Merry Christmas!

 Greetings! Today was the day that the students have been waiting for: the last day of school before Christmas. They are so excited for Santa to come! 

We began our day with Mass. Today Fr. Brian reminded us to continue to be joyful as we wait for Christ.

After Mass, we sat around our Christmas tree and opened presents. It did not take the students long to tear into theirs. It was so fun to watch! 

After that, we played BINGO. Then it was time for lunch. Then it was time to go home. 

I want to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year! May your holidays be filled with joy and laughter! I'll see you in January! 

'Twas the Day Before Christmas Vacation!

 Greetings! Today was another day filled with excitement, singing, and fun in first grade. It truly is the best time of the year! 

In Religion class today, we talked about what gift we could give Jesus this Christmas. We talked about being nice to others, helping others, and doing extra chores. We wrote about what we could do and added it to a gift craft. Following that, the students created their own Nativity scene using stickers. They turned out awesome! 

Our Language Arts and Math classes' activities were based on favorite Christmas books. We began by reading The Polar Express. After reading the story, we wrote about what we would like our first gift of Christmas to be. We then used pictures of jingle bells to measure various pictures. 

Next, we read How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The students then completed a write the room activity where they wrote various math problems and solved them. Then, they created a Grinch and wrote or drew what they would do to make the Grinch grin. 

We ended our morning by singing Christmas songs. We thank Mr. Neff for coming in to sing with us. 

This afternoon we headed over to church to listen to our choir perform the songs they will be singing Christmas Eve. They sounded so beautiful. The highlight for us was the disco lights! 

We ended our day by watching the end of The Polar Express. After the movie, we read the book Jingles brought to us today. 

Have a great night! 

Holidays Around the World!

 Greetings! We sure had fun today traveling around the world! We loved wearing our pajamas and traveling in comfort. It was a great day! 

Before departing on our trip, we had some things to do in our classroom. In Religion we watched Brother Francis remind us of the importance of preparing for Jesus. In Math class, we took our chapter test on adding and subtracting within 20. In January, we will begin looking closely at the numbers to 40. 

Then, it was time to buckle our seat belts and travel the world. We went to India, Sweden, Italy, Egypt, and Australia. We learned how these countries celebrate the holidays. We had so much fun! 

This afternoon, we traveled to the North Pole as we watched The Polar Express and enjoyed hot chocolate and popcorn. We will need to finish the movie tomorrow. 

Also, this afternoon, members of the St. Francis band stopped by and played some Christmas carols for us. We really enjoyed the music! 

Here is a picture of the gingerbread men we created yesterday. They turned out great! 

Have a great night! 

Gingerbread Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! The excitement grew in first grade today. Santa came for a visit! The children were so excited to see Santa and tell him one last thing that they would like for Christmas! 

In Religion class today, we sequenced the Nativity story. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read soft c, soft g, and inflected ending words, wrote sentences using our sight words, and took our weekly assessment. 

In Math class today, we reviewed adding and subtracting within 20. We will take our chapter test tomorrow. 

Throughout our day, we had fun centered around gingerbread men. We "baked" words by adding a magic e to them to create a long vowel word. We practiced identifying the number of syllables in words and using correct punctuation for sentences. We also played BINGO and created our own gingerbread person using glitter glue. It was an extra fun day in first grade! 

Have a great night! 

Christmas Week!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! Welcome to Christmas Week in first grade! The children are getting excited for the holiday. They were singing any chance they could get today! 

In Religion class, we started to learn the Nativity story. We colored a booklet as we read the story. 

In Language Arts class, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words, read words with soft c and soft g, spelled and read words with inflectional endings when the final e is dropped, and read our word wall to review all of our sight words. We ended the morning by reviewing past and future tense verbs. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we read a folktale called "Drakestail". After reading it we discussed the moral of the story. Next, we wrote a how-to paragraph describing how to decorate a Christmas tree. 

In Math class today, we practiced solving word problems. We also used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. 

We ended our day with some Christmas fun. Today we read Mooseletoe. After reading the story, we wrote about its problem and how the characters solved it. We then made our own Moose and decorated his mustache with sequins. 

Here are pictures from Friday's Art and from what Jingles built over the weekend! 

Have a great night! 

Messy Glue Day!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! Today was a good day in first grade. The children really had a good time yesterday; they were quieter today than usual. I'm sure they will sleep well tonight. 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian talked to us about how Advent is a joyful time as we prepare for Christmas. 

In Language Arts today, we read Santa's Stuck. After reading the story, we talked about what we would do if we found Santa stuck in our chimney. We then wrote about what we would do and added our writing to a craft. 

In Math class today, we practiced solving word problems by either adding or subtracting. The students did quite well recognizing whether or not they needed to add or subtract to solve the problem. 

For Art class today, we made a Santa Claus. We used our messy glue to add cotton balls for the beard. Once they dry, I will post pictures. 

For a job well done yesterday, the children were treated to an afternoon movie today. We watched The Star. 

Today, Jingles brought the students stickers for doing such a nice job yesterday. 

And, here are pictures from last Friday's Art class and from our reindeer writing we did earlier this week. 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Show Time!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! Today was such an exciting day in first grade! Didn't the students do such a nice job? They were so excited all day; they kept singing their songs. I loved it! 

In Religion class today, we wrapped up our chapter on Mary saying yes to God. Next week, we will focus on the Nativity story. 

In Language Arts class, we read The Gingerbread Man. After reading the story, we completed pages in our Reading/Writing Companion that focused on key details from the story. 

In Math class today, we reviewed subtracting within 20. Tomorrow, we will learn how to solve word problems. 

In Social Studies today, we learned about different bodies of water and landforms. We focused on rivers, plains, and mountains. 

After our afternoon performance, we watched Twas the Night Before Christmas. They have never seen this one and just loved it. 

Have a wonderful night! 

Dancing Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! Excitement is building for our play tomorrow. We had our dress rehearsal today. The children did such a nice job and sang beautifully. I can't wait for everyone to see it tomorrow! 

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

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading words with soft c and soft g, practiced reading and spelling words with inflectional endings when the final e is dropped, and practiced reading our sight words. To help us build our fluency, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also spent time working on our writing skills. We finished our how-to paragraph on planting a seed. We also wrote sentences using the correct verb tense. Finally, we wrote about what we would do if we had a pet reindeer. 

In Math class today, we practiced telling whether a number sentence was true or false. 

For Gym class today we broke out our dancing shoes. We danced to hits like "YMCA", "Hokey Pokey", and "The Chicken Dance". We also danced to lesser known tunes. 

We ended our day with a special Social Studies class. Today, we reviewed the continents and oceans. 

Have a wonderful night!  

Secret Santa Shopping!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is doing well and is enjoying their week. 

We began our day by visiting the Secret Santa Shop. We had lots of fun shopping for presents and wrapping them. A huge shout out to all of the volunteers. They made our shopping trip go smoothly! 

In Religion class today, we talked about how the angel Gabriel visited Mary and told her that she would be the Mother of Jesus. 

In Language Arts class, we reread The Nice Mitten. After reading the story we wrote about what makes it a folktale and what the moral of the story is. We also reviewed past and future tense verbs. We sorted verbs based on their tense. Finally, we began to learn how to write a how-to paragraph. Today, we wrote the first two steps in planting a seed. 

In Math class today, we learned to use related facts to help us subtract. We reviewed fact families and practiced writing them. By knowing the fact family, this can help us subtract. 

Have a great night! 

Honoring Mary!

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

We began our day with Mass to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. We welcomed Fr. Harris today as our celebrant. He reminded us that we need to seek forgiveness to restore our grace. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We began by reviewing the oral vocabulary words we learned last week and then learned three new words (timid, foolish, eventually). Next, we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with soft c and soft g. Following that, we learned how to read words with inflected endings when the final e is dropped. Finally, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. 

In Math class today, we learned how to subtract by breaking a number into tens and ones and then subtracting. At times, we found this way confusing and reverted to just counting backwards. Remember to use the strategy you like best! 

Have a great night! 

Elf Writing Fun!

 Greetings! Welcome back after our flexible instruction day. Many thanks again for helping with everything yesterday. 

At Mass today, Fr. Brian encouraged us to wait with joy for the coming of Jesus. 

We began a new week over learning in Language Arts; this week we are reading folktales. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (hero and tale). Then, we reviewed reading soft c and soft g words. Following that we learned our new sight words (any, from, happy, once, so, upon). After that, we read The Nice Mitten which helped us practice reading soft c, soft, g, and our sight words in sentences. Finally, we learned about past and future tense verbs. 

In Math class today, we started to learn subtraction strategies. We used our number lines to count back to solve problems. 

Then, it was time for some Writing fun. We made an elf and wrote about what we would do if we were an elf. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today, the students dipped pom-pom balls in paint to decorate a Christmas ornament. I will post pictures once the paint has dried. 

Here is a picture of our classroom Christmas tree. 

And here is a picture of Jingles. He brought the students candy canes today. 

Have a great weekend! 

Pizza Anyone?

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is enjoying a relaxing evening. 

In Religion class today, we talked about how Mary was born without original sin and the gift of grace. This is why we call her immaculate. 

We wrapped up a week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences. We wrote sentences using our sight words, and we took our weekly assessment. We even had time to learn how to blend and read words with soft c, soft g, and dge. We will be working on these words more tomorrow. 

In Math class today, we learned that we can add in either order and still end up with the same answer! 

For Gym today, we continued to work on our kickball skills. We are getting much better at running the bases! 

We ended our day with some Christmas fun! The children got to decorate our classroom Christmas tree. They did a great job! 

Jingles must have been hungry yesterday. Today, he brought us a Domino's pizza! 

Have a great night! 

Hello December!

 Greetings! Welcome to December in First Grade. This is one of my favorite months to spend with the children. I love preparing for the holidays and hearing about their elves. Their excitement is contagious! 

We began our day by going to church for Adoration. We spent some quiet time praying to Jesus asking him to help us draw closer to him during Advent. 

In Language Arts, we answered questions using our sight words. We also practiced reading long i words and plurals. To help us build our fluency, we partner read a story in our decodable reader. We also read a nonfiction story about plants and sequenced how plants grow. Finally, we practiced using present tense verbs in sentences. 

I'm sure the students told you that our classroom elf has returned. His name is Jingles. Each day, we will be writing in a journal describing where Jingles is or what he is doing. Today, he was hanging on the whiteboard. 

In Math class today, we continued learning addition strategies. Today, we learned the doubles and doubles plus 1 facts to help us solve addition problems. 

Have a great night! Stay warm! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! Is everyone excited for tomorrow? Everyone in first grade sure is!

 In Religion class today, we made an Advent wreath to use at home. The students are bringing home paper flames to add to the wreath during Advent. They are encouraged to “light” a candle each week as we prepare for Jesus’ birth.

We spent some time today learning about the very first Thanksgiving. We talked about how the Native Americans helped the Pilgrims and how the Pilgrims wanted to show their thanks. We talked about what they ate and did during their three day celebration.

 Next, we talked about what we to today to celebrate Thanksgiving. We focused on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. We read Balloons Over Broadway which told the story of the puppeteer who helped design the balloons for the parade. Next, we created our own balloon for the parade. We wrote about and even had our own parade in the classroom.

Finally, since we missed Art last Friday, we made a Pilgrim Pete the Cat.

I hope everyone has a blessed and happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy time with family and friends. Relax and enjoy the good food! See you on Tuesday!

A Thanksgiving Feast!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is doing well and is getting ready for the holiday this week! 

In Religion class today we continued our discussion on Advent. We reviewed that Advent is a time of waiting and preparing for Jesus. We also reviewed the Advent wreath. In addition, we talked about how we can spend some extra minutes praying to help us prepare for Jesus' birth. 

In Language Arts class, we practiced reading our sight words in sentences. We, then, worked on our fluency and comprehension as we read The Big Yuca Plant. The children really enjoyed reading this play. After reading it, we completed pages in our Reading/Writing companion that focused on characterization. Finally, we practiced using present tense verbs in sentences. 

In Math class today, we learned how to add by making 10 and then counting on. We used our linking cubes to help make the 10. 

We ended our day with our annual first grade Thanksgiving feast. We watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. We then shared a meal of bread, jelly beans, pretzels, and popcorn just like they had in the movie. We loved our feast today! 

Here is a picture from the decorative corn we painted yesterday. 

Have a great night! 

Thanksgiving Week!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend! The children loved the snow on Friday! I love seeing their excitement over the snow. I wish I could share in their joy! 

In Religion class today, we started learning about Advent. We learned that Advent is a time for waiting for Jesus. We also learned about the Advent wreath. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words. We also practiced reading long i words and plurals. 

In Math class today, we took our chapter test on the numbers to 20. We also began our next chapter which focuses on adding and subtracting within 20. Today, we learned how to add by counting on. 

We ended our day with some Thanksgiving fun. We talked about the Native Americans who helped the Pilgrims. We also painted flint corn using Q-tips. We will finish that project tomorrow. 

Have a great night! 

A Thanksgiving Feast!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! Today was a festive day in first grade. For the first time since 2019 we held our Thanksgiving Feast! We enjoyed eating together and watching the fifth grade perform their poems. It got us in the mood for Thanksgiving. 

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

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words we learned yesterday and then learned three new words (assist, grasped, spied). Next, we used our letter tiles to spell and read long i words. After that, we practiced spelling and reading plurals with the magic e. We ended our morning by using our sight words in sentences. 

After our luncheon, we finished up our Language Arts learning for the day. We reread Time to Plant. After reading the story, we sequenced events from it. We also wrote about how characters felt during different times in the story. Finally, we practiced using present tense verbs in sentences. 

In Math class today, we reviewed concepts related to the numbers to 20. We looked at place value, compared numbers, ordered numbers, and finished number patterns. We are ready for our test. 

We ended our day with some Thanksgiving fun! We learned about the Pilgrims. We wrote about what they ate, what they wore, where they lived, and what work they did. We then created our very own Pilgrim and wrote about something we would have done if we were a Pilgrim. 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

One Last Time Outside!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone enjoyed what could be our last warm day for awhile. 

In Religion class today, we learned that John the Baptist was the last prophet. We talked about he baptized people who were sorry for the sinful ways. We also learned that John and Jesus were cousins. 

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 (sprout, blossom). We then worked on making predictions as we read Mystery Vine. After that, we learned how to blend and read long i words. We ended our morning by learning our new sight words (green, grow, pretty, should, together, water). 

This afternoon in Language Arts we read a play which helped us practice reading long i words and our sight words in sentences. We also identified present tense verbs in sentences. 

In Math class, we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. We wrote about how we compare numbers, identified the missing numbers in a pattern, and organized numbers from least to greatest. 

For Gym class today, we headed outside. This was probably our last Gym class outside for awhile. 

Here is a picture of our turkey centerpieces we made last Friday. Sorry for the delay. 

Have a good night! 

Voyage on the Mayflower!

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

In Religion class today, we continued learning about Moses. We reviewed how baby Moses was placed in a basket and raised by the Pharoah's daughter. Today, we talked about how God talked to Moses through a burning bush. We also learned that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. 

We wrapped up a week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read long a words, spelled contractions with not, and wrote sentences using our sight words. We also worked on our fluency and comprehension skills. We partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read a short nonfiction piece about how people told time long ago. We ended class by taking our weekly assessment and by identifying verbs in sentences. 

In Math class today, we worked with number patterns. We identified the missing numbers in a pattern. Our patterns either count forward or backward. 

We ended the day with some Thanksgiving fun. We reviewed the Pilgrims voyage on the Mayflower and wrote about it. 

Have a great night!  

Go Red Flash!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! Today was an exciting day in first grade. We had tons of fun on our field trip to St. Francis. 

Before we departed for our trip, we attended Mass. Today, Fr. Brian talked to us about praying to St. Albert the Great. 

After Mass, we boarded our bus and headed to St. Francis to see the Lady Red Flash take on Canisius. We had tons of fun cheering on the basketball team. Even though the Red Flash lost, we still had fun. 

We returned to school and did a quick Science lesson. We sorted sounds based on whether they made a high or low sound. 

Then, we watched the Peanuts Mayflower Voyage. Next week, we will begin our unit on Thanksgiving. 

Have a wonderful weekend!  

Learning Self Defense!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! This week is flying right by us! 

In Religion class today, we learned that prophets were people sent by God to prepare the people for the Savior. 

In Language Arts class, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words. We also practiced reading long a words and contractions with not. To build our fluency, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. 

In Math class, we practiced ordering numbers from least to greatest and from greatest to least. The children really enjoyed this. I think they just enjoyed writing on their whiteboard! 

In Social Studies class today, we learned about continents and oceans. We learned that continents are giant pieces of land and that oceans are giant bodies of water. We then spent time identifying the 7 continents and 5 oceans. 

This afternoon we welcomed a martial arts program that showed us some self defense techniques. I sure hope no one is practicing the moves tonight on younger siblings! 

Don't forget about our field trip tomorrow! Remember to bring a lunch! 

Have a great night! 

The Magic of E!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a nice long weekend! The children had fun from their stories today. 

We began our day by going to Adoration and spending some quiet time talking with Jesus. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about different ways to tell time. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (immediately and schedule). We then worked on making predictions as we read A Second is a Hiccup. We ended our morning by learning how to blend and read long a words. We learned that when we see the "magic e" at the end of a word that the vowel says its name. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we learned our new sight words (away, now, some, today, way, and why). We then read Nate the Snake is Late which helped us read long a words and our sight words in sentences. Finally, we learned about verbs by acting various actions out. 

In Math class today, we learned about place value. We looked at a number from 11-20 and used our base ten blocks to show the number of 10s and number of 1s. Before long, we did not need our blocks and could identify the number of tens and ones just by looking at the number. 

Have a great night! 

Turkey Number Fun!

 Greetings! I hope everyone is having a great weekend. We had lots of fun on Thursday as we wrapped up our week. 

In Religion class, we learned about how God tested Abraham with Isaac. Because Abraham was obedient to God and trusted him, God saved Isaac. We, too, are reminded always trust in God. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, and ph and words with the inflected ending -es. We also wrote sentences using our sight words. To help build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read a short nonfiction piece about the directions on a map. Finally, we took our weekly assessment and practiced writing irregular plurals. 

In Math class, we created a turkey with a number to 20. Each student was given a number. They had to draw a picture of that number, write the word, show the number in a ten frame, and write the number sentence for it. They turned out great: 

Enjoy our one last day of this long break! 

The Numbers to 20!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone had a nice day today. 

In Religion class, we continued learning the story of Abraham. Today we talked about how God promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the sky. 

In Language Arts class, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words, read words with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, and ph and words with the inflectional ending -es. We also practiced our sight words. To help us build our fluency we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we read a nonfiction story about maps and completed pages in our Reading/Writing companion that focused on main idea. We also practiced using irregular plurals in sentences. Finally, we wrote about what we like to eat on Thanksgiving. 

In Math class today, we began our chapter that focuses on the numbers to 20. We created ten frame pictures for each number and generated the number sentence that went with it. Here is our chart: 

For Gym class today, we started to learn how to play kickball. The students had fun kicking the ball and running from base to base. 

Have a great night! 

A Busy Day!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a great day. It was another busy day in first grade. 

In Religion class today, we started learning about Abraham. Today, we talked about how Abraham listened to God and moved to a new country. We talked about how Abraham had great faith in God and how we need to trust God just like Abraham did. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words we learned yesterday and then learned three new words (height, model, separate). We then used our letter tiles to spell and read words with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, and ph. We ended our morning by reading words with the inflectional ending -es. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We also focused on our comprehension skills. We reread Which Way on the Map?. After reading the story, we wrote about its main idea and key details from the text. We ended class by reviewing irregular plurals. 

Today, we took our chapter test on shapes. Tomorrow we will begin our chapter on the numbers to 20. 

Here is a picture from our Religion project yesterday. 

Have a great night! 

Noah's Ark!

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

Today, we began our practice for our Christmas play. We will practice each day in between our learning. 

In Religion class today, we reviewed the story of Noah. We created a picture of Noah's Ark and wrote about how God keeps his promises. 

We began a new week of leaning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about maps. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (locate and route). We then worked on retelling as we read Me on the Map. Next, we learned how to blend and read words with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, and ph. Following that, we learned our new sight words (around, by, many, place, walk). 

With all of that new knowledge, it was time to practice reading those words in a story. We read Which Way on the Map?. Finally, we talked about irregular plurals, words like men, women, children, people. 

In Math class today, we reviewed our shapes. Tomorrow we will take our chapter test. 

Have a great night! 

Honoring the Saints!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! Today was such a blessed day in first grade. 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian reminded us to turn to the saints for guidance and help. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with the digraphs sh, th, and ng and closed syllable words, and wrote sentences using our sight words. We took our weekly assessment and practiced writing proper nouns correctly. Finally, we read a short nonfiction piece about kids helping out in their communities. 

This afternoon we gathered back in the church for our All Saints' Day prayer service. The first grade children looked so reverent in their costumes honoring the saints. The eighth grade did a nice job teaching us about the saints. Thank you for all who came today. The children really enjoyed themselves. Afterwards, many were talking about which saint they want to be next. One even named saints that their family could be. 

After our prayer service, we had time for Art class. Today, we made a giant turkey. They look great hanging in our classroom! 

And, finally, here is a picture of the pumpkin we carved on Tuesday. It was such a great week with these kiddos. 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Happy Halloween!

 Greetings! Happy Halloween! Today was a spooktacular day in first grade. But, before our festivities, we did some learning. 

In Religion class, we read about Noah. We learned that Noah built an ark and placed animals inside the ark. After 40 days of rain, God sent Noah a sign that he would never flood the Earth again. 

In Language Arts class, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. And in Math class, we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. We looked at ways shapes were sorted, reviewed the number of sides in shapes, and solved patterns. 

Then, it was time to celebrate! We enjoyed parading around the parking lot for everyone to see our costumes. We have even more fun during our party. We worked in groups to build the tallest cup tower. We did our best to add an eyeball onto a skeleton. We played BINGO and created a Halloween sticker scene. 

After our party, we continued our fun. We read There Was an Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything. After reading the story, we created a sequence bag that we can use to retell the story at home. 

This afternoon we watched Monsters, Inc. 

Have a great night! 

Pumpkin Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! Excitement is building for our Halloween parade and party tomorrow! But first, we had learning to do today! 

In Religion class, we wrapped up our chapter on Adam and Eve sinning. We talked about how Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden and how they lost grace. We also reviewed God's promise to them of sending a Savior. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words by answering questions using them. We also practiced reading words with sh, th, and ng along with closed syllable words and our sight words. We continue to work on building our fluency and comprehension. We partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read Nell's Books. After reading that story, we completed pages in our Reading/Writing companion that focused on character, setting, and events. 

In Math class today, we continued to focus on patterns. Today, our patterns involved 3D shapes. 

This afternoon, we practiced one final time for the All Saints' Day prayer service. Our eighth grade friends joined us for this practice. 

We ended our day with some pumpkin fun. Today, we learned about the different parts of a pumpkin. We created a pumpkin diagram to help us remember them. 

Here are pictures from our project today and from our writing we did yesterday. 

Have a great night! 

Fun With Patterns!

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

In Religion class today, we talked about how God promised to send us a Savior to open the gates of Heaven and restore grace. We know that this Savior is Jesus. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We began by reviewing our oral vocabulary words from yesterday and then learned three new words (connections, enjoy, rely). We then used our letter tiles to spell and read words with the digraphs sh, th, and ng. Following that, we learned how to blend and read closed syllable words, words like cabin, mitten, napkin, helping. After that we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended our morning focusing on comprehension. We reread Thump Thump Helps Out. After reading it, we wrote clues about who is telling the story. We also wrote about the characters, setting, and events. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned about common and proper nouns. We learned that common nouns name any person, place, or thing and that proper nouns name a specific person, place, and thing and begin with a capital letter. 

In Math class today, we looked at patterns. We used our pattern blocks to create patterns. We also practiced drawing patterns. We really enjoyed our pattern work! 

Have a great night! 

Shapes All Around Us!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had as much fun as the children did trick or treating this weekend. They were quieter than normal today! 

In Religion class today we talked about how we are all born with original sin and how that original sin is washed away when we are baptized. We also talked about how we receive God's grace when we are baptized. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about how we can help out in the community. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (leadership and admire). We then worked on retelling as we read a story about Martin Luther King, Jr. Next, we learned how to blend and read words with the digraphs sh, th, and ng. Following that, we practiced our new sight words (all, call, day, her, want). We ended our morning by reading Thump Thump Helps Out which helped us practice our new skills. 

In Math class today, we sorted pictures by shapes. We discovered that shapes are in objects all around us. We just have to look for them! 

Have a great night! 

A Thursday Friday!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday (or Friday for the students). Today was a busy day as we wrapped up our week. 

In Religion class, we reviewed what life was life for Adam and Eve before they sinned. We then talked about what happened after they ate from the tree (had to leave the garden, would feel pain, lost grace). We also prayed the fifth decade of the Glorious Mysteries. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with end blends and with the inflectional ending -ing, and wrote sentences using our sight words. We also took our weekly assessment and practiced writing possessive nouns. 

In Math class today, we identified the shapes in designs. We identified both 2D shapes and 3D shapes. 

Have a wonderful weekend! See you on Monday! 

Fun With Shapes!

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

For Religion today, we practiced for the All Saints' Day prayer service. We reviewed what we did yesterday and added another piece to it today. After practice, we prayed the fourth decade of the Glorious Mysteries. 

In Language Arts class, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary, read words with end blends and the inflectional ending -ing, and read our sight words. To help build our fluency, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read the nonfiction story At A Pond. After reading that story, we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on main idea and key details. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced writing possessive nouns. We also wrote about our pumpkin we created yesterday. I love how creative the children got with creating their pumpkins. This really helped with their writing today. 

In Math class, we took 2D shapes to create an animal. We then identified how many rectangles, squares, triangles, circles, and trapezoids we used. The children really loved their creations when finished. 

For Gym class today, we headed outside. It was just too nice to stay in. They loved running around in the sun! 

Have a great night! 

Stacking, Sliding, Rolling!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had another wonderful day enjoying that sunshine today! 

We began our day by going to Adoration. We spent some quiet time praying to Jesus and asking him to help those who need our prayers. When we came back from Adoration, we prayed the third decade of the Glorious Mysteries. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words from yesterday and learned three new words today (tranquil, tolerate, hibernate). We then worked on rereading as we read about animals in 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 that end in -ing. After that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences and writing sentences using possessive pronouns. We ended our morning focusing on comprehension. We reread The Best Spot. We then wrote facts about the animals in the story and about the author's purpose. 

In Math class today, we reviewed our 3D shapes. We focused on how they move: stack, slide, or roll. 

Today, we began to practice for our All Saints' Day prayer service. We look forward to praying with everyone next Friday. 

Here are pictures from last Friday's art class and our scarecrows. Enjoy! 

Have a great evening! 

PIE: Author's Purpose

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend! It was such a perfect fall weather weekend. I loved seeing the sun shine on those fall leaves. How beautiful! 

In Religion class today, we talked about how Adam and Eve sinned when they ate the fruit off of the tree in the middle of the garden. As we begin our last full week in October, we began praying the last set of mysteries. Today, we prayed the first two decades in the Glorious Mysteries. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about where animals live. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (habitat and depend). We then worked on retelling as we read Babies in the Bayou. Next, we learned how to blend and read words with end blends, words like nest, desk, lamp, pond, tent. We wrapped up our morning by learning our new sight words (eat, no, of, under, who). 

This afternoon in Language Arts we read The Best Spot which helped us focus on the skills we learned this morning. We also learned about possessive nouns and practiced finding them in sentences. Finally, we learned what is meant by author's purpose. We created a pie to help us remember why an author writes a story P (persuade), I (inform), E (entertain). 

In Math class today, we played with our 3D shapes. We looked at which ones stack, roll, and slide. We had fun playing and experimenting with them. 

Have a great night! 

Fun With 3D Shapes!

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

Before Mass today, we prayed the fifth decade of the Sorrowful Mysteries. Next week, we will wrap up our praying of the rosary daily as we pray the Glorious Mysteries. 

At Mass today, Fr. Brian again asked us to pray for vocations. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read short u words, wrote contractions with is, and wrote sentences using our sight words. To help us with our fluency, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklet. We also read a short nonfiction piece about homes around the world. After reading that story, we completed pages in our Reading/Writing Companion that focused on main idea. We ended class by taking our weekly assessment and identifying plural nouns. 

In Math class today, we learned about 3D shapes. We identified cones, spheres, cylinders, pyramids, cubes, and rectangular prisms. The students worked with a partner to match a picture of the shape to its word. 

In Science class today, we talked about sound. We talked about how sounds are made when something vibrates. We also talked about how sounds can be loud or soft. 

We ended our week with Art class. We are making a haunted house silhouette. We painted the background today and will glue the haunted house on on Monday. I'll post pictures then. 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

A Funny Story!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope you were able to enjoy the sunshine today! Yes, it was chilly, but the sun just warmed you up! 

In Religion class today, we wrapped up our chapter on Adam and Eve. We reviewed how God created them, how they lived in the Garden of Eden, and how God gave them grace. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words by answering questions using the words. We also practiced reading short u words, contractions with is, and our sight words. To help build our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read the funny story The Pigs, the Wolf, and the Mud. After reading this story, we completed pages in our Reading/Writing companion that focused on character, setting, and events. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced writing contractions with the word is. 

In Math class today, we reviewed our flat shapes. When given the name of a shape, the students drew that shape on their whiteboards. They also practiced dividing shapes into halves and quarters. 

Have a great night! 

Parachute Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a nice week. It has been a little rough getting used to the colder temperatures. 

In Religion class today, we talked about how we receive grace when we are baptized. We also prayed the third decade of the Sorrowful Mysteries. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts class. We began by reviewing the oral vocabulary words we learned yesterday and then learned three new words (collapsed, furious, refused). We then worked on making predictions as we read the classic "The Three Little Pigs." Following that, we used our letter tiles to spell and read short u words. Next, we learned how to write and read contractions for is, words like he's and let's. After that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended the morning by focusing on our comprehension skills. We reread Cubs in a Hut. We then wrote about problems in the story and how they were solved. We also wrote about the characters, setting, and events in the story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we sorted nouns based on whether they were singular or plural. We also finished our scarecrow writing from yesterday. 

In Math class today, we practiced dividing shapes. We divided squares into two equal parts and identified each part as one half. We also divided shapes into four equal parts and identified each part as one fourth or one quarter. 

In Gym class today, we had fun with the parachute. The kids loved running under it and had more fun trying to keep the ball on the parachute. I just loved seeing their smiles. They were truly having fun. 

Have a great night! 

Fun With Shapes!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had an amazing weekend. It was nice to be off yesterday but felt good to get back to learning today. 

In Religion class, we talked about how Adam and Eve had grace, God's life within them. We also talked how we all have God's grace in us. After our discussion, we prayed the first two decades 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 from. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (materials and shelter). We then worked on making predictions as we read 3 Little Dassies. Following that, we learned how to blend and read short u words. Next, we learned our new sight words for the week (could, live, one, then, three). We ended our morning by reading Cubs in a Hut which helped us practice reading short u words and our sight words. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we learned about singular and plural nouns. We also wrote about what we would do if we were a scarecrow. We will be adding our writing to a craft tomorrow. 

In Math class, we began our chapter on shapes. We began by identifying the shapes: circle, triangle, rectangle, square, and trapezoid. We talked about how many sides and corners they have. Next, we practiced sorting shapes by size, color, shape, and number of sides/corners. We had lots of fun doing this. 

Have a great night! 

Thank You, Firefighters!

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

Our excitement came today when the firefighters visited. The students did a great job showing the firefighters how they exit the school when we have a fire drill. After our drill, we went to the gym where the firefighters talked to us about having a meeting place and never playing with matches. They got to practice crawling under "smoke". Thank you to our local fire companies for coming today and talking to us! 

Before going to Mass this morning, we prayed the fifth decade of the Luminous Mysteries. At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian led us in offering prayers to all of those affected by hurricane Milton. 

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

In Math class today, we took our chapter test on addition and subtraction strategies to 10. Next week, we will begin our chapter on shapes. 

In Science class today, we talked about how we look like our family members. We matched pictures of baby animals to their parents. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today, we made a Frankenstein! 

And, here is a picture of our firefighter writing project we did yesterday. 

Have a great weekend! Just a reminder that there is no school on Monday! See you Tuesday! 

Learning About Fire Fighters!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! Today was another great day of learning in first grade. 

In Religion class, we talked about how Adam and Eve took care of God's creation in the Garden of Eden. We talked about the stewardship they showed. We also talked about how we can be good steward's of God's creation. We ended class by praying the fourth decade of the Luminous Mysteries. 

In Language Arts class, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words, read short e words and words with the inflected ending -ed. To help build our reading fluency, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklet. We also read a nonfiction piece about fire fighters. We ended class by identifying nouns in sentences. 

In Math class today, we reviewed our strategies for adding and subtracting. We will be taking our chapter test tomorrow. 

Today, the students earned some extra recess time. So, after Math class, we headed outside for some more fun in the sun. 

After our extra recess, we wrapped up our day with Social Studies. Today, we talked about community helpers especially fire fighters. We talked about what they have, what they can do, and how brave they are. 

Have a great night! 

Living Rosary!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone enjoyed this crisp fall day. 

In Religion class today, we learned about how God created Adam and Eve. We talked about how they lived in the Garden of Eden and had everything they needed. We also talked about how they were never sick and how all animals were their friends. We concluded class by praying the third decade of the Luminous Mysteries. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading short e words, words with the inflected ending -ed, and our sight words. Our focus then switched to building our fluency and comprehension. We partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read The Red Hat. After reading that story, we completed pages in our Reading/Writing Companion that focused on character, setting, and events. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced adding commas in a series of nouns. 

In Math class today, we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. I was quite impressed with their thinking and reasoning today. Many were able to give examples to problems and find more solutions than were needed. 

We took a break from learning this afternoon to go over to church for Living Rosary. Our junior high students led us as we prayed the Joyful Mysteries. 

After praying the rosary, we came back to finish up our day. We finished talking about fire safety prevention tips. We talked about feeling a door before opening it, staying low if there is smoke, getting to our meeting place, and staying out once we are out. 

Have a wonderful night! 

Fire Safety Prevention Week!

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

In Religion class today we wrapped up our chapter on God creating us with a body and soul. We also reviewed how God sent us an angel to help us. In addition to that, we continued our devotion to the rosary. Today we prayed the first two decades of the Luminous Mysteries. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We began by reviewing the oral vocabulary words we learned yesterday and then learned three new words (astonishing, equipment, and fortunately). Next, we used our letter tiles to spell and read short e words. Following that, we learned how to blend and read words with the inflected ending -ed; we also talked about how -ed is added to a word to show that it already happened. Then, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended the morning focusing on building our comprehension skills; this week we are focusing on character, setting, and events. We reread Good Job, Ben. After that, we looked at various pages and identified the characters on the page, where they were at, and what was happening. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we reviewed nouns. We practiced finding nouns in sentences and writing sentences using a noun. 

In Math class today, we reviewed fact families. We each created our own fact family house. We also used our fact family knowledge to help us determine whether a sentence was true or false. 

This week is Fire Safety Prevention Week. We will be spending time this week talking about fire safety tips. Today, we reviewed the number to call in an emergency, talked about staying away from things that are hot, and reviewed what to do if our clothes catch on fire (stop-drop-roll). 

Have a great night!