Greetings! Today was the day the children have been waiting for - the final day of school before Christmas. They were happy the moment they arrived!
This morning Mr. Rhoades took them to church to sing Christmas songs. By the time they returned, it was time for lunch. After lunch, we opened presents, read a story, and watched a movie. Then it was time to go home.
May you and your family have a blessed, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2022!
Greetings! Welcome abroad the Polar Express! We had tons of fun in our jammies today!
But, before we hoped on the Polar Express, we had some other work to do.
In Religion class, we continued to study the Nativity story. We sequenced the story by gluing pictures in order. We then used foam stickers to create our very own Nativity scene.
We wrapped up our practice of subtraction strategies today. The students are doing great using the strategies to solve subtraction problems.
We also wrapped up our chapter in Science on matter today by reviewing what we learned about solids, liquids, and gases.
Then, it was time to celebrate the Polar Express. We began by reading the story. After reading the story, we sequenced the events in it. Next, we used pictures of jingle bells to measure various pictures related to the story. Then, we completed a directed drawing of a jingle bell. Finally, we wrote about what we would want for the first gift of Christmas.
This afternoon we snuggled in and watched the Polar Express while enjoying hot chocolate and marshmallows. The children loved that!
As much fun as we were having today, I forgot to snap pictures to post. I hope you have enjoyed hearing about the day from the children. Have a great night!
Greetings! Happy Monday of Christmas week! Today was a busy morning and a festive afternoon in first grade.
Religion class was very busy. We began by discussing the fourth week of Advent; today we talked about ways to show love this week. Next, we wrapped up our chapter on Mary by reviewing how Mary was chosen to be the Mother of Jesus. Finally, we began our study of the Christmas story. We read a little booklet on the story and colored its pictures.
As we were in Religion class, Santa himself made a visit. He gave each of us a candy cane and reminded us to be good!
In Language Arts class, we worked in our small reading groups to build our fluency and comprehension skills.
Our Christmas activity centered around the story Santa's Stuck. After reading the story, we wrote about what we would do if Santa was stuck in our chimney. We added that writing to a craft.
In Math class today we continued to practice solving subtraction sentences. I was very pleased to see that we remembered how to solve them today.
This afternoon we were treated to the Christmas Choir Program. Beautiful music filled the church. We loved it especially the snowmen!
Here is a picture of the Santa's we made on Friday:
Just a reminder that tomorrow is our Polar Express Day!
Greetings! I hope everyone is having a nice weekend and are checking things off your Christmas to-do list. Friday was another exciting day in first grade. Each day brings more excitement as we get closer to Christmas. I love it!
At Mass, Fr. Brian read the genealogy of Jesus. He told us that we read this story to remind us that Jesus became one of us and that because of him we are able to go to Heaven.
We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read soft c and soft g words, spelled and read words with inflectional endings, and wrote sentences using our sight words. To help with our phonics skills, we did a write the room activity where students wrote words hidden around the room, and when everyone was finished, we read them. Finally, we took our weekly assessment.
For our Christmas activity today, we read Mooseltoe. After reading the story we wrote about its problem and the solution. We then added it to our very own Mooseltoe. The children really enjoyed decorating Moose using stickers and sequins.
In Math class today, we learned strategies to solve subtraction problems with the numbers to 20. We can use our number line, draw a picture, or use number bonds. We will continue to practice these strategies next week.
In Science class, we talked about how water can move through all three phases of matter. When it is ice, it is a solid. When it is water, it is a liquid. And when water evaporates, it becomes a gas.
Finally, after waiting all day, it was time for Art class. Today we made Santa Claus using cotton balls and messy glue. We love messy glue time! I'll post pictures once they have dried.
Enjoy your Sunday!
Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone was able to get outside and enjoy the unseasonable temperatures today.
In Religion class today, we read the Visitation story where Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth. We also watched a short video on the story.
In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading soft c and soft g words, read and spelled words with inflectional endings, and practiced our sight words. We also partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets before reading some Mother Goose poems. After reading the poems we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on rhyming words. Finally, we practiced identifying past and future sentences.
Then it was time for some Christmas fun. Today we read How the Grinch Stole Christmas. After reading the story we wrote about what we would do to make the Grinch grin. We then added our writing to a Grinch craft.
In Math class today, we practiced adding to 20. The students are doing great with this. Tomorrow we will begin to learn subtraction strategies.
For Gym class we headed outside. I could not get over how nice it was for this time of the year. It was great watching the children run around and enjoy being outside.
We ended our day with Social Studies. Today we talked about different activities we do in each of the four seasons.
Oh, that Jingles. Today, we had fun with our paper towels!
Have a great night!
Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone had a nice day. I don't know about you, but this week is flying by.
In Religion class today we read and talked about the Annunciation story. We talked about how the angel Gabriel came to Mary to tell her that she would be the mother of God's son and how Mary said yes to God. To help us remember the story, we acted it out with a partner. We ended class by discussing how we need to say yes to God just like Mary.
We began Language Arts by reviewing our oral vocabulary words. Next, we practiced reading soft c and soft g words, words with inflectional endings, and our sight words. We then switched our focus to fluency and comprehension. We partner read a story in our decodable readers. We then read The Gingerbread Man; the students have been waiting a long time to read this story and loved every minute of it. After reading the story, we completed pages in our close reading companion.
This afternoon in Language Arts, we sorted sentences based on whether they told about the past or the future. We then did some gingerbread man writing. The students had to write about where they would run to if they were the gingerbread man. They then illustrated their writing. I was so pleased with their creativity with it. Have a look:
In Math class, we continued to practice our addition strategies. Today, we learned how to use doubles facts to solve the problems. We are getting really good at solving the problems.
We ended our day with Spanish. Yesterday, we ran out of time, so we moved the class to today. We reviewed the colors by creating our own crayon box!
Today, Jingles gave the students a new pencil. It was so sweet hearing them tell Jingles thank you.
And here are pictures from our Elf writing from yesterday! Enjoy!
Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is doing well!
In Religion class today we talked about how Mary was not born with original sin and how she was already born with grace. We said this is what makes her immaculate.
In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words we learned on Friday before learning three more words (eventually, foolish, and timid). After that we segmented words into sounds. Next, we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with soft c and soft g. Following that we learned how to add inflectional endings to words that end in e. Then we practiced using our sight words in sentences.
We ended our morning focusing on comprehension. This week we are talking about cause and effect. We completed a sort matching causes and effects. Then we reread our story from yesterday along with our decodable reader and found cause and effect examples in them.
This afternoon in Language Arts we reviewed verb tenses by sorting verbs into past, present, and future. We also practiced using verbs in the future tense. After that, we worked on our writing skills. We made an elf and wrote about what we would do if we were one of Santa's elves. I'll post pictures tomorrow once everything has dried.
In Math class we continued to practice our addition strategies to 20. The students are doing very well at solving the problems.
Have a great night!
Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend! Today was a busy morning and relaxing afternoon.
In Religion class today, we wrapped up our chapter on the prophets. We then spent time focusing on the third week of Advent. Today we talked about how we can bring joy to others this week.
In Language Arts, we reviewed the different sounds of c and g and practiced reading words with the soft c and soft g sound. We also learned how to blend and read words with -dge. Following that, we learned our new sight words. Finally, we read The Nice Mitten, a folktale about a boy who loses his mitten.
In Math class today, we began to learn strategies on how to solve addition problems to 20. We practiced counting up, drawing a picture, and making 10. The children were told to use whatever strategy they liked best.
This afternoon we were treated to some beautiful Christmas music. We heard the children in 4-8 grade play the handbells. Then we heard the beginner and advanced band play the festive music. We really enjoyed the show!
And, Jingles was bored this weekend. He made a Christmas tree using our pattern blocks:
Have a great night!
Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great day to end the first full week in December!
At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian reminded us that even when we worry, God is with us and will help us through everything.
We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about folktales. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (tale and hero). We then worked on making predictions as we read Interrupting Chicken. Following that we practiced rhyming. After that we learned the different sounds for c and g. Sometimes they can make the soft sound, /s/ and /j/ respectively. We practiced sorting words into the correct sound group before reading a decodable reader. Finally, we learned about past and future tense verbs.
In Math class today we took our chapter test on the numbers to 20. Next week we will begin learning addition and subtraction strategies for the numbers to 20.
In Science class today we talked about solids, liquids, and gases. We sorted pictures based on whether the object was a solid, liquid, or a gas.
We ended our day with Art. Today we created a Christmas tree snow globe. We used sequins to decorate the trees and white paint for the snow. The children really enjoyed this project in part because they got to use messy glue!
Here are pictures from last week's project along with today's.
And here is a picture of Jingles today!
Have a great weekend!
Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone had a nice day today.
In Religion class today, we spent the first part talking about the second week of Advent and how that candle represents peace. We talked about ways to bring peace into our world. During the second part of class, we talked about how John the Baptist prepared the people for Jesus.
We wrapped up this week of learning in Language Arts today. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, wrote sentences using our sight words, and took our weekly assessment. To review long i words and plurals, we played BINGO. The students did a great job at recognizing the words on their cards. Finally, we worked on our writing skills as we wrote the steps in how to decorate a Christmas tree.
In Math class today, we reviewed the concepts we learned with the numbers to 20, things like place value, more or less than a number, ordering numbers, and patterns. We are ready for our test tomorrow.
For Gym class, we stayed inside and exercised to GoNoodle videos.
We ended our day with Social Studies. Today, we talked about natural resources.
Have a good night!
Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I don't know about you, but it has been a fast week.
Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. So, we headed to church to honor Mary. At Mass, Fr. Brian reminded us to be like Mary and always say yes to God.
In Language Arts, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read long i words, plurals, and our sight words. To help build our fluency and comprehension, we read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read a nonfiction piece about how plants grow and then completed pages in our close reading companion. Finally, we practiced using present tense verbs in sentences.
This afternoon in Language Arts we focused on writing. Today we wrote about what we can give to Jesus this Christmas. Many said that they could pray, help others, and give him a card.
In Math class today, we used our thinking caps to solve problems. I was quite impressed with how well they explained their thinking.
And, just in case you were wondering, Jingles was sitting by Mary today.
Just a reminder that tomorrow is a jean day. Have a good night!
Greetings! Today was another exciting day in first grade. We got to visit the Secret Santa shop and buy some presents for our family. Needless to say that we had fun picking out the presents and wrapping them. I hope they have all made it under the tree!
Because of Secret Santa shopping, our Religion class was shortened. We did watch our Brother Francis video. Today's message was about praise. We are encouraged to tell others thank you for all that they do for us.
In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary and used our sound boxes to segment words into sounds. We also practiced reading long i words, plurals, and our sight words.
This afternoon we focused on fluency and comprehension in Language Arts. We partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read a play titled The Big Yuca Tree. The students really enjoyed reading plays this week. After reading our play, we sequenced the events in the story. Finally, we practiced using present tense verbs in sentences.
In Math class today we continued practicing solving patterns. We also practiced finding 1 or 2 more or 1 or 2 less than a number. Finally we practiced putting numbers in order from least to greatest and from greatest to least. It was a busy class.
Today, Jingles brought the students stickers from Santa for a job well done yesterday. Didn't they do a fabulous job? I hope you enjoyed the show!
Here a pictures of Jingles from yesterday and today! Have a good night!
Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend!
In honor of St. Nicholas' Day, Jingles brought the children candy canes. They were quite excited to take them home tonight.
In Religion class today, we watched a video on the life of St. Nicholas. Afterwards, we talked about we can be like St. Nicholas by helping people and praying to God.
In Language Arts, we worked in our small reading groups to build our fluency and comprehension.
In Math class today, we practiced solving number patterns to 20. We used a number line to help us.
This afternoon we had our afternoon show for our Christmas Concert. The children did a beautiful job singing and are excited to do it again tonight. I can't wait for everyone to hear it!
Have a good night!
Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a nice day to end their week.
We began our day with Mass. Today, Fr. Brian reminded us that Jesus can heal us; we just need to turn to him.
In Language Arts, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We then spent time building our comprehension skills; this week we are focusing on sequencing. We reread Time to Plant and our decodable reader and sequenced the events in both stories. We ended class by practicing using present tense verbs in sentences.
In Math class today, we continued to practice finding the difference between numbers and identifying the greater or least number in a set.
After our practice today, we returned to the classroom for Science. Today, we talked about ways to group objects (big/small; tall/short, etc.) One way we said was whether or not an object would float or sink. To help us group objects, we took classroom objects and dropped them in water to see what would happen. The children loved this experiment.
After Science, it was time for some Christmas fun. The children helped decorate our classroom Christmas tree. They loved adding the ornaments while Christmas music played. It looks so pretty:
We ended our day with Art. Today we made Christmas ornaments hanging with snowflakes falling between them. Once the paint dries, I will post pictures.
Finally, Jingles was having some fun today. He was in a giant ball pit of pom-pom balls.
Have a great weekend!
Greetings! Happy Thursday! I don't know about you but today did not feel like a Thursday.
Excitement was once again in the air today. Jingles left the children reindeer antlers for the Christmas concert. They loved wearing them throughout the day and for practice. Oh, that Jingles!
In Religion class today, our Brother Francis video focused on our calling; it reminded us that God has a special plan for each and every one of us. After watching the video, we returned to our book learning. Today we talked about how God spoke to Moses through a burning bush calling him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. We also talked about how God gave Moses the 10 Commandments. We ended class by talking about the Commandments.
In Language Arts, we reviewed our oral vocabulary and worked on making predictions as we read a folktale. After that we used our letter tiles to spell and read long i words. Finally, we practiced spelling and reading plural words.
In Math class today, we reviewed how to find how many more or fewer there is between two numbers. We also practiced identifying the greater and less number in a set.
After practice today, we returned to the classroom for Social Studies class. Today we created a book to help us learn about rivers, plains, and mountains.
We ended the day with a little painting. We got a head start on Art class for tomorrow.
Have a great night!
Greetings! Happy December! It is hard to believe that another month is upon us!
In Religion class today, we watched our daily Advent Brother Francis video; today he talked about the importance of forgiving others. We also talked about how the first Advent candle symbolizes hope; we talked about the things we hope for this Advent. After our Advent discussion, we returned to our chapter learning. Today we talked about Moses and how baby Moses was saved. We talked about how God had a plan for him just like he has a plan for us.
We continued our learning in Language Arts. Today we practiced reading long i words. We also learned our new sight words. Following that we read the play Time to Plant; the children really enjoyed reading the play. Finally, we talked about present-tense verbs and practiced finding them in sentences.
In Math class today practiced identifying which group had more/fewer and how much more/fewer. We used our linking cubes to help us compare the numbers. We also said we could draw a picture or count up to find how much more or fewer.
After our practice today, we returned to the classroom to complete a writing project. Today, we wrote about why we would make a good reindeer. We added that to a Rudolph craft. Have a look:
And look where Jingles was today:
Have a good night!
