Raining Compound Words!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great day to end the month of April. It is hard to believe that we have only three weeks to go!

We began our day by going to Mass. Today, Fr. Brian reminded us that Jesus is our Good Shepherd. We need to follow him and he will help us. 

We wrapped up another week of Language Arts today. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with silent letters and compound words, wrote sentences using our sight words, and took our weekly assessment. 

We then completed a compound word activity we began yesterday. On an umbrella, we wrote a compound word. On the raindrops we wrote each word that makes up the compound word and illustrate each word to show what the compound word means. Have a look:

In Math class today, we wrapped up our chapter on the numbers to 120. Next week, we will be reviewing adding and subtracting with and without regrouping. 

In Science class today, we learned about the needs of plants. We watched a video that explained their needs; the students really enjoyed singing along with it. They then completed a Seesaw activity where they drew a flower and listed what it needs in order to grow. 

Finally, it was time to pain in Art class today. The students painted grass, flower stems, the sky, sun, and clouds. We used cupcake liners to make the flowers. I will post pictures on Monday once everything has dried. 

Until then, here is a picture from the kite writing we did on Wednesday. Enjoy! 

Have a fabulous weekend! 

GoNoodle Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! It's hard to believe that tomorrow is already Friday!

In Religion class today, we looked at the Liturgy of the Eucharist. We really focused on how the bread and wine become the Body and blood of Jesus. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading words with silent letters and compound words. We also reviewed all of our sight words by reading our word wall. After that, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets and our story from yesterday. We also read a nonfiction story about the importance of a rainy day (very appropriate for today); after reading that story we completed pages in our close reading companion. Finally, we practiced finding indefinite pronouns in sentences. 

In Math class today we reviewed the concepts we practiced with the numbers to 120. This included place value, finding more or less than a number, ordering numbers, and patterns. We are ready for our chapter test tomorrow. 

For Gym today, we exercised with our GoNoodle videos. We were very excited today to begin to build a new character on GoNoodle. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. We reviewed needs and wants, goods and services, buying, saving, trading, and working for money to buy things we need. 

Have a great night! 

Fun With Similes!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope all are well. I will say this warm weather is so nice. I remember last year being so cold and dark in April. It is so nice to see the sun shining these days! 

In Religion class today, we looked at the Liturgy of the Word. We learned about each of the three readings we hear at Sunday Mass and our responses to each reading. We also talked about response to the petitions. 

In Language Arts, we practiced using our oral vocabulary words in sentences. We also practiced reading words with silent letters, compound words, our sight words and vocabulary words. After all that individual practice, it was time to put everything together to build our fluency and comprehension. We partner read a story in our decodable readers. We also read a story in our anthology called Rain School, a realistic fiction story about children attending school in Africa. Following that story we completed pages in our close reading companion. Finally, we practiced using indefinite pronouns in sentences and using commas in sentences. 

Today in Language Arts we also learned about similes. To help us, we created a rainbow of similes. I was so impressed with their creativity in doing this. 

In Math class today we again practiced solving patterns. We used our number chart and thinking skills to help us with them. 

In Spanish class today, we learned more words for clothing items. Today we learned the words for jacket, coat, gloves, skirt, shorts, and boots. We then added these words to the ones we learned last week to practice them. 

Finally, it was time for our writing project for the week. This week we wrote about what it would be like to be a kite. We then designed a kite to go with our writing. I'll post pictures tomorrow. 

Have a great night! 

Learning About Mass!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the day! It was hard to come in from recess today. 

In Religion class today we began our chapter devoted to the Mass. Our focus today was the gathering and opening part of Mass. We talked about we what we do, prayers we pray, and our responses. 

In Language Arts, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words. We then practiced segmenting words into sounds. Next, we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with silent letters. Following that, we reviewed how to read compound words. After that we practiced using our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. We ended our morning focused on comprehension. Our focus this week is on cause and effect. We reread Wrapped in Ice and our decodable reader and wrote examples from each story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced identifying and using indefinite pronouns in sentences. We also wrote a narrative paragraph. 

In Math class today we worked with number patterns. Using our number charts, linking cubes, and some thinking, we solved several patterns. 

Have a great night! 

The Last Week of April!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend!

In Religion class today we wrapped up our chapter on the Eucharist. We reviewed the events of the Last Supper, recalled that the Eucharist is Jesus' Body and Blood, and talked about we join with our parish to celebrate Mass. 

We began Language Arts by working in our small reading groups. We then jumped into another week of learning; this week we will be talking about the weather and how it affects us. We learned our five oral vocabulary words (cycle, predict, creative, frigid, scorching). We then worked one visualizing as we read a tall tale about Paul Bunyan. Next, we learned how to blend and read words with the silent letters wr, kn, and gn. Following that we learned our new sight words and vocabulary words. We ended the morning by reading Wrapped in Ice, a realistic fiction story about an ice storm. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we identified some special pronouns, words like anybody, someone, nothing. We also began to learn how to write a narrative paragraph. We read Owl Moon and illustrated what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Tomorrow we will write our narrative paragraph. 

In Math class today we continued to compare numbers using the greater than and less than symbols. Some problems required us to think a bit before we could solve the problem. 

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

Earth Day Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! Well, it sure was a white Earth Day. Maybe this was winter's last hoorah! 

In Religion class today we talked about different things we do at Mass. We talked about how we pray, sing, and listen as we celebrate the Eucharist. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts today. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with the vowel variant au, augh, aw, al, and a and words with vowel team syllables. We also wrote sentences using our sight words. Then, we worked on fluency and comprehension as we partner read a story in our decodable readers and a poem. After reading the poem, we completed pages in our close reading companion. Finally, we took our weekly assessment and used possessive pronouns in sentences. 

This morning we finished our Earth Day writing we started yesterday. The children had fun creating The Lorax. Have a look:

In Math class today we practiced identifying the greatest and least number in a set and ordered numbers from least to greatest and greatest to least. We also learned about the comparison signs < and >. We said that they are like an alligator's mouth and that the mouth always opens to the bigger number. 

For Gym class today, we exercised to GoNoodle videos. They had fun and were really sweating when class was done. 

In Social Studies today we talked about how certain foods get to market. We looked at orange juice in particular and wrote the steps needed to get orange juice to a store. 

Then, we had a special Science class today. We wrapped up our chapter on motion. We reviewed pushing and pulling, magnets, and simple machines. Next week, we will begin our unit on plants. 

Have a great weekend! 

An Antonym Picnic!

 Greetings! Well, whoever wished for more snow got their wish today. The children were excited to see snowflakes falling. I can't say the same for the teacher! 

In Religion class today we talked about how the Mass is the church's greatest celebration. 

In Language Arts, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read words with the vowel variant au, augh, al, and aw and words with vowel team syllables, and reviewed our sight words and vocabulary words. We then spent time learning about antonyms. To help with this we had an 'ant'onym picnic; on each ant we wrote pairs of antonyms. Have a look! 

Then our focused switched to fluency and comprehension. We partner read a story in our decodable reader before reading our story Meet Rosina. After reading that story we completed pages in our close reading companion. Finally, we practiced using possessive pronouns in sentences. 

In Math class today we practiced finding more or less than a given number. To help us, each child was given a spinner. Working social distance style, pairs spun their spinners and worked together to find more or less than a given number. They had loads of fun doing this. 

In Spanish today we learned the words for hat, pants, shirt, dress, socks, and shoes. 

In honor of Earth Day tomorrow, we read The Lorax and talked about ways we can help Earth. After our discussion we wrote about it. We are in the process of adding our writing to a craft. We will finish that up tomorrow morning. 

Have a great night! 

Starting Our Day with Jesus!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is doing well. 

We began our day by going to Adoration. We spent some quiet time praying to Jesus and talking to him. He was a great way to start our day. 

In Language Arts class, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words. We then used our letter tiles to spell and read words with the vowel variant spelled a, al, au, augh, and aw. After that we learned how to blend and read words with vowel team syllables; the key is to remember that the vowel team must stay together. Following that we practiced using our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. We ended our morning focusing on building our comprehension skills. This week we are focusing on author's purpose. We reread All Kinds of Helpers and our decodable reader and wrote about the author's purpose for each story. 

This afternoon we continued our learning of possessive pronouns. We practiced substituting them for nouns in sentences today. 

In Math class today, we worked with place value. The students were given a number and had to show that number using their base ten blocks. Then, when shown a picture of base ten blocks, they had to identify the number shown. They did great with both concepts. 

We ended our day with talk about Earth day. We learned what it means to reduce, reuse, and recycle. 

Have a great night!

Growing in Math!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend and was able to relax a bit. We had a great start to our week today.

In Religion class we learned that the Eucharist is Jesus' Body and Blood. When we celebrate the Eucharist, we are remembering what Jesus said and did at the Last Supper. 

We began Language Arts by working in our small reading groups to continue to build our fluency and comprehension skills. Then, we began a new week of learning; this week we are reading about people who help us. We learned our five new oral vocabulary words (inspire, respect, decision, swiftly, and distance). We then worked on rereading as we read a folktale. From there we learned how to blend and read words with the vowel variant spelled au, augh, al, and aw. After that we learned our new sight words and vocabulary words. We ended our morning by reading All Kinds of Helpers. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned about possessive pronouns and practiced using them in sentences. We also talked about author's purpose, why an author writes a story. To help us, we learned the acronym PIE for persuade, inform, entertain, the three reasons why an author could write a story. 

In Math class, we began our chapter that focuses on the numbers 41-120. Each student was given a number and asked to show that number. They also had to write a number sentence for that number. I was so impressed with everyone today. They really have grown in their number sense. 

Have a great night! 

Remembering the Last Supper!

Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great day to end the week. 

In Religion class today, we talked about the Last Supper focusing on the meal Jesus shared with his Apostles on the night before he died. After reading the story, we created a simple poster of bread and wine as a reminder of what they ate. Here is a picture:

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with the vowel variant and words with suffixes, wrote sentences using our sight words, and took our weekly assessment. 

In Math class today, we took our chapter test on the calendar and telling time. Next week, we will begin learning the numbers to 120. 

Our Science class today focused on simple machines (levers, inclined planes, pulleys, wheels and axles, screw, and wedge). We watched a short video that identified them. We then spent time talking about each one and how they make our lives easier. 

Finally, it was time for Art class. Today we made chicks in a nest using tissue paper. The highlight for the children was the wiggly eyes! Here is an example: 

                                              

Have a great weekend! 

Synonym Rolls!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! It is hard to believe that there is only one more day left in the week. 

In Religion class today, we wrapped up our chapter on God's forgiveness. We reviewed the story of the Forgiving Father and the sacrament of Penance. We also drew examples of forgiveness. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary, spelled and read words with the vowel variant /oo/ and words with suffixes. We also practiced our sight words. Next we partner read a story in our decodable reader along with Click Clack Moo. After that we read a nonfiction piece about working together to make change. Finally, we practiced using pronouns in sentences. 

This week we learned about synonyms. To help us remember what synonyms are, we made cinnamon rolls. On the rolls we wrote synonyms for the word big. Here is our delicious treat: 

In Math class today, we reviewed concepts related to the calendar and time. We will be taking our chapter assessment tomorrow. 

For Gym class, we headed outside. Yes, it was a cool day, but the children did not mind. They loved being able to run around. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today we talked about why people work. We took a close look at factories and jobs to be done there. 

As promised, here is a picture from our writing project we did yesterday: 

Have a great night!

Waiting for a Story!

Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a great week. 

In Religion class today we talked about the importance of forgiving others. We talked about how Jesus led by example as he forgave those as he was dying on the cross. We also talked about how it is not easy to always forgive others. When we find ourselves having trouble forgiving, we need to turn to Jesus and ask for his help. 

In Language Arts class today, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read words with the vowel variant oo and words with suffixes. We also practiced our sight words and vocabulary words. Then we switched our focus to fluency and comprehension. We partner read a story in our decodeable reader. Then, we read Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type. The students waited all week to read this story and were not disappointed. I loved hearing them read. Their fluency skills have grown so much this school year. After reading the story we completed pages in our close reading companion. We ended our morning by practicing using pronouns in sentences. 

In Math class today we practiced telling time to the half hour. The students wrote the time showed on clocks and then used their clocks to show various times. They sure do love using the clocks. 

In Spanish class today we reviewed the words for the different foods we learned. The students were given pictures of the foods. I would then say a food in Spanish and they would hold up the picture for that food. 

We ended our day with a special writing project. Today, we imagined that we were looking in the sky and saw giant puffy clouds. The students imagined what that cloud looked like. Then using cotton balls, they created their imagination. I'll post pictures of them tomorrow. 

Have a great night! 

Telling Time!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is doing well! 

In Religion class today we learned about the Sacrament of Penance. We talked about how we receive God's forgiveness during the sacrament. 

In Language Arts class, we used our oral vocabulary to answer questions. We then practiced segmenting words into sounds. Following that we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with the vowel variant oo, u, u_e, ew, ui, ue, and ou. Next, we learned how to blend and read words with the suffixes -ful and -less. Then, we practiced using our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. We ended our morning focused on building our comprehension. This week we are focusing on theme. We reread Super Tools and our decodable reader. After each story we wrote about its theme. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced using pronouns in sentences. For writing, we designed a building and wrote about what makes it special. Our focus today was writing a sentence that has a series of commas. 

In Math class today, we practiced telling time to the hour. We identified the times shown on clocks. We also used clocks to show various times. 

Have a great night! 

A New Week!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend! I know I did enjoy that sunshine as I put my porch furniture out. I love spring! 

In Religion class today we talked about how God is always ready to forgive us. We just need to be sorry for what we have done. 

We began Language Arts by working in our small reading groups. We then jumped into another week of learning; this week we will be reading about helping others. We learned our five new oral vocabulary words (conflict, fair, argument, shift, risk). We then worked on rereading as we read a fable. Following that, we learned how to blend and read words with the vowel variant spelled oo, u, u_e, ew, ui, ue, and ou. Next, we learned our new sight words and vocabulary words. Finally, with our new knowledge in tow, we read Super Tools a fantasy story about writing tools working together. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned that pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. We practiced substituting pronouns for nouns. We were also introduced to theme, our reading skill for the week. We read A Bad Case of Stripes and talked about what we learn from the story. 

In Math class today we began our chapter on the calendar and time. Today we focused on the calendar. As one student said it was like have two Math Meetings today as we reviewed what we do everyday during our Math Meeting. 

Have a great night! 

A Reward for Helping Others!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great week! 

In Religion class today, we read the story of the Forgiving Father (also known as the Prodigal Son). We talked about how the father forgave his son and learned that the father in the story is like God always ready to forgive us. To help us learn the message of the story, the students created stick puppets and then acted out the story with a socially distant partner. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with the diphthongs oi and oy and words with final stable syllables, and wrote sentences using our sight words. Finally, we took our weekly assessment. 

In Math class today we took our test on adding and subtracting with and without regrouping. Next week, we will begin to study the calendar and time. 

This afternoon we watched Ferdinand as a reward for meeting our Lenten goal. Thank you to everyone who donated to help feed the people in Haiti. 

And as promised, here is a picture from yesterday's Art class: 

Have a great weekend!

Alleluia! He is Risen!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is doing well. 

In Religion class today, the students created their own Easter Resurrection scenes. I just loved seeing their creativity and interpretation of that first Easter so long ago. They really paid attention to the details they added. Here are a few of their scenes: 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary. We then used our whiteboards to spell and read words with the diphthongs oi and oy and final stable syllable words. After that we read our word wall via a slideshow. Then our focused switched to fluency and comprehension. We partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets along with our story from yesterday. We then read a short story about tiny houses and completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on key details. Finally, we practiced using prepositions in sentences. 

In Math class today, we reviewed how to add and subtract with and without regrouping. We will be taking our chapter test tomorrow. 

It's no surprise that we headed outside for Gym class today. The children had so much fun running around with their friends!

In Social Studies class, we talked about how we buy things with money or save money that we earn. We also talked about what it means to trade. 

Finally, we had Art class today. Tomorrow we will be watching a movie as a reward for meeting our Lenten goal. So that we didn't miss Art, we had it today. We created a chick hatching from an egg. I'll post pictures tomorrow. Have a great night!  

Spring Writing!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone was able to sit outside at some point today and soak in the beautiful spring day. I know it was really hard to come inside after recess today. We all had the urge to just stay outside. 

In Religion class today we continued to look at the Easter story. We again read the Easter story and talked about it. We then became code breakers as we decoded an important message. 

In Language Arts, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, sorted words by similar sounds, read words with the diphthongs oi and oy and words with a final stable syllable (think consonant plus le words). We also practiced our sight words and vocabulary words before switching our focus to fluency and comprehension. We read a story in our decodable reader. We also read a nonfiction piece about bridges titled Building Bridges. After reading that story we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on details from the story. We ended the morning by practicing using prepositions in sentences and capitalizing abbreviations. 

For our writing project this afternoon, we focused on spring. We used our five senses to write about what we see, hear, smell, feel, and taste in the spring. We then turned our writing into a craft. Here are some of the finished products. 

In Math class today we continued to practice solving word problems. We are getting better at knowing when to add or subtract. 

In Spanish class today, we reviewed the words for certain foods in Spanish. I am amazed at what they all remember! 

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

Happy Easter!

 Greetings! Happy Easter! I hope everyone had a great Easter break. I loved hearing about the Easter baskets and candy they all received. There is something magical hearing the excitement in children's voices. 

In Religion class today we focused on the Easter story. We read Matthew's version of Easter Sunday and talked about how we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead. 

We picked up right where we left off last week in Language Arts. We answered questions using our oral vocabulary words. We listened to a folktale and then retold the story. We used our sound boxes to segment words into sounds. After that, we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with the diphthongs oi and oy. Then, we learned how to blend and read final stable syllable words, words like table and puddle. Following that we practiced using our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. We ended our morning focused on comprehension. This week we are focusing on cause and effect. We reread The Joy of a Ship and our decodable reader. After each story, we wrote cause and effect examples from the story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced using prepositions in sentences. We also wrote a persuasive paragraph on why we love recess. 

In Math class, we continued to practice solving word problems. That word more can still trick us at times. 

Have a great night! 

A Visit from the Easter Bunny!

 Greetings! Today, when the students walked in, there was a basket from the Easter Bunny on their desk. It did not take them long to tear into them. I just loved seeing their excitement and smiles under the masks. And, to top it off, the Easter Bunny even left a note on the board. What a great way to start our day! 

In Religion class today, we focused on the events of Good Friday. We talked about how Jesus died on the cross for us. We created a stained-glass Good Friday scene using watercolor paints. These scenes are displayed in the hallway for all to see. 

After our Math Meeting, we wrote a short jelly bean poem that helps us remember what each color jelly bean can stand for during the Easter season. We added jelly beans to our poem to create a special poster. 

And, before we knew it, it was time to go home. May you and your family have a blessed Easter! See you on Tuesday!