Happy Easter!

 Greetings! Today was an exciting day in first grade. The Easter Bunny visited last night and left baskets for the children. They had so much fun going through everything. I loved watching them. 

In Religion class today, we reviewed the events of Holy Week by creating a picture cross. 

We then had some jelly bean fun. We read and colored a booklet about the colors of the jelly beans and how they relate to the Easter story. We then used jelly beans to measure various objects and created a picture graph using our jelly beans. 

After lunch, we watched It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown before going home. 

Just a reminder that Tuesday is a remote learning day. 

May you and your family have a blessed Easter. 

Happy Easter! 

Easter Egg Fun!

 Greetings! Today was an eggs-lent day in first grade. A lot of our learning centered around Easter egg fun. 

In Religion class today, we looked at the events of Good Friday. We reviewed the Stations of the Cross as we talked about Jesus dying on the cross. We created a cross scene. They turned out beautiful. 

In Language Arts, we had Easter egg fun. We read Renchenka's Egg and created our very own beautiful egg using a doily and watercolor paints. We then wrote about what makes it incredible. They all turned out so beautiful. 

After that, the students worked in Easter egg centers. They built compound words, matched addition facts to answers, unscrambled sight words, and identified the number of syllables in words. 

In Math class today, we took our chapter test on the numbers to 120. Next week, we will begin a review chapter on adding and subtracting with and without regrouping. 

We ended our day with an Easter treat. The students enjoyed watching The Peanuts Movie. 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is an early dismissal day. 

Have a great night! 

Easter Show and Tell!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! Today was a great day in first grade. 

We began our day practicing several of our drills. The children remembered what to do for each one and did a great job practicing them. 

After our drills, it was time to begin our day. In Religion class, we talked about the Last Supper. We learned that Jesus shared a meal of bread and wine with his disciples. We also talked about how he gave the gift of himself to us and how we remember what he did every time we go to Mass. 

We continued our week of learning in Language Arts. We began by answering questions using our sight words. We then used our letter tiles to spell and read ou and ow words. Following that we read and spelled words with the inflectional endings -er and -est. After that, we practiced using our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. We ended the morning focusing on our comprehension skills; this week we are focusing on problem and solution. We reread our story from yesterday and wrote about the problem, steps taken to solve it, and the solution. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we read our decodable reader. After reading that, we identified the problem, steps taken to solve it, and the solution. We also learned when to use the words this and that in sentences. 

In Math class, we reviewed the numbers to 120. We will be taking our chapter test tomorrow. 

We ended our day with our Easter show and tell. The students loved reading their clues and having friends guess what is inside the egg. I also enjoyed guessing. Thank you for helping make this such a success. 

Have a great night! 

Holy Week 2024!

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

In Religion class today, we continued to focus on Holy Week. Today, we began to look at the events of Holy Thursday. We talked about how, before eating the Passover meal, Jesus washed his disciples' feet. We then talked about how we are called to wash each other's feet, meaning that we are called to serve others. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we are reading about sounds. We began by learning five new oral vocabulary words (volume, squeaky, nervous, distract, and senses). We then worked on answering questions from a text as we read a folktale about a squeaky bed. After that, we learned how to blend and read ou and ow words. We ended the morning learning our new sight words and vocabulary words. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we read Now, What's That Sound which helped us practice the skills we learned this morning. We also learned how to use a and an in sentences. Finally, we wrote a persuasive paragraph on why we love the beach. 

In Math class today, we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems related to ordering and patterns. 

Just a reminder, that tomorrow is our "What's in my Egg" event. 

Have a great night! 

Popcorn of Words!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I don't know about you, but this cold weather is going right through me. 

In Religion class today, we started to look at Holy Week. Today we focused on Palm Sunday. We talked about how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. We also talked about how the people greeted him by waving palm branches, shouting 'hosanna', and laying cloaks on the ground. We then made our own palm branches to wave. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences and read r-controlled words and abbreviations. We then wrote sentences using our sight words and took our weekly assessment. Finally, we practiced identifying adjectives that compare in sentences. 

This afternoon, we had some fun as we created our very own popcorn bucket of r-controlled -or words. Have a look: 

In Math class today, we practiced completing number patterns. We worked with a partner to help solve them and then did some individually. 

Here a pictures from last Friday's art project along with the writing project we did on Monday. 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is a remote learning day. Have a great weekend! 

Problem Solvers!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! It is hard to believe that today was the first full day of spring with snow flurries flying around. 

In Religion class today, we wrapped up our chapter on believing in Jesus. We reviewed what it means to believe in him. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read r-controlled words, abbreviations, our sight words, and our vocabulary words. To practice our fluency, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read Thomas Edison, Inventor. After reading the story, we wrote about a problem Tom had, how he tried to solve it, and the outcome of his efforts. We ended the morning practicing using adjectives that compare in sentences. 

In Math class today, we practiced identifying more or less than a number, comparing numbers, and ordering numbers from least to greatest and greatest to least. 

We ended our day with Stations of the Cross. 

Have a warm night! 

Happy Readers!

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

I have to start off by congratulating both Elementary Reading Competition teams. Both took home first place ribbons tonight! We are so proud of your dedication to the team. Way to go! 

Now, back to first grade . . . 

In Religion class today, we talked about how God wants us to believe in Jesus. 

In Language Arts class, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words. We then used our letter tiles to spell and read r-controlled -or words. Following that, we learned abbreviations for some words. Next, we practiced using our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. We ended the morning working on our comprehension skills; this week we are focusing on problem and solution. We reread The Story of a Robot Inventor. We then wrote about a problem in the story, how he solved it, and the solution because the problem was resolved. After reading our decodable reader, we identified whether a sentence described a problem or solution. 

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

In Math class today, we worked with place value. We identified the place value for a given number. We then worked on ways to show that number using a different number of tens and ones. 

Have a great night! 

A Marvelous Monday!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend! It is hard to believe that we still have winter weather with spring starting tomorrow. 

In Religion class today, we learned about the life of St. Patrick. We watched a video on him and talked about how he always trusted in God. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about inventors. We began by learning our five new oral vocabulary words (curious, improve, complicated, device, imagine). Then we worked on retelling as we read about different inventions. Following that, we learned how to blend and read r-controlled -or, -ore, and -oar words. Next, we learned our new sight words and vocabulary words. Finally, we put it all together as we read The Story of a Robot Inventor. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we talked about adjectives that compare. We drew pictures to illustrate what we mean by compare and practiced finding them in sentences. We also did some creative writing as we wrote about Easter. We are adding our writing to a craft. 

In Math class today, we reviewed the numbers to 120. We practiced counting sets of objects, writing the numbers, and spelling out the numbers. 

Have a great night! 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a fantastic day to end the week. We sure did in first grade. 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian talked to us about remaining committed to our Lenten observances as we enter the last two weeks. 

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, we began our chapter on the numbers to 120. We practiced counting sets of objects by first counting the tens and then the ones. We then practiced spelling the numbers. 

Science class was centered around St. Patrick's Day. We guessed how many pennies and how many gold coins would be needed to sink a leprechaun's pot. We then conducted our experiment. Then, we talked about the colors in the rainbow. We added food coloring to cups of vinegar. Then, we added baking soda which caused our rainbow to erupt. 

We ended our day with Art class. With Easter right around the corner, we made Easter bunnies. We got the background painted. We will add the bunny to it on Monday. 

Here are pictures from our St. Patrick's Day projects earlier in the week. 

Have a great weekend! Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

A Moon Made of Cheese?

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! Today was another busy yet fun day in first grade. 

In Religion class, we listened to and watched the story of Jesus healing the centurion's servant. We then talked about how Jesus will help those who we pray for. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words and practiced reading r-controlled words and words with the inflected ending -er. To help build our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read a nonfiction piece about the moon; the students enjoyed learning that people thought the moon was made out of cheese. After reading about the moon, we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on main idea and details. Finally, we practiced identifying adjectives in sentences and writing sentences using adjectives. 

In Math class today we took our chapter test on length and weight. Tomorrow we will begin our chapter on the numbers to 120. 

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

Finally, we did some St. Patrick's Day writing. We wrote about pieces of gold in our lives. 

Have a great night! 

Leprechaun Writing!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful day we had. The sun just feels so good. 

In Religion class today, we talked about what happens because we believe in Jesus and have faith. Just like the blind man, our faith will help us get to Heaven one day. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary, read r-controlled words, words with the inflectional ending -er, and our sight words. After practicing the skills separately, it was time to put them together to help build our fluency and comprehension skills. We partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We then read Kitten's First Full Moon. After reading that story, we wrote cause and effect examples from it. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we continued our work with adjectives. We wrote sentences using numbers as adjectives. We also practiced finding them in sentences. Our focus then switched to writing. We wrote about what we would do if we were a leprechaun. We added that to a craft. 

In Math class today, we reviewed what we learned with weight and length. Tomorrow we will take our chapter test. 

Have a great night! 

Working with Adjectives!

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

We began our day by going to church for Adoration. Many of the students prayed the rosary. It was a peaceful way to start our day. 

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 er, ir, ur, and or words. Following that, we learned about the inflectional ending -er; we learned that when we add it to a verb, it makes it a noun. We then practiced reading and defining words with the inflectional ending -er. After that, we used our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. We ended the morning focused on building our comprehension; this week's skill is cause and effect. We reread our story from yesterday and wrote cause and effect examples from it. We then read our decodable reader and answered cause and effect questions. 

This afternoon we spent time working with adjectives. We wrote sentences with adjectives. We focused on using color, shape, size, and tell me more adjectives. 

In Math class today we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. The key was to look carefully at the pictures and then solve the problems. 

We ended our day by praying the Stations of the Cross. 

Have a great night! 

Cotton Ball Clouds!

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

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

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we are reading about things we see in the sky. We began by learning our five new oral vocabulary words (observe, vast, certain, remained, 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. Next, we learned our new sight words and vocabulary words. Finally, we were able to practice our new skills as we read A Bird Named Fern. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned about adjectives. We generated a list of adjectives to describe an apple. We then practiced finding adjectives in sentences. 

In Math class today, we measured objects using two different types of units, linking cubes and pennies. We then identified the heaviest and lightest in the set. 

We ended our day with some science learning. Our story today focused on clouds, so this afternoon we learned about the different types of clouds. We used cotton balls to show what they look like. 

And, here is a picture from our Art project on Friday. 

Have a marvelous night! 

Lucky Leprechaun!

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

 At Mass today, Fr. Reese talked to us about the importance of remembering that there is only 1 God. If we remember this, then we can easily follow the other 9 commandments.

 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. To review r-controlled –ar words, we generated a list of words we learned this week. We then took the words and added them to a Pirate craft.

 In Math class, we practiced weighing different objects in the classroom. We placed an object on one side of a balance and used linking cubes to see how much it weighs.

 In Science class, we learned that in the summer, the days are the longest. We also talked about how the days are the shortest in winter.

 We ended our day with Art class. Today we made a leprechaun. I’ll post pictures once they dry.

 Have a great weekend!

Wacky Wednesday!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! We enjoyed a Wacky Wednesday today in first grade. When the students arrived, they found numerous things turned upside down and inside out.

 In Religion class today, we talked about how Jesus heals our souls today through the Sacrament of Penance. We watched the video of Jesus healing the paralyzed man and forgiving his sins.

 In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading r-controlled –ar words, and identified irregular plurals. We also practiced reading our sight words and our vocabulary words. To help us build our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read A Lost Button, a story involving the classic characters Frog and Toad. After reading that story, we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on point of view.

 This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced joining sentences using the words and, or, but. We also wrote a persuasive paragraph on why we love the zoo.

 In Math class, we talked about weight and the terms heavier and lighter. We used a balance to weigh different objects to see which was heavier and which was lighter. The students loved this.

 We ended our day with some Wacky Wednesday fun. We read the book and identified all the wacky things in it. We then drew a picture laying on our backs with the paper in the air. The students enjoyed and laughed while drawing.

 Have a wonderful night!

Measurement Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope you were able to enjoy some of the sunshine today. It was really hard to come in from recess. 

In Religion class this morning, we talked about how Jesus healed people. We talked about how he raised Jarius' daughter and how he cured the men with leprosy. We then talked about how Jesus still helps us today. We created a poster to help us remember this. 

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 -ar words. Following that, we learned some irregular plurals (men, sheep, teeth, etc). Next, we practiced using our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. We ended our morning focused on building our comprehension skills; this week we are working on point of view. We reread A Barn Full of Hats and wrote about how different characters feel. We then read our decodable reader and wrote about how the characters felt in that story as well. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we learned how to join sentences using so and because. 

Math class was loads of fun today. We focused on measuring different objects using different things. In the spirit of Dr. Seuss, we used goldfish to measure different fish. We then measured different Dr. Seuss characters using linking cubes. With both papers, we learned how to use a ruler to measure them. And, to top it off, we created a fish using our handprint. We then measured it using goldfish, linking cubes, centimeters, and inches. We fell in love with measurement today! 

Have a great night! 

Trust in Jesus!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! Happy Read Across America Week! We are so excited to celebrate reading this week. It is one of our favorite things to do in first grade! 

In Religion class today, we read the story of Jesus calming the stormy water. We talked about how the Apostles trusted Jesus and how we need to trust him too. We created a little sign to help us remember this. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we are reading about how we can sort things. We began by learning our five new oral vocabulary words (distinguish, classify, organize, entire, and startled). We then worked on making predictions as we listened to the classic folktale "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." After that, we learned how to blend and read words with r-controlled -ar; we really enjoyed talking like a pirate today! Following that, we learned our new sight words and vocabulary words. Finally, we read A Barn Full of Hats which helped us practice our new reading skills. 

In honor of Read Across America Week, we will be celebrating each day with a story. Today, we read There's a Wocket in My Pocket. After reading the story, we wrote a rhyming sentence using the word pocket. We added it to a craft. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we learned about the joining words and, or, but. 

In Math class today, we learned about the importance of a start line. We must line up every strip on a line to help us identify the shortest and longest in a set. 

This afternoon we went over to church for Stations. 

Have a marvelous night! 

Welcome March!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! Happy March! It is hard to believe that we are starting a new month already. February just flew by. 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian talked to us about always remembering to pray. 

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

In Math class today, we compared 3 lengths using the terms tall/taller/tallest, short/shorter/shortest, and long/longer/longest. Again, we used our linking cubes to make trains of various lengths to help us practice these words. 

Yesterday, we were busy celebrating Leap Day that we ran out of time for Social Studies. So, we had our Social Studies class today. We learned the names of the countries that border us. We colored a map and labeled each one. 

In Science class today, we learned about the sun's position. We learned that it rises in the east and sets in the west. We made a neat sun finder to help us remember this. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today, we made a rainbow coming out of a pot of gold. We even added glitter to the gold coins! 

Have a great weekend!