Santa's Stuck!

 Greetings! Happy Monday of Christmas week! Today was a busy morning and a festive afternoon in first grade. 

Religion class was very busy. We began by discussing the fourth week of Advent; today we talked about ways to show love this week. Next, we wrapped up our chapter on Mary by reviewing how Mary was chosen to be the Mother of Jesus. Finally, we began our study of the Christmas story. We read a little booklet on the story and colored its pictures. 

As we were in Religion class, Santa himself made a visit. He gave each of us a candy cane and reminded us to be good! 

In Language Arts class, we worked in our small reading groups to build our fluency and comprehension skills. 

Our Christmas activity centered around the story Santa's Stuck. After reading the story, we wrote about what we would do if Santa was stuck in our chimney. We added that writing to a craft. 

In Math class today we continued to practice solving subtraction sentences. I was very pleased to see that we remembered how to solve them today. 

This afternoon we were treated to the Christmas Choir Program. Beautiful music filled the church. We loved it especially the snowmen! 

Here is a picture of the Santa's we made on Friday: 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is our Polar Express Day! 

Mooseltoe Fun!

 Greetings! I hope everyone is having a nice weekend and are checking things off your Christmas to-do list. Friday was another exciting day in first grade. Each day brings more excitement as we get closer to Christmas. I love it! 

At Mass, Fr. Brian read the genealogy of Jesus. He told us that we read this story to remind us that Jesus became one of us and that because of him we are able to go to Heaven. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read soft c and soft g words, spelled and read words with inflectional endings, and wrote sentences using our sight words. To help with our phonics skills, we did a write the room activity where students wrote words hidden around the room, and when everyone was finished, we read them. Finally, we took our weekly assessment. 

For our Christmas activity today, we read Mooseltoe. After reading the story we wrote about its problem and the solution. We then added it to our very own Mooseltoe. The children really enjoyed decorating Moose using stickers and sequins. 

In Math class today, we learned strategies to solve subtraction problems with the numbers to 20. We can use our number line, draw a picture, or use number bonds. We will continue to practice these strategies next week. 

In Science class, we talked about how water can move through all three phases of matter. When it is ice, it is a solid. When it is water, it is a liquid. And when water evaporates, it becomes a gas. 

Finally, after waiting all day, it was time for Art class. Today we made Santa Claus using cotton balls and messy glue. We love messy glue time! I'll post pictures once they have dried. 

Enjoy your Sunday! 

How The Grinch Stole Christmas!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone was able to get outside and enjoy the unseasonable temperatures today. 

In Religion class today, we read the Visitation story where Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth. We also watched a short video on the story. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading soft c and soft g words, read and spelled words with inflectional endings, and practiced our sight words. We also partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets before reading some Mother Goose poems. After reading the poems we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on rhyming words. Finally, we practiced identifying past and future sentences. 

Then it was time for some Christmas fun. Today we read How the Grinch Stole Christmas. After reading the story we wrote about what we would do to make the Grinch grin. We then added our writing to a Grinch craft. 

In Math class today, we practiced adding to 20. The students are doing great with this. Tomorrow we will begin to learn subtraction strategies. 

For Gym class we headed outside. I could not get over how nice it was for this time of the year. It was great watching the children run around and enjoy being outside. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today we talked about different activities we do in each of the four seasons. 

Oh, that Jingles. Today, we had fun with our paper towels! 

Have a great night! 

The Gingerbread Man!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone had a nice day. I don't know about you, but this week is flying by. 

In Religion class today we read and talked about the Annunciation story. We talked about how the angel Gabriel came to Mary to tell her that she would be the mother of God's son and how Mary said yes to God. To help us remember the story, we acted it out with a partner. We ended class by discussing how we need to say yes to God just like Mary. 

We began Language Arts by reviewing our oral vocabulary words. Next, we practiced reading soft c and soft g words, words with inflectional endings, and our sight words. We then switched our focus to fluency and comprehension. We partner read a story in our decodable readers. We then read The Gingerbread Man; the students have been waiting a long time to read this story and loved every minute of it. After reading the story, we completed pages in our close reading companion. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we sorted sentences based on whether they told about the past or the future. We then did some gingerbread man writing. The students had to write about where they would run to if they were the gingerbread man. They then illustrated their writing. I was so pleased with their creativity with it. Have a look: 

In Math class, we continued to practice our addition strategies. Today, we learned how to use doubles facts to solve the problems. We are getting really good at solving the problems. 

We ended our day with Spanish. Yesterday, we ran out of time, so we moved the class to today. We reviewed the colors by creating our own crayon box! 

Today, Jingles gave the students a new pencil. It was so sweet hearing them tell Jingles thank you. 

And here are pictures from our Elf writing from yesterday! Enjoy! 

Elf Writing Fun!

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

In Religion class today we talked about how Mary was not born with original sin and how she was already born with grace. We said this is what makes her immaculate. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words we learned on Friday before learning three more words (eventually, foolish, and timid). After that we segmented words into sounds. Next, we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with soft c and soft g. Following that we learned how to add inflectional endings to words that end in e. Then we practiced using our sight words in sentences. 

We ended our morning focusing on comprehension. This week we are talking about cause and effect. We completed a sort matching causes and effects. Then we reread our story from yesterday along with our decodable reader and found cause and effect examples in them. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we reviewed verb tenses by sorting verbs into past, present, and future. We also practiced using verbs in the future tense. After that, we worked on our writing skills. We made an elf and wrote about what we would do if we were one of Santa's elves. I'll post pictures tomorrow once everything has dried. 

In Math class we continued to practice our addition strategies to 20. The students are doing very well at solving the problems. 

Have a great night! 

Christmas Music!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend! Today was a busy morning and relaxing afternoon. 

In Religion class today, we wrapped up our chapter on the prophets. We then spent time focusing on the third week of Advent. Today we talked about how we can bring joy to others this week. 

In Language Arts, we reviewed the different sounds of c and g and practiced reading words with the soft c and soft g sound. We also learned how to blend and read words with -dge. Following that, we learned our new sight words. Finally, we read The Nice Mitten, a folktale about a boy who loses his mitten. 

In Math class today, we began to learn strategies on how to solve addition problems to 20. We practiced counting up, drawing a picture, and making 10. The children were told to use whatever strategy they liked best. 

This afternoon we were treated to some beautiful Christmas music. We heard the children in 4-8 grade play the handbells. Then we heard the beginner and advanced band play the festive music. We really enjoyed the show! 

And, Jingles was bored this weekend. He made a Christmas tree using our pattern blocks: 

Have a great night! 

Christmas Snowglobes!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great day to end the first full week in December! 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian reminded us that even when we worry, God is with us and will help us through everything. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about folktales. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (tale and hero). We then worked on making predictions as we read Interrupting Chicken. Following that we practiced rhyming. After that we learned the different sounds for c and g. Sometimes they can make the soft sound, /s/ and /j/ respectively. We practiced sorting words into the correct sound group before reading a decodable reader. Finally, we learned about past and future tense verbs. 

In Math class today we took our chapter test on the numbers to 20. Next week we will begin learning addition and subtraction strategies for the numbers to 20. 

In Science class today we talked about solids, liquids, and gases. We sorted pictures based on whether the object was a solid, liquid, or a gas. 

We ended our day with Art. Today we created a Christmas tree snow globe. We used sequins to decorate the trees and white paint for the snow. The children really enjoyed this project in part because they got to use messy glue! 

Here are pictures from last week's project along with today's. 

And here is a picture of Jingles today!

Have a great weekend!