The End of August!

Greetings on this final day of August! I hope everyone had a nice weekend! I don't know about you, but I really enjoyed yesterday. It was just a picture perfect day. I loved being able to sit outside and read. 

We began Religion class by reading Guess How Much I Love You. After reading the story we talked about how Big Nutbrown Hare's love is just like God's love. We said that God will always love us. 

Today we began our first grade Language Arts curriculum. We will begin with learning and mastering short vowel words. We began by learning two oral vocabulary words: learn and subjects. We then worked on visualizing as we read This School Year Will Be the Best. Following that, we practiced blending and reading short a words. After that, we learned our new sight words. Finally, we read and discussed Jack Can. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we learned about sentences. We practiced identifying whether a group of words was a sentence or not. 

In Math class today we practiced identifying one more and one less than a number. We began by using our linking cubes then switched to using paper and pencil. The students did very well with this. 

Have a great night!  

Our First Friday!

Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a good week. We had a good day to end our first full week of first grade.

In Religion class we talked about how God gave us special gifts and made each one of us special. We talked about how we all like different things but how God loves each one of us so much. 

We wrapped up our review of the alphabet in Language Arts. We looked at the letters x, q, v, j, y, and z. We also practiced rhyming and segmenting words into individual sounds. In addition we reviewed the last of our kindergarten sight words. 

After our review was over, we listened to If You Take a Mouse to School. We then talked about what would happen if a mouse came to school. We wrote out idea and then added it to a cute mouse craft. 

We ended our morning by logging into Epic Reading. This year we will not be able to visit the library. So, we will be using Epic Reading instead to help build our reading skills. 

In Math class today we looked at number patterns. The students used their linking cubes to show the numbers in a pattern. They did very good with this. 

We had our first Science class today. Today we talked about all the ways we can group animals. We completed an activity in Seesaw where the students sorted animals into different groups. 

Finally, it was time for Art class. Today we created a rocket ship using squares. On each square, we wrote a letter of our name. We added foam stars around our ship. These will be displayed in the hallway for all to see. 

Have a great weekend! See you on Monday! 

Mixed Up Day!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope all are doing well. Today was a mixed up day in first grade. I had to step out for a training. While I was away, the students had fun with Mrs. McMullen. With her they reviewed beginning letter sounds and created a picture that will be given to Miss Vincent's family. 

Today in Religion class we talked about how God created us because he loves us. We also talked about how God wants us to take care of his creation. We said that when we pick up trash, plant trees, and take care of animals we are doing this. 

In Language Arts today we practiced blending and segmenting words. We also reviewed the letters u, g, and w. In addition we reviewed our sight words. Finally we listened to the classic fable "The Hare and the Tortoise." After the story, we answered questions about the story's events. 

For Gym today, we were able to dodge the rain drops and head outside. It was nice to get out and enjoy the fresh air and warm breeze. 

We ended our day with Math class. Today we practiced identifying the greater and least number in a set. The students are very good at this. 

Tomorrow is Friday. We are looking forward to our first Science class and Art class! 

Bingo Fun!

Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is doing well. We had another great day in first grade. 

In Religion class we talked about how God created the world. We listed things that God created and then drew something beautiful he created. 

In Language Arts class, we continued our review. Today we practiced rhyming words and segmenting words into their sounds. We then reviewed the letters b, l, k, and ck. Following that we reviewed our sight words. To help us build our sight word fluency, we played sight word bingo. We all had fun playing this! 

 In Math class today we practiced using the terms greater and less. We used our linking cubes to build towers and then identified which one was greater and which one was less. We then transitioned into just identifying the greater and less number without the pictures. 

Today we had our first Spanish class. We created a foldable to help us count to 5 in Spanish. The students were very excited to do this. 

We ended our day with Computers. Today, we used our tablets to log onto Schoology. From there, we logged onto Seesaw and completed an activity. We are slowly getting the hang of the tablets. 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is a special jean/short day. The students may wear jeans or shorts to school. We are asking for a donation in memory of our colleague who passed away last Thursday. Thank you for contribution. Have a great evening! 

It's Picture Day!

Greetings! I just loved seeing everyone dressed up today for their pictures. They all looked so nice and smiled so pretty. Just letting you know that only individual pictures were taken today. We did not take a group photo. 

In Religion class today we completed the introductory pages going over the different things we will be doing and learning in Religion this year. 

In Language Arts class, we practiced identifying beginning and ending sounds, segmenting words into syllables, and blending words. We then reviewed the sounds for the letters d, h, short o, and short e. After that, we reviewed our sight words and read our decodable readers. Finally, we listened to stories and identified the events that happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we worked on our tablets. Thankfully, everything was working and we uploaded a picture to our Seesaw account. Thank you for your patience as we work out the bugs. 

In Math class today we used the words more and fewer when looking at two groups of objects. We created two simple graphs, one of shoes and one of socks. We then looked at them and discussed which one had more and which one had fewer. They did very well with this. 

Have a great evening! 

Happy Monday!

 Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. I will say that it took awhile for the children to wake up this morning. But, once we got going, we were off and running. 

In Religion class today, we talked about the importance of using kind words. We said that in our classroom we are kind, helpful, respectful, nice, and share. We created a class banner for all to see. 

We continued our review of Language Arts today. We practiced segmenting words into syllables and identified whether words rhymed or not. We also reviewed the letters n r, c, f, and short i. After that we reviewed the words go, a, has, this, and is. We did practice reading a decodable reader. Finally, we listened to a story about elephants and discussed details from the story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced rhyming. We created a giant Pete the Cat and glued pairs of rhyming words inside his coat. 

In Math class today we practiced showing numbers to 10 in different ways. The students really enjoyed using the linking cubes! 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is Picture Day! I can't wait to see everyone's smiles tomorrow! 

On the Third Day of School . . .

 Greetings! I hope everyone had a fantastic day! We had another fantastic day in first grade. 

This morning in Religion we read The Jelly Donut Difference and talked about the importance of being kind to others especially our classmates. We recorded all of the ways that we can be nice in our classroom. We will use this list tomorrow to complete a project. 

In Language Arts today we continued to review. We reviewed the letters p, t, and a along with the words do, to, you, he, can. In addition we practiced identifying the beginning and middle sounds in words. We even blended and read some words, too. 

We attempted to use our tablets today but not all were cooperating. I think I figured out the clinch and am hoping things work better tomorrow. 

In Math class today we practiced identifying and counting to 10. Using linking cubes and a ten frame, the students showed an amount for a given number. For example, if I said "4" the students put four linking cubes on the 10 frame. After that, the students placed number cards on their desks. I said a number and they had to hold up that number. They did very well with everything. 

For Gym we headed outside. They are doing very well playing on the parking lot and staying distant from each other. 

Finally, it was time for Social Studies. We talked about covering our coughs and sneezes and created a craft project to help us remember to do so. We also talked about things we do with our families. 

Have a great night! 

On the Second Day of First Grade . . .

 Greetings on this second day of first grade. And, just like on the first day, the second day was full of fun, excitement, and learning. 

We began our day with Religion class. Today we talked about making good choices. We identified good choices and bad choices we make. We sorted pictures based on whether they were a good choice or a bad choice. We also talked about talking to Jesus when we aren't sure what choice to make. 

During the first few weeks in first grade, we will be spending time reviewing material covered in kindergarten in Language Arts. Today we practiced identifying the beginning and ending sounds in words, the sounds for the letters m and s, and reviewed the sight words I and like. I was quite impressed with what they remembered. 

After our review, we got to know our classmates a little better. We created a banner that illustrated our likes including favorite animal, color, and food. They are displayed in the hallway for all to see. 

In Math class today, we reviewed the numbers 1-10. The students were each given a card with dots on it. They had to count the dots and show that number on a ten frame. We then arranged the numbers in order. Again, they did a great job with that. 

Next, we spent time talking about germs and the importance of washing our hands. The students colored germs and a handprint. They then spread the germs on the handprint and used "soap" to scrub them away. 

Unfortunately, we were not able to use our tablets today because of Internet problems. I know they were disappointed but we will try to use them tomorrow. 

Have a great night! 

Welcome Back!

 Welcome Back! We missed you! It was so nice to see everyone today. It was a fantastic start to first grade! 

My name is Miss Ashley Chalich. I am excited to be your child's teacher this year. I will update this blog every night with the daily happenings in first grade. My goal is to keep you informed of the education going on in first grade. 

Today was a great day! Everyone was so excited to be back. And everyone left tired. We began our day by unpacking and organizing our supplies. Thank you for getting them. After that we put our books in our desk. 

Then it was time for a story. We read First Day Jitters. We talked about how we felt this morning. To help calm our nerves, we had some jitter juice. Needless to say that helped a lot. 

After that we read David Goes to School. We talked about what it means to be a fantastic first grader. We promised to be kind and respectful, listen, and follow the rules. 

This afternoon we had our first Math Meeting. During our Math Meeting we review skills related to the calendar, time, and graphing. We will have a Math Meeting every day in the morning. 

Finally, we spent some time talking about why we wear masks. We know that we wear them to protect ourselves from germs. The students got to design a mask on a person. I loved seeing their creativity. 

Have a wonderful night!