before lunch. I think the students were quite excited to see me! 

This morning the students attended Mass. Today we welcome Fr. Voytek as our guest celebrant. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts today. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, and ph and words with the inflectional ending -es. We also wrote sentences using our sight words. Finally we took our weekly assessment. 

In Math class today talked about how we can use shapes to make a design. We looked at designs and identified the number of circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles were used. We then used those same shapes to create our very own design. The students loved this, and I loved seeing their creativity. Everyone did something different by imaginative. 

Finally, it was time for Art. Today we made our centerpieces that will decorate our Thanksgiving table during our feast next week. We made turkeys using cups and paper. They turned out great! 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

More Fun With Shapes!

Greetings! Today was a hoppin' day in first grade. 

In Religion class today we talked about how Jesus' followers believed that he was the Son of God. We read (and acted out) the story of Jesus calming the stormy seas. 

As usual, Language Arts was full of learning. We began by reviewing our oral vocabulary words. Next we wrote and read words with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, and ph and words with the inflectional ending -es. After a break for Guidance class, we resumed with our learning. We practiced reading our sight words. We also partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. Following that we read a nonfiction piece about the directions on the map; we then completed pages in our close reading companion. Finally, we reviewed spelling those irregular plural nouns. 

In Math class today our focus was on three-dimensional shapes. We named the shapes (rectangular prism, cube, cone, cylinder, sphere, and pyramid) and then talked about whether you can stack, roll, or slide each one. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today we talked about landforms and bodies of water. We made a little booklet that showcased a lake, plain, and mountain. 

Just reminder that we will be going to the library tomorrow. Don't forget your book! 

Shape Fun!

Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone made it home safely yesterday. It just seems too early to be worrying about brushing snow off cars. Maybe this will be the worst of the winter. Time will tell! 

In Religion class today we talked about how Jesus invited people to be his followers. We also learned that the 12 Apostles were very close friends and followers of Jesus. Finally, we completed this week's ARISE lesson. Today we talked about how it is our right to make sure that people have things that they need like food and water. 

Language Arts class was busy as usual. We practiced our oral vocabulary words by answering questions with them. Then we used our sound boxes to help us segment words by sounds. After that we practiced reading words with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, and ph, words with the inflectional ending -es, and our sight words. Following that, we switched to building our fluency. We partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We then read our weekly story, Fun With Maps, a nonfiction story all about different kinds of maps. 

This afternoon, we completed pages in our close reading companion related to our story. We also practiced writing sentences correctly remembering capital letters and periods. 

In Gym today we competed in several relay races. Students worked as a team to either run, walk, skip, or hop to complete various tasks. Even though we all might not have won, we had fun working together. 

Math class was lots of fun today. Our focus today was on dividing shapes into halves and fourths. The students were given squares. Together we talked about how to divide a square into halves to get rectangles and triangles and how to divide a square into fourths to get squares and triangles. We also talked about how each part is either one half or one fourth. 

Have a wonderful night! 

Happy Veteran's Day!

Greetings! Welcome back after that long four day weekend. I hope everyone had time to enjoy family and get some rest. I can tell the students enjoyed their break. They were ready and eager to learn today. 

I hope all of our veterans had a Happy Veteran's Day! Thank you for your service! 

We began our day with Adoration. We spent some quiet time with Jesus praying for those who are sick and for him to help guide us through our day. 

We began Language Arts class by working in our literacy centers. Then we jumped back into our week of learning. We reviewed the oral vocabulary words we learned last Thursday and then learned three new words (height, model, and separate). From there we worked on rereading for understanding as we listened to a story about maps. After that we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, and ph. We then learned about the inflectional ending -es and how we us it to make plurals when a word ends in an s, ss, z, sh, ch, tch, or x. Next we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We then switched our focus to reading. We reread Which Way on the Map and wrote about the main topic and key details from the story. We did the same thing as we reread our decodable reader. Finally, we practiced spelling irregular plural words. 

This week in Penmanship we are practicing E and e. 

In Math class, we reviewed the shapes of circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles. We found this to be very easy. 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is Gym. Don't forget your sneakers! 

Fun With Maps!

Greetings! Happy Thursday (Friday for us)! The students are quite excited about their four day weekend. They have worked so hard and will enjoy this time off. 

In Religion class today we focused on Ordinary Time. We talked about the stories we hear and special days that we celebrate during this season. 

We began Language Arts by working in our literacy centers. From there, we started a new week of learning. We learned two new oral vocabulary words (locate and route). We worked on rereading for understanding as we read Me on the Map. After that 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 our morning by reading Which Way on the Map?, a nonfiction story about children using a map. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced writing plurals for irregular words like men, children, mice, etc. 

In Math class today we began our chapter on geometry. Today we reviewed characteristics of squares, triangles, circles, and rectangles. We then worked in groups to sort shapes based on color, size, shape, number of sides, and number of corners. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today we began our unit on geography. We learned the difference between continents and oceans. We created a small map of the world showing all of the continents and oceans. 

Have a fabulous weekend. See you on Tuesday! 

A Brighter Day!

Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone enjoyed the sunshine today. We had a great day in first grade. 

In Religion class we continued our talk about the church seasons. We reviewed each one along with their colors. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with the digraphs sh, th, and ng along with closed syllable words. Following that we wrote sentences using our sight words. We took our weekly assessment and practiced writing proper nouns correctly. We wrapped up our morning by writing about things we are thankful for. We added that to a turkey craft. 

For Gym today we headed downstairs to the Gym. Today we played "Good Ship Spark." It is a fun game that combines running, skipping, and jumping to various commands. They were quite tired by the end of class. 

In Math class today, we took our chapter test on subtraction. Tomorrow we will begin our chapter on shapes. 

Just a reminder that Parent-Teacher Conferences continue tomorrow. I look forward to seeing you then! 

A Gray Day!

Greetings! Happy Tuesday! Today was a good day in first grade. I think the gray day outside did affect us inside a bit. It was hard to stay motivated all day. We tried our best and succeeded with what we did! 

In Religion class today we looked at the different seasons of the church year: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Three Days, Easter, and Ordinary Time. We talked about what we celebrate in each one and what the colors are for the seasons. 

We began Language Arts by working in our literacy centers. We then went back to work with our weekly learning. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words, spelled and read words with the digraphs sh, th, and ng, segment closed syllable words into their syllables, and read our word wall to review all of the words we have learned this year. Following that we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets along with the story we read yesterday. Finally, we read a nonfiction piece about kids helping in their neighborhood. 

This afternoon we completed pages in our close reading companion that went along with the nonfiction story we went. We ended the day with some creative writing. We wrote about where a turkey could go on vacation on Thanksgiving. 

In Math class today we spent time reviewing. We reviewed what we learned about subtraction. Tomorrow we will take our subtraction test. 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is Gym day. Please wear your sneakers to school. Also, it is the first night of Parent-Teacher Conferences. I look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow after school! 

Welcome to November!

Greetings! Happy November! I know this is technically my second post in November, but it feels like the first one. Friday was such a special day in first grade. I forgot that it was a new month. November is one of my favorite months of the year. I love celebrating Thanksgiving with the students and do all the activities associated with it. It will surely be a fun month! 

In Religion class today we talked about safety. We talked about safe adults and strangers and what to do when a stranger comes near. We then talked about safe and unsafe touches and what to do if someone does something to us that we do not like. We all know that we need to run, yell, and tell. 

We began Language Arts class by working in our literacy centers. We then jumped back into the week of learning we began last week. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words. Next, we used sound boxes to segment words into sounds. After that we practice reading words with the digraphs sh, th, and ng. We divided closed syllable words into their syllables, read the word, and identified the closed syllables. Next, we practiced reading our sight words. We finished our morning by reading the fantasy story Nell's Books. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we completed pages in our close reading companion that went along with the story. We also practiced writing proper nouns correctly. 

In Penmanship this week we will be practicing the letters C and c. 

In Math class today we reviewed determining whether a sentence was true or false. We then used our thinking skills to solve problems. 

Have a great night! 

Honoring the Saints!

Greetings on this special day. Today was All Saints' Day, a day where the church honors all of the men and women who became saints. We took time today to share in this special celebration. 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian reminded us that we, too, are called to be saints. He encouraged us to always come to Jesus when we need help. 

This afternoon was our annual All Saints' Day prayer service., a time when we remember certain saints. And, as you know, first grade played a major role in the prayer service. The students were so excited to dress up as their given saint. They all looked so nice. They were very prayerful and reverent during the service. Our eighth grade friends did great reading the short biographies. Thank you to everyone who came and thank you for helping to put the costumes together. It was a beautiful service. 

In between Mass and our prayer service, we did do work. In Math, we reviewed writing fact families. In Language Arts, we reviewed the difference between common and proper nouns. We sorted words based on whether it was a common or proper noun. Then in Science class we reviewed habitats. And finally, in Art, we made a giant turkey. They look awesome hanging in our room: 

Have a wonderful weekend!