Last Day of First Grade

Thank you for a fantastic year! I hope you are all enjoying your summer, hopefully the weather will cooperate soon! I have been busy planting flowers and trying to teach a rambunctious little puppy some manners! : ) I miss all of you and think of you often. Don't forget, if you write in your journals over the summer and bring them to me in August you earn a free trip to treasure chest! Also, keep reading this summer so you are good and ready for second grade!! Enjoy the slideshow!

What I learned in first grade

I asked each student what they learned in first grade, and what their favorite part was. Here are their responses. Enjoy!

In first grade I learned how to work out a fight with my friends. I also learned vocabulary words. My favorite part of first grade is math. –AM

In first grade I learned how to read. My favorite part of first grade is math. –BM

In first grade I learned about fairy tales and how to spell words. My favorite part of first grade is learning! -CH

In first grade I learned subtraction and addition. My favorite part of first grade is recess my second favorite part is reading!! My favorite word in school is learn. I also learned about dinosaurs because I read a dinosaur book at school.
-IA

In first grade I learned to compromise, I learned math and much more. My favorite part of first grade is extended studies and field trips. –LA

My favorite thing in first grade is reading. I learned about Cheetahs, jaguars, bats, spiders and crocodiles. I also learned about dinosaurs, horses and dogs and that’s it. –KM

In first grade I learned how to spell directions and how to be a good reader. My favorite thing at school is recess. –JS

My favorite thing in first grade is to write. The thing that I learned is vocabulary words and math. I learned new words that I haven’t ever learned. –MW

In first grade I learned how to read and write. My favorite thing in first grade is learning and recess. –VB

The things I learned how to do are read and write big words. I know how to write better, I know how to sounds out big words and I also know how to tell time. My favorite part of first grade is recess, learning, eating and playing. That’s all I got. –SA

My favorite thing I learned in school was when we learned how to be kind to each other and learned respect. The most fun is when I met a whole bunch of people I didn’t know like Braeden. School is cool! -HL

My favorite part of first grade is centers and going to recess. I learned how to read and do math. I like the projects that we do and reading. –KM

I learned reading and I like when we got to see Mr. Anderson’s turtle. –AMF

My favorite thing about school is recess. I learned how to remember what I read! Another thing about school I like is I learn a lot!! - AS

I learned about money, reading, adding and subtracting. My favorite part of first of first grade is reading. I read all kinds of books. –JLW

My favorite thing in first grade is math. I learned subtraction in first grade. –EO

I learned how to read books, math and writing. My favorite part of first grade is learning!-MJ

Mother's Day

This week we were lucky enough to have our district reading experts, Terry Anderson and Susan Irion, come into our classroom and help us record our Mother's Day Poems. If you are viewing this blog before you have opened your Mother's Day gift, you may want to wait until Sunday as this is part of your gift! Our classroom is full of wonderful writers and I am beyond excited with the results. Enjoy!

Copy and past the link below to listen to our poems. A few students were absent the day we recorded so for a couple of pictures there is no talking.

http://voicethread.com/share/1124088/

Tongue Twisters

This week we created tongue twisters using all 5 steps in the writing process. They turned out so fantastic that I wanted to share them with you! I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did.

Miniature monkey Madison murmured to her mom Mary while mopping the mall. -K.M.
A scary snake was sledding on a soccer ball. -B.M.
Brady the baby went in the big bathtub and bounced and bounced. -H.L.
A dark dog dug in Disneyland. -A.M.F.
Donald's dog danced in the den. -B.A.
A pink peach popped a penguin. -A.S.
The scary snake plays soccer. -S.P.
A silly snake saw a super slimy sloth go searching for seashells. -A.M.
Pretty purple pepperoni pizza pleases purple parrots. -K.M.
Pilgrims in the puddle pick purple and pink plants. -L.A.
A pink parrot played in a pig pen. -V.B.
A scary snake slid on a slippery slide. -S.A.
Fat froggy the funny frog was a friendly frog who found a fluffy fish. -J.S.
A brilliant butterfly bumped a baby bear. -E.O.
A bashful baby bee played with a beautiful butterfly. -J.L.W.
A purple person played in a park. -M.J.
Brilliant Bella the bat came to King Braeden. -B.K.
Duter Dotter the dog went dancing in a dirty desert. -C.H.
Mad moody Madison murmured to her mother Mary Morrow. -M.W.

Nick Visits Our Classroom

As you may remember, after the earthquake in Haiti, first grade students created hearts for Haiti. These hearts were sent to Haiti and a friend of mine was able to deliver them to local children. Nick came home for a short time to visit family and he was nice enough to stop by our classroom. Nick told us about Haiti and answered many questions. He also presented us with the American Flag that flew over his ship during his stay. The kids were so excited to see Nick, and they asked some wonderful questions. I took a few pictures that I wanted to share. Enjoy!

Clouds and Rainbows

Here we are painting rainbows and creating three types of clouds out of shaving cream. The three types of clouds were Cumulus "piled up", Cirrus "curly" and Stratus "spread out". Can you guess what type of cloud your child was making in their picture?

Another "Eggsperiment"

First Grade Friends Celebrating Reading Across America

Our Science "Egg"speriment!

Valentine's Day

100th Day of School!!!!

Hearts for Haiti

A couple of weeks ago our class sent letters and decorated hearts with candy to a friend of mine on a Navy ship docked outside of Haiti. Our package has not yet arrived, but I just received an email from Nick and he wanted to let us know that he is anxiously awaiting its arrival. This picture was taken on the island of Gonave after airlifting almost 3,000 meals to the locals.

5th Grade Buddies!!

Facts About Polar Bears

Click on the comments below to read our first grade facts about Polar Bears.

Kindness Chain

We started a "Kindness Chain" in our classroom. This was inspired by a recent seminar I attended asking all teachers to start a chain reaction of kindness in schools. Every time I hear a student being kind to someone, I add a link to the chain. I have already noticed students holding doors for one another, saying please and thank you more often, even asking other students to play with them at recess. If your child does something kind at home, please let me know and we can add a link to the chain.

Our Holiday Performance!

Poem Books!

Here we are reading our poem books. Poem books are a really fun way to work on fluency and reading with expression.

I want to welcome you all to our classroom blog!  This blog will be frequently updated with pictures, newsletters, and information regarding our classroom.