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! 

Always Trust in God!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. We had a great day to start our first full week of learning in October. 

We began our day by going over to church and listening to Jessica Cox. Wow! What an inspirational story. We heard about how she never says I can't but says I will try. She shows us that with faith and trust in God all things are possible. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we are reading about community helpers. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (community and occupation). We then worked on making predictions as we read Millie Waits for the Mail. We ended our morning by learning how to blend and read short e words. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we learned our new sight words (again, help, new, there, use). We then read Good Job, Ben which helped us practice reading short e words and our sight words in a story. We ended our day by learning about nouns. We created a foldable to help us remember that nouns name a person, place, thing, or animal. 

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

Have a great night! 

Reptiles 'R Us!

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

At Mass today, we welcomed Fr. Crowe, the diocesan priest in charge of vocations. He talked to us about listening to what God is calling us to do with our life. 

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 used our knowledge of fact families to help us solve problems. When given either an addition or subtraction sentence, we wrote the related fact to help us solve the problem. 

Our Science class was great fun today. Thanks to the Home and School Association for bringing in the Pittsburgh Zoo and their reptile program. We learned characteristics of reptiles and the four groups of reptiles. We got to see a turtle, lizard, and snake. The students loved that part. 

We ended our day with Art. Today, we made a paper bat with colored wiggly eyes. 

Have a great weekend!    

Fact Family Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is having a good day. 

In Religion class today we talked about how our guardian angels help us throughout the day. They help us to know, love, and serve God. We also prayed the fourth decade of the Joyful Mysteries. 

In Language Arts class, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words, read words with blends, and finished sentences using possessives. To help us build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read a short fiction piece about a family hike. After reading that story, we completed pages in our Reading/Writing companion that focused on main idea. Finally, we practiced writing sentences making sure that they started with a capital letter, made sense, and had an end mark. 

In Math class today, we learned how to write a fact family. When given a number bond, we wrote the two addition sentences and two subtraction sentences for it. We had lots of fun writing fact families today. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today, we talked about why people might move to a new country: to get a job or to be near family. 

Have a great night! 

Smiles in Gym Class!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone had a great day. It was so nice seeing the sun shining on my drive home! 

In Religion class today, we talked about what it means to know, love, and serve God. We also prayed the third decade of the Joyful Mysteries. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary, practiced reading words with blends, used possessives in sentences, and read our sight words. To help us build our fluency skills, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read Move It!, a nonfiction story about how people move. After reading that story, we completed pages in our Reading/Writing companion that focused on main idea and key details. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we worked on our sentence writing skills. We unscrambled sentences to put the words into correct word order. 

In Math class today, we practiced solving subtraction problems. Tomorrow we revisit addition to help us write fact families. 

In Gym class today, we played "I Want a Home." Hula hoops were spread across the gym floor. The students had to run from hoop to hoop. The one not in a hoop shouted "I want a home" and then everyone was off again. Smiles and laughter were abound. 

Have a great night! 

Welcome October!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a great start to the month of October. 

We began our day by going over to church for Eucharistic Adoration. We spent some quiet time praying to Jesus. We asked him to help people and thanked him for all that he has done for us. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We began by reviewing the oral vocabulary words we learned yesterday, and then we learned three new words: exhausted, difficult, and agree. Next, we used our letter tiles to spell and read r-blend and s-blend words. Then, we learned about possessives. Following that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we worked on our comprehension skills. We reread Move and Grin. After doing that, we talked about what makes this story nonfiction by finding facts in the story. We also talked about the story's main idea and found details to support it. We also worked on sentence writing. 

In Math class, we practiced solving real world subtraction problems. As we listened to the problem, we identified the whole and a part which then helped us solve the problem. 

Here is a picture from Friday's Art class. Enjoy! 

Have a great night!