A Complete Difference!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! What a difference a day makes! It's hard to believe that we had a delay yesterday because of ice when today it was so warm outside. 

In Religion class today, we talked about the Last Supper. We learned that Jesus shared a simple meal of bread and wine with his Apostles the night before he died. We also talked how we remember this meal every time we celebrate Mass and receive the Eucharist. 

In Language Arts, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read words with the diphthongs ou and ow, and spelled and read words with the inflected endings -er and -est. We also practiced our sight words and vocabulary words. After that we read a nonfiction piece about musical instruments and the sounds they make. Finally, we practiced using a, an, this, and that in sentences. 

This afternoon, we focused on our writing skills. We used our senses to write about spring. We are working on adding a craft to our writing. 

In Math class today we learned about the greater than and less than symbols. We used them to compare two numbers. We also practiced ordering numbers from least to greatest and greatest to least. 

For Gym class, the rain kept us inside, so we exercised to a GoNoodle video. 

In Social Studies, we learned about buying, saving, and trading. 

Have a good night! 

A Delayed Day!

 Greetings! I hope everyone made it safely to work this morning. The students seemed to enjoy the delay but I could tell they missed having a full day. They were quite excited to learn today. 

Because of the delay, our schedule was mixed up. We began our day with Math. Today we practiced finding more or less from a given number. To help us practice, the students worked in pairs. Each person was given a spinner. They spun the spinner and practiced finding more or less from the given number. They really enjoyed that. 

Our afternoon was focused on Language Arts. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read words with the diphthongs ou and ow, spelled and read words with the inflected endings -er and -est, and practiced reading our sight words and vocabulary words. After that, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read Whistle for Willie, a realistic fiction story about a boy trying to whistle. After reading that story, we wrote about the problem, steps to the solution, and solution in the story. We ended the day practicing using a, an, this, and that in sentences. 

Have a great night! 

Building Number Sense

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone warmed up after that cold start. 

We began our day by going to church for Adoration. We spent some quiet time with Jesus asking him to help us on our Lenten journey. 

We began Language Arts by working in our small reading groups before jumping back into our week of learning. We answered questions using our oral vocabulary words. We then used our letter tiles to spell and read words with the diphthongs ou and ow. After that we learned how to spell and read words with the inflectional endings -er and -est. We ended our morning by using our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we focused on building our comprehension skills; this week we will focus on problem and solution. We reread Now, What's That Sound and our decodable reader. After each story we wrote about its problem and the solution. After that, we learned how to use this and that in sentences. 

In Math class today we focused on place value. We used our base ten blocks to show various numbers. We then looked at pictures to identify the number shown. I am amazed at how great their number sense is. 

We ended our day with Spanish. Today we reviewed the food words we learned. 

Have a great night! 

Where is Spring?

 Greetings! Happy Monday! Where has spring gone? It feels more like January than March. We will be extra grateful this year when the warm weather returns. 

In Religion class today we wrapped up our chapter on believing in Jesus. We reviewed what it means to believe in Jesus, what we can do because we believe in Jesus, and what will happen because of our faith. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about sounds. We began by learning our new oral vocabulary words (volume, senses, nervous, distracts, squeaky). Next, we worked on retelling as we heard the funny story about a girl and a squeaky bed. Following that we learned how to blend and read words with the diphthongs ou and ow. Then, we learned our new sight words and vocabulary words. We ended the morning by reading Now, What's That Sound, which helped us practice our new skills. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we learned how to use a and an in sentences. 

In Math class, we began a new chapter which will focus on the numbers 41-120. We practiced counting groups of objects and writing number sentences for a number. 

We ended our day with Stations. We prayerfully reflected on Jesus' road to Calvary and the love he has for us. 

Have a great night! 

Bunny Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a nice day to end their week. It's hard to believe that this was the last full week of March. 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian reminded us that on this Solemnity of the Annunciation, nothing is impossible for God. 

We wrapped up another week in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read r-controlled words and abbreviations, wrote sentences using our sight words, and took our weekly assessment. For some added fun, we completed a write the room activity involving r-controlled words; the students had to sort the words based on the r-controlled spelling. We also practiced matching abbreviations to what they stand for. 

In Math class today, we took our assessment on the calendar and telling time. We will begin looking at the numbers 41-120 on Monday. 

In Science class today, we talked about how sounds can be high or low. We listened to various sound clips and decided whether they were a high sound or a low sound. 

We ended our day with Art. Today, we created an Easter bunny silhouette. I'll post pictures on Monday once everything has dried. 

Have a great weekend! Stay warm!  

Hip Hop Into Spring!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope you were able to enjoy the beautiful weather today. It is so hard to believe that snow is in the forecast. 

In Religion class today, we talked about what it means to believe in Jesus. 

We continued our week of learning in Language Arts. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read r-controlled words and our sight words, and wrote abbreviations for various words. To help build our fluency we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. And, to help build our comprehension, we read two poems and completed pages in our close reading companion. Finally, we practiced identifying adjectives that compare in sentences. 

We ended the morning with a spring writing project. We wrote about why we are excited for spring and added it to a bunny craft. They look amazing and the writing just brought a smile to my face. They are becoming such fluent writers! 

In Math class today, we practiced telling time by completing a write the room activity. We also spent time reviewing the calendar. We will take our chapter test tomorrow. 

For Gym class, we headed outside. It was great watching the children run while enjoying the sunshine. 

In Social Studies we talked about the difference between goods and services. We sorted pictures based on whether they showed a good or a service. 

Have a great night! 

More Fun with Time!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! Even though it was gray outside, it was a sunny day inside with lots of learning going on. 

In Religion class, we talked about how Jesus will still help us today because we believe in him and have faith. 

In Language Arts, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read r-controlled -or words and abbreviations, and read our sight words and vocabulary words. To help build our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read the nonfiction story Thomas Edison, Inventor. After reading that story, we wrote about a problem Thomas had and how he solved it. We ended class by practicing using adjectives that compare in sentences. 

In Math class today, we continued to practice telling time. We worked with a partner to match analog and digital times. The students really enjoyed this and continue to love telling time. 

We ended our day with Stations. 

Have a great night! 

Telling Time!

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

In Religion class, we talked about what we can do since we believe and have faith in Jesus. We said that we can pray, help others, be kind, and listen. 

We continued our week of learning in Language Arts. We began by answering questions using our oral vocabulary words. Next, we used our letter tiles to spell and read r-controlled -or words. Then, we learned about abbreviations. Following that we practiced using our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. We ended the morning focused on comprehension; this week we are focusing on problem and solution. We reread our story from yesterday along with our decodable reader. After each story, we wrote about its problem and solution. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced using adjectives that compare in sentences. 

In Math class today, we learned how to tell time. The students were shown various times and wrote the time. They then got to use clocks to show various times. They are very excited to tell the time!

We ended our day with Spanish. Today we learned the Spanish words for banana, orange, apple, water, sandwich, soup, and meat. 

Have a great night! 

A Marvelous Monday!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend! Wasn't Friday absolutely gorgeous!

In Religion class we talked about how we believe in Jesus. Because we believe in Jesus, we trust him and follow him. By doing this we will one day get to heaven. 

We began Language Arts class by working in our literacy centers. Then we jumped into another week of learning; this week we will be reading about inventions. We began by learning five new oral vocabulary words (curious, improve, imagine, device, and complicated). Then we worked on rereading as we read about different inventions. Next, we learned how to blend and read r-controlled -or, -ore, and -oar words. Following that we learned our new sight words and vocabulary words. We ended the morning putting our skills to work as we read The Story of a Robot Inventor. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned about adjectives that compare. We drew an image three times and labeled them big, bigger, and biggest. We also wrote about what we would see if we landed on the moon. 

In Math class today, we began a new chapter that focuses on calendar and time. Today, we focused on the calendar. Since we do a calendar every day in our Math Meeting, we found today's lesson to be quite easy. 

Have a great night! 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 Happy St. Patrick's Day! Today was another exciting day in first grade. They were all so excited to tell me about the leprechauns this morning. That excitement continued after lunch as Shamus O'Day visited our classroom and made a mess! 

In Religion class today, we continued to learn about St. Patrick. We read and colored a story about his life. We then created a statue of St. Patrick. May we always remember to have trust in the Lord just like Patrick did. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read r-controlled -er, -ir, -ur, and -or words and words with the inflectional ending -er. We wrote sentences using our sight words and took our weekly assessment. Finally, we wrote about things we hold as precious as gold and added them to a craft. Here is a picture: 

To have time for some fun St. Patrick's Day activities this afternoon, we had Social Studies class this morning. We learned the difference between needs and wants and sorted pictures based on which category they fall under. 

In Math class today we took our chapter test on adding and subtracting with and without regrouping. Next week we will focus on the calendar and time. 

For Gym class, we headed outside to run around and burn off some of the energy we had stored over winter! 

We ended our day with some St. Patrick's Day fun. We made an erupting rainbow using vinegar and baking soda. Next, we  experimented with which way would melt a piece of chocolate the fastest: hot water, our hands, our letting it sit out. (Hot water won)! After that, we sunk a pot of gold by adding pennies to it. It took 36 pennies for it to sink. Finally, we tried to build a tower using Lucky Charms. We had two minutes to build the tallest one we could. The children really had fun this afternoon. Here are some pictures: 

Have a great weekend! See you on Monday! 

Cloud Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a great week. Today was a very fun day in first grade. 

In Religion class, we began learning about St. Patrick. We watched a video which showed Patrick bringing the Catholic faith to the people of Ireland. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read r-controlled words and words with the inflectional ending -er, and practiced our sight words. We then switched our focus to reading. We partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read a short nonfiction piece about the moon. The students really got into this story. We watched the very first moon landing and a short clip of a rocket launch. I loved seeing their enthusiasm. We ended the morning by using adjectives in sentences. 

In Math class today, we reviewed adding and subtracting with and without regrouping, adding three one-digit numbers, and solving word problems. Tomorrow we will take our chapter test. 

This afternoon was a lot of learning combined with fun. Since our reading theme has been centered around things in the sky, we learned about things in the sky, namely clouds. We used cotton balls to show the three types of clouds. We also used cotton balls to make a puffy cloud design. Again, I just loved seeing the children's excitement as they were learning. Here are some pictures: 

Have a great night! 

Excited Mathematicians!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is having a great start to their week. 

In Religion class today, we wrapped up our chapter on Jesus performing miracles. We reviewed the different miracles we read about and talked about how Jesus could perform these miracles because he is the Son of God. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading r-controlled words and words with the inflectional ending -er. We also practiced our sight words and vocabulary words. To help build our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read Kitten's First Full Moon which brought about a lot of laughter as we read. After reading that story we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on cause and effect. We ended the morning by working with adjectives. We practiced finding them in sentences and practiced writing sentences using them. 

In Math class today we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. The students worked so hard at solving the problems and were so excited when they answered correctly. 

In Spanish class today we reviewed the Spanish words for cheese, milk, potato, bread, salad, juice, and chicken. 

We ended our day with Stations. The children did a really nice job participating today. 

Have a great night! 

A New Week!

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

In Religion class today we talked about how Jesus heals both the body and soul. He can do this because he is God. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We began by answering questions using our oral vocabulary words. Then we used our letter tiles to spell and read r-controlled -er, -ir, -ur, and -or words. Next, we learned how to read and define words with the inflectional ending -er. 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 A Bird Named Fern and our decodable reader. After reading each story we wrote cause and effect examples from each one. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we focused on adjectives. We practiced finding them in sentences and writing sentences using them. 

In Math class today we practiced solving word problems. The key is to listen to the problem to know what is told to us before solving it. 

Have a great night! 

Lucky Leprechauns!

 Greetings! I hope everyone is doing well. I'm sure the children are excited to see the snow this morning. 

At Mass yesterday, Fr. Brian reminded us that we are to build up Christ's kingdom here on Earth. One way we can do that is by showing mercy. 

We began Language Arts class by working in our small reading groups to build our fluency and comprehension skills. We then learned that adjectives are words to describe nouns. To help us learn this, we looked at an apple and wrote words to describe it. We then tasted the apple and came up with more adjectives. 

In Math class, we solved word problems. We used what we have learned about adding and subtracting to help us solve them. 

In Science class, we learned that sounds can be loud or soft. We worked with a partner to sort pictures based on the sound they make. We then illustrated things that make a soft or loud sound. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today we made leprechauns. The students were very creative in making them. Here are some of them: 

Have a great rest of your weekend. Stay safe! 

Jesus, Heal Us!

 Greetings on this beautiful day! It's hard to believe that yesterday it snowed and today the sun took it all away. 

In Religion class today, we continued to focus on times Jesus helped people. Today we talked about the ten men with leprosery and how Jesus healed them. Next, we reviewed all the people Jesus helped by completing a story booklet. Finally, we created a poster reminding us that Jesus still heals today. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts today; this week we will be reading about things in the sky. We began by learning our new oral vocabulary words (vast, remained, certain, observe, and thoughtful). After that we worked on making predictions as we read a folktale about why the sun and moon are in the sky. Following that, we learned how to blend and read r-controlled -er, -ir, -ur, and -or words. Then, we learned our new sight words and vocabulary words. We ended the morning reading A Bird Named Fern which helped us practice our new skills. 

In Math class we practiced adding three one-digit numbers. The students are doing great with this skill and are so good with explaining their thinking. 

For Gym class, we headed outside. It was just so nice and refreshing outside. It was so hard to come in. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today we wrapped up our unit on geography by reviewing continents, bodies of water, landforms, natural resources, and where we live. 

Here is a picture from our St. Patrick's Day writing from yesterday: 

Have a great night! 

Phonics Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! The children were so excited with the snow today. I wish I could say the same! 

In Religion class today, we continued our talk about Jesus performing miracles. Today we talked about how he helped people, like when he raised the dead and helped blind people. 

We wrapped up our week of learning in Language Arts. We began by using our sight words in sentences. We then practiced our phonics skills by playing some games. To review irregular plurals, the students were each given a card with either a singular or plural word on it. They then had to find their partner match. After that, we played Phonics BINGO to review r-controlled -ar words. Following that we wrote sentences using our sight words and took our weekly assessment. We ended the morning by reviewing the types of sentences in a paragraph. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we did some St. Patrick's Day writing. We wrote about what we would buy if we found a pot of gold. We added our writing to a rainbow. 

In Math class today we learned how to add three one-digit numbers. I was quite impressed with how quickly the students got this skill. 

Have a great night! 

Treasure Chest of Words!

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

We began our day with Adoration. We spent some quiet time praying to Jesus asking him to help others and to help us have a good day. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, sorted words based on vowel sound, read r-controlled -ar words, and wrote plurals for words. To practice our sight words, we played "Build A Leprechaun", a game similar to Hangman. The students had to guess the word before a leprechaun was drawn. We had tons of fun with this! 

After our game, it was time to build our fluency and comprehension skills. We partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read a nonfiction piece about sorting and classifying objects. We ended our morning by practicing joining sentences together. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned what a paragraph is. We looked at the different sentences in a paragraph including a topic sentence, detail sentences, and concluding sentence. We color coded a paragraph to show each one. Then it was time for some art in reading. We created a Pirate holding a chest full of r-controlled -ar words. 

In Math class today, we practiced solving subtraction problems both with and without regrouping. We did very well at looking where the bigger number was. 

We ended our day with Spanish. Today we learned the words for cheese, milk, potato, bread, juice, chicken, and salad. 

Have a great night! 

Pot of Gold!

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

In Religion class today, we finished learning the Stations of the Cross. We looked at Stations 8-14. After watching the Brother Francis video, we colored our Station booklets. 

We continued our week of learning in Language Arts. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read r-controlled -ar words, and match the singular noun to its plural. 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 close reading companions. We also read A Lost Button, which featured the classic characters of Frog and Toad. After reading that story we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on point of view. We ended our morning by practicing joining sentences together. 

In Math class today we continued to practice subtraction with regrouping. We are getting much better with this! 

We ended our day by going to church to pray the Stations of the Cross. The students did a good job following along in their books. 

Here is a picture from Friday's art project: 

Have a great night! 

My Many Colored Days!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! Today was a busy and mixed up day to end our week. 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian reminded us about our Lenten goals of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. 

In Language Arts class today, we worked in our small reading groups to build our fluency and comprehension skills. We also practiced joining sentences using the words so and because. 

Our week of Dr. Seuss fun wrapped up today. We read My Many Colored Days. We talked about how our days can be filled with different emotions and tied those emotions to different colors. After that, we used watercolor paints to paint a person to show all the different colors we can feel. Here are some examples: 

In Math class today, we continued to practice subtraction with regrouping. We are getting better at solving the problems. I can see the confidence growing and the worrying decreasing. 

In Science class today, we talked about dental health. We reviewed the importance of brushing and flossing daily and eating healthy foods. We looked at hard-boiled eggs soaked in Coke to see what our teeth could look like if we don't brush. We all agreed that it wasn't good. So, to get the egg white again, we had to brush it. Each student received an egg, toothbrush and toothpaste, and went to work cleaning their 'tooth'. It was messy and fun at the same time!

In Art class today, we made a rainbow coming out of a pot of gold. I'll post pictures next week once we add the glitter. 

We ended our day with a pep rally in support of our basketball teams. We had fun cheering them on. 

Here is a picture from the Cat in the Hat writing we did the other day. 

Have a great weekend! 

Oh! The Thinks You Can Think!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone had a nice day. 

In Religion class today, we began to look at the Stations of the Cross. We watched part of a brother Francis video that explains each of the stations. Today we looked at the first seven stations; we'll look at the remaining stations next week. 

We began Language Arts by answering questions using our oral vocabulary words. Next, we used our letter tiles to spell and read r-controlled ar words. Then, we reviewed irregular plurals, words like children, people, and mice. Following that we used our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. We ended our morning by focusing on comprehension; this week's skill is point of view. We reread A Barn Full of Hats and wrote about the different characters point of view. We did the same as we read our decodable reader. 

In Math class today we began to learn how to subtract with regrouping. We used our base ten blocks to help us understand what we are doing. Tomorrow we will try to solve problems using our whiteboards. 

For Gym class today we stayed in the classroom and exercised to GoNoodle. 

In Social Studies class today we learned the names of the countries that border us: Canada and Mexico. 

We ended the day by celebrating Dr. Seuss. Today we read Oh! The Thinks You Can Think. Afterwards, the students drew what they were thinking about and wrote about it. 

Have a great night! 

The Beginning of Lent!

 Greetings! Today was a good day in first grade. 

Today marked the beginning of the Lenten season. To celebrate Ash Wednesday, we went to church and received ashes on our foreheads as a reminder that we need to change what we are doing that keeps us from Jesus. During the next 40 days, let us pray that we will take the time to reflect on ways that will bring us closer to Jesus. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts today; this week we will be reading about different ways to classify objects. We learned five new oral vocabulary words (classify, distinguish, organize, entire, and startled). After that we worked on making predictions as we heard the famous story of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." After that we learned how to blend and read r-controlled -ar words; as many would say we talked like a pirate today. Following that we learned our new sight words and vocabulary words. We ended the morning reading A Barn Full of Hats that helped us practice our new skills. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we learned how to join sentences using and, or, and but. 

In Math class today we continued our practice of subtracting without regrouping. We are doing very well with these problems. Tomorrow we will begin to learn how to subtract with regrouping. 

Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday. To celebrate, we read The Cat in the Hat Comes Back. We then wrote about what we would do if the Cat in the Hat came to our house. We added a drawing of the Cat in the Hat to our writing. 

Have a great night! 

Hello, March!

 Greetings! It is hard to believe that it is March. February went right by us. We had a great day to begin a new month. 

In Religion class, we continued our discussion on Lent. We watched a Brother Francis video that reviewed what we talked about yesterday. We then wrote about someone we can pray for, something we can fast from, and someway we can help during Lent. 

We wrapped up our week of learning in Language Arts. Today, we used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read long e words and compound words, and wrote sentences using our sight words. We also took our weekly assessment. To build our compound word knowledge, we completed a write the room activity. The students were given the first part of a compound word; they had to walk around the room to find the second word. They just loved that. 

Because the students worked very hard this morning, we were able to complete the art project we missed on Friday. We created a stained glass heart. Don't they look awesome! 

In Math class today, we continued to practice subtraction without regrouping. We are getting better at counting backwards. 

In Spanish class today, we reviewed the words we learned for classroom objects. We drew a picture of our classroom and labeled the objects in Spanish. 

Our Dr. Seuss celebration today centered around Green Eggs and Ham. After reading the classic book, we matched rhyming words. 

Have a great night!