Happy Halloween!

 Greetings! Happy Halloween! The students had a spooktacular day in first grade!

We began our day with Mass. Today, Fr. Brian reminded us to keep holy the Sabbath day by attending Mass with our families. He would love to see the church full at all of the Masses!

After our Spelling test, it was time to celebrate Halloween! The students quickly changed into their costumes; they were ready to party! We began by making a spider web out of pipe cleaners and yarn. The students then placed spider rings on the web. They then lifted the web to see how many spiders fell through. 

Next, we played several minute-to-win-it games. First up was vampire teeth; the students put vampire teeth in their mouth and had to see how many marshmallows they could get in a cup. Next up was Pumpkins on a Gate; the students tried to place as many candy pumpkins as they could on a popsicle stick. Many discovered it was harder the more you put on. Following that we played witch pitch where the students tossed candy corn into a witch's cauldron. Finally, we played ghost stack. The students used cups to build a tower. Before we knew it is was time for lunch. 

Here are some pictures from the games: 

This afternoon we watched Hotel Transylvania and enjoyed a snack from Fr. Brian. 

I hope everyone has a great and safe weekend! Enjoy trick-or-treating! 

Crazy Hair Day!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! It was a crazy good learning day in first grade! 

We began our day by practicing for the All Saints' Day prayer service with our 8th grade friends. We are all ready to go for Monday. After practice, we prayed the fourth decade of the Glorious Mysteries. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. Today, we used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with end blends and words with the inflectional ending -ing, and wrote sentences using our sight words. To help our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read a poem and completed pages in our close reading companion that helped us build comprehension skills when reading poetry. We ended class by taking our weekly assessment and identifying possessive nouns in sentences. 

In Math class today we played detectives. We looked at a number sentence and had to tell whether it was true or false. The students loved doing this and were sad when we finished the lesson. 

For Gym class, we headed outside. It was amazing watching the children run from one end of the parking lot to the other. They have so much energy. 

In Social Studies class, we wrapped our chapter on communities. We will begin our unit on geography next week. 

We ended our day with Halloween fun. We listened to the story Where's My Mummy. Then we wrote about what our moms do when we are scared. We are in the process of creating a mummy. We will finish it tomorrow morning. 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is Halloween. Don't forget your costume! 

Our Class Pumpkin!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! Today was another great day in first grade. 

We began our day by practicing for our All Saints' Day Prayer Service. The students are really getting excited for it on Monday. After practice, we prayed the third decade of the Glorious Mysteries. This afternoon, we wrapped up our chapter on Adam and Eve. Next, we will look at what happened to Adam and Eve. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading words with end blends and words with the inflectional ending -ing, and our sight words. We also practiced segmenting words into sounds. To help build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read a story from our literature anthology. Following reading that story we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on main idea and details. 

This afternoon we practiced writing possessive nouns. We also wrote the steps in carving a pumpkin. 

In Math class, we looked at a number sentence and wrote a related number sentence. For example, if given 2+3=5, we wrote as the related number sentence 5-3=2. 

We ended our day with some Halloween fun. Today, we carved our class pumpkin. Isn't it cute? 

Have a great night! 

A Real Artist!

 Greetings! I hope everyone is warm and dry tonight. It is a good night to snuggle! 

There was lots of excitement in first grade today; we had our artist come and teach us about shading. We really loved working with Joanne from the Bottleworks and learning how to shade. We even practiced during recess. We are very excited to have her come back next week. Thank you HSA for bringing this program to our school. 

In between the visit, we did some learning. 

We began our day with Adoration. We spent some quiet time praying to Jesus. 

We began Language Arts by reviewing our oral vocabulary words from yesterday and then learned three new words (hibernate, tranquil, and tolerate). We then worked on rereading for understanding as we read about the desert. Next, we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with end blends. Following that, we learned how to blend and read words with the inflected ending -ing. We ended the morning by using our sight words in sentences. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we focused on comprehension. This week we are focusing on main idea and key details. We reread our story from yesterday and our decodable reader and wrote about the main idea and details in each of them. Finally, we practiced using possessive pronouns in sentences. 

In Math class today, we learned about fact families. Using a number bond, we were able to write two addition and two subtraction sentences. The students really enjoyed doing this. 

Just a reminder that saint costumes are due tomorrow. Have a great night! 

Red Ribbon Week!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend! Thank you so much for sending in the leaves today. We were able to complete our project! 

We began Religion class by heading over to church to practice for our All Saints' Day prayer service which in next Monday. I am so proud of how well the students listened today! When we came back to the classroom, we talked about how we receive God's grace when we are baptized. We ended class by praying the first decade of the Glorious Mysteries. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about animals' habitats. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (habitat and depend). We then worked on rereading for understanding as we read Babies in the Bayou. Following that we sorted words based on same ending sound. Next, we learned how to blend and read words with end blends and our sight words. After that, we read The Best Spot, a nonfiction story about animals in the forest. We ended the morning by working in our small reading groups. 

This afternoon we reviewed possessive nouns; we practiced finding them in sentences.

In Math class today we continued to practice solving subtraction word problems. Again, the students did a great job at explaining their thinking. 

This week is Red Ribbon Week, a week dedicated to saying no to drugs. Today we talked about making healthy choices and about being drug free. We will continue to talk about this during the week. 

Have a great night! 

Mosaic Cats!

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

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian talked to us about not holding grudges and taking the time to make amends with one another. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. Today, we used our oral vocabulary words in sentences and wrote sentences using our sight words. To practice reading short u words and contractions, we played BINGO. The students loved it; you could hear the excitement in the room. We ended class by taking our weekly assessment. 

In Math class today, we practiced solving subtraction word problems. They did a nice job of solving the problems and explaining their thinking. 

In Science class today we learned the difference between living and nonliving things. We sorted objects into each category and drew things that belong in each group. 

We ended our day with Art. Today we made a mosaic black cat. The students worked so hard at them and are so proud of their work. They are waiting anxiously for them to be hung for all to see. Here are two of the cats: 

This week, we also decorated a Halloween ornament to hang on a tree. Here is our Halloween tree! 

Have a great weekend! 

Perfect Gym Class!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I could not get over what a beautiful day we had today. It was hard to come in from Gym class! 

In Religion class today we talked about grace. We learned that grace is God's life in us and helps us to complete our mission in life. 

In Language Arts, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read short u words, contractions, and our sight words. To help build our fluency and comprehension we partner read a story from our decodable readers. We also read a story about homes and completed pages in our close reading companion related to that. Finally, we practiced using plural nouns in sentences. 

We ended our morning with some Halloween fun. Today we read Creepy Carrots. Then we wrote about what we would do if creepy carrots were following us. I just loved seeing their creative responses! 

In Math class today, we practiced writing subtraction sentences for pictures. The key for us is to look closely at a picture and decide what is being taken away. 

Gym class outside was beautiful. The students ran around the parking lot, laughing and smiling. It was perfect!

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today we talked about why people move: to get a job or to be close to family. 

Have a great night! 

Spooktacular Pumpkins!

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

In Religion class today we talked about how Adam and Eve were good stewards of God's creation, meaning that they took care of everything. We then talked about things we can do to take care of God's creation. We ended class by praying the third decade of the Sorrowful Mysteries. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, segmented words into sounds, read short u words and contractions, and practiced our sight words. To help build our fluency and comprehension skills we partner read a story from our decodable readers. We also read The Pigs, The Wolf, and The Mud, a story the children loved. Following reading that story we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on characters, setting, and events. 

This afternoon we practiced identifying plural and singular nouns. We also practiced writing contractions. 

In Math class, we practiced solving subtraction problems. The students were encouraged to pick which strategy they liked best and use it to solve problems. 

Our pumpkin fun today centered around the book Spookly, the Square Pumpkin. After reading the story we talked about what made Spookly special and what makes us special. The students then designed their own pumpkins and wrote about what makes their pumpkin special. They turned out awesome! Here are pictures. 

And here are pictures from last Friday's ghost writing and Frankenstein art. 

Have a great night!

Pumpkin Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! Today was a very exciting day in first grade. We used our messy glue for the first time! As the students told me they have been waiting 38 days for this! 

In Religion class today we talked about how Adam and Eve were the first people created by God. We talked about how they lived in the Garden of Eden and had everything they needed. We ended class by praying the second decade of the Sorrowful Mysteries. 

We began Language Arts class by reviewing our oral vocabulary words from yesterday and learning three new oral vocabulary words (collapsed, furious, and refused). After that we worked on making predictions as we read "The Three Little Pigs"; the students loved hearing this classic story again! Next we used our letter tiles to spell and read short u words. Following that, we learned how to spell and read contractions with the word is; we practiced writing the contractions and wrote sentences using them. After that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended our morning focused on comprehension; this week we are focusing on character, setting, and events. We reread Cubs in a Hut and our decodable reader and identified each one of those elements in the story. 

This afternoon we worked on sorting nouns based on whether or not they are singular or plural. We also worked on making nouns plural. 

In Math class today, we used number bonds to help us solve subtraction problems. When given the whole and a part, we subtracted to find the other part. We then used the number bond to write a subtraction sentence. 

In Spanish class we reviewed the phrases we have been learning. 

This week we are celebrating pumpkins in first grade. Yesterday we talked about the life cycle of a pumpkin, and this morning we created a diagram of it. Today, we looked at the different parts of a pumpkin and labeled them. This is where the messy glue came in. We needed it to glue our pumpkin seeds! Here are some pictures! 

Have a great night! 

Happy Monday!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend! It sure feels like fall now. 

In Religion class we wrapped up our chapter on God's gifts. We reviewed how we have a body and soul and how God gave us guardian angels to help us. After that, we prayed the first decade of the Sorrowful Mysteries. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about buildings and what they are made of. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (materials and shelter). Next, we worked on making predictions as we read 3 Little Dassies. Following that we sorted rhyming words. Then we learned how to blend and read short u words. After that we learned our new sight words. With all this new knowledge, it was time to read a story and show what we learned. Today we read Cubs in a Hut. We ended the morning by working in our small reading groups. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned about singular and plural nouns. We sorted words into each category and practiced identifying plural nouns in sentences. 

In Math class today, we continued learning subtraction strategies. Today we focused on counting back. With all of the strategies learned, the students are encouraged to pick the strategy they like best to solve subtraction problems. 

Have a great night! 

Frankensteins and Ghosts!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great last day of the week. 

At Mass this morning Fr. Brian talked to us about St. Teresa of Avila. He encouraged us to always remain faithful to God just like she did. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, reviewed short e words and words with the inflected ending -ed, and segmented and blended words. To help practice our phonics skills we matched words to pictures; the catch was that we matched them using straws. After that we wrote sentences using our sight words and took our weekly assessment. 

We ended the morning with some Halloween writing. We wrote about something we would do if we were a ghost. We added that writing to a painting project. I'll post pictures on Monday. 

In Math class today, we learned how to count on to solve a subtraction sentence. We begin with the small number and count up to the big number. 

We wrapped up our unit on animals in Science today. We reviewed what animals need, types of coverings they can have, and different ways they move. 

In Art today, we made a Frankenstein. I just loved seeing their creativity come to life as they added their features. I'll post pictures of them on Monday. 

Have a great weekend! 

Celebrating Christopher Columbus!

 Greetings! Wow! What a beautiful day! I could not get over how warm it was today! It does make me wonder what kind of winter we will have. 

In Religion class today we talked about how our guardian angels help us. We said that they help us to keep our bodies safe and help our soul make good choices. We also prayed the fourth decade of the Luminous Mysteries. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, spelled and read short e words and words with the inflected ending -ed, and practiced reading our sight words. In addition to that, we partner read a story from our decodable reader books. We also read a short piece about firefighters; following that we completed pages in our close reading book that helped us with our comprehension skills. Finally, we practiced finding nouns in sentences. 

In Math class today, we began our chapter that focuses on subtraction strategies. Today we focused on crossing out to find the answer. 

For Gym, we headed outside. The children ran and laughed in the beautiful sunshine today. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today we talked about Christopher Columbus. We talked about how we discovered America. We also talked and wrote about what it would have been like to sail with him. 

Have a great night! 

Noun Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope you enjoyed the sunshine today!

In Religion class today we talked about what it means to know, love, and serve God. We also prayed the third decade of the Luminous Mysteries.

In Language Arts, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words. We then practiced segmenting words into sounds. Following that we practiced reading short e words and words with the inflected ending -ed along with our sight words. We then worked on building our fluency and comprehension as we read a story from our decodable reader and a story from our literature anthology. After reading that story we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on character, setting, and events. 

This afternoon was a lot of fun in Language Arts. The students went around the room taking pictures of nouns. They then recorded what they found. I was asked several times if we could do it again! 

In Math class today we took our chapter test on addition. Tomorrow we will begin learning subtraction strategies. 

Have a great night! 

Spanish Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a nice day! 

In Religion class this morning, we learned about our soul. We said it what makes us think, learn, and pray. We ended class by praying the second decade of the Luminous Mysteries. 

We began Language Arts by reviewing our oral vocabulary words from yesterday, and then we learned three new words (astonishing, fortunately, and equipment). Next, we worked on making predictions as we read a nonfiction piece about community helpers. Following that we used our letter tiles to spell and read short e words. Next, we learned how to read words with the inflectional ending -ed. After that we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended our morning focusing on comprehension; this week we are looking at character, setting, and events. We reread our story from yesterday and our decodable reader. After reading both, we wrote about the characters, setting, and events. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we continued our study of nouns. We sorted pictures based on whether they were a person, place, or thing. We then practiced finding nouns in sentences. In addition, we practiced writing sentences. 

In Math class today, we reviewed our addition strategies. We are ready for our chapter test tomorrow. 

We ended our day with Spanish. Today we learned new Spanish phrases for words like please, thank you, yes, and no. We enjoy our Tuesday Spanish class! 

Have a great night! 

Math Skills at Work!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend and is ready for another exciting week in first grade. 

In Religion class today we talked about how God created us both body and soul. We talked about how we use our five senses to experience the world and took time to draw something that we see, hear, smell. taste, and touch. We also began praying the Luminous Mysteries today. 

We began yet another week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about community helpers. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (community and occupation). We then worked on making predictions as we read Millie Waits for the Mail. Next, we practiced blending words. This week our main phonics skill is short e; today we focused on blending and reading short e words. Following that we learned our new sight words. After that we worked on fluency as we read Good Job, Ben. We ended the morning working in our small reading groups. 

This afternoon we learned that nouns name a person, place, thing, or animal. We created a foldable showing what nouns are. We also took time to write a sentence about a picture. We are getting good at adding adjectives to our writing. 

In Math class today, we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. I enjoyed watching the students work to solve the problems; their thinking skills really got a work out today! 

Here is a picture from our pumpkin patch art from last Friday: 

Have a great night! 

More Painting Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! Today was an exciting day in first grade. 

The highlight this morning was seeing the firemen and the fire trucks. We had our fire drill with the fire fighters, and then they talked to us about fire safety. We even got to climb inside a fire truck. 

Prior to the visit with the firefighters, we began our day with Mass. Today, Fr. Brian encouraged us to continue to pray the rosary and rely on God and Mary to ward off temptations. After Mass, we prayed the fifth decade of the Joyful Mysteries. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in first grade. Today, we used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read r-blend and s-blend words, used possessives in sentences, and wrote sentences using our sight words. To help us build our phonics and fluency skills, today we played memory where we matched words to a picture. We loved that! We ended the morning by taking our weekly assessment. 

In Math class today, we continued to practice solving addition word problems. The students are so good at this! 

In Science class today, we talked about how a parent takes care of their babies. We also noted how some baby animals look like their parents and how some do not. 

After a long week, it was time for Art. Today we painted. Using apples as a stamp, we created a pumpkin patch. They look awesome. I'll post pictures once they have dried. 

Here is a picture from last week's art project: 

Have a great weekend! 

Living Rosary

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! Today was a busy day in first grade. 

In Religion class, we wrapped up our chapter on God's creation. We reviewed all that God created. We also prayed the fourth decade of the Joyful Mysteries. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, sorted words by same beginning sound, read r-blend and s-blend words, generated possessive phrases (a favorite activity for the students), and reviewed all of our sight words. Then, we switched our focus. We partner read a story in our decodable reader and our story from yesterday. We also read a nonfiction piece that highlighted the use of labels. Finally, we reviewed what makes a good sentence. 

In Math class today, we practiced solving addition word problems using either our linking cubes, number line, number bond, or mental math. 

For our Fire Safety lesson, we talked about the importance of having smoke detectors, knowing two ways out, staying low, calling 911 in an emergency, and stop, drop, and roll. 

We ended our day by attending Living Rosary. With the school, we prayed the Luminous Mysteries. We did our very best using our rosary as we prayed. 

Tomorrow is Friday! 

Addition Number Sentences!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! What beautiful weather we are having. It sure doesn't feel like fall. 

In Religion class today we watched a Brother Francis video about praying and the rosary. It reminded us how much God wants to hear from us each day. After the video, we prayed the third decade of the Joyful Mysteries. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced deleting a sound from a word to make a new word, read r-blend and s-blend words, possessives, and our sight words. To help build our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story from our decodable readers and read the nonfiction story Move It. After reading that story, we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on finding key details from the story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced writing sentences remembering our capital letters and end marks. 

In Math class today, we practiced writing addition sentences for pictures. We did some problems using our whiteboards and some problems using Seesaw. 

Our Fire Week Safety lesson today focused on safe and unsafe things to touch. We sorted pictures based on whether or not we should touch them. For the unsafe objects, we talked about what we should do instead of touching them. 

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

Fire Safety Week!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a great day today!

We began our day by going to Adoration. We spent some quiet time with Jesus this morning praying for others and talking with him. When we came back from Adoration, we prayed the second decade of the Joyful Mysteries. 

We began Language Arts class by reviewing our oral vocabulary words from yesterday and then learning three new words (difficult, exhausted, and agree). From there we worked on asking and answering questions as we read a fable. Following that we practiced segmenting words into sounds using our sound boxes. Then we used our letter tiles to spell and read r-blend and s-blend words. Next, we learned that possessives show ownership and finished possessive phrases. After that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended our morning by focusing on fluency and comprehension. We reread our story from yesterday and our decodable reader. After reading each story, we wrote details from it. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we focused on sentences. We completed sentences and identified correctly written sentences. 

In Math class today, we wrote addition sentences that went along with a picture. We had fun drawing a picture, telling a story for the picture, and then writing the addition sentence. 

This week is Fire Safety Week. All week we will be talking about fire safety. We began by looking at firefighters and talking about what they do and what they use. Today, we wrote about what we would do if we were a firefighter. We added our writing to a craft: 

Have a great night!

The Month of the Rosary!

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

We began our day with Religion. Today we learned about the rosary since October is the month of the rosary. We colored a sheet showing us how to pray the rosary. I then gave everyone a rosary and together we prayed the first decade of the Joyful Mysteries. Each day during the month, we will pray a decade of the rosary. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about different ways to move. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (exercise and physical). We then worked on answering questions as we read a story about how animals move. Next, we sorted words by beginning sounds. Following that, we learned how to read r-blend and s-blend words. After that we learned our new sight words. Then, it was time to put everything together as we read Move and Grin, a nonfiction story about how people and animals move. We ended the morning by working on our fluency and comprehension as we met with our small reading groups. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we reviewed sentences and practiced writing sentences correctly. We also wrote a sentence to describe a picture. 

In Math class today, we used number bonds to help us write number sentences. We also reviewed the idea that we can add in any order. 

Have a great night!

Fall Painting!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a nice day to end the week. It is hard to believe that today was the first of October. Where did September go?

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian talked to us about St. Therese. He reminded us to always be like a child and rely on God to help us. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences and practiced putting words into ABC order. To help us review and practice short o words, we played headbands today. The students took turns giving each other clues about a picture; they loved this. We ended class by writing sentences using our sight words and taking our weekly assessment. 

In Math class today we used number bonds to help us solve addition problems. We completed a number bond and then wrote addition sentences that went with it. This introduced us to the communitive property of addition where we can add in any order. 

In Science class today, we learned about insects. We learned that all insects have 3 parts (head, thorax, abdomen), 6 legs, and antennas. Each student used his/her Play-doh to make an insect. Here is one of them. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today we painted for the first time. We painted fall trees using cotton balls. I'll post pictures next week after the paint has dried. 

Here is a picture from our fall writing we did on Wednesday. 

Have a great weekend!