Langston's Learners

This Little Piggy Handprints

2012-02-20T19:04:00.000-05:00

Isn't this adorable?!!

These are made right here in Cincinnati...actually closer, Loveland! I think that they would make wonderful gifts and keepsakes. She even does pets! Here are a few more examples.

Here is the website for more information or to book an appointment.

Valentine's Day Party

2012-02-16T16:47:00.000-05:00

Oh what a day! I love Valentine's Day. We had a great time completing activities and games. Here are some highlights.

In the morning we made funny Valentines. This idea came from Mrs. Mullins at The Inspired Apple.

It says "_________________ mustache you a question. Will you be my Valentine?"

These are currently displayed in the hallway and getting a TON of compliments!

We also read the story Love, Splat and wrote about love. The responses are just precious.

Love is...when my mom makes me breakfast in the morning.

Love is when my friends play video games with me.

Here are a few other responses.

Love is..

when my mom hugs me when I cry.

when I get hurt and my dog licks me.

when my mom and dad give me kisses and hugs.

I could just cry!

We also made Valentine's Day holders and passed out Valentines.

We had a BLAST at the party. Check out us in action.
We made rings!

We made Valentine's Day words.

We played Pin the Heart on the Bear!

And there was corn hole!

(I know I have photos. That was the station I worked! I do not know why they didn't show up. I will reload some.)

Here we are all together. Look at those hearts! It was quite funny.

Many students dressed for the occasion. Check out these shoes.

Thank you to all the parents who assisted at the party and a special thanks to our room parent for planning the party. It was a huge hit!

Gong Hey Fat Choy

2012-01-23T18:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Chinese New Year!

Today we celebrated Chinese New Year. Students were introduced to this holiday. Since we are studying schema, we began by activating our schema and shared what we already know about China. We used Sam and the Lucky Money and Chinese New Year to guide us in our mini-study.

Students also enjoyed a slideshow of how this holiday is celebrated in China and around the world. This is the year of the dragon. So in celebration of Chinese New Year, we created dragon puppets.

As you can see, we have a group of very creative students.
Wishing you a year of health, wealth, and happiness!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

2012-01-21T17:35:00.000-05:00

Well I wish we would have had more snow than ice, but it is still January. Who wants to bet we will have a snow day in March, when we are all ready for rainbows and warmer temps? Anyway, this Polar Bear is enjoying a winter wonderland in his home in Toledo. Check this out!

Pocket Zoo is a $1.99 app, but they do have a free version, Free! I was so excited when I stumbled upon the app last week. You can click on any animal, see photos, hear the sound the animal makes, and check out LIVE web cams from around the world. How cool is that?!

So on Thursday we hooked the iPad up to the SMARTboard and clicked on the Polar Bear. There are two zoos hooked up for the Polar Bear. The Canadian Zoo had a lot of snow, so we figured we would not see a Polar Bear. I turned on the Toledo live cam. I told the students not to get too excited because I had yet to see the Polar Bear when I was exploring the app. So I began my lesson and all of the sudden the kids begin to shout..."there he is!" I think it was the highlight of our week. We took a screenshot so all of you could see him too. Here is a photo of the lesson.

I cannot wait to use this app when teaching Penguins next week. Can you tell I'm a little excited about this app?
Students are learning much about the polar bear. They were fascinated to learn that the skin of a polar bear is actually black. To help us remember this, students traced a polar bear on black construction paper and colored the polar bear with chalk. We will continue our study on Tuesday.

So earlier in the week, we celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. The students really enjoyed watching Martin's Big Words on Scholastic BookFlix. I must say, I was moved to tears myself. They played parts of MLK Jr.'s "I have a dream speech."

We also read a biography online about MLK Jr.

We began a new unit in Math. All about measurement. We learned how to correctly measure the length of an object using nonstandard units.

I'm off to get ready for the exciting week ahead. Chinese New Year, Polar Bears, and Penguins...Oh, My!

Snow Dance

2012-01-12T19:22:00.000-05:00

Today we read Snow Dance by Lezlie Evans for our Rounding up the Rhymes book. Each student is going home tonight and doing a snow dance for a snow day. Well, all but one who said she loved school so much she did not want a snow day. (Melt my heart!)

Here is another photo that shows why I love this career. During Reading Workshop, students are to be working independently in their book boxes. I heard some "louder than usual" reading. I turned and saw this...

This is what it is all about!

Speaking Reading Workshop, this week we worked on retelling a familiar book. Students volunteered to model how good readers retell.

We finally finished up our short vowel work this week. We completed several activities, such as picture sorts and making words. Third quarter means long vowels!

In Math we worked on surveys and representations. Students learned how equations show the results of the survey.

Our little scientists continued their study of matter this week with a focus on snow. We had SO much fun making these Borax Crystals. Students created snowflakes out of pipe cleaner. Then we soaked the snowflakes in a mixture of hot water and borax. Students made predictions about what would happen. Some students said nothing, others said it would turn brown. Ask your student about the results. I will post photos soon...because of course I forgot to take some today :).
Here is a photo of the snowflakes soaking in the mixture.

We also watched a video on Snowflake Bentley and made adorable snowmen.

It was a fun week. We will complete a short study on Martin Luther King Jr. and then move onto Polar Animals.

Who Dey!

2012-01-08T19:50:00.000-05:00

That was going to be my title when I planned on posting this yesterday. Even though the Bengals lost, we had fun on Friday, supporting out favorite team. I just LOVE this photo! Our Steelers fan was not too happy with all the Bengals fans. They are playing right now. I think he might have that face when he arrives at school tomorrow morning...Maybe they'll make a comeback.

I couldn't resist taking this photo. The two students who support other teams than the Bengals are Literacy Station partners. The pocket chart station is right in front of my reading table. I just laughed when I saw them working together.

Now onto our week...

Here is our new behavior board. This was taken before we started on Tuesday.

Our Attendance board for the month of January.

This week we worked on short u.

We also began our data analysis unit in Math.

We sorted buttons by different attributes. The top group sorted by color, middle group by number of holes, and bottom group by size.

We also played Guess My Rule.

His rule was "Big Shells."

Her rule was "Things you can sit on."

He stumped us. Can you guess?...Michigan Colors! HaHaHa!

Here is our January calendar.

We're counting to the 100th Day of school. Less than 20 school days!

Our theme this week is about Matter. We examined the characteristics of ice. Through our experiment students learned about solids and liquids. We also learned that liquids will change shape, but solids will not.

Finally, I will leave you with our New Year's Resolutions. This year we want to stop biting our nails, eat healthier food, and get stronger. Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-01T15:33:00.000-05:00

Welcome 2012! I hope that all of you have enjoyed the holidays, break, and celebrating the new year. I have truly enjoyed every moment of the past two weeks with family and friends. But I cannot wait to see my 23 smiling students Tuesday; I have missed them!

December was such a special month in our room and I wanted to share a few photos that I have not posted and post photos of our holiday party. It looks like we did not do any Math this past month! I will have to make an effort to take more photos of our day to day happenings.

Polar Express Day! We had so much fun wearing our PJ's. Click here to read more details.

We learned about Celebrations Around the World...

Grinch Day was a HUGE hit with the kids. We made Grinches and wrote how we would make the Grinch grin...

We also participated in a very special Holiday Card Exchange. We made and sent 30 holiday cards to classes around North America. In return, we received 30 cards. We had the opportunity to Skype with a few of the classes.

Here are the cards we created. This student was very excited about the project!

The entire first grade participated. We displayed SOME of the cards in the hallway to show where we received cards. You can read more about the project (and see a better photo) on Mrs. Weiler's blog.

The students also LOVED making gifts for their parents! We hope the parents found them as special as we did. I took photos of the students in their PJ's on Polar Express Day. The students glued the photo onto holiday paper and we created a frame out of cinnamon sticks and ribbon.

Now for the Holiday Party. It was a HUGE success! A special thanks to the parent that organized the event and the parents that helped out at the party.

The students made a special frame out of logs.

They made snowman ornaments...

And tree ornaments...

They also played a game.

What fun!

December went by so quickly! It is hard to believe we did all of those special events! I'm looking forward to what is in store this month. We will be learning about matter through a unit on Snow, begin our Data Analysis math unit, and learn about personal narratives. Please check back soon.

Happy New Year!

You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

2011-12-17T10:39:00.000-05:00

So, I think this is my favorite class photo EVER! I laughed so hard when I was going through the Grinch Day photos. These are our "Grinch" faces. Hahahaha! I think knowing the children makes it so funny. You have the children who could never make a mean face, the ones who really were trying, and the ones who may be actors when they grow up. I love it! Now I wish I would have taken individual photos of Grinch faces.

We came dressed in green to celebrate the day. Except my two precious Cindy Lou Whos.

Our lessons on Friday were centered about one of my favorite books of all time, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The children enjoyed completing activities centered around this classic Dr. Seuss character. Check out what we did...

We made words with the letters in "Grinch."

We learned about adjectives.

After our adjective lesson, students did a comparison writing. They wrote about Grinch in the beginning of the story, then what he was like at the end. I will post more photos next week when I post our December wrap-up.

After lunch, we made Grinches and wrote how we would make the Grinch grin.We are not quite done with these.

Then, my favorite activity of the day...Who Knew? Grinch rhyming with Mrs. Rausch's class. We Skyped Mrs. Rausch's class from Mulberry Elementary. They were having Grinch Day too! So, we completed a rhyming activity together.

They were all in green too!

We began by matching the first rhyming word.

This student is showing Mrs. Rausch's class the rhyming word match.

A student in Mrs. Rausch's class showed us the word that rhymes with "bow."

It was great fun! We hope to do another activity together next month!

We ended the day by watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas with the whole first grade.

"Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! Maybe Christmas, he thought, Doesn't come from a store. Maybe...Christmas... perhaps means a little bit more!"

Celebrations Around the World

2011-12-17T10:05:00.000-05:00

We traveled the world this week. Last week students went to Mexico, Germany, and Australia. This week we went to Sweden, Italy, and England. It was great fun. We made these suitcases to carry all of our activities, our passport, and information. We put flags on the front to show some of the countries we were visiting.

Mr. Holden taught the students about Christmas in Italy. They learned about La Befana.

Students traveled with me to Sweden.We learned about St. Lucia Day that is celebrated Dec. 13th. Here are my Star Boys.

And my St. Lucia girls...

Mrs. Weiler taught the students about Christmas in England. The students made a Christmas card.

We continued to learn about Celebrations around the World with a special presentation on Friday. Two students taught us about Celebrations in Islam. We learned about Ramadan and how it is celebrated. Students learned that during the month of Ramadan, people fast from Sunrise to Sunset. We also learned that a big celebration, Eid-ul-Fitr, marks the end of Ramadan. The children modeled how to say hello in Arabic for us too. The students received a copy of Arabic letters and were fascinated that you read Arabic right to left!

We are going to learn about Hannukah on Monday.

Aloha Friends

2011-12-13T20:29:00.000-05:00

We had another very special Skype today. We met our new friends in Honolulu, HI! They are kindergarten students that were eager to see snow...we will have to Skype again when there is snow on the ground.
Before the Skype we checked out their classroom blog, Happy Talk. In addition, we looked up Honolulu on Google Earth. Let's just say we were about to catch the next plane out of Cincy for Honolulu!

Our new friends asked us about what we are learning, our school, and our weather. We asked them similar questions. On their blog, we saw that they worked with the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We will be studying this book on our Grinch Day, Friday. They also shared some of their work.

It is a Christmas Tree.

We learned that it is warm all year. They children were all dressed in shorts. They love to swim!

One of our students asked if the children have ever seen a shark in the ocean. Most have seen a shark, but in the local aquarium.

We also learned about Drama. Students at this school have Drama as a Special...how cool!

We cannot wait to catch up with them again soon!

The most exciting week...

2011-12-10T11:37:00.000-05:00

Aren't we cute?! What a special day we shared yesterday. The children were so excited to wear their pajamas to school for Polar Express Day. It was so neat to see the entire first grade dressed in pjs as the Conductor read The Polar Express. We spent the entire day focused on the classic story.

We began by making predictions by listening to some of the words in the story.

Next, the first grade hear the "Conductor" (Mr. Holden) read the story.

Then we worked on the story elements of the story. We not only identified the characters and setting, but worked on the problem and solution. The students also completed a story map to show the events of the story.

Students enjoyed rereading the story.

Now are you ready to board The Polar Express?

The Conductor punches our tickets.

Here are the activities we completed while aboard The Polar Express...

We made Polar Express Pajama Glyphs. Precious!! We will be analyzing the data on Monday. These will be displayed in the hallway along with a writing.

We wrote about the best gift of all...

We made words from the letters in Polar Express.

We also enjoyed yummy hot chocolate and then we had the biggest surprise...A delivery from the North Pole! (Of course I did not get photos of that!) But you will never guess what was inside...A Silver Bell for each student!! And they were freezing!!!

He's ringing his bell.

The kids had so much fun! However, that is not all we have been up to in our classroom. You can check out the two previous posts about our Skyping sessions.

We finished up our cards for the Holiday Card Exchange. We have been receiving cards all week too. We have a special bulletin board in hallway displaying the cards and showing us the location of the class. I will post a photo this week.

Last Friday, we made Santas and wrote him a letter.

I also forgot to take photos of our Celebrations around the World this week. So stayed tuned...you will see photos of us as we continue our travels next week.

Good Morning Anchorage

2011-12-07T19:26:00.000-05:00

This afternoon we had our second Skype session. We got to video chat with a retired teacher.

Here are a few facts we learned about Alaska...

1. During summer months it can be light for 24 hours! They have special "darkening curtains" to help them sleep.

2. Right now the sun sets at 3:30 in the afternoon.

3. Food is expensive. Many hunt their meat. Moose and reindeer sausage are popular foods. Fish is really big as well.

4. Hiking is a popular activity in Alaska, especially during summer months.

Here's another very blurry photo.

We also began receiving our holiday cards from the Holiday Card Exchange. We used Google Earth to compare our community with their community.

This school in Virginia reminded us of our school...minus the very busy road.

We found this TX school and community to be interesting. There are very little trees and many, many identical blocks.

We have two more Skype sessions set up for next week.

Skyping with New Friends

2011-12-06T21:25:00.000-05:00

Today was a very special day in rm 105. We had our first Skype session of the year. Today we met new friends from British Columbia, Canada! It was so fun! They wished us a good morning, as we said good afternoon. They are 4 hours behind us here in Ohio.

Here are a few facts we learned about our new friends...

1. They have "toboggan days" three days a week instead of recess.

2. They have snow November through March!

3. They do not have snow days.

4. In the summer it does get warm enough to swim in the lake.

5. They sing O Canada every morning.

Hopefully we will get to talk to our Canadian friends again soon. Tomorrow we get to Skype with children in Alaska!

(Sorry the photo is so bad. I was trying to take a photo and focus on the skype at the same time.)

Happy December!

2011-12-05T19:41:00.000-05:00

So I've been a little MIA! I cannot believe it is DECEMBER! Where did November go? Well, we had a wonderful month full of special activities and projects. We spent most of the month learning about The First Thanksgiving. However, we also did a lot with Veterans' Day. Here are my favorite photos of the month.

Our Veterans' Day Assembly

Our adorable soldiers that welcomed the Veterans in the Lobby.

Making our Mayflower Books.

Sequencing the events of the First Thanksgiving.

Watching a video on the Wamponoag Indians during Computer Lab.

We made butter!

Thanksgiving facts on the SMARTboard.

Pilgrim Day!

Who Will Carve the Turkey? Class book

Our Turkeys! SO much fun!

I just LOVED the timelines! Each student shared last week and they are now displayed in the hallway.

Those are just a few highlights. November was such a great month and we have already started several holiday activities. I will blog about our week on Friday, but here is preview of what's happening in Room 105...

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T18:53:00.002-04:00

We had a very exciting day! In computer lab, students drew themselves in their Halloween costumes, using the program Pixie. We also had Book Fair and Guests for Lunch. Thanks to all that came out. We finished the day by reading Skeleton's Hiccups and completing a related activity. Here are a few photos from our day.

We started the day with the E.T. greeting.

Hope you had a fang-tactic Halloween!

Harvest Stations

2011-10-29T06:55:00.000-04:00

What a fun day! After taking our word wall assessment, we jumped into some pumpkin activities. We started with Math. We went over the quilts we created on Thursday and examined the patterns. Then students created another quilt for our class quilt. Each student had to create a jack-o-lantern using pattern blocks. We reviewed the names of the pattern blocks and how they could go together. Here are a few results...

I am creating our class quilt and will post the finished product. It already looks great! After the students created their jack-o-lantern quilt, they had to graph the pattern blocks used. The idea and worksheet came from my teacher friend Michelle.

We did work on the life-cycle of the pumpkin, but I forgot to take photos of their work.

After special we had our Harvest Celebration. Thank you to all the families who volunteered their time or donated an item for this special event. The kids had SO much fun!

We taste tested apples and graphed our favorite.

We labeled the parts of an apple.

(We had a little helper at that station.)

We compared the weight of a mini pumpkin to the weight of an apple.

We made a very cute pumpkin craft.

Thanks again to all the volunteers. Next week, we will continue our Harvest unit with the study of apples.

Diwali

2011-10-28T07:20:00.002-04:00

On Thursday, we had a very special treat. One of our students taught us about Diwali. We learned that it is called the "Festival of Lights." We also learned about the symbols of Diwali.

Sharing Pattern Books

2011-10-28T07:16:00.000-04:00

Today we completed our Pattern Unit in Writing Workshop. The students chose one book to keep in the writing portfolio. We enjoyed sharing our books with friends. This opportunity not only allowed students to share their book, but also gave students practice on partner reading and helped build community.

I modeled how the student is to listen to their partner. We also gave each other compliments. After the sharing, we met together and discussed the compliments. Students noticed that others used punctuation. Others were impressed with the pattern in the book. Detailed illustrations was another compliment.

Here are a few other things we did this week...

We worked with short i.

We used the iPad during Guided Reading!

We worked on Quilt Squares.

We're Off to See the Wizard

2011-10-24T07:15:00.000-04:00

Wow! That was about all we could say. Friday was fun-filled from the moment we arrived to school until the moment we left. The weather was BEAUTIFUL! We could not have asked for nicer weather as we took our lunch to Sawyer Point. After lunch we enjoyed a few minutes on the playground.

We got together to take a class photo before we headed off to the theater.

The show was great! The music, effects, and actors were all fantastic. Many kids were at the edge of their seats the entire time.

After the performance, we had to wait, and wait, and wait to be dismissed. However, two of our students got to ask questions about the performance. I apologize for the quality of the photos.

You can see that all the excitement wore us out!

But we still had work to do! When we returned from our field trip, students wrote about what they enjoyed and created "The Emerald City."

It was a such a nice day together as a class. The entire week was fun as we learned about tornadoes, rainbows, and the story. I cannot wait for you to see all the work displayed at conferences.
This week is another favorite theme of mine...Harvest!

Computers Symphony and Tornadoes. Oh My!

2011-10-18T18:38:00.003-04:00

It is only Tuesday, but we have had so much new learning that I couldn't wait to share it with you. The students arrived Monday to this morning message. We did inferring with the words in the morning message.

After our Morning Meeting we headed to Computers. Students had to use the Shapes Software to fill in one of the Pattern Block Puzzles. The challenge: Fill it with as few pattern blocks as possible. Then, fill it again with as many pattern blocks as possible.

Then students could free explore.

Today students were treated to Schoolhouse Symphony in the morning. This great program teaches students about instruments and music elements.

The students have been waiting to learn about Tornadoes. We did a minilesson to go along with our Wizard of Oz theme. It was probably the most favorite activity of the year so far. We began by reading the book It's a Tornado!

Next, we created our own tornado using two liter bottles, tape, and water. It was a HIT! It leaked a bit, but was a great visual for the students. I modeled several times. Then pulled a name to let a student try.

Next, we drew what we observed and had to write about how a tornado is formed.

I love how this student showed the water leaking from the bottles. Very detailed!

We ended the lesson by completing a Tornado Tree Map together. We wrote what tornadoes can, have, and are. Students said that Tornadoes can be dangerous and spin. Tornadoes have wind, air, moisture. Tornadoes are powerful!, strong, and big.

Now tomorrow we will learn about rainbows and do some more inferring. We are counting down the days to our field trip!

Consonant Blends

2011-10-17T20:02:00.000-04:00

This week we are learning about consonant blends along with our short vowel work. We have been studying our class names and have noticed we have quite a few with blends. Throughout the week, we will be completing simple activities to help us learn more about blends.

I found this adorable chart at Ladybug's Teacher Files that I will be laminating and using in the classroom. I'm posting it for you to download and use at home. You can have your first grader cut out the blends and glue into a notebook. They can create a word journal. Each time they find a word with a blend, they can add it to their journal under the specific blend. Or you can put this in their FROG book as a reference.

What's up in Room 105?

2011-10-15T08:59:00.000-04:00

This week seemed to fly by! With being out two days and an early release day, it was over before I could blink. Regardless, we had a very busy week. I wanted to share some photos of our two favorite activities of the week.
We have dived into our study of geometry in math. Since day one in Math Investigations, students have been making discoveries on how the pattern blocks fit together. This week we really focused on how we can make pattern block shapes with other shapes. Students began with the game "Fill the Hexagon s." Here students roll two pattern block cubes and decide where to place the pattern blocks on the board. The board is full of hexagons. The game is over when all the hexagons have been filled. I was out that day so I do not have photos.

The game led us to our focus of decomposing shapes in different ways. We learned that two triangles make a rhombus. A rhombus and a triangle make a hexagon, as well as three triangles. We took that knowledge and found eight ways to make a hexagon.

On Thursday and Friday, we focused on finding different combinations of pattern blocks to fill the same shape area.

We now move on to the second Investigation of the unit. Students will be identifying attributes of shapes, comparing shapes, and exploring with triangles and quadrilaterals.

Students really enjoyed our Math unit, but the highlight of the week was the visit from Miami Township Fire Department. Last week, we studied fire safety. On Thursday, the Fire Department came for a Fire Safety event. I have never seen the students clean up so quickly and quietly as I did when the fireman walked into our room! They were SO excited! Students learned more about fire safety rules and had the opportunity to learn about the features of a fire truck. It was a great hands on activity to learn about the importance of fire safety.

I do wish I would have taken another class photo, but it was raining. We were trying to get in as fast as possible.
After the visit, we completed an interactive writing activity. Students wrote a letter to the Firefighters thanking them for the visit.

I cannot wait for next week! Wizard of Oz!!!

What's Alive?

2011-09-30T16:22:00.003-04:00

We had a great week as scientists. We explored living and nonliving. Students drew pictures of something they saw outside. Next, we sorted the drawings. But the class could not decide if the leaves on the ground were living or nonliving. With some help from the book, What's Alive?, students discovered that the leaves on the ground were "once living." So we created a new category. Finally, we did a new sort on the SMARTboard.

Check out some cute photos below of us enjoying our once living lesson.

Room 105 C.A.R.E.S!

2011-09-23T18:48:00.002-04:00

I wanted to share about our introduction to CARES. CARES stands for Cooperation, Accountability, Respect, Empathy, and Self-Control. We focused on one word a day this past week. I read a children's book each day, showcasing the character trait and then led a discussion. Students are beginning to develop an understanding of these "big" words, but we have much more planned! Next week, we will be participating in roll plays. Students will also will be creating a page for our book "Room 105 CARES!"

Below you can check out the books used in introducing CARES.

COOPERATION

ACCOUNTABILITY

RESPECT

EMPATHY

SELF-CONTROL

2011-2012 Word Wall Program

2011-09-22T19:39:00.000-04:00

We're "hoppin" into our Word Study program beginning Monday!

This is a post from one of my favorite blogs, First-Grader At-Last.

In talking with my fantastic first grade parents over the years, it seems that some of my first grade friends don't feel as motivated to read or practice sight words and spelling at home! Although I try not to give too much homework, I believe strongly in reading each night, and in making reading a bonding experience that is enjoyable for everyone involved! It is my hope that reading and spelling practice at home will no longer be a chore, but something those energetic first graders can look forward to! Here are some ideas that could make spelling and reading practice a little more exciting...

Make spelling words glow with the glow station!

Find a fun font and have your child type their words.

Put sight words on sticky notes and use a fun pointer. Call out words you want them to find.

Cut up old magazines. Look for sight words, or cut the letters out to spell the words and glue onto a piece of paper.

Fun spelling snack! Yum.

Write words with the Aquadoodle!

Bath time and learning time combined! Write words with bath crayons or bath markers!

Don't forget you can practice our spelling words at Spelling City.

Scientists...

2011-09-22T19:27:00.000-04:00

We began our first science unit this week...Our World and Us. We begin this unit by learning about scientists. We read one of my favorite scientist books, What is a Scientist?, and began investigating what scientists do. This is what we learned...

One thing that scientists do, is use their senses. After several rainy days, we were able to become scientists and use our senses to explore the world around us. With a recording sheet and magnifying glass in hand students explored the area around our school. Students recorded something that they saw, heard, smelled, and felt.

SLUGS!!

And we had fun too!!!

We continue this unit next week. Check back for more!

Meet My Team

2011-09-17T09:30:00.000-04:00

Here is my wonderful First Grade team! Mrs. Blosser and Mrs. Havrilla are our AMAZING intervention specialists. Mrs. Weiler, myself, and Mr. Holden have been a teaching team for three years. You know that you are a team when you all three where the same colors for picture day and do not even plan it! Mr. Lovell said that our brains have merged into one :).

You can check out Mrs. Weiler's classroom happenings at Far Out First Graders. And I am sure you will hear about the adventures of Joey the Guinea Pig in Mr. Holden's class. Mr. Holden also has begun a running club at our school for students in grades 4-6, along with a few other teachers...(definitely not me!!)

Mrs. Havrilla made a visit to our class this week. She shared her forever book, along with her families forever books.

I look forward to a great year!

Building Community

2011-09-17T09:14:00.000-04:00

I wanted to share a few photos of our week. The first six weeks of school are critical for building community and setting up routines. One of the lessons we did this week was about Peacemakers and Peacebreakers. We read No David and The Recess Queen and generated a list of what peacemakers do and what peacebreakers do. The lesson was inspired by Cara's lesson at The First Grade Parade.

We completed a follow-up lesson about how the words we say can hurt another. We read Big Al. It is about a large, scary fish that has no friends. He is the nicest fish in the ocean, but the others will not be his friend because of the way he looks.

Students were then introduced to "Sam." He is not well liked by his peers. We thought of some words that might be said to Sam that would hurt his feelings. Each time, we crumbled a piece of Sam. After awhile, we discussed what Sam looked like all crumbled and how we thought he felt.

Then, we began to give Sam compliments. For every compliment, we smoothed out a section of Sam. However, we just could not get all the wrinkles out. We can really hang onto hurt words. The lesson is from Anna at Crazy for First Grade.

We finished up the week by interviewing a new friend in class.

We will continue to build our community in Morning Meeting. Next week, students will learn how Room 105 C.A.R.E.S.

Forever Books

2011-09-13T18:40:00.000-04:00

We have been talking about our reading lives in Reading Workshop. I introduced the students to my forever book, Just Grandma and Me, at the beginning of the year. It is my forever book because it reminds me of all the special times I shared with my grandma on vacation when I was a little girl.

Today, Mrs. Cooper shared her forever book with the class. Umbrella is her forever book because her mom read it to her when she was a little girl and now she reads it to her girls. They LOVE to play in the rain, so the book has extra special meaning to her.

The students are sharing their Forever Books with each other. Some chose a book because it was read to them by mom. Others choose a book because they had a special connection to the story. Some students just LOVE their book and said they have read it over and over and over again.

What is your forever book?

Language Arts Publications

2011-09-12T22:11:00.000-04:00

Please check out these resources from the Department of Education. They give parents suggestions on how to help their child at home and also go over reading research.

Our Community Standards

2011-09-12T21:56:00.000-04:00

We worked hard last week developing our Community Standards. We began the year by creating a class book about Why we go to school. Then each student came up with a Hope and Dream for the school year.We moved onto how we can help each other reach our Hopes and Dreams by creating our Community Standards. Community Standards are like rules. However, the standards are things we will do instead of what we won't do.

Students began listing rules for our class. Then we changed each "don't" into a "do." Next, we sorted rules into groups. The students felt that "Walk" and "Go down the slide," could all be covered with "Be Safe."

These are standards developed BY the students. I guided students when needed, but they felt these five should be our standards for the year.

I typed our our standards in fun fonts and today the students were able to decorate the letters. We worked with the word cooperation before beginning. Here are some students hard at work.

Each group worked together on one standard. I have hung up the Community Standards on a special bulletin board, but you'll have to wait for the big reveal...one more special addition.

My Mathematicians

2011-09-11T20:44:00.000-04:00

I am a HUGE fan of Math Investigations! Several years ago I began searching for new approaches to math instruction after I was disappointed in my students Iowa math scores. (That is when first grade took the Iowa tests.) I began teaching math with the same philosophy of Investigations several years ago after taking a Marilyn Burns class. It was eye opening and helped me develop a passion for Math. I became even more excited when I saw results. So when they asked for teachers to pilot Investigations two years ago, I jumped at the chance and haven't looked back.

Students dived right into our Math tools. The exploration days are some of my favorites. I get to observe what students already know and what they discover during this time. Many of you saw the photos at Parent Info Night. Students were exploring symmetry. They discovered that you can put certain shapes together to create a new shape, and had much fun with patterns.

We have now moved onto number sense. We learned Collect 20 and then focused on counting and ordering quantities.

As we began Collect 20, I did not tell students how to organize their counters. This student chose to do rows of 5. I challenged him to figure out how many rows of 5 make 20. He was so excited to share what he learned with his classmates!

These students chose to make a pattern while playing Collect 20!

These girls are working together to create staircases.

So proud of his finished product!!

This week we will continue to work on ordering numbers, but also comparing numbers.

First Day Fun

2011-08-25T20:19:00.000-04:00

The school year has begun! Today we learned A LOT about being a first grader. We modeled and practiced lunch, recess, lockers, and much more. We began learning about the tools we will use in the classroom by starting a very special self-portrait. We also had a school wide assembly. Here are a few photos.

And here is our first class photo of many. Don't I have the cutest class!!!

And of course we had to do a "silly" photo!

To My First Grade Families

2011-08-25T06:39:00.002-04:00

Meet the Teacher Forms

2011-08-21T21:05:00.000-04:00

Happy New School Year! I am looking forward to Meet the Teacher on Wednesday. Please remember, last names A-M are from 1-2 and Last Names N-Z are from 2-3. Please bring the following:

I understand that there are a lot of forms to fill out this time of year. There will be additional forms on Meet the Teacher and Parent Info Night. I will have the forms available for you, but if you want to print and fill them out ahead of time, please do so. Here are the forms for Wednesday.

Thanks to Cara for making the Student Info form.

Save the Date for Parent Info Night! It is Thursday, September 1st at 7PM. We will be going over curriculum, policies, and the year ahead. You will also be introduced to your child's FROG book that evening. If you want to learn more about the FROG book and our classroom, you can visit our website. Just click the frog below.

Finally, there will be information on Parent Volunteers at Parent Info Night. However, I am in need of a few parent volunteers to help put together the FROG Books on Monday, August 29th. If you are able to assist, please comment below or send me an email.

Thanks!

This one's for the Teachers

2011-08-21T07:35:00.000-04:00

Dear Teacher Friends,

Check out the new blog, Blog Hoppin', then hop on over to my teaching blog, Teach to Reach All for a fun filled week!

The Transformation of Rm 105

2011-08-21T06:44:00.000-04:00

The countdown has begun! In less than one week, we will begin our year long journey of exploring, learning, and growing. I can hardly wait! One of my favorite things to do is "design" our classroom. I just love creating a space for students that is welcoming and inspiring.

I want to share with you what I have been doing over the past month. Here are few "before" photos. We pack our room every year for cleaning.

This is the view from our door. I love my large window! I think I have all the space in the world when everything is contained in one area.

This is the room divider. It is never opened, but half of it is bulletin board and half is magnetic. We have lots of space for displays.

This is the magnetic part of the wall. It will be transformed into our word wall.

I decided I wanted to change things up this year. I can't wait to it all comes together! Here are some photos of the progress...

This is where we will display our Hopes and Dreams and our Community Standards.

We will use the board above the computers to display our work. This area is not complete. I purchased new tables for our computers. I'm SO excited!!! Just wait!

This is my desk. I do not have a traditional teacher desk. I chose to have just a computer table to allow for more usable space in the classroom. You can see all the goodies I had purchased that day...stickers, birthday hats, pencils, and of course a snack mix to get me through the day.

My break time. Between the heat (No air yet, but we will on the 22nd! Yea!!!) and all the ideas I wanted to do, but couldn't, I was felt stuck. Thank goodness for Debbie Diller and Iced Coffee! I was ready to get back at it!

Part of our writing area. The Imagination Station came from First Grader At Last. We will put our Writing Workshop mentor texts in the book case.

This is the front of the room, by the SMART board.This area will be used mostly for storage.

Remember the brown, magnetic wall? Here it is complete! Have you noticed a theme yet? Everything is blue and green. Most things have two or more purposes in our classroom. We will meet in guided reading groups at this table, but students can complete work at the table throughout the day.

Closer view of the word wall. Fadless blue paper, new frog border, and the adorable alphabet stick kids. We will add five new words a week to our wall.

This area is a work in progress. This will be my guided reading shelf. It will hold some of the books, tools, and resources I use while meeting with groups.

This area is not complete yet either. We have new bookshelves!

Well, there's a sneak peak. Check back Tuesday night for the big reveal!

It's Back to School Time!

2011-08-09T07:17:00.000-04:00

Welcome Back Families! I've had a wonderful summer and am so excited to jump back into a new year. The teachers at BES are "busy bees" right now getting everything ready for the year ahead. You should have received a letter from Mr. Lovell about Packet Pick Up. It is next Friday, August 19th. This is "Early" Packet Pick-up. In order to receive your packet with teacher assignment, school fees are to be paid in full.

Here are the school fees for the 2011-2012 year:

KD: $38

1st: $52

2nd: $62

3rd: $70

4th: $49

5th: $49

6th: $30

Easy Pay will be up and running at Packet Pick Up. You can pay the fees and get your child's lunch account going at that time.

I will be posting photos this week of our classroom. So check back soon!

Teach to Reach All

2011-07-19T23:51:00.000-04:00

Dear Blog Friends,

I began Langston's Learners over a year ago as a way to connect families with the daily happenings of our classroom. Since then, many teachers have began to follow us. Which I LOVE! I am passionate about teaching first grade, but also enjoy reaching out and helping other teachers. Therefore, I created Teach to Reach All. I am so excited about this new adventure! This blog is designed specifically for teachers. I will not only share what I am doing in my classroom, but give tips on creating a community of learners where all students thrive. Though, I hope you will continue to follow Langston's Learners, please hop on over and follow my new blog.

Around Town

2011-07-12T09:39:00.000-04:00

Cincinnati has so much to offer! You can find amazing daily events...especially in the summer. This weekend, in Madeira, Madcap Puppet Theater is coming to McDonald Commons. They will be performing "Tales of Flight with the Wright Brothers" at 11:00 AM on July 16th.

Yoga Home is having a week long summer camp for kids ages 5-12 in August. There are two sessions to choose from...one in Oakley and one in Symmes Township (Mason). Click here for more info.

Hope you're are enjoying the summer!

Mr. Popper's Penguins

2011-06-30T16:37:00.000-04:00

Each January, I read aloud Mr. Popper's Penguins as we study Penguins and other arctic animals. It is a favorite among first graders. It is a classic, written in 1938 by Richard and Florence Atwater. The students just love the story. When I heard about the movie I was so excited. We learned that it was "loosely" based on the book. Even though we knew it would not be like the story, the students and I decided to take a summer "field trip." So on Tuesday, I met all the families that were able to attend to watch the newly released film.

Let me tell you, it was a hit! I think I was laughing more at the students laughing than the film. I believe the children would give the film five stars. It was great! They did a great job turning the classic into a more modern tale. I definately recommend taking the entire family.

It was great to see the children. I know we have only been out for three weeks, but it seems like much longer. The children are enjoying their summer by swimming, particpating in camps, and traveling.

Have a great weekend! Happy Fourth of July!!

Howdy Friends!

2011-05-20T13:09:00.000-04:00

We have been celebrating Right to Read Week all week. It is a Western theme. Andy the Armadillo fom Texas Roadhouse came out to visit and read to the students. Today was western day. Students dressed in western attire.

Flying Pigs

2011-05-02T19:54:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to send a shout out to my team members who ran the relay yesterday in the Flying Pig Marathon. So proud of them!

Art Show 2011

2011-05-01T21:50:00.000-04:00

This year Milford held a district Art Show. It was so neat to see the artwork of students in Grades 1-12. Here are some pieces featured from students in our class...

I loved seeing my students' work and I enjoyed seeing what all the students in Milford have been creating. But what was also special, was seeing work featured from students I had years ago. I was surprised to find two 10th grade pieces featured next to each other. Both artists were from my first class! As a first grade teacher, it was such a treat to see how these artists have grown. I wish they had been there.

Literacy and Laughter Giveaway

2011-04-28T21:35:00.000-04:00

My friend Amy is having an adorable book give away on her blog. It features the new book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. This plus That: Life's Little Equations is fun book celebrating parts that create something wonderful when put together. Wishes + Frosting = Birthdays. I can see using this book as a model to create our own version.

Here's another fun book that takes a new look at equations. It has become a favorite in our classroom

You can click on the books to check them out on Amazon. Be sure to check out Amy's blog at Literacy and Laughter.

Poetry Coffeehouse

2011-04-19T23:34:00.000-04:00

This is my FAVORITE event of the year! I have done this event for several years and each year I love it more. After several weeks of studying and writing poetry, students performed their original poetry for a packed house. We set the mood by wearing all black, dimmed the lights, and had jazz music playing in the background. We even had a "fire" going. Here are a few students during our rehearsal.

Video was taken of the performance. Of course, I didn't download it before break, so as soon as we return from Spring Break, I will post the video.

After the performance, we enjoyed coffee and treats. Thank you to Starbucks, Panera, Krogers, and Meijers for your donations! I want to give a shout out to Mrs. C and Mrs. W for organizing the entire event. Thank you to everyone who attended.

One last push

2011-04-13T11:42:00.000-04:00

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has voted for my mini-grant. I truly appreciate your support!!! We are still in need of votes. If you have not voted, you can click here to vote for our grant.
Voting ends tomorrow. Thanks!

Peter Pan

2011-04-09T10:34:00.000-04:00

What a day yesterday! We have been waiting and waiting and FINALLY our field trip day arrived! Our first grade district field trip is going to the Taft Theater in downtown Cincinnati. We began our trip by eating lunch at Sawyer Point, then enjoying the playground for a few minutes. The rain held off and the students had a wonderful time. Here we all are at Sawyer Point.

Next, we arrived at the Taft Theater to enjoy the performance of Peter Pan Jr. It was fantastic! The Children's Theater of Cincinnati put together a great adaptation of the Disney classic. There was flying, singing, and great effects. Overall, it was just so much fun.

Some of us were exhausted on the way home!

We finished our day by creating a class book about our field trip. It was a great day!

What have we been up to?

2011-04-02T09:42:00.001-04:00

There's a lot happening in Room 105. Inferring, poetry, patterns, and SPRING! I am SO ready for spring! We have two weeks until Spring Break, but I know that it will fly by. There's a lot packed into those two weeks. We have a field trip, report cards, an Author Visit, and our biggest event of the year...our Poetry Coffeehouse! I cannot wait!

So we began our study of poetry a few weeks ago. The students are natural poets. We began by going outside with an "idea notebook" to just observe. Each student found a spot on the playground, found something of interest, and began to write observations about their topic. Some of those observations became instant poems. Here are the poets in action.

We have read countless collections of poetry, studied different types of poetry, and next week we begin to put it all together. Their poems are quite amazing! Stay tuned for more info on the Coffeehouse.

In Reading Workshop, we have begun a unit on Inferring. We started out with a "Mystery Item." I used Abby's Mystery Box poem to introduce the students to inferring.

I gave the students clues. We could change our inference with each clue. It was a fun way to introduce the unit. Since then, we have been working on using pictures, text, and our schema to help us understand the meaning of unknown words and develop a better understanding of the text. Michelle's Reading Workshop Response Sheets are great tools for each Reading Workshop unit. We have been using her inferring sheets all week.

I am hoping that Spring returns this week. I am ready to pack away my winter coat! We started our two week unit on Spring. I found a great new book, Mud, to introduce students to spring changes.

Students also learned about turtles too and how they adjust with the seasons. We had a special presentation. One of my teammate's husband brought in turtles and talked with the students about their habitat, diet, and other facts. Of course that was day I left my camera at home! We made a fun little turtle and completed a tree map. These are displayed on our bulletin board.

I will leave you with warm thoughts. Here are some of my girls enjoying the one day it was warm two weeks ago. They are ready for the warmer weather.

Thank you to all my students' families and blog friends who have voted for me in the We are Teachers
mini-grant. I truly appreciate it! If you haven't voted yet, you can find the link in the previous post.

Enjoy the weekend!

I need your help

2011-04-01T06:00:00.001-04:00

Dear Friends,
This Big Book easel has been on my wishlist for a few years now. I have seen how it is used in Literacy Stations and know it would add so much to our classroom. I have pictured my students reading the big books together and using the board below to make and manipulate words and letters. I have applied for a mini-grant through "We are Teachers." With the grant, I would be able to purchase the Big Book easel. I would also receive a Flip Video Camera. Now think of the possibilities of the Flip! I could record my students in action and post video on the blog. Families who would not be able to make it to special events would have the opportunity to view it online...I have so many ideas!

I need your help. The awards are based on voting. So I am asking if you could please take a moment and vote for me. It does not take long. I would truly appreciate it! Just click on the fairy to grant my wish.

Thank you so much!

I will be posting photos of out lessons over the weekend.

Ten Things I have Learned from Teaching...

2011-03-26T20:10:00.000-04:00

Jennifer from Rowdy in First Grade is hosting a Linky Party. What have I learned from teaching? Over the past Ten Years...SO Much!

10. Education is always changing. I teach much differently than I did ten years ago.

9. I do not teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. I teach the "whole child."

8. Every year I think "I have seen it all." My students are always surprising me. Teaching leaves you on your toes.

7. I will always cry on the last day of school.

6. Primary Teachers have a special connection.

5. The team you teach with makes all the difference in the world. And I have the BEST!

4. Teachers do not have June, July, and August off. It is the time to take classes, workshops, and prepare for the year ahead. You should see our school on August 1st! I just LOVE the beginning of the year!

3. A note from a student saying "I love you" or "You're the Best" can lift your mood instantly.

2. Witnessing a student reaching out to help another student gives you the most rewarding feeling.

1. Classroom community is EVERYTHING!

I cannot imagine doing anything else. Teaching is not my job. It is my passion.

Once Upon a Time

2011-03-19T09:23:00.000-04:00

Over the past two weeks we have been studying Fairy Tales. It is such a fun unit! We began by using our schema and learning the elements of a Fairy Tale. Thanks Abby for the great resource. It was perfect timing!. Then we jumped into Fairy Tales by working with Cinderella and Cinderella stories from Around the World. We had fun comparing each version. Our favorites were Rough Face Girl and Cindy Ellen.

Students were excited to read Peter Pan. We cannot wait to go to the Taft Theater in April to watch a performance of Peter Pan Jr.. After reading Peter Pan, students created Peter and wrote about Never Land. We have them displayed around the classroom.

Students also enjoyed Hansel and Gretel. They did a great job not eating all the candy for the candy houses.

Using Little Red Riding Hood students studied adjectives and sequencing. During word work, we used adjectives to describe Little Red and the Wolf. We created a sequencing quilt in the afternoon. Each student drew one part of the story.

We also worked with Jack and the Beanstalk and The Three Little Pigs. We used different versions of the Three Little Pigs for Reader's Theater. We finished up the unit yesterday by completing a Fairy Tale tree map. The unit was great fun! And even my boys who were dreading the unit, enjoyed it by the end.

Subtraction, Editing, and Fun

2011-03-19T08:51:00.000-04:00

We had a great week! We completed our 6th Unit in our Investigations program. This week we focused on subtraction and problem solving. This is the second year I have used this program and am amazed at my students' thinking! Students are learning to solve challenging problems by breaking numbers apart. They are learning to apply what they already know to help them solve new problems. During a game of Five in a Row Subtraction a student solved 14-5 by using 15-5. "I know that 15-5 is 10, so 14-5 is 9 because 14 is one less than 15." I love it!

Here is Five in a Row with Three Cards. Instead of using dice, the student draws three cards and finds all the possible combinations.

We also concluded our Personal Narrative unit is Writing Workshop. Students worked together this week to revise and edit one of their books. Now we begin one of my favorite units...Poetry!

Finally, we had great fun on St. Patrick's Day. Our school has been collecting money for Relay for Life. We reached our goal and our Principal, Mr. Lovell, was turned into a leprechaun for a day!

Oobleck Recipe

2011-03-07T14:51:00.000-05:00

Here is the Oobleck recipe. This is the one I use with the class. On the sheet that is sent home with students, the recipe is cut in half.

Oobleck

1 1/2 cups of warm water

16 oz white school glue

Green food coloring

Mix the above in a large bowl

1 cup of warm water

3 teaspoons borax

Mix the above in a small bowl

Pour the small bowl into the big bowl and gently stir together. Pour off any excess liquid.

Ooey, Gooey, Oobleck!

2011-03-06T10:03:00.000-05:00

What if something NEW fell from the sky? That is what King Darwin of Didd wanted in the Dr. Seuss classic Bartholomew and the Oobleck. The story teaches readers how powerful the simple words "I'm sorry" can be. Though the students enjoy the story (and listened through the ENTIRE reading) , the making of Oobleck is the favorite part. The smiles and "wows" make the lesson so worthwhile. It is a "must-do" in my teacher files.

Students were given a paper to go along with the lesson. (It has the directions on at the top, so parents you can make it with your children on a rainy weekend.) We put the water, glue and food coloring in a large bowl. Then more water and borax in the second bowl. At this point students recorded their predictions for what would happen when we combined the two bowls.

The the "wows" began when the two bowls were combined. After draining the excess liquid, each student was given a piece of the Oobleck. Students had to describe how it felt in their hands. Finally students wrote about the properties.

I do believe the lesson was in the top 5 activities for many students. They could not believe they got to take it home!

I am looking forward to this week...Fairy Tales!

Our Week in Review

2011-03-04T08:46:00.000-05:00

Well my computer with all the cute graphics, photos, and documents is down AGAIN. So, no newsletter. Here is our week in review.

It was all things Seuss this week. Dr. Seuss can teach us so much. My two previous posts below tell how we began our week with Dr. Seuss.

Here is our AMAZING bulletin board celebrating Dr. Seuss. Thank you Mrs. H!

In Reading, students worked with Dr. Seuss reader's theater scripts. We used The Foot Book to review Antonyms. We were inspired by Cara from The First Grade Parade for the antonym lesson. Students created Antonym books.

On Thursday, our Theme lesson focus was Horton Hatches an Egg.

"I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful one hundred percent!" As a class we discussed the meaning of faithful. Students wrote about what they believed faithful meant. We also read The Sneetches. Both of these books helped tie together our Anti-Bully focus from last week.

Today's Dr. Seuss lesson is my favorite. We are making Oobleck! Oobleck? Yes, Oobleck! It goes with the book...

I will post pictures this weekend of us making Oobleck. Students will be bringing home some this afternoon.

In math we have finished our first session of Unit 6. Students continued to focus on combinations of 10 with a variety of games and on Thursday we explored all the ways to make 10. Today we are begining Crayon Puzzles. It is like our peas and carrots lessons and our apples and bananas lessons from earlier in the year. I have 12 Crayons, some are blue, some are red. How many can I have of each? This will continue next week.

Our BIG event of the week was COSI! The focus was local animals and the habitats around Ohio. Thank to all the parent volunteers who spent all day working at the stations. The students LOVED it!

Exploring how animals are tracked in Ohio.

Exploring Animal Antlers.

Learning about fishing in Ohio. Thanks to our Math program, we knew a little about keepers.

Wow! We had a busy week! And I am very excited about our next two weeks...stay tuned!

Wacky Wednesday

2011-03-04T07:57:00.000-05:00

What a wacky day! The students came dressed wacky from head to toe.

We completed a Wacky Word Work activity in the morning. We used a letter spinner on the SMART Board to form words. All the "words" we made were very wacky! Actually, it was a learning experience for me. I need three separate spinners so we can at least make nonsense words with a vowel. The spinner rarely fell on a vowel.
The students then searched for things in the room that were wacky. Upside down work, word wall words mixed up. Mr. Holden had a shoe on a wall!

It got REALLY Wacky after special when each first grade teacher picked up a different class and completed the Wacky Wednesday lesson with that class. I picked up Mr. Holden's Class. Many students caught on right away. We enjoyed reading the book and looking for all the wacky things in the illustrations. We ended by creating a class book. Students drew themselves on Wacky Wednesday. What a fun day! Students loved the book so much that they have been rereading it all week.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

2011-03-01T21:23:00.000-05:00

We have had a great start to our week celebrating all things Seuss. We kicked off Monday with the beginning of our new reading incentive...Hats off to Reading! Students will earn a sticker for every 15 minutes ready. The goal is to earn 20 stickers by March 31st (up from 15 stickers last month). Click on the photo to download a reading log.

Last week we studied Dental Health, so what better way to kick off Dr. Seuss week by reading The Tooth Book. This great book tells who has teeth and how they come in handy all in rhyme. So students were challenged. Could they write how teeth come in handy using rhyme. It was a fun challenge. Here is are two examples:

Today we read the favorite, Green Eggs and Ham. I was inspired to create an alphabet book after seeing adorable stickers at Michaels. Each student created a page or two. Would you eat them in an igloo? Would you eat them with a Kangaroo? Would you eat them with a Monkey? These are a few examples. Tomorrow our Kindergarteners are eating green eggs and ham. I cannot wait to hear all about it!

Click below to get a blank copy of the ABC Book.

I am looking forward to tomorrow...Wacky Wednesday! I will be posting photos.

Lucky Clover

2011-02-26T07:59:00.000-05:00

Not many people can say that they have a strong team. I am so lucky I get to work with three AMAZING teachers! Miss Ferguson is full of creative ideas and resources. You walk into her room and you instantly can tell she was born to teach first grade. At the beginning of the year, Miss Ferguson shared with us a nonsense word fluency game she had used to help her students master basic phonics skills. She has created a new game for St. Patrick's Day called "Lucky Clover." Click on the bear to download the game.

How to play: Put all the clovers in a bag. Players take turns pulling a clover out. If the player reads the card, he/she keeps the card. If not, they put it back in. If the player pulls a "Lucky Clover," then he/she gets two turns. The game is over when all the cards are used.

This is a fun game to help reinforce blending and phonics sounds. It is going into my game station this week.

Make 10

2011-02-25T08:18:00.000-05:00

We began our new Investigations Unit this week...Number Games and Crayon Puzzles. Our focus this week was the number 10. We played various games to help us master combinations of 10. Making 10 is a fun and easy game that helps students develop fluency with two addend combinations of 10.

You need four rows of five number cards, with the numbers facing up. The goal is to find two cards that you can combine to make 10. After a combination is found both players write the equation on their white board (or piece of paper). Players take turns until no more combinations can be found.

After playing a few times, students challenged themselves by combining three cards to make 10.

Take a Stand

2011-02-25T07:54:00.001-05:00

Take a Stand, Lend a Hand, Stop Bullying Now!

This was BES Anti-Bully week. Students participated in various activities to learn about bullying and what to do when someone is being bullied. Our favorite book of the week was Jungle Bullies by Steven Kroll.

We used this book and others to learn strategies when dealing with bullies. I turned this into a Reader's Theater. So in addition to the anti-bully work, we are working on fluency.

We also made bracelets with anti-bully messages like "BES doesn't Bully", "Be nice", and "Take a Stand".

Finally we wrote tips for dealing with bullies. We used the tips for the door decorating contest held this week.

Our Future Presidents

2011-02-24T18:42:00.000-05:00

What would you do if you were President? Here's a glimpse at some Presidential hopefuls for 2044 and many are ready to make the world a better place. Some want to clean up parks, invent a new vegetable, and help people. There are others who would take the jet and order a private pizza, go swimming, and rest (I'm guessing that student will not be running once he realizes the job expectations!)

This was our final project of a week long study on Presidents. Currently we are studying Teeth.

Thank you to the parents who helped with this project. I've had many stop in and say how much they love it.

Stylish Blogger Award

2011-02-19T09:01:00.001-05:00

I want to thank Brooke from Primary Perspective for awarding me the Stylish Blogger Award. She continues to inspire me to implement and create lessons that are fun and memorable.

Here are the rules for receiving this award:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Award 5 recently discovered great bloggers.

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

Seven Things about Shannon

1. I LOVE reading magazines! Now I do also LOVE books, but have a hard time reading books during the school year. I enjoy all types of magazines: fashion, home, and fitness. I can at least try to be healthy by looking at those health magazines.

2. I try to make fresh juice often. I love my juicer. My favorite is carrot, celery, spinach, parsley, and ginger. I know what you are thinking..."yuck!" But it is so good and I feel so much better when I drink it.

3. I have a sensitivity to both cow's milk and yeast. I have to limit my intake. That's right no ice cream or grilled cheese! However, I have discovered a world of food that I never knew existed. Coconut milk ice cream, millet bread, and goat cheese.

My wonderful husband has helped me create my old favorites that will not make me sick. I can now have pizza again thanks to him. Now he will not touch my pizza (millet bread crust and goat cheese) but I think it is absolutely delicious!

4. I have a passion for yoga. Yin Yoga is my favorite...very relaxing.

5. My husband and I love to spend time on the lake during summer months. Our favorite is gathering with friends in Norris Lake, TN.

6. I secretly want to learn to knit and make jewelry.

7. I have an addiction to Starbucks...yes this needs to stop!

I could spend hours looking online at classroom blogs and websites. I love to find new ideas for my classroom.

There are so many fabulous teachers. Here are five of my favorite blogs:

1. Megan at http://mrswheelerfirst.blogspot.com/

2. Abby at http://theinspiredapple.blogspot.com/

3. Ashley at http://www.thekinderpolkadotpatch.com/

4. Amy at http://literacyandlaughter.blogspot.com/

5. Cara at http://thefirstgradeparade.blogspot.com/

Thanks again Brooke!

100th Day Creations

2011-02-18T08:29:00.000-05:00

Here are a few photos of work created yesterday during our 100th Day Celebration.

When I am 100...

100th Day Designs

A Self Portrait

The 0's are Donuts and the 1 is the tube, squeezing jelly into the donuts. There is a hand holding the 1. The other hand is trying to steal the donut. :)

Can you guess? This is a face, winking and eating. One 0 is an eye, the other is the mouth eating food. The 1 is the other eye, closed.

I love their creativity!

100 Days Smarter

2011-02-17T22:31:00.001-05:00

Many schools celebrated the 100th Day of school a few weeks ago. With our late start and several snow days we are a bit behind. But today it was finally here. Hip Hip Hooray! Here is my amazing class all decked out in our Frog shirts. We made the shirts for special days. Aren't they the cutest class ever?!

We celebrated the 100th day all...day...long. It began in morning meeting. I always ask a morning question. Many times we estimate. This week we have be estimating coins, then writing the value. Today I had 100 pennies in jar. Apparently I am pretty predictable. Every student estimated 100 pennies. Here we are putting them in groups of ten to count.

Next came a reading of 100 Hungry Ants. Students had to draw a way the ants could march in equal rows. This lesson came from mathwire. We also (tried) to write 100 words. We made text-to-self connections with 100th Day Worries.

After lunch the fun began. The students enjoyed our 100th Day Stations.

1. Estimation Station. Is it more or less than 100?
2. How many ways to make 100? (A favorite) Students did addition, subtraction, and multiplication. They used tally marks and created coin combinations.
3. Name patterns. Students had to write their first name over and over again in a 100 chart, then color the first letter to create a pattern. This also came from Mathwire.
4. 100th Design. Students got the number 100 and had to create a design with those numbers. This idea comes from Michelle Gagne. This was SO much fun. Students created faces, bikes, necklaces. I will have to take some more photos and post them on the blog.

5. 100th Day Snack. A very yummy station. Students each got 10 pieces of 10 items to eat 100 pieces of yum!

We had so much fun! The students did an AMAZING job with the stations, even with a surprise fire drill.

We finished up our celebration after special. Yesterday, students used Pixie to draw a current self-portrait and one of what they will look like when they are 100. We printed them out and colored them. Today, students wrote what they can do now and what they hope to do when they are 100. Students hope to see, walk, and eat when they are 100. This is a modified lesson from Mrs. Jump and Mrs. Larremore.

It was such a special day! Thanks to all the parents who helped make the day a HUGE success!

What color is a Polar Bear?!

2011-02-07T19:13:00.000-05:00

We completed our study of Polar Animals last week. Students dived into this unit. We began with the study of Penguins. We created a Schema/New Learning Chart to monitor our study. I had introduced students to misconceptions back in November, so we created a spot for misconceptions. I couldn't have planned a better learning opportunity. On Day One of our study, a student shared her schema: Polar Bears are enemies to Penguins. I added to a post-it and placed it under Schema. I just couldn't wait for a student to realize that this was, in fact, a misconception. The next day we read National Geographic for Kids Penguins. I was reading about Penguins' enemies...Did you know that rats are enemies to some types of Penguins?! As I was reading, I would add New Learning Post-its and revisit the Schema section. I reread the student's statement on Polar Bears. I paused for a minute and said "That's interesting. This book mentioned several enemies, but never said anything about a Polar Bear. I wonder why?" I could see the kids thinking hard and all of a sudden a hand flew up. He knew the answer...They can't be enemies because they live on the opposite sides of the world!" That student got a "kiss my brain!"
Though I do not have a picture of our Schema/New Learning chart, I do have a photo of our Penguin Tree Map. We finished Penguins with an "All About Penguins" writing. Inside the adorable penguins are the student's writing pieces. (Thanks Mrs. Chitwood for creating the wonderful display!)

Now what color is a Polar Bear? After several snow days, we finally were able to work with Polar Bears. Students are always fascinated with this beautiful creature. They just cannot believe that the skin of a Polar Bear is black and it's fur is actually colorless. With our Polar Bear study, students created their own personal Polar Bear tree maps. We displayed the tree maps with our Polar Bears. To remind students that the Polar bear has black skin, we trace a Polar Bear on black construction paper and go over it with chalk.

We finished Polar Bears with a measurement and writing activity. Students learned that the paw of an adult male can be up to 18 inches in length. We created life-size paws and completed another "All About" writing. As you can see I am out of room and have not displayed these. I think I am going to turn them into a class book.
It was such a fun unit! Now we are studying Heart Health in celebration of Valentine's Day, using a Picture Perfect Science unit. I will post photos soon.

Valentine Book Exchange

2011-02-05T07:15:00.000-05:00

I am VERY excited that my class will be participating in a Valentine Book Exchange with some blog friends over the next few weeks. We have each sent our favorite Valentine's Day book and we will begin our book study next week. I created a reading journal to go along with the study and have modified it so teachers who are not participating in the exchange can use it in their classroom. You could study five favorite books of students or you could even have a book exchange within your school!

We will be finishing up with a text-to-text connection lesson using the Valentine Venn Diagram from Brooke Perry.

SMART Board for Dummies

2011-01-27T08:11:00.000-05:00

This was the book that was left for me after the installation of our SMART board. It is a little how I felt yesterday when trying to import a PDF document for us to use.

The possibilities of this technology are endless! Yesterday we did not do any "cool" lessons, but did learn about how to write on the SMART Board and taking care of this tool. The kids were AMAZED that we could watch a video...no more ancient televsion that is older than my students by several years. Yesterday we did our word work and watched Magic School Bus in the Arctic. I cannot wait to use it for everything!

Teachers...I would love to hear how you use the SMART board in your classroom or of any great resources.

It's Here! It's Here! It's Here!

2011-01-26T09:31:00.000-05:00

Look what was in our room when we came to school today! Yippie! We will post pictures of us in action using the SMARTboard.

I have a Dream

2011-01-25T20:44:00.003-05:00

Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. Students learned about this American Hero and his dream around Martin Luther King Day. Today I finally put up the bulletin board! We really did not do it that long ago, but with all the snow days, it feels like ages.
After learning about Martin Luther King Jr. students created a portrait of him using the program Pixie. I printed out their work. We used the fact sentences provided by Brooke from Primary Perspective to learn even more. Students had to cut apart the words and put the sentence in order. Finally, we completed a text-to-self connection paper after reading Martin's Big Words. Students had to write about MLK's dream, then about their own. Many students wrote that they dream everyone would be friends, others wrote about personal dreams. I had a student write about a dream she had about her cat. I learned that I need to go over the meanings of "Dream."

I can't wait to do it again next year!

What I Love about First Grade

2011-01-25T14:33:00.000-05:00

I had one of those moments this morning that reminded me of why I LOVE teaching first grade. During Reading Workshop students gathered around a student, interested in her book. She chose to quietly read aloud so they could hear the story. The students were so engaged I could not break it up. I have a very special group of kids!

Picture Perfect Science

2011-01-23T20:27:00.001-05:00

If you teach Science, this is the book for you! Picture Perfect Science was developed by two Mason, Ohio teachers. Emily and Karen are amazing! I have been lucky enough to participate in two of their workshops and their lessons are some of my favorites. They are the ones that got me excited about teaching Science. Miami University just posted their summer courses for the Green Institute. You cannot beat it. $300 for two weeks. In return, you earn 6 credit hours (4 in summer and 2 for 2 follow-up classes), many, many resources, inspiration, and two weeks of fun! Trust me, you'll love it and your kids will LOVE the lessons! If you are too far away to participate you can order their book on Amazon or check our their website. They are also on facebook.

More Picture-Perfect Science is for K-3...and they are working on a new book for K-3. My favorite lessons are Magnetic Dog and Roller Coaster. You can check out my post from April 2010 of my students engaged in the Roller Coaster Lesson.

Kiss Your Brain!

2011-01-23T19:44:00.001-05:00

Ask my first graders what I tell them to do when they share their brilliant thinking..."Kiss Your Brain!" My kids giggled the first time I told them to do this at the beginning of the year, but now it I tell all of them or an individual to "Kiss Your Brain!" on a daily basis. It is so cute to see the little ones kiss their hands and then touch their heads. Well now they are REALLY going to love it! A few weeks ago I saw a post on First Grade Teaching about PorterPolkaDots. Mrs. Walsky featured this "Kiss Your Brain" jar. Of course, I had to have it. Ashley at PorterPolkaDots was so nice. I emailed her what I wanted and look what appeared at my door this weekend. Our classroom theme is frogs and blue and green are everywhere! She also has a very cute blog for teachers: The Polka Dot Patch.

I filled it up with Hershey Kisses and I am ready to go. I know it will be a hit! Now I am just going to have to have enough self-control not to eat them all myself...I say that as I am throwing another into my mouth.
Looking forward to seeing the kids again tomorrow after an unexpected four day weekend!

Snow Day Activities

2011-01-21T09:54:00.001-05:00

One snow day last week, two this week. I should have known that it was going to be a long winter when we had two snow days and bitter cold in Dec. Currently, it is 9 degrees with a windchill of -4! I have to admit, it is a beautiful sight! I am sending some activities for my parents to do with their little ones today. Ice Decorations from Ucreate with Kids is one of my favorites and perfect for today!

If you do not know Ucreate with Kids, it will become a favorite. This year our craft at the Holiday party came from this blog. Creative, fun, hand-on activities for you to do with the kids.

I would love to hear your favorites. What are some of your favorite Snow Day activities?

Indoor Recess Again!!

2011-01-14T16:14:00.001-05:00

It is that time of year! Snow, Ice, Wind Chills. We have had indoor recess for three days in a row. However, the students do not seem to mind. They love it! They are playing our Math Investigation games, giving surveys, and even working in their Writing Workshop books. A favorite is to explore with our Math manipulatives. Check out what was created today!

This student even told me she made hers symmetrical! I love it!

This group wanted to use all the pattern blocks. They had to stop when the bell rang.

It's Melting!

2011-01-13T05:58:00.000-05:00

This time of year offers so many exciting science opportunities. We have been doing a unit on the properties of matter. We have used ice, water, and snow with the study. I LOVE snow! However, with snow comes snow days. Due to snow days and delays we have had to rearrange our plans. I have decided to cut out our 2-day It's Melting lesson. This modified lesson come from Science NetLinks. I had created recording sheets to go with the lesson. I wanted to share them with you. Parents, this is an activity you could do at home. Teachers, I would love feedback on how the lesson worked in your classroom and anything I should change on the recording sheet. Happy Snow Days!

You Scream, I Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream!

2011-01-10T22:12:00.000-05:00

Here at BES, we always spend the first two weeks back from break on a Properties of Matter Unit. We use snow and ice as our focus in studying solids and liquids. Last week we began our study by investigating ice cubes. We completed several experiments and used modified ScienceLinks lessons. (We are going to complete Water 3 later this week.) Today we had some FUN! Students studied solids and liquids using Deanna Jump's Ice Cream in a Bag lesson from Simple Science 2. Oh what fun and may I add...Delicious! I loved hearing students shout..."It's turning into a solid!" Parents, I wish I would have video recorded my students shaking their hearts out. Your children are adorable!
A few notes...towels, lots and lots of towels. I had covered my tables with bulletin board paper. It helped, but I still had quite a mess to clean up. Gloves! I had my students wear gloves. They are shaking the bag for about 15 minutes. It gets quite cold. Finally, at least an extra pair of hands. Next year I will ask for a volunteer or two.
It was a great experience. I will be adding this to my must do lessons!

Growing Snowflakes!

2011-01-10T21:53:00.000-05:00

Did you know that you can GROW snowflakes?! This is a lesson that I have done for several years. Each year I do it a little differently. I still have not found the perfect solution. Basically you combine HOT water and Borax, then soak a pipe cleaner snowflake overnight. The result...a beautiful crystal snowflake! Last year I thought I would be able to use a large plastic storage box, hang the snowflakes on skewer rods, and have an easier clean up. Nope. My little electric tea pot could not heat the water quick enough and the water cooled before I could get enough in. The experiment did not work and I ended up making 22 borax snowflakes in my kitchen over the weekend.
This year I got smarter...individual jars! Now it was still a learning experience. I could only fill two jars at a time. So I either need a parent volunteer to help for a couple of hours or find a better way to heat water. I was thinking of using the tea pot and a crockpot next year, letting the water heat in the crockpot all day. If anyone out there has a suggestion, I would love to hear it!
Nevertheless, it worked! We grew snowflakes! My little scientists were great thinkers. Many thought ice formed. One student observed that the size of the crystals varied. I wonder why?!
We are going to hang the snowflakes on our window for the month. Below are pictures and the recording sheets we used. Michelle Gagne, an AMAZING KD teacher from Ohio, has posted pictures and directions on her website. I guess I need to get some electric burners!

Making Connections

2011-01-10T21:26:00.000-05:00

We began our Making Connections unit in Reader's Workshop last week. Students learned about schema and text-to-self connections. On Friday, we read The Biggest, Best Snowman by Margery Cuyler. Students completed the text-to-self paper attached below. The connections were priceless! Some students made connections to snowmen they have built in the past. Others made connections to how Little Nell felt.
After we completed the connection paper, we created snowmen paintings using oil pastels and tempra paint. This snowman painting can be found on MaryMaking.
I cannot wait for this week...we will be making connections with MLK books on Friday.

Happy New Year

2011-01-03T21:10:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year from Room 105! Today we celebrated the New Year with many of the activities from Primary Perspective. We created new self portraits and wrote about our New Year Resolutions. Students want to help their parents more, clean their room, and be nicer. We had a New Year countdown and toasted to a great 2011 with grape juice. I am looking forward to an amazing year with amazing kids!

Class Book

2010-12-15T16:56:00.018-05:00

On Friday students created a Pixie page for our Polar Express Class book. Please view the video below to check out the favorite parts of the special day.

Skype

2010-12-14T19:40:00.000-05:00

Technology is amazing! There is so much I do with my students now that I could not have imagined doing with my students ten years ago. Today we Skyped for the first time! What an experience! We were able to see and talk with a third grade class from North Carolina. We took turns asking questions about our school, community, and state. The students in North Carolina were shocked to learn that it was 4 degrees when we came to school this morning. They also could not believe that we are a K-6 school. I look forward to more Skype projects!

Polar Express Day

2010-12-14T19:28:00.000-05:00

Friday was a fun-filled day centered around the classic, The Polar Express! I am so lucky to work with the most amazing, talented, and loving first grade team! We have been looking forward to this day since the beginning of the school year. Here we are after the conductor (Mr. Holden) performed a beautiful reading of The Polar Express.

After the special reading, students received a ticket and completed various stations centered around The Polar Express. We arrived "home" to hot chocolate and donuts and then we had the biggest surprise! We received a special delivery from the North Pole! Yes, The North Pole! Inside, were silver bells and they were as cold as The North Pole! It was such a special day to share together as a class.
Enjoy the slideshow!

Create your own slideshow

Elf Sort

2010-12-06T18:39:00.002-05:00

I was inspired by the Gingerbread Sort at First Grade Parade and the Dasher Sort at First Grader at Last to create a sort for our vowel work this week. Our focus this week is short e. I want my students to be able to distinguish between the sounds of long e and short e, so I created this elf sort. I will be turning them into cards and completing the sort whole group, but it can easily be used at a literacy station. Parents, you can print this out and use it to reinforce our study. Click on the elf for the words. Click HERE for a recording sheet.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Hanukkah!

2010-12-02T22:01:00.000-05:00

This week students studied "The Festival of Lights." We learned about the traditions and symbols of Hanukkah using several books including Celebrating Chanukah and Chanukah Lights Everywhere.

Students learned how to play the game Dreidel and took home a dreidel as a learning souvenir. We also designed our own menorahs and wrote about our learning.

Our Thanksgiving Feast

2010-11-28T22:44:00.000-05:00

On Wed., Nov. 24th, we celebrated The First Thanksgiving with a feast. We made our own butter and enjoyed yummy food. Days leading up to the Feast were spent creating placemats and hats for our celebration. (Thanks Mrs. Chitwood and Mrs. Wisniewski for your help!) Thank you to all the volunteers who helped out and made food. It was a HUGE success!
Enjoy the slideshow!

Customize your own free greeting

If I Were a Pilgrim

2010-11-24T17:57:00.000-05:00

Last week students created this Pixie about being a Pilgrim. I was out that day, but how wonderful is it when a guest teacher can lead an activity such as Pixie? For all those teachers out there, you know!
We studied the lives of Pilgrim children throughout the week using the books Sarah Morton's Day and Samuel Eaton's Day. In addtion, our shared reading was Pilgrim Children Had Many Chores.

Thanks to our Technology Director I learned a better way to present Pixie projects. Thanks Lynn!

How did the Wampanoag Use Animals?

2010-11-21T07:27:00.000-05:00

We have been studying how life during the Pilgrim Times was much different than how we live today. This week we spent two days studying how the Wampanoag Indians used animals in everyday life. I designed this lesson when taking a class on Museum Resources at Miami University two years ago.

This guided inquiry lesson has students observe, question, and make predictions using their schema before diving into "research" materials. The class was divided up into several groups. Each group was given a bone, skull, or body covering to investigate. All items were borrowed from the Hefner Zoology Museum at Miami University. Thanks MU!

I wish you could have heard the "ooohs" and "eews" from the kids! After reviewing what scientists do, these little scientists jumped right in. They observed, then recorded their observations. The scientists also had to record questions before writing a prediciton.

These boys wondered when the animal died.

These girls predicted that their animal was a bear.

This student predicted that the Wampanoag put feathers in their hair.

This boy predicted that the Wampanoag used skunks to make a hat.

I just love their thinking!! Day one ended with a gallery walk to look at all the objects we were investigating.

They next day we reviewed what we had done and shared our questions and predictions. Then I read Tapenum's Day. We closely looked at the photographs and made connections to the book with the objects we were investigating. I also read parts of a smaller book on the Wampanoag.

We had a lot of fun with this lesson! Students developed an understanding of how the lives of the Pilgrims were different than the Wampanoag.

Up next...turkey fun!!

Our Thanksgiving Quilt

2010-11-16T19:03:00.000-05:00

We ended our unit on Shapes with a study of Quilts. This was such a fun week-long study! We began by taking a gallery walk of the quilts brought into our classroom. Students observed patterns created with shapes we had studied all month long. We had quilts with rhombus patterns, square patterns and even hexagon patterns!

We then read books about quilts. Here are a few of our favorite quilt books:

Here is a list of more children's books about quilts:

http://www.dentonquiltguild.org/StorybookQuilts/index.htm

Our next step was designing quilt squares. Each student designed six quilt squares then chose their favorite to create their quilt.

After choosing their favorite quilt design, students used the square as a guide to create an entire quilt. Each paper quilt was made of nine quilt squares.

What amazing patterns they created! It was so neat to see how other shapes were formed when all nine squares were completed.
We were inspired by The Kindness Quilt to create a Thanksgiving Quilt. Students wrote and drew what they were thankful for and we hung the pieces together to create our beautiful Thanksgiving Quilt.

Now if I could just create a real quilt :)!

Quadrilaterals

2010-11-03T16:08:00.000-04:00

Today our Investigation lesson focused on four sided shapes. Students learned the meaning of quad and definition of quadrilateral. Wow, was I impressed with their understanding and exploration! Check out this student's work with Power Polygons. She created a design using only quadrilaterals!

What will we be for Halloween?

2010-10-29T16:05:00.002-04:00

Today we learned how to use Pixie during Computer Lab. The VERY cool art program allowed us to create portraits of ourselves in our Halloween costumes. Students can also type a sentence in the program. I loaded the portraits for you to enjoy in Photostory. Some students typed their sentence independently, while others asked for assistance. You can also view it in Edline. I have posted it twice there on our Language Arts page. If you have Photostory on your computer you can click on Halloween Class Book in Edline and view each page individually.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-26T20:26:00.002-04:00

Photo slideshow created with Smilebox

On Friday, October 22nd, we celebrated the harvest season with a celebration. At the celebration students enjoyed apple and pumpkin foods, compared the weight of a mini pumpkin to an apple, created a pumpkin crafts and learned the parts of an apple. Thank you to all the parent volunteers who made food and assisted at the celebration.