A Grinchy Day!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is as excited as the children are for Christmas. Their excitement was very hard to contain today! 

In Religion class we reviewed the Christmas story by sequencing the events. Then, using foam stickers, the children designed their own Nativity scene. 

The remainder of the morning focused around the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas. After reading the story, we sequenced the events. Then we wrote about what we would do to make the Grinch grin. We added our writing to a craft. Finally, to help us practice our Math skills, we completed a Grinch theme write the room activity. The students walked around the room finding an addition problem and writing the answer. 

This afternoon to keep our Grinch theme going, we watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We all enjoyed the movie. 

Have a great night! 

A Visit from Santa!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone enjoyed their day! The highlight of our day came this morning. Santa came for a visit. Everyone was able to sit on Santa's lap and tell him one thing they want for Christmas. When finished, Santa gave us a candy cane! The excitement continues to build! 

In Religion class today, we wrapped up our chapter on Mary saying yes to God. That led us into the Christmas story. We read and colored a book on the birth of Jesus. 

In Language Arts class, we wrote what we would do if we were an elf. 

Then, we read the classic Christmas story, The Polar Express. After reading it, we sequenced the events in the story. We also wrote about what we would want for the first gift of Christmas. 

In Math class today, we practiced adding to 20. The students worked with a partner and played memory matching problems to answers. 

We had a special Science class today. We wrapped up our chapter on sound. We reviewed how sounds are made when something vibrates. 

Have a great night! 

Christmas Week 2022!

 Greetings! Welcome to Christmas Week 2022! I just love the enthusiasm and excitement this week. It makes me wish I was a kid again! 

In Religion class today we talked about how Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth after the angel Gabriel came to her. 

We are not beginning a new week of learning in Language Arts this week. Instead, we are going to review what we have learned and participate in fun Christmas literacy activities. Today, we read Santa's Stuck, a funny fiction story about Santa getting stuck in a chimney. After reading the story, we wrote about what we would do if Santa was stuck in our chimney. We added our writing to a craft. 

In Math class today, we learned two new addition strategies. The first one has us recognizing doubles facts and doubles plus 1 facts to solve problems. The second strategy reminded us that we can add in any order. With all of the strategies learned, we will pick our favorite strategy to help us add. 

This afternoon we were treated to a play performed by students in our Junior High department. They did a wonderful job. First grade gives the performance two thumbs up! 

Here is a picture from our Santa art on Friday. 

Have a great night! 

Santa Art!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! Thank you so much for a great flexible instruction day yesterday. It was nice to be back with the children today. I missed them yesterday. 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian reminded us of our mission to know, love, and serve God. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts today. We practiced using our sight words in sentences. We also practiced reading soft c, soft g, and -dge words and words with inflectional endings when the final e is dropped. After that we wrote sentences using our sight words. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced finding rhyming words in poems. We took our weekly assessment and identified whether sentences were past or future tense. 

In Math class today, we practiced a new addition strategy. We worked on making ten and then adding. We used linking cubes to help us make 10 before adding. 

In Science class, we talked about pitch and volume. We learned that pitch is how high or low a sound is and that volume is how loud or soft a sound is. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today we made Santa Claus. The students were very excited to use messy glue and cotton balls. I'll post pictures next week once everything has dried. 

Have a great weekend! 

The Gingerbread Man!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a good week! 

In Religion class today, we talked about the third week of Advent. We talked about how the pink candle means joy and how we can bring joy to people this week. After our Advent talk, we read the story of the angel Gabriel visiting Mary and how Mary said yes to God. 

In Language Arts, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words. We also practiced reading soft c, soft g, and -dge words. We also practiced spelling and reading words with inflectional endings where the final e is dropped. In addition, we practiced our sight words. To help us build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read The Gingerbread Man, a story the children have been waiting all week for. After reading the story, we wrote cause and effect examples from it. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we reviewed verb tenses. We practiced sorting sentences into past and future. We then sorted verbs into past, present, and future tenses. 

In Math class today, we began our chapter on addition and subtraction within 20. We will begin with addition strategies. Today, we learned how to add by counting on. We used our number line to help us. We start at the biggest number and then count on to find the answer. 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is a flexible instruction day. Be safe! 

Secret Santa Shop!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! Today was an exciting day in first grade. It was Secret Santa Shop Day! And, our other first grade friends joined us for a day of learning. 

We had lots of fun shopping at the Secret Santa shop. The children loved picking out presents for family and friends. They were so excited to leave with their gifts today. Thank you to all of the parents who volunteered to help the students shop and wrap their gifts! 

In Religion class today, we talked about how Mary was not born with original sin and how she never sinned. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words from yesterday and learned three new words (eventually, foolish, and timid). Next, we worked on making predictions as we read a folktale about a foolish rabbit. Following that, we used our letter tiles to spell and read soft c, soft g, and -dge words. After that, we learned how to spell words with an inflectional ending when the word ends in e (drop the final e before adding the ending). Then, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended the morning focusing on our comprehension skills; this week we are working on cause and effect. We reread The Nice Mitten and wrote cause and effect examples from it. We did the same as we read our decodable reader. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned about future tense verbs. We learned that future tense verbs have the word will with it. 

In Math class, we took our test on the numbers to 20. Tomorrow we will begin to learn addition strategies to 20. 

Have a good night! 

A New Week!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! This is our last full week of school before Christmas break. The excitement of Christmas continues to build each day! 

In Religion class today we wrapped up our chapter on the prophets. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading folktales. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (hero and tale). We then worked on making predictions as we read The Interrupting Chicken. After that we practiced rhyming. Following that we learned how to blend and read soft c, soft g, and -dge words. Next, we practiced our sight words. We ended the morning by putting our skills to work as we read The Nice Mitten. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned about past tense verbs. We also learned about cause and effect. We identified which sentences we causes and which ones were effects. 

In Math class today, we reviewed the concepts we learned with the numbers to 20. We will take our chapter test tomorrow. 

Just a reminder that tomorrow we will visit the Secret Santa shop. Have a good night! 

Reindeer Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great week! Hopefully the weekend won't fly by. 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian reminded us to turn to Mary and Jesus during this season of Advent. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences. To review long i words and plurals, we played BINGO. After that we wrote sentences using our sight words and took our weekly assessment. 

Then it was time for some new learning in Language Arts. We learned that the letters dge make the /j/ sound. We practiced reading several dge words and then read a decodable reader that featured these words. 

We also took time today to practice our writing skills. We wrote about why we would be a good choice to pull Santa's sleigh. We added that to a craft. Have a look: 

In Math class today, we reviewed place value concepts. Today, we practiced drawing pictures of base ten blocks for various numbers to 20. 

In Science class, we learned that sounds are made when something vibrates. We did an experiment to see which vibration was the easiest to feel when we whisper, talk, or yell. We discovered that when we yell, we feel the vibration the easiest. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today, we made Rudolph looking at the snow. They look so adorable! 

Have a great weekend! 

Map of the World!

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

To celebrate the Feast of Immaculate Conception, we attended Mass this morning. Fr. Brian reminded us of Mary's great yes and of our need to pray to her for guidance. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read long i words and plurals, and practiced our sight words. We partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets before reading a nonfiction piece about plants. After reading our nonfiction piece, we completed pages in our close reading that focused on sequencing how plants grow. Finally, we practiced using present tense verbs in sentences. 

In Math class today, we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. We put numbers in order from greatest to least and then wrote how we knew which was the greatest number. Next, we added numbers to given numbers to make a pattern. Finally, we used our reasoning skills to organize letters based on clues. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today, we learned that there are 7 continents and 4 oceans. We created a map of the world using a paper plate and pictures of the continents. 

Have a great night! 

Being Like St. Nicholas!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I don't know about you, but this week is flying by! 

In Religion class today we watched a video on the life of St. Nicholas. Afterwards, we talked about how he helped people and how we can help people too. We gave numerous ways we can help others in need. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, segmented words into sounds, read long i words and plurals, and our sight words. We then worked on our fluency and comprehension. We partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read another play The Big Yuca Plant. The students really enjoyed reading the different character parts. After reading the play, we sequenced the events in the story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced using present tense verbs in sentences. We also practiced writing the titles of plays correctly. 

In Math class today, we continued to work with number patterns. We practiced solving for the missing numbers in patterns using our linking cubes and number lines. 

Have a great night! 

Number Patterns!

 Greetings! Happy St. Nicholas Day! To celebrate, Jingles brought the students candy canes. I hope everyone had a great day!

We began our day by going to Adoration. We spent some quiet time praying and talking to Jesus, a perfect way to bein our day. 

We continued with our learning in Language Arts. We began by reviewing our oral vocabulary words we learned yesterday and then learned three new words (assist, grasped, and spied). Next, we worked on making predictions as we read a folktale about a giant turnip. Following that, we used our letter tiles to spell and read long i words. Then, we learned how to spell plurals when a word ends in e. After that we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended our morning focusing on comprehension; this week we are focusing on sequencing. We reread Time to Plant and sequenced the events in the story. We did the same thing as we read our decodable reader. 

This afternoon we practiced using present tense verbs in sentences. We also began some Christmas writing. We are writing about the perfect gift for someone else. 

In Math class today, we worked on solving number patterns. We used our linking cubes and number lines to help us solve the missing number. The students did well recognizing the patterns. 

Have a great night! 

Blooming Readers!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend! I loved hearing this morning all what the children did and what their elves are up to. It is such an exciting time of the year. 

In Religion class today we talked about how John the Baptist was the last prophet. We talked about how he prepared the people for Jesus. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about plants. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (bloom and sprout). Next, we worked on making predictions as we read Mystery Vine. Following that, we learned how to blend and read long i words, words like bike and dime. Next, we learned our new sight words. We ended our morning by practicing all of our new skills as we read the play, Time to Plant. The students really enjoyed reading this play. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned about present tense verbs, ad we practiced using them in sentences. We also worked on our writing skills. Today we wrote the steps in how to plant a seed. 

In Math class today, we learned how to find 1 less or 2 less than a number. We began with our linking cubes before transitioning to mental math. 

Jingles was up to no good today. He got himself tangled in some Christmas lights he brought! 

Have a good night! 

O Christmas Tree!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! Today was an exciting day to end the week. I brought in our classroom Christmas tree. The children were so excited to decorate it. They did a fantastic job! 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian reminded us that during this season of Advent,  we need to turn to God and ask him to help us get ready for Jesus. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, practiced reading long a words, wrote sentences using our sight words, and took our weekly assessment. To help us practice reading long a words, the students did a write the room activity where they walked around the room to find long a words and write the words on a sheet. We also finished writing our how-to piece on how to make a PBJ sandwich. 

In Math class today, we practiced telling one more or two more than a number. I was impressed with how fast the children were able to write the answers. 

In Science class, we wrapped up our chapter on animal communication. We reviewed why animals communicate and how they communicate. 

Christmas tree was the the theme of the day in first grade and that spilled over into Art class. Using sequins and glitter glue, the students decorated their own Christmas tree. They also got to add snow falling around their tree if they wanted to. 

Have a great weekend! 

Hello December!

 Greetings! Happy December! The excitement of the holidays are in the air. Today, Jingles, our elf, brought the students stickers. It was neat watching the children say thank you to him. 

In Religion class today we continued learning about Moses. Today we learned that God called Moses by appearing to him in the burning bush. We also learned that God gave Moses the 10 Commandments. By following the Commandments we prepare ourselves to welcome Jesus. 

We continued our week of learning in Language Arts. Today we practiced our oral vocabulary words, read long a words, and spelled contractions with the word not. To help us with our fluency we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read a nonfiction piece about the history of clocks; we completed pages in our close reading companion that help us build our key details skill. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced finding verbs in sentences. We also began writing a how-to piece. We are writing the steps in making a PBJ sandwich. 

In Math class today we practiced organizing numbers from least to greatest and greatest to least. The students loved doing this. 

This morning we took our first STAR test. The students did very well with the Math test; I am so pleased at how hard they worked. We have one more test to take. 

Have a great night!