I apologize for this being SUPER late.  I got my camera today...but our internet has been out.  Of course that happens right when you need it.  Oh well...I am getting it on here and that is all that matters!  Last week was a great week for us.  They learned SO much and it really showed when they "showed me what they know" (took tests) on Friday.  They have really been learning a lot of new stuff and I can tell that they are really enjoying learning things they didn't already know.  This week we were focusing on digraphs sh, th, ch, and wh.  To start the week out, we learned about the "H brothers".  The story really stuck with the kids and helped them read words they thought they didn't know.  But surprise!  They know a lot more words than they thought!

Here is the story of the "H brothers"

 We also made "Thinking Thumbs" to help us remember the "TH" sound.

We have been working on comparing and contrasting all year, but they finally got to make their own venn diagram.  They did a great job for their first time!  I paired them up and let them compare and contrast 2 things from a story we read called Moving Day.

We worked hard last week, and I am ready to work hard again this week!  We are learning some really tough stuff, and only in 4 days since it is a short week.  Keep working hard at home and practicing reading and spelling.  Please remember to go over the Skills Sheet EVERY day.  It has everything that we are going over that week and it is especially important to do it every day, even the weekends, during a 4 day week.  It WILL help!  I promise!  Thank you parents for ALL that you do!  I couldn't do it without you!

Well, I left my camera at school and since I live 30 minutes away, I haven't been able to go back and get it.  Check back Monday late afternoon for an update on what we did last week!  Until then, enjoy these videos!

Welcome back!  We got right back into the swing of things the first day back.  It was a rough week trying to get back into things, but we made it through the first week back.  Half way through the year!  Can you believe it?  Because I can't.  At all.  Christmas came and left.  And now it is the year 2012.  I never thought this year would come.  And to think that one day it is going to be 2042...crazy.  We also got a new student to start out our new year.  The kids helped him TONS and he now has 19 new best friends.  We now have an even number of kids in the classroom!  I LOVE this because they can now sit in pairs and they can each have a partner now and no body will feel left out.  Anyway, to kick the week off, we started with a new classroom management plan.  It was time for a change.  I also changed the desks around.  I love the way it is set up now.  I forgot to take a picture of it, but I enjoy it. 

Here is our new management system.  I put each of their names on a clothespin.  In the morning, they all start on "Good Behavior.  Throughout the day, the can get moved to warning, losing 5 minutes of recess, etc.  It has helped a TON so far.  I like it a lot because both the students and I can see where they stand and how they are behaving that day.  I have enjoyed it and so far, it si the best technique I have ever done.

I just wanted to share with you my FAVORITE spelling worksheet that they do during centers every Tuesday.  I call this Rainbow Spelling.  They have to write each spelling word 3 times in 3 different colors.

Here is our January calendar!  They got SO excited when they saw the project that we were doing that day.

To start off the new year, we talked about goals and resolutions.  To introduce what a resolution is, I read the book "Squirrels New Year Resolution".  It was a simple way to explain what a resolution is to a bunch of 1st graders.  After we read the book, I had them think about what they want to do better this year.

On Friday, we made these!  They turned out SO cute!

I shared this quote with them and explain to them what it meant.  I love this quote.

They turned out adorable!  It was a good way to start off the new year.

It was a good week and I am happy to be back at school with the kids smiling faces!

Thank you parents for all that you do!!!

Many weeks late...

I failed.  I didn't post the week before we left for Christmas...and now I feel guilty.  But here it is!  This is what we did that week!  It was a fun week, and I really enjoyed it.  I love holiday's at school.  I love learning and having fun at the same time.  I also love holidays because we get to do a lot of arts and crafts.  My favorite is when I get to incorporate writing with the art.  I know I sound like a broken record, but I love seeing all of their different art work!  Each of them really shows their personality with their art.

On Monday we made these beautiful wreaths.  We used our water colors for the first time!  I know it has taken me this long...but we just haven't had time!  These wreaths are SO easy!  I got the "Merry Christmas" sign from another teacher, just stick it on a paper plate, paint, hole punch, and there you have it!  It's fun and easy.  Can't ask for a better project!

Tuesday the entire first grade had a Grinch Day.  We had lots of activities planned for the day, and we all wore Grinch shirts.  I'm a little sad we didn't get a picture...maybe next year.  We also had a little "party" because they earned it.  We have been working on getting compliments and giving compliments, and when they get a REALLY GOOD compliment (I get to decide) they get a bee.  When they get to 25, they get a party.  They finally got to 25 and got to have a popcorn party!  They got to choose what they wanted, and they all said popcorn.  So we watched the Grinch movie and had some popcorn.

 

On Grinch Day, we made Grinch faces.  We wrote, "To make the Grinch grin I would..." and they had to write what they would do to make him smile.  They turned out pretty cute and I love what they came up with.

On Wednesday morning, we sang our Christmas songs for the whole school!  They did a great job with being loud enough without yelling, and staying with the piano.  We have some beautiful voices in the first grade!  Then in the afternoon, we had our Christmas party!  They had been looking forward to this ALL week.  Thank you parents for making this party happen!  Everything you do helps SO much!  It was fun for all of us!

Here they are getting prizes for games that they won.

This was a fun game that they played.  It was kind of like a relay race, but funner.  They had to use straws to pass a piece of paper from one person to the next.  The first line that was finished, won!

They got lots of delicious treats.  Thank you parents for bringing the treats!  They were delicious  :)

This was another fun game.  They had to pass 3 candy canes to the person behind them, without putting the candy canes on the same finger.  It was fun to watch them do this one, and I think they really enjoyed doing it.

It was a fun week, and I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

It was a very fun week!  

It was a very long week, but fun.  

And the kids were wonderful for me all week.  

I always look forward to seeing them because they make me smile, even when I am having a rough day!  

I love being a teacher!

In reading we learned about s clusters.

In math we learned how to add 2 to a number.

We are still struggling with this, so if you have extra time at home, all of the kids could use some help with this!

We also had lots of time for fun projects to get us ready for Christmas next week.

We made a Riddle Book.  I really enjoyed it, and I hope all of the kids did too.

 I loved this project!  We have really been working on sentence structure, and they had to write about what they would do if they lived in a snow globe.  After they were done, I spray painted them with glitter.  They all look so cute!  I am even going to keep them up until January, since it isn't just a Christmas project.

These are just a few of my favorite.

 During story time, we read a story where Santa got stuck in the chimney.  It was such a cute story.  

So after, again to work on our sentence structure, they wrote about what they would do if Santa was stuck in their chimney.  I am really happy with how they turned out.  

And I couldn't help but laugh at most of them!  

What a creative class I have!

We also made holly bells, and they had to draw a picture (it didn't matter what the picture was) in the bell.

I love projects where they have to trace their hands.

I think it will show how much they grow through the years.

 Like I said, I love traced hands!  These are the cute reindeer we made.

Over all, it was a very successful week and I really enjoyed it.

I am in Utah now, going to my grandpa's funeral, and not feeling too well.

Hopefully I will be back on Monday...

Thank you parents for all that you do!

Well, I feel horrible.  I didn't take a single picture this whole week!  Not one.  Can you believe it?  Yeah...neither can I.  I am so disappointed...but it's okay.  I'll make up for it next week.  It has been a stressful week for me, but that doesn't really matter and is not an excuse!  Next week, there will be pictures.  I promise!  But I'm still going to fill you in on some of the things we did this week!  I am sure your kids tell you everything we do every day, and if they don't, ask them.  If they say they don't know, they really do know.  I promise.  Every day at the end of the day (the last 10 minutes of the day) we talk about EVERYTHING we learned that day.  So trust me, they all know :) 

We are getting into the harder concepts, and I love seeing their faces when they finally understand something.  We have been learning things that they didn't learn in Kindergarten (that was basically the first few weeks of school) and I am enjoying it much more, as are the kids I'm sure.  I also am a strong believer in incorporating music into learning.  They seem to remember the concepts better if they are put to a song.  For example, last week we learned a song about contractions (it is to it's) and when they were showing me what they know about contractions (taking the test) I could hear some of them whispering the song to themselves to remember how it goes.  Each week we are basically learning a new song or chant to help us learn something new.

We haven't been doing rotations this month (music, P.E., science, social studies) so I have been able to teach them about Christmas in other countries, and we will also have time for other Christmas crafts, that we normally wouldn't have time for.  This week we spent our afternoons learning about Christmas in Sweden, Germany, Italy, Mexico, and Holland.  We learned how to say "Merry Christmas" in each of the different languages.  Germany is basically impossible to say and remember.  At least for me.  My husband went to Germany for a couple of years and when he speaks German, it seems so easy.  If you are trying to read it, it won't sound the way it is supposed to.  But I was surprised when many of the students remembered how to say it the next day, and I couldn't remember it at all.  What great memories they have!  It was really fun to learn about a few of the different countries around the world.  I learned a lot, so I hope the kids did as well!

I know Thanksgiving has come and gone, but I just want to thank every single one of you for all that you do for your kids.  I am truly grateful for everything that you do at home with them to help them at school.  I have a room full of wonderful parents this year and I couldn't be happier.  I am also very grateful for all 19 of my students.  They are all very sweet and polite, not to mention funny.  They always make me smile every single day.  I always look forward to seeing them every day, and they remind me why I wanted to be a teacher.  I am thankful for each and every one of them, and for all of you parents.  Thank you for all that you do!

I apologize for not having pictures this week.  Next week we will.  I promise!

Let me first apologize for not updating last night.  

I got home from work ready to make a blog post, and the internet decided it wasn't going to work.  

The internet is STILL not working, but we figured out a temporary solution. 

So this week we learned SO much, and they did so well with it!

English is a hard language to learn, and I am always so impressed with how well they do.

We learned about contractions and r blends/clusters.

We also learned some new things in math.

Adding 0 to a number, subtracting 0 from a number, and we finally got a new coin to learn about and count...DIMES!  They were so excited because counting pennies was just getting too easy :)

I decided that it was time for them to switch out crayon boxes.

They were getting pretty beat up.

I was trying to wait until after Christmas, but we didn't make it.

Can you tell which one is the new one?

We also started our Christmas crafts and activities this week.  

And we are just getting started!

First, we had to make out December calendar!

 This is our tree that I made and they added the ornaments.

They decorated the ornaments on the front, then on the other side they wrote a gift they could give someone.

The gift had to be something you couldn't give in a box.

For example, help someone stack a chair, give a compliment to someone, help someone who is hurt, etc.

Each day until Christmas, I turn one over and our goal is to give at least one person that gift by the end of the day. 

 They made their own stockings!  Each one is different and I love that.

 Letters to Santa!  We made 2 letters this week.

The first one they took home and left it there.

This one they had to keep here until December 21st.

I LOVE reading what they all had to say.

Our Christmas program was on Wednesday this last week, and it went so well!

They did SUCH a great job!

A HUGE thank you to the mom's that helped put the program together! 

We have such a great class this year and I am so grateful that I get to be their teacher!

We are almost half way through the year, and I get a little choked up thinking I have to say goodbye at the end of the school year.

Thank you parents for all you do!