Goodbye, September!

 Greetings on this final day of September. It is hard to believe that we have completed our first full month of school. 

In Religion class today we talked about how John the Baptist prepared the people for Jesus by telling them to put God first in their lives. After our discussion, we prayed the third decade of the Joyful Mysteries. 

We began Language Arts class by reviewing our oral vocabulary words. We then practiced reading r blend and s blend words along with possessives. Following that, we read our sight words. We then switched our focus to reading and comprehension. We read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read the nonfiction story Move It and completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on finding details in the story. Finally, we practiced writing sentences remembering our capital letters and punctuation marks. 

In Math class today we again practiced writing number sentences by looking at a picture. Tomorrow we will solve word problems. 

In Spanish today, we reviewed the colors in Spanish by playing Bingo. We had lots of fun doing this! 

We ended our day with Computers. Today we logged onto splash learn to practice our math. It took us awhile to get there, but once we got there we had fun. 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is our dress down day! 

A Rainy Day!

 Greetings! I hope everyone had a great day! 

We began our day by going over to church for Adoration. We spent some quiet time praying and talking to Jesus. When we came back, we prayed the second decade of the Joyful Mysteries. 

As usual, Language Arts was quite busy. We began by reviewing the oral vocabulary words we learned yesterday and then learned three new words (difficult, agree, and exhausted). We then worked on asking and answering questions as we read a fable. Next, we segmented words into sounds using our sound boxes. After that we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with r blends and s blends. Following that, we learned about possessives. We learned that 's means that someone owns something. We then completed possessive phrases on a worksheet. We followed that up by practicing using our sight words in sentences. We ended our morning focusing on reading. We reread Move and Grin and wrote details from the story. We then read our decodable reader. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced writing sentences. We wrote about what we like to do in the fall. We added our writing to a craft. I'll post pictures of them tomorrow. 

In Math class today, we wrote addition number sentences. We looked at a picture, told a story about it, and then wrote the addition sentence. We did very well with this. 

Have a great night! 

Last Days of September!

 Greetings on this beautiful fall day! I hope everyone was able to enjoy sometime outside today. 

In Religion class today, we learned how to pray the rosary. We colored a coloring sheet with different colors so that we know what prayers to say when. I then gave each student a rosary. Throughout the month, we will be praying a decade a day. Today we prayed the first decade of the Joyful Mysteries. After praying, the students received a Joyful Mysteries coloring book. They will color a picture for each mystery. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts today. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (exercise and physical). We then worked on asking and answering questions as we read Move, a story about how animals move. Next, we learned how to blend and read words with r blends and s blends. Following that we learned our new sight words. Then it was time to apply our new knowledge as we read Move and Grin. We ended the morning by working in centers, social distance style. The students remained at the seat and worked independently on assignments while a small group of students worked with me. They sat between dividers to keep the distance. I am quite proud at how well this worked today. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we focused on sentences. We identified sentences and practiced writing one. 

In Math class today, we solved addition problems using number bonds and counting on. We are getting good at adding! 

Enjoy your evening! 

Celebrating Johnny Appleseed, Part 2

 Greetings! I hope everyone had a fantastic week! Our Friday was quite exciting in First Grade. 

We learned about apples all week and waited for today's apple fun. We made homemade applesauce! The students had so much fun doing this. They helped add the apples, sugar, water, and cinnamon. They waited patiently for it to cook and loved how our room smelled. Here is how our apples looked after everything was added: 

After making our applesauce, we returned to our learning. In Religion class we wrapped up our chapter on the early life of Jesus before his public ministry. 

We also wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read short o words, put words in ABC order, and wrote sentences using our sight words. We also took our weekly assessment. 

In Math class today, we used number bonds to write addition sentences. We looked at a picture, filled in the number bond, and then wrote the addition sentence using the number bond. We also learned that we can add in any order. 

In Science class today, we learned that insects have 3 body parts (head, thorax, abdomen) and 6 legs. We used our Play-Doh to make an insect. 

After all of that hard work, it was time to eat our applesauce. For those who wanted it, they were given a bowl of our warm applesauce. They all enjoyed it. I loved seeing their happy faces. Here is a bowl for you to see: 

After eating our applesauce, we made a scarecrow in Art class using paper plates and construction paper. Here are some of the completed projects: 

Have a great weekend! 

Celebrating Johnny Appleseed, Part 1

 Greetings and happy Thursday. I hope everyone had a great day!

In Religion class today, we talked about how the Holy Family believed in God and prayed to him. We focused on how they prayed before meals and talked about how we should too. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words. We then wrote and read short o words and practiced putting words into ABC order. Following that, we read a story in our decodable reader and partner read (social distance style) our story from yesterday. Next, we read a poem and talked about it before completing pages in our close reading companion. Finally, we practiced identifying and writing statements and questions. 

In Math class today, we continued to practice counting on to find an answer to an addition problem. We used our linking cubes, number line, or added in our heads to solve the problems.

For Gym class today, we headed outside to the parking lot. It amazes me how much energy they have!

In Social Studies, we learned about Johnny Appleseed. We learned that he planted apple trees, loved animals, and wore a pot on his head. We created a small story booklet and added that to a craft. Have a look: 

Tomorrow we conclude our Apple Week Celebration with a tasty treat!

First Full Day of Fall!

 Greetings on this first full day of fall! I hope you were able to enjoy some time outside today. It really was a beautiful fall day. 

In Religion class today we talked about how the Blessed Family (Joseph, Mary, and Jesus) lived in Nazareth and did many things together. 

In Language Arts class today, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read short o words, and practiced putting words into ABC order. We also practiced reading our sight words before switching focus. We read a story in our decodable reader booklets and a story in our literature anthologies. After reading Friends, we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on us finding the details in the story. Finally, we sorted sentences based on whether they were a question or statement. 

In Math class today, we practiced writing number sentences for pictures. We looked at the first group, looked at the second group, and then added them together. 

In Spanish today, we again practiced learning the color words. We are getting better at this. I do like when I say a color in English, someone will say the name in Spanish. 

Finally, for Computers today, we had some apple fun. We read Ten Apples Up on Top. We then took a picture of ourselves in Seesaw and added 10 apples up on our heads. The students really enjoyed this! 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is a dress down day, and it is Gym day! 

Apple Week Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! Today was another busy day in first grade!

In Religion class we talked about Jesus being born in Bethlehem. Yes, this is the Christmas story, and I know it is not Christmas yet. However, the story is being told now because we are learning about Jesus. We will revisit the Christmas story as we get closer to Christmas. 

We began Language Arts by reviewing the oral vocabulary we learned yesterday and learning three new words (collect, deliver, and chore). We then worked on asking and answering questions as we read a nonfiction piece about games played long ago. After that we worked on segmenting words into sounds by using sound boxes. Then, we used our letter tiles to spell and read short o words. Following that we learned how to put words into ABC order. Next, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended our morning by rereading Toss! Kick! Hop! and writing details from the story and by reading our decodable reader. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced identifying statements and questions. 

In Math class today we learned how to use a number strip to count on to find the answer to an addition problem. 

We ended our day with some more apple fun. Today we created a diagram of an apple and labeled its parts. We are enjoying learning about apples. 

Have a great night! 

Octopus Fun!

Greetings on this final full day of summer. Fall is definitely in the air.  We had a great start to our week. 

In Religion class we read the story of the angel Gabriel visiting Mary and telling her that she was to have God's son and name him Jesus. We talked about how Mary said 'yes' to God and how we should too. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (cooperate and relationship). We then worked on asking and answering questions as we read Friends All Around. Following that, we learned how to blend and read short o words. Next, we learned our new sight words. With all of that new knowledge, it was time to put it to use. We read Toss! Kick! Hop!, a nonfiction piece about what friends do together. Finally, we practiced telling the difference between statements and questions. 

To end our morning, we had some short o fun. We made an octopus. On each leg, we wrote a short o word. The students really enjoyed having the octopuses on their desks this afternoon. 

In Math class today we began our chapter on addition. Today we practiced counting on to find the total. We built the addition problem using linking cubes and practiced counting on using them. We then switched to counting in our heads. 

This week we will be learning about apples. Each day we will learn something new all of which will lead to a big celebration on Friday. Today we focused on the life cycle of an apple. We made a spinning wheel to show how an apple grows. 

Have a great night! 

Community Helpers!

Greetings! I hope everyone is enjoying their three day weekend! Before leaving for this short break, we had lots to do in school.

In Religion, we talked about St. Veronica who is the saint for our classroom. We watched a short video about her and talked about how she helped Jesus. We then talked about the importance of helping others and how we can pray to her to help us to always help those in need. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, spelled and read words with l-blends and -s plurals, and wrote sentences using our sight words. We also read a story in our decodable reader booklets and a short nonfiction piece about what pets need. Following that we completed pages in our close reading companion. Finally, we took our weekly assessment and identified statements. 

In Math class today, we wrapped up our chapter on number bonds. On Monday, we will begin taking a closer look at addition. 

For Gym class today we headed outside. The students had a great time playing and running around. It amazes me at how much energy they have!

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today we talked about community helpers. We read a short book and watched a video that identified community helpers. Then, we completed an activity in Seesaw. The students took a picture of themselves, illustrated what they want to be when they grow up, and recorded themselves saying that. If you get a chance, log on to Seesaw this weekend to see it. They are really neat! 

We did take time to finish our Spanish project from yesterday. The students, created their own crayon box. Here is one of them: 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Learning New and Old!

 Greetings om this Wednesday in mid-September. It is hard to believe that September is half over. This month is surely flying by. 

In Religion class today we wrapped up our chapter on the Blessed Trinity. We reviewed the Three Persons in the Blessed Trinity and talked about how we are praying to the Blessed Trinity when we are making the Sign of the Cross. 

Language Arts was quite busy today. We began by reviewing our oral vocabulary words. We then practiced reading l-blend words and plural -s words. After that we practiced our sight words. Then we switched our focus to reading. We read a story in our decodable reader booklets and a story in our anthology called Flip. After reading that story, we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on key details from the story. Finally, we practiced writing statements. 

In Math class we reviewed number bonds. We are ready for a chapter test tomorrow. 

In Spanish, we continued working on learning the color words. We reviewed the color names by writing them on crayons. We are going to turn the crayons into a craft project tomorrow. 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is a dress down day. Have a great night! 

Connections in Reading!

Greetings on this fall-like day. I will say that the cooler morning was a bit shocking today. However, it reminded me to appreciate our seasonal changes. Fall is such a beautiful time of the year. 

In Religion today we learned that prayer is talking to and listening to God. We also learned that the Sign of the Cross is a prayer to the Blessed Trinity. We practiced making the Sign of the Cross, too. 

We began Language Arts class by reviewing the oral vocabulary words we learned yesterday and then learned three new words (companion, popular, and groom). Following that, we worked on visualizing as we read a nonfiction piece about pets. Next, we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with l-blends. After that, we learned that when we add -s to the end of a noun we make it plural; we practiced reading -s plural words and using them in sentences. Then we practiced using our sight words in sentences. After a quick dance break, it was time to read. We reread A Pig for Cliff  and wrote details from the story. We then read our decodable reader and answered questions about its details. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we worked on identifying statements. We also practiced writing a sentence. 

In Math class today, we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. We looked at a set of numbers and had to pick three of those numbers to make a number bond. 

Here's a story to show the sign of the times: As we were reading about pets today, the story mentioned about how an iguana can be 6 feet long. Someone shouted out that that is how far apart our desks are. They understand what 6 feet looks like. Who would have thought? 

Have a great night!

The Blessed Trinity

Greetings on this beautiful Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend and a great start to the week. 

In Religion class today we reviewed the Blessed Trinity. We reviewed how God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are joined together in love to form the Blessed Trinity. We made a Popsicle stick triangle ornament to help us remember the Blessed Trinity. This is one of my favorite crafts to do with the students each year.  

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts today. First we learned two new oral vocabulary words (train and care). We then worked on visualizing as we read Cool Dog, School Dog. Following that we learned how to blend and read words with l-blends, words that begin with bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, or sl. After that we learned our new sight words. Then it was time to put our new knowledge to work as we read and discussed A Pig for Cliff. Finally, we learned that statements are telling sentences that start with a capital letter and end with a period. 

To help us learn l-blend words, we created a flower. On each petal, we wrote an l-blend word. Here is one of our flowers. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced writing sentences. We know that sentences must tell who it is about and what they are doing. 

In Math class today, we continued our practice with number bonds. We are working at solving for either a missing part or whole. 

Just a reminder that book orders are due tomorrow. Have a great night! 

Leaf Silhouettes!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! It is hard to believe that we already have four weeks of school in. Time is surely flying by. 

In Religion class today we talked about the Blessed Trinity. We learned that there are Three Persons in the Blessed Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and that they are joined together by love. 

Language Arts was again busy today. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences. We then used our whiteboards to spell and read short i words and words with final double consonant letters. Next, we wrote sentences using our sight words. Following that, we read a story in our decodable reader booklets and partner read (social distance style) our story from yesterday. Then we read a nonfiction piece about life in the city and country and completed pages in our close reading companion. Finally, we took our weekly assessment and practiced writing sentences using correct word order. 

In Math class today, we practiced solving number bonds when given the whole and one part. We are slowly understanding how to find the other part. 

In Science class today, we talked about how animals move. Each student was given an animal and asked to show how that animal moved. We then sorted animals based on how they moved. 

Finally, it was time for Art. Today we made a leaf silhouette. The students glued strips on scrapbook paper onto a piece of construction paper. When finished, they glued a leaf cut out on top to create the silhouette. Here are some finished artworks: 

Have a great weekend! 

A Busy Day!

Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone was able to stay cool today. We did manage to stay cool as best as possible today. We are hoping for a break next week. 

In Religion class we talked about how Jesus is God's greatest gift to us. 

Language Arts class was quite productive today. We began by reviewing our oral vocabulary words. Next we used our sound boxes to segment words by sounds. After that we practiced reading short i and final double consonant words. That was followed by practicing our sight words. We then switched focus to reading. We read a story in our decodable reader booklets. Next, we read and discussed Go, Pip and completed pages in our close reading companion which helped us focus on the details in the story. Finally, we practiced putting sentences into correct word order. 

In Math class today, we focused on solving number bonds when given the whole and one part. We used our linking cubes to act out the problems. Tomorrow we will focus on using numbers and pictures to help us. 

Unfortunately, a rain shower forced us inside for Gym today. We danced to Go Noodle or played with our indoor recess bag. 

In Social Studies today, we learned that leaders make rules and the rules keep us safe. 

Have a great night!  

Color My World!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! It is hard to believe that this week is half over. We are just getting started! 

In Religion today we talked about how God promised to send us Jesus. We also talked about how Jesus promised to send us the Holy Spirit. We ended class by creating a Jesus name plate. The students were very creative with it. 

In Language Arts, we began class by reviewing our oral vocabulary words from yesterday and learning three new words (bored, feast, and scurried). We then worked on visualizing as we read "City Mouse, Country Mouse." After that we used our letter tiles to spell and read short i words. Following that we learned how to blend and read words with final double consonants. Next, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. After all that hard work, it was time to jump into reading. We reread Six Kids and wrote details from the story. We then read our decodable reader and talked about the details in it. Finally, we practiced writing sentences using correct word order. 

In Math class today, we still focused on number bonds. Today, we worked on finding the parts when given the whole. We began with linking cubes, moved to drawing pictures, and finished with just using numbers. 

In Spanish today we focused on learning the colors. After we did, we colored a picture that was labeled with the color words. 

We ended our day with Computers. Today we used ABC Mouse to practice skills. 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is a dress down day. It is also Gym day! Have a great night! 

Short i Fun!

Greetings! Welcome back after the Labor Day holiday weekend. I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and was able to relax a little. I did enjoy hearing from the students all that they did this weekend. 

For Religion today, we headed over to church for Adoration. We spent some quiet time praying to Jesus, thanking him for the beautiful day, and asking him to help those who need it. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (city and country). We then worked on visualizing as we read Alicia's Happy Day. After that we learned how to blend and read short i words. Following that we learned our new sight words. Finally, we put our new skills to work as we read and discussed Six Kids, a fantasy story about chickens. 

After all of our hard work this morning, it was time for a craftivity. The students created a pig sitting in mud. On the mud they wrote short i words. They were very cute. I wish I would have taken pictures. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we worked on putting sentences together using correct word order. 

In Math class today, we continued our work with number bonds working to find the whole when given the two parts. We are very good with this. 

As promised, here are pictures from Friday's Art class. Enjoy! 

 

Friday Firsts!

Greetings! Happy Friday! Today was a day of many firsts in First Grade. 

We began our day by going to Mass. Today, Fr. Brian talked to us about the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He encouraged all of us to have a picture of the Sacred Heart in our house.  

We wrapped up our first week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read short a words and words with the inflectional ending -s. We also wrote sentences using our sight words. Finally, we took our first reading test. After lunch we took our Spelling test. 

In Math class today we began our study of number bonds. We used our linking cubes to show two parts and then pushed those two parts together to make the whole. We ended class by solving a number bond problem without our linking cubes. Many were able to see that we add to find the whole. 

In Science class we talked about all of the different coverings animals have. We named animals that fell into each category. We then completed a Seesaw activity where students grouped animals by their covering. 

Finally, it was time for Art class. Today we painted for the first time. We made owls by sponge painting them. I will post pictures of them once they are dried. 

Just a reminder that there is no school on Monday. Have a great and safe Labor Day weekend! 

Short A Fun!

Greetings on this rainy day. Even though rainy days can get dreary, it was nice to see and hear the rain today. We are in much need of rain. 

In Religion class today we talked about what it means to be a peacekeeper. I showed the students two apples. We talked about their similarities. We then 'insulted' the one apple by calling it names. Next, we complimented the other apple. I then cut the apples in half. The 'insulted' apple was mushy and brown in the inside; the complimented apple was fresh and crisp. We then talked about how our words can hurt others even if we don't see it. We talked about using kind, nice, and polite words and being peacekeepers. We ended by praying our Peacekeeper Promise. 

In Language Arts class, we practiced using our oral vocabulary words in sentences. We then used our whiteboards to spell and read short a words and words with inflected ending -s. After that we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets and our story from yesterday. After that we read a nonfiction piece about school rules and completed pages in our close reading companion. 

In between all the learning in Language Arts, we stopped for a fun project. We listed as many short a words as we could on the board. The students then wrote them on apples. We glued the apples on a tree to create a short a apple tree. Here are two of our trees: 

In Math class today we took our chapter test on the numbers 1-10. I was very pleased at how well they did at following directions. We will begin learning about number bonds tomorrow. 

Because we could not go to Gym outside, we had Gym in our classroom. We used the website gonoodle to dance and workout to various videos. They had a blast!

Finally, we ended our day with Social Studies. Today we talked about how we can be classroom helpers. 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is our first Spelling test of the year! Have a good night! 

Busy Readers!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone was able to dodge the rain drops today! 

For Religion class today, we went over to church to talk about how we go to church. We practiced standing on the pink carpet and not the kneelers. We also talked about how we kneel and pray. We are very excited about going to Mass on Friday. 

Language Arts was very busy today. We practiced finishing sentences using our oral vocabulary words. We then used sound boxes to segment words into sounds. Next we practiced reading short a words and words with the inflectional ending -s. After that, we pulled up our decodable reader books on our tablets to read a story. Following that we reviewed our sight words. With all that practice down, we put our skills to work as we read and discussed Nat and Sam. After reading the stories we reviewed the key details by completing pages in our close reading companions. Finally, we practiced writing sentences correctly remembering the capital letters and periods. 

In Math class today we reviewed the numbers to 10. We practiced counting, identifying more and less in a set, and finishing patterns. Tomorrow we will take our chapter test. 

In Spanish today we learned the numbers 6-10. We again created a foldable to help us. We are very good at counting to 10. 

We ended our day with Computers. Today we practiced our Reading and Math skills as we used ABC Mouse. 

Tomorrow is a dress down day from Fr. Brian. The students may wear jeans or shorts to school! 

Working Hard in Reading!

Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is having a great day! 

In Religion class today we wrapped up our chapter on God's creation. We talked again about how God created the world and how God will always love us. 

We began Language Arts class by reviewing our oral vocabulary words from yesterday and learning three new words today: common, object, and recognize. We then worked on visualizing as we listened to a story about schools around the world. Next, we used our letter tiles to spell and read short a words. Following that, we learned how to blend and read words with the inflectional ending -s. After that we practiced using our sight words in sentences. Even after all that hard work, we were not finished yet. We reread Jack Can and wrote details from the story. Finally, we read our decodable reader and answered questions about the details in that story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced identifying sentences. We completed a practice sort on Seesaw. We also sorted examples into whether or not they are sentences. We know that all sentences have a capital letter, period, and make sense. 

In Math class today we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. We grouped numbers into certain categories, continued a number pattern, and identified numbers in a given range. 

Have a great night!