Learning About Holy Week!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful spring day we had. It was also a great day for Opening Day in baseball. Unfortunately, the Pirates lost, but there are still 161 games left. Things will get better! 

In Religion class, we began our study of Holy Week. Today, we focused on Palm Sunday. We talked about how Jesus rode into Jerusalem and how the people waved palm branches and shouted 'hosana'. We made a palm branch to help us remember his triumphant entry into the city. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with the diphthongs ou and ow and words ending in -er and -est, and wrote sentences using our sight words. To build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklet. We also took our weekly assessment and practiced using a, an, this, and that in sentences. 

In Math class today, we wrapped up our chapter on graphs by taking our test. Next, we will turn our attention to shapes. 

In Social Studies class, we learned the difference between city, town, and rural areas. We sorted pictures based on where we would find them. 

Have a great weekend! 

A Wonderful Wednesday!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone had a wonderful day! 

In Religion class today, we talked about how our faith in Jesus helps us. We read about how Jesus helped the Centurion's servant because of his faith. 

In Language Arts class, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words, read words with the diphthongs ou and oi, spelled and read words ending in -er and -est, and read our sight words. To build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read Whistle for Willie. After reading that story, we completed pages in our Reading/Writing Workshop that focused on cause and effect. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced using a, an, this, and that in sentences. 

In Math class today, we reviewed picture graphs and tally charts. We practiced making both and answered questions about the data. 

We ended our day with Music class. Today, we talked about different voices. We practiced using our whisper, speaking, singing, and calling voices. 

Have a great night! 

Writing About Spring!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! The children really enjoyed the warm weather yesterday as many told me of their fun in the sun. 

In Religion class today, we talked about what it means to believe in Jesus. We said that we believe in Jesus because we trust him and because he is the Son of God. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about sound. We began by learning our five new oral vocabulary words (volume, senses, distract, nervous, and squeaky). Then we worked on retelling as we listened to a story about a squeaky bed. After that, we learned how to blend and read words with the diphthongs ou and ow, words like cow and out. Following that, we learned our new sight words for the week (color, early, instead, nothing, oh, thought). We ended our morning working on our fluency skills as we read Now, What's That Sound?

This afternoon in Language Arts, we learned when to use a and an in sentences. We also wrote about what we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch in spring. 

In Math class today, we reviewed graphs. We looked at the data on graphs and answered questions about them. 

Have a great night! 

Happy Spring!

 Greetings! Happy Spring! We have made it through winter! We had a great first day of spring in first grade. 

At Mass this morning, we welcomed Jadin O'Brien. She talked to us about turning our suffering into prayers for others. 

We wrapped up another week of Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, wrote sentences using our sight words, and took our weekly assessment. We also worked on our comprehension skills as we read poems and answered questions about them. In addition to that, we wrote about what we like to do on a rainy day and added our writing to a craft. 

In Math class today, we continued to work with tally marks and picture graphs. We created our own tally chart based on favorite sports in the class. We used that data to make a picture graph. Then we wrote about something we learned from the graph. 

In Science class today, we talked about how the sun changes position during the day. We learned that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. 

We ended our day with Art class where we worked on two projects. We created an Easter bunny on a colorful background. We also made an Easter basket filled with Easter eggs. I'll post pictures on Monday. 

Have a great weekend! 

Book Fair Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is having a great week! And, not only is tomorrow Friday, but also the first day of spring!! 

In Religion class today we wrapped up our chapter on the miracles of Jesus. We reviewed some of the miracles Jesus did and reviewed that he did them because he is the Son of God. 

In Language Arts class, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words, read r-controlled words, and practiced writing abbreviations. To help build our fluency, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also practiced finding adjectives that compare in sentences and wrote sentences using adjectives that compare. In addition to all of that, we finished our Lucky Charms St. Patrick's Day writing. 

Since we ran out of time yesterday, we moved our Music class to today. Today we talked about how music can be fast or slow and loud or soft. We listened to various pieces of music and did different motions to show if the music was fast or slow or loud or soft. 

In Math class today, we learned about tally marks. We gathered data from a picture and drew tally marks to show that data. Then, we created a picture graph using that same data. We are really enjoying graphs. 

In Social Studies today, we continued our talk about seasons. Today, we talked about different things we do in each season. 

The highlight of the day was visiting the Book Fair. We all came away with new books to read. It is always fun to shop for books! 

Have a great night! 

Picture Graph Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a great week. Spring begins in two days!!

In Religion class today, we reviewed the stories of Jesus healing people. We created a tiny booklet to remind us of all the people Jesus helped. We also created a poster reminding us that Jesus is our healer. The students loved adding band-aids around it! 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read r-controlled words, abbreviations, and our sight words. To build our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read Thomas Edison, Inventor. After reading this story we completed pages in our Reading/Writing Companion that focused on problem and solution and cause and effect. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced writing sentences with adjectives that compare. We also worked on some special projects. 

Our Math class today centered on picture graphs. We made a picture graph showing the fruit in a basket and then answered questions about it. We really enjoyed making the graph! 

Have a great night! 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 Greetings! Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope everyone had a fantastic day! It's the luck of the Irish day! 

After a delayed start, we got to work. We answered questions using our oral vocabulary words. We also used our letter tiles to spell and read r-controlled -or words. We ended our morning learning how to write abbreviations for titles, months of the year, and days of the week. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We also learned our new vocabulary words: idea and unusual and wrote sentences using the words. Finally, we worked on our comprehension skills. We reread The Story of a Robot Inventor. Afterwards, we wrote facts about his life and wrote about a problem he had and how he solved it. 

In Math class today, we began our chapter on data and graphs. We used our linking cubes to show the data in a more organized way. Tomorrow we will transition to graphs. 

We ended our day with some St. Patrick's Day fun. We reviewed the colors of the rainbow and used food dye to show a rainbow. We put the dye in cups of vinegar. Then, we added baking soda to the cups and watched our rainbow erupt. We loved this! 

Have a great night! 

Leprechaun Writing!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone is doing well and enjoyed the weekend. I think the children really enjoyed the break on Friday; it was much needed. 

In Religion class today, we continued to learn about the miracles of Jesus. Today, we read about Jesus helping the paralyzed man. First, Jesus forgave his sins, and then, Jesus helped him walk. We talked about how Jesus can forgive sins because he is the Son of God. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about inventions. We began by learning our new oral vocabulary words (curious, improve, device, imagine, and complicated). Then we worked on retelling as we read about inventions. Following that, we learned how to blend and read r-controlled -or words, words like corn, more, and soar. Next, we learned our new sight words (began, better, guess, learn, right, sure). We ended our morning focusing on fluency. We read The Story of a Robot Inventor which helped us practice our new phonics skills. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we learned about adjectives that compare. We add -er to an adjective when we compare two things, and we add -est to an adjective to compare three or more objects. We also did some St. Patrick's Day writing; we wrote about what we would do if we were a leprechaun. 

In Math class today, we learned how to solve a problem by creating a chart. We enjoyed looking for patterns as we made our charts. 

We ended our day over at church praying the Stations of the Cross. 

Have a great night! 

Cotton Ball Clouds!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! It looks like winter has returned. The children were so excited to see the snow on the grass this morning. I'm hoping that this return does not stick around that long. 

In Religion class today, we read about more of the miracles Jesus did. Today, we learned how Jesus raised a girl from the dead, helped blind people see, and helped deaf people hear. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read r-controlled er, ir, or, and ur words and words that end in -er, and wrote sentences using our sight words. We took our weekly assessment and practiced finding adjectives in sentences. In addition to that, we worked on our fluency and comprehension. We partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read about the moon. Did you know that people once thought that the moon was made of cheese? 

In Math class today, we took our test on adding and subtracting with and without regrouping. Next week, we will begin our chapter on graphs. 

We ended our day with some Science and Social Studies fun. In Language Arts this week, our stories centered on what we observe in the sky. Today, we learned about different types of clouds. We used cotton balls to show each one. 

Then, we talked about the seasons of the year. The students used paint to show how trees look in each season. 

Here is a picture from our Art class last week. 

Have a fabulous weekend! 

Trusting in Jesus!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is doing well tonight. 

In Religion class today, we continued learning about the miracles of Jesus. We read about how Jesus calmed the storm. We talked about how Jesus can calm storms in our lives and how we need to trust him. We made a small poster to help us remember this. 

In Language Arts class, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words, read r-controlled words, words ending in -er, and our sight words. To help us build our fluency, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read Kitten's First Full Moon. After reading this story, we answered questions that focused on cause and effect examples from the story. Finally, we practiced finding adjectives in sentences and wrote sentences using adjectives. 

In Math class today, we reviewed adding and subtracting with and without regrouping. We will be taking our chapter test tomorrow. 

We ended our day in church praying the Stations of the Cross. 

Have a great night! 

Blossoming Writers!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone was able to get outside and enjoy the warm weather before it disappears tomorrow. 

We began our day by going to Adoration. We spent some quiet time praying to Jesus. 

We continued with 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, or, and ur words. Then, we learned how to read words that end in -er. Following that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. After that, we learned our vocabulary words (leaped and stretched) and wrote sentences using them. We ended our morning focusing on comprehension. We reread A Bird Named Fern and wrote cause and effect examples from the story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we wrote sentences using adjectives. We also wrote our very own how-to paper. I'm so pleased with how their writing skills have grown this year. 

In Math class today, we continued to practiced solving subtraction problems with regrouping. We did very well today paying attention to see whether or not we needed to regroup. 

Have a great night! 

Being Feed by Jesus!

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

In Religion class today, we reviewed the story of Jesus feeding the crowd with five loaves of bread and two fish. We talked about how Jesus still feeds us in the Eucharist today. To help us remember all of this we made a poster. Have a look: 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about things we see in the sky. We began by learning our oral vocabulary words: observe, vast, remained, certain, and thoughtful. Next, we worked on making predictions as we read a folktale about why the sun and moon are in the sky. Then, we learned how to blend and read r-controlled er, ir, or, and ur words, words like her, bird, word, and turn. Following that, we learned our new sight words for the week: another, climb, full, great, poor, through. We ended the morning working on our fluency by reading A Bird Named Fern. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we learned about cause and effect. We matched causes to their effects. Then, we learned about adjectives. We described an apple. Finally, we illustrated the steps in a process. Tomorrow we will write the steps. 

In Math class today, we learned how to subtract a two-digit number by a two-digit number with regrouping. The students did well with this. Again, the key is to look at the ones and decide where the bigger number is. 

Today, we welcomed Johnstown Tomahawk Evan Kensey to our classroom. He read us a story and talked with us about hockey. 

Have a great night! 

Brushing Our Teeth!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! We have made it through the first week of March. It is hard to believe that it was 60 degrees today when the other day we had ice. 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian reminded us how special Mary is. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in first grade. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read r-controlled -ar words, and spelled plurals when we need to change the y to an i and add -es. We also wrote sentences using our sight words and took our weekly assessment. Finally, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets to help us build our fluency. 

We wrapped up our Dr. Seuss week fun today. We read The Sneetches and wrote about what makes us special. We are going to miss our special friends we had with us this week! 

In Math class today, we learned how to subtract a two-digit number from a two-digit number without regrouping. The students did very well with this. 

Our Science class today was devoted to learning about how teeth and how to take care of them. We learned that germs are on our teeth. We also talked about how sugary foods stick to our teeth. To keep our teeth healthy we need to brush them twice a day, floss, and eat healthy food. Our lesson did include practice in brushing teeth. Pairs of students were given a hard-boiled egg soaked in Coke-Cola. Working together the students brushed their tooth to make it white again. They loved getting messy today. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today, we decorated a shamrock using pieces of green scrapbook paper. We will mount our shamrock to construction paper on Monday. 

Here are pictures from last Friday's Art project along with the President's Day writing we did. 

Have a great weekend! 

Opposite Feet!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone had a great day as we inch closer to the weekend! 

In Religion class today, we started to learn some of the miracles Jesus did. Today, we focused on Jesus feeding 5,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. We talked about how Jesus still feeds us today in the Eucharist. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read r-controlled -ar words, spelled and read plurals where the y is changed to an i and add -es, and read our sight words. To help build our fluency, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read a classic Frog and Toad story A Lost Button. We really enjoy those characters. After reading the story we wrote the answers to cause and effect questions. Finally, we practiced combining sentences. 

In Math class today, we subtracted using mental math. We found it easy to subtract the tens and just add the ones. 

For our Dr. Seuss fun today, we read The Foot Book. After reading the story, we listed antonyms on the board. Then, each student took a pair of words and illustrated them. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. We are wrapping up our celebration of presidents. We are in the process of writing what we would do if we were president. 

Have a wonderful evening! 

Return from the Ice!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone did well with the ice yesterday. I was glad I didn't have to venture out into it yesterday. 

In Religion class today, we wrapped up our chapter on Jesus sharing the Good News. We talked about how Jesus and his Apostles went from town to town telling people that God loves them and teaching them how to pray. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We began by answering questions using our oral vocabulary words. We then used our letter tiles to spell and read r-controlled -ar words. Then, we learned about plurals that end in a y; we need to change the y to an i and add -es. After that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended the morning by learning our vocabulary words (trouble and whole); we wrote sentences using our vocabulary words. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we reread A Barn Full of Hats. We wrote about the characters and who is telling the story. Then, we practiced combining sentences using so and because. Finally, we wrote the steps in making a pizza. 

In Math class today, we continued to practice subtraction with regrouping. We are doing better at recognizing when to regroup and how to regroup. 

We ended our day with some Dr. Seuss fun. Today we read There's a Wocket in My Pocket. After reading the story, we got in the style of Dr. Seuss and made up a word to rhyme with pocket. We also wrote about what our creature likes to do. 

Have a great night! 

Talking Like a Pirate!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! Happy March! It is hard to believe that another month is upon us! 

In Religion class today, we learned the Great Commandment: to love God, love others, and love ourselves. We talked about various ways we can love God, others, and ourselves. We also created a giant heart to help us remember this commandment. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week, we are reading about ways to sort and classify things. We began by learning our oral vocabulary words (classify, distinguish, entire, organize, startled). Then, we worked on making predictions as we read the classic fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Following that, we learned how to blend and read r-controlled -ar words; we really enjoyed talking like a pirate as we read them. We ended our morning by learning our new sight words (four, large, none, only, put, round). 

This afternoon we read A Barn Full of Hats. I just love seeing their fluency grow and become more expressive. After that, we talked about how to combine sentences using and, but, and or. 

In Math class today, we learned how to subtract with regrouping. We did great taking one away from the tens. We want to take one away from the ones as well. We are working on adding a ten to the given ones already. We will continue to practice tomorrow. 

We ended our day with some Dr. Seuss fun. I just love celebrating this week with the students. Each day, we will read a story and do an activity associated with the book. Today, we read Horton Hears a Who. We wrote about how we can be kind like Horton. We are working on adding our writing to a craft. 

Have a wonderful night! 

Wash Away the Germs!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great day to end the week. We had one awesome, busy day in first grade today. 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian talked to us about the importance of forgiveness. 

After Mass, nursing students from St. Francis University visited first grade. They talked to us about germs. They showed us how to properly wash our hands and reminded us to cover our coughs and sneezes. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with long e and compound words, and wrote sentences using our sight words. We also read a short nonfiction piece about saving bees. Finally, we took our weekly assessment. 

In Math class today, we learned how to subtract a one digit number from a two digit number. We began by writing the problem vertically. First, we subtract the ones and then we subtract the tens. The children picked this skill up quickly. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today, we made a mosaic rainbow coming out of a pot of gold. The highlight was adding glitter to the gold coins. 

Have a great weekend! 

Forces and Motion!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone enjoyed the snow yesterday. It is already gone! 

In Religion class today, we talked the Bible. We learned that the Bible is a book of stories written by God. We learned that the Bible has two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read long e words spelled with ey and y, read compound words, and read our sight words. We also practiced using our vocabulary words in sentences. After that we read Koko and Penny, a nonfiction story about a gorilla and her caretaker. After reading that story, we wrote about the details in it. Finally, we practiced finding adverbs that tell when in sentences. 

This afternoon we were treated to a program about force and motion. This program was sponsored by the Home and School Association. We learned all about Newton's three laws of motion and gravity and enjoyed watching the various experiments. 

Have a great night! 

The Beatitudes!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is hanging in there. Winter just won't go away! 

In Religion class today, we talked about the Beatitudes. We talked about how Jesus calls us to be humble, kind, and peacemakers in our world. We also talked about the third and fourth Stations. 

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 long e words spelled with -ey and -y. After that, we learned how to blend and read compound words. We were so excited about compound words that we even found them in Spanish class today. Next, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. Following that, we learned our vocabulary words clever and signal and wrote sentences using those words. Finally, we switched our focus to comprehension. We reread From Puppy to Guide Dog and wrote about what makes the story nonfiction and sequenced the events of how a puppy becomes a guide dog. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced finding adverbs that tell when in sentences. We also wrote sentences with adverbs. 

In Math class today, we continued to practice subtraction by counting backwards. Tomorrow, we will learn how to subtract without regrouping. 

Here is a picture from Friday's Art class.

Have a great night! 

A Delayed Delayed Start!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! Today was quite the surprise. I was not expecting that delay. I am hoping everyone made to and from safely today. 

Even with the late start, we still accomplished a lot today in first grade. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we are reading about how animals help people. We began by learning our new oral vocabulary words (career, soothe, advice, remarkable, trust). Then we worked on retelling as we read a story about a boy training a dog. After that, we learned how to read long e words spelled with ey or y, words like key and happy. 

After lunch, we learned our new sight words (found, hard, near, woman, would, write). Then, we read From Puppy to Guide Dog which helped us practice our new reading skills. Finally, we practiced finding adverbs that tell when in sentences. 

In Math class today, we switched our focus to subtraction. Today, we learned how to count back to solve problems. We used a 100 number chart to help us. 

We finished our day at church praying the Stations of the Cross with our schoolmates. The children did a nice job following along with everyone. 

Have a great night! 

A Heartful Walrus!

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

At Mass, Fr. Brian reviewed with us the three facets of the Lenten season: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. 

In Language Arts, we wrapped up another week of learning. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, practiced reading vowel team i word, reading and spelling words with inflectional endings where the final y is changed, and wrote sentences using our sight words. To build our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read a nonfiction story about insects and completed pages in our Reading/Writing companion that focused on key details. Finally, we took our weekly assessment and practiced using see and saw in sentences. 

In Math class today, we reviewed adding two two-digit numbers with regrouping. We are doing very well with this skill. 

In Science class, we talked about how our shadow changes during the day because the sun moves. Our shadow is long in the morning, short at lunchtime, and flips and grows long in the afternoon. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today, we made a walrus out of hearts. We then made the walrus look like it was emerging from water. We even painted snow around it. 

Have a great weekend! 

A Fun New Fact!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is doing well tonight. I don't know about you but I was soaked just going from my car to my house tonight! All I can say is that I am glad that it is not snow! 

In Religion class today, we talked about the Good News Jesus told people, that God loves them. We also began our daily Lenten reflection video series. Every day during Lent, we will watch a short Lenten mediation video from Brother Francis. Finally, we started to learn the Stations of the Cross. Each day, we will talk about two stations. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read words with vowel team i, spelled and read words with inflectional endings where the final y is changed to an i, and practiced our sight words. To help us build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read Hi! Fly Guy, which became an instant hit. After reading that story we wrote about how the characters felt in it. Following that, we practiced using see and saw in sentences. Finally, we wrote the steps in making an ice cream sundae. 

In Math class today, we learned how to add two two-digit numbers. The key for us is not to forget the extra ten. 

In Social Studies today, we learned about George Washington. I think their most entertaining fact is that he died when he was 67 years old. I'm sure you can hear the kids saying that now. 

Have a great night! 

The Beginning of Lent!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! Today was a busy day of learning in first grade. 

Today was Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lenten season. We joined with our school community to celebrate Mass and receive ashes. For the next 40 days, we will work on praying, fasting, and almsgiving. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We began by answering questions using our sight words. Then, we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with vowel team i. After that, we reviewed how to add endings to words that end in y. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We also learned our two vocabulary words (beautiful and fancy) and wrote sentences using those words. Next, we worked on our comprehension skills. We reread Creep Low, Fly High. After reading the story, we wrote about problems in the story and how they were solved. We also wrote who was telling the story. 

In Math class today, we practiced adding two two-digit numbers without regrouping. The students did a great job remembering to add the ones first and to add both tens digits. 

In Music class today, we talked about how some beats are the same and how some are different. We did some echo songs showing this. 

Have a great night! 

Reverently Praying at Adoration!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend. It is also amazing to be able to see the grass again. I hope we are done with the snow. 

We began our day by going over to church for Adoration. The children sat so reverently praying to Jesus. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about insects. We began by learning our new oral vocabulary words (flutter, different, imitate, protect, resemble). Then we worked on retelling as we read about how different insects protect themselves. Next, we learned how to blend and read words with vowel team i spelled i, y, ie, or igh (find, cry, pie, night). Following that, we learned our new sight words (caught, flew, know, laugh, listen, were). Finally, we put everything together as we read Creep Low, Fly High. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we learned when to use the verbs see and saw in sentences. 

In Math class today, we practiced adding multiples of 10s to a number. The students were able to do this mentally. 

Have a great night! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! Happy Valentine's Day! We had a lovely day in first grade! 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian reminded to turn to Jesus, our Divine Healer. 

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. We also did some fun Valentine's Day writing. We wrote about someone we love a lot. 

In Math class, we continued to practice adding a single digit number with renaming. We are doing very well knowing when we need to rename and when we don't. 

After all of that work, it was time to celebrate Valentine's Day. We began by using candy hearts to measure arrows. We also sorted our hearts by color, graphed them, and then answered questions about our graph. After that, we played some games. We tossed arrows (Q-tips) onto plates to see who could earn the most points. We also did some relay races. We passed a heart down the line using clothespins and walked a love bug across the room without dropping it. Finally, we passed out our Valentines. 

Here is a picture of the Lenten writing we did yesterday. 

Have a great weekend! Happy Valentine's Day! 

Reward Day!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! Wow! The excitement and energy was high in first grade today. We loved wearing our pajamas to school and especially loved our pizza and ice cream lunch. Thank you to all who attended the meeting to make this day possible. 

In Religion class, we continued our discussion about Lent. We talked about people we can pray for, something we can fast from, and something we can do to shoe kindness. We added our ideas to a cute craft. 

In Language Arts, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading vowel team o words, open syllable words, and our sight words. To build our fluency, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. After that, we practiced using go, went, do, did in sentences. Finally, we wrote about a favorite Olympic sport and added it to a winter athlete. 

In Math class today, we learned how to add with regrouping, our its new name renaming. We learned that when we add the ones and get a sum of 10 or more, we need to rename (or regroup) 10 of those ones and add a ten to the tens. We will continue to practice this tomorrow. 

In Social Studies class, we learned about Abraham Lincoln. We learned that he liked to read and kept his papers in his top hat. 

Have a great night! 

Winter Olympics in First Grade!

 Greetings! Today was an exciting day in first grade! But, before we got to the exciting part, we had work to do. 

In Religion class, we began learning about the season on Lent. We talked about how Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and how Lent is a time to draw closer to Jesus. We also talked about how we pray, fast, and help people during Lent. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading vowel team o words, open syllable words, and our sight words. To help build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read Vulture View. After reading the story, we completed pages in our Reading/Writing Companion that focused on main idea and key details. Finally, we practiced writing proper nouns correctly. 

In Math class today, we learned how to add by first adding the ones and then the tens. We enjoyed solving these problems and found it easier this way then counting on. 

After working hard all day, it was finally time for the First Grade Winter Olympics. We began by taking our Olympic oath promising to try our best, have fun, and shoe good sportsmanship. Then, it was time for the games. We bobsledded using scooters, ice skated on paper plates, speed skated by running down and back, and tried our best at ice hockey. Because everyone tried their best and showed good sportsmanship, all received a gold medal. We ended our Olympics by playing the national anthem. Fun was had by all! 

Have a great night! 

Go Team USA!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone got outside and enjoyed the sunshine today! I just wish it would last. 

In Religion class today, we wrapped up our chapter on Jesus beginning his public ministry. He talked about how he went from town to town telling the people about God's love. 

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 vowel team o words. Next, we learned how to blend and read open syllable words, words like locate and robot. After that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. Following that, we learned our two vocabulary words (search and seek) and wrote sentences using the words. We ended our morning working on our comprehension skills. We reread Go Wild and wrote about its main idea and key details. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced using go, went, do, and did in sentences. 

In Math class, we practiced solving addition problems by first making a ten and then counting on. As I told the children, some strategies will excite them and some will not. They are to pick the one that they like best. 

We ended our day with some Olympic fun. Today, we learned about some of the different events athletes compete in during the Olympics. We are very excited for our very own Olympics tomorrow. 

Have a great night! 

The Cold That Won't Leave!

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

This cold will leave eventually. Until then, we can just snuggle and bundle. 

After our delayed start, we got to work right away. We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about how animals survive in nature. We began by learning our five new oral vocabulary words (survive, provide, communicate, superior, and wilderness). Then, we worked on retelling as we read about how different animals survive in the winter. Following that, we learned how to blend and read words with the long o vowel teams (o, oa, oe, and ow), words like go, boat, toe, and snow. 

After lunch, we learned our new sight words (find, food, more, over, start, warm). Then, we read Go Wild, a nonfiction story about how different animals survive in the wild. Following that, we learned when to use the verbs go, went, do, and did in sentences. 

In Math class today, we began learning how to add with sums greater than 20. Today, we practiced counting on to find the sums. 

We ended our day learning about the Winter Olympics. Today, we learned that athletes from all over the world are in Italy to compete in snow and ice events. Tomorrow we will learn more about the events. 

Here are pictures from last week's writing and art project. 

Have a great night! 

Stained Glass Hearts!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great day to end this first full week of February! 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian reminded us of our call to go out and tell others about Jesus. 

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 test. 

In Math class, we began our chapter on adding and subtracting to 100. We began by working with a partner to discover what 12 + 38 is. I loved how the pairs used linking cubes to solve this problem. We will be learning other strategies to help us. 

In Science class, we talked about how shadows move because the sun is moving. We had fun using our flashlights to show how shadows move. 

We ended our day with not 1 but with 2 art projects. We made our Valentine bags. They are ready to be filled with our Valentines next Friday. We also used watercolor paints to paint a stained glass heart. The students worked so diligently on those hearts. 

Have a great weekend! Stay warm! 

Being Apostles!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is having a great day! 

In Religion class today, we talked about how we can be Apostles. We talked about how we can learn about Jesus and then tell others about what we have learned! 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read long e vowel team words, and read and defined words with prefixes. To build our fluency skills and comprehension skills, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read a short nonfiction piece about bees. In addition to that, we practiced using has and have in sentences. Finally, we wrote about when we see love and added it to a craft. I forgot to snap a picture of them today. I'll post a picture tomorrow. 

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

In Social Studies today, we learned about natural resources. 

Thank you to all who came out tonight to the EITC meeting. I can't wait to share in the excitement next Thursday! 

Have a great night! 

Call and Response!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a nice week. 

In Religion class today, we talked about how Jesus called the 12 Apostles. We talked about how Jesus chose these men and how these men listened closely to what Jesus taught them. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading long vowel team e words and words with prefixes, and practiced our sight words. To help build our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read Animal Teams, a nonfiction story about how animals work together. After reading this story, we wrote about the details in it. Finally, we practiced writing sentences correctly. 

In Math class today, we reviewed counting money and patterns. We are ready for our chapter test tomorrow. 

We ended our day with Music class. Today, we did some call and response songs. We really enjoyed them especially when we added movement to them. 

Have a great night! 

Hot Chocolate and Cookies!

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

Our Catholic School's Week celebration officially wrapped up today. We held our annual vocations program where we honored Fr. Brian, Deacon Condor, Deacon Connor, Sr. Margie, and Sr. Raphael Marie. The highlight came after the program. The children were treated to hot chocolate and Oreo cookies.

In Religion class, we talked about Jesus welcomed the children. We talked about how Jesus gave a special blessing to the children. 

We continued with 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 long e vowel team words. After that, we learned how to read words with the prefixes re, un, and pre; we also learned what those prefixes mean. We ended our morning by practicing using our sight words in sentences. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we learned our two vocabulary words (danger and partner) and wrote sentences using those words. Next, we reread A Team of Fish. Afterwards, we wrote about the main idea and key details from the story. Finally, we practiced using has and have in sentences. 

In Math class, we continued our review on the numbers to 120 and money. 

Here is a picture of our Art project from Friday. 

Have a great night! 

Happy 100th Day of School!

 Greetings! Happy 100th Day of School! We had a fantastic time celebrating this milestone today. 

In Religion class, we talked about why we call Jesus rabbi, because he teaches us about God. We know that Jesus is the best teacher. 

We had lots of fun celebrating the 100th Day of School. We worked in groups to create designs using 100 of some object. We made creations using 100 plastic cups, 100 pattern blocks, 100 gears, and 100 wooden planks. Next, we worked with partners to reassemble 100 number charts that had been cut into small pieces. After that, we flipped a penny 100 times and observed whether we got more heads or more tails. Finally, we made self portraits of ourselves at 100 years old and wrote about something we would be doing. 

This afternoon we got together with our 8th grade friends to color and assemble a poster. We had lots of fun with them. 

Have a great night! 

All About Groundhogs!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! We have made it! I don't know about you, but it has been a long week. 

We began our day with Religion. Today, we reviewed things Jesus did as a young boy. We read the story of Jesus teaching in the Temple. 

Our Language Arts class centered around groundhogs. We learned all about groundhogs by watching a video, reading a Scholastic News magazine, and by reading a short decodable reader. Then, we wrote facts about what we learned. We added those facts to a cute craft. 

Then, we talked about Groundhog Day. We wrote our prediction about what we think Phil will see on Monday. Most think he will see his shadow. We added our predictions to a craft. 

We laid all of these projects on the floor to dry. Here they all are! 

In Math class, we began our chapter review of the numbers to 120 and money. We will be taking our chapter test next week. 

In Science class, we learned how we can use sound to communicate. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today, we glued strips of construction paper across paper and then glued an outline of a heart on top. I'll post pictures next week. 

Have a good weekend! 

Catholic School's Week!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is staying warm! 

Today was another late start but still a fun day in first grade. We are doing our best to celebrate Catholic's Schools Week. Today was teacher appreciation day. The students were treated to an afternoon movie. They really enjoyed The Peanuts Movie. 

Before our movie, we wrapped up our Religion chapter on young Jesus. We reviewed were Jesus lived and what he did as a young boy. 

We also worked on things for our 100th Day of School celebration which will be on Monday. We made our necklaces of 100 beads. We also made our crowns. We are getting excited for Monday. 

Have a great night! 

Snow and Cold!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! What a week it has been! It did feel good to be back in the classroom today. I am sure hoping that Phil sees his shadow on Monday and we get an early spring! 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we are reading about how animals help each other. We began by learning our five oral vocabulary words (behavior, beneficial, dominant, endangered, and instinct). Next, we learned how to blend and read words with the vowel team long e, spelled with e, ee, ea, ie, words like she, tree, meat, and field. After that, we practiced our sight words (because, blue, into, or, other, small). Finally, we read A Team of Fish which helped us practice our new skills. 

In Math class, we used our coins to show various money amounts. The students are getting better and recognizing each coin. 

We ended our day with a game of winter BINGO to celebrate Student Appreciation Day. The students loved their robots they won! 

Have a great night! 

Snowy Mittens!

 Greetings! I hope everyone's weekend is off to a calm start. Looks like the fun will begin tomorrow. 

At Mass yesterday morning, we celebrated the feast of St. Vincent, a martyr of the church. Fr. Brian reminded us to keep persevering even when times get tough. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, practiced reading long a words with the vowel teams ai and ay, put words into ABC order, wrote sentences using our sight words, took our weekly assessment, and practiced using was and were in sentences. In addition to that, we worked on our fluency by partner reading a story from our decodable reader booklets. Finally, we did some winter writing. We wrote about why our snowman melted. 

In Math class, we used our coins to show various money amounts. We had fun coming up with a variety of ways to show the amounts. 

In Social Studies class, we learned about Martin Luther King, Jr. We talked about what his dream was. We wrote about what our dream for the world is. Here, our Friday sillies came out as most wrote about saying six seven. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today, we created a mitten using pieces of tissue paper. We added snow falling around our mitten. 

Enjoy the rest of the weekend. Enjoy the snow! 

Adding Vocabulary Words!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is doing well tonight. It is amazing how we can go from sunny skies this morning to snowy skies this afternoon. I'm sure the children loved the snow. 

In Religion class today, we talked about what life was like for young Jesus. We talked about how we would have helped Mary and Joseph, how he would have prayed, and how he would have played with his neighbors. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words by answering questions with the words. Next, we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with ai and ay. Following that we learned how to put words into ABC order by looking at the second letter when all the words begin with the first letter. After that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. 

Then, we began a new section of learning. Beginning this week, the students will be introduced to two vocabulary words. We will practice reading these words, learn their meaning, and write sentences using them. Our first vocabulary words are special and splendid. 

We ended our morning focusing on our comprehension skills. We reread Frog and Snail Race. We then sequenced the events from the story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we learned when to use was and were in sentences. 

In Math class today, we continued to practice counting money. Today, we added the quarter to our coins. We are slowly getting the hang of it. 

Have a wonderful night! 

March of the Penguins!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is doing well and staying warm. 

After a late start today, we jumped into our day of learning. In Language Arts class, we began a new week of learning; this week we will be reading about how animal bodies help them. The highlight of class today was getting our books. The students were so excited to finally have their reading workbook and storybook. They loved the color pictures! 

We began by learning our oral vocabulary words (feature, appearance, determined, predicament, relief). Then we worked on retelling and making predictions as we read about why elephants have long trunks. After that, we learned how to blend and read long a words spelled with the vowel teams ai and ay, words like main and day. Following that, we learned our new sight words for the week (about, animal, carry, eight, give, our). Finally, we read Snail and Frog Race which helped us practice our new skills. 

In Math class today, we practiced counting coins. We focused on counting a collection of dimes, nickels, and pennies. 

Here is a picture of our penguins from Friday's Art class. 

Have a great night! 

Quarters!

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

We celebrated Mass with our Faith Families this morning. 

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 learned about the quarter. We explored all the ways that we can make 25 cents using the quarter, dimes, nickels, and pennies. 

We wrapped up our week of penguin learning. We learned how penguins stay warm. We also looked at videos showing how penguins are good swimmers. Finally, we wrote about something we would do if we were a penguin. 

Our Art class was penguin themed as well. Today, we made a penguin using an empty water bottle. We stuffed the water bottle full of cotton. Then, we added a top hat, eyes, beak, bowtie, wings and feet. I'll post pictures next week once all of the glue has dried. 

Here is a picture of our snowflake art. They look awesome. 

Have a great weekend! 

Counting Money!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is doing well and is surviving the return of old man winter. I don't know about you but that cold goes right through you. 

In Religion class today, we talked about how Joseph was the protector of Mary and Jesus. 

In Language Arts class, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words, read words with oo and u and words with inflectional endings. To build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read a nonfiction piece about the five food groups. Finally, we practiced writing contractions with not. 

In Math class today, we started counting coins. We identified the value of a penny, nickel, and dime. The we practiced counting a group of pennies, a group of nickels, and a group of dimes. 

We continued with our penguin week fun. Today, we identified different penguins and where they live. We enjoyed seeing the pictures of the different penguins. 

Have a great night! 

Awesome Learners!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! We had another awesome day of learning in first grade. 

In Religion class, we talked about how Joseph and Mary presented Jesus in the Temple and how Simeon and Anna were there. We also talked about how Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt with baby Jesus. 

In Language Arts, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading words with oo and u, words with inflectional endings, and our sight words. To help us build our fluency, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read From Cows to You. After reading that story, we sequenced how we get milk. Finally, we practiced writing contractions with not. 

In Math class, we worked with number patterns today. We practiced counting forwards and backwards by ones, twos, and tens. 

Have a great night! 

A Happy Week!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone's week is off to a good start. 

In Religion class today, we wrapped up our chapter on the wise men visiting Jesus. We reviewed the Christmas story and even illustrated a part of it. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We began class by reviewing our oral vocabulary words and learning three new words (enormous, responsibility, delighted). Then, we used our letter tiles to spell words with oo and u. Next, we learned how to blend and spell words with inflected endings when the final letter is doubled. After that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended our morning focusing on comprehension. We reread A Look at Breakfast. Then, we wrote about things we learned from the captions. We also sequenced the steps in making bread. 

This afternoon, we practiced writing sentences with contractions. 

In Math class today, we learned how to identify 1 more, 1 less, 10 more, and 10 less than a given number. We used our base ten blocks to help learn this skill before transitioning to mental math. 

We ended our day with some penguin learning. Today, we learned about the life cycle of a penguin. We enjoyed learning how the father penguin balances the egg on his feet. 

Have a good night! 

Penguin Week!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! Today was a happy day to begin a new week of learning in first grade. 

In Religion class today, we talked about how we can turn our joys and hard work as gifts to Jesus. We talked about thanking him for all that we have. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about how we get our food. We began by learning two oral vocabulary words (delicious and nutritious). Then we worked on retelling as we read about how we get food. After that, we learned how to blend and read words with oo and u, words like book and put. Following that, we learned our new sight words (afraid, buy, done, every, soon, work). We ended our morning by reading A Look at Breakfast which helped us practice our new phonics skills. 

This afternoon we reviewed how to write contraction with not. 

In Math class, we practiced ordering numbers. We identified which number was greater by using the comparison symbols > and <. We also practiced writing numbers in order from least to greatest and from greatest to least. 

Today began our Penguin Week in first grade. All week we will be learning about penguins. Today we learned that penguins are birds because they have wings, feathers, and a beak. We also looked at the different parts of a penguin. 

Have a great night! Go Steelers! 

Snowflake Art!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great first full week of 2026. 

At Mass this morning, we welcomed Fr. Nale. He talked to us about turning to Jesus when we need help. 

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. We also practiced reading words with long vowels and CVCe syllable words. 

In Math class today, we talked about place value. We used our base ten blocks to identify the number of tens and ones for a given number. 

In Art class today, we painted a snowflake. Using purple, light blue, and dark blue paint, the students painted around a snowflake made from painter's tape. Once the paint dries, the tape will be lifted revealing a snowflake. I'll post pictures next week. 

Have a great weekend! 

Flashlight Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is doing well. We are almost through the first full week of 2026. 

In Religion class today, we talked about gifts we could bring baby Jesus. We talked about physical things like coins and diamonds. We also talked about things we could do like sing a song, being kind to others, and loving others. 

In Language Arts, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words, spelled and read words with long vowels, read CVCe syllable words, and read our sight words. To help build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read a short nonfiction piece about the history of transportation. After that, we practiced using is and are in sentences. Finally, we wrote about what we can do to stay warm in the winter. 

In Math class today, we practiced identifying the numbers from 40-120. We used our base ten blocks to show the numbers. And, we practiced spelling the numbers. 

In Science class today, we used our flashlights to send messages to a friend. We shone the light on a color. The friend had to do the action associated with that color like wave or hop on one foot. We really enjoyed using our flashlights. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today, we talked about different landforms. We created a shape book to help us remember them. 

Don't forget we have Gym tomorrow. Have a great night! 

Long and Short Beats

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is enjoying this winter thaw. 

In Religion class today, we talked about how we can worship Jesus like the wise men did long ago. We talked about how we can go to church and Adoration and how we can even worship Jesus at home. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading long o, long u, and long e words, practiced reading multiple syllable words, and practiced reading our sight words. We also worked on our fluency and comprehension skills. We partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read Life Long Ago and Now. After reading that story we compared and contrasted life long ago to life today. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced writing dates. We also wrote the steps in building a snowman. 

In Math class today, we reviewed counting to 40. The students completed a write the room activity where they counted tens and ones to identify the number. 

In Music class today, we talked about short and long beats. We created our own patterns and then performed them. 

Have a great night!