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!