This week was a very successful one!  We got SO much done in just 4 days.  I was really worried about this week because it was a short week and we had some really hard concepts to learn.  We learned about soft c and soft g, silent e, long a, and nk, ng, nd.  That's a lot to learn in 4 days!  But they all did AMAZING.  I was so impressed.  I had a fun time teaching it and I think they had a fun time learning.

We started this week learning about Martin Luther King Jr. and why he was so important.  This was the first time we had talked about how people were segregated back then.  I was a little nervous to talk about it, but they were all really intrigued by it.  It really is amazing how different things were.  We also read a book about Ruby Bridges.  She was one of the first black girls to go to a white school and she was SO brave.  I loved reading these stories to the kids and seeing what they learned.

To remember who MLK was, we made this book.

Monday was a good day and I hope they learned a lot about MLK!

We then started learning about silent e.  We learned about CVCe words and they really caught on to that concept, which I was pleased about.  That means next week is going to be easy because we will be learning about long i.  I taught them that when e is at the end of the word, it pinches the vowel before it (we focused on e pinching a) to say it's name.  Fist we made a snake.  They had to say the words as they colored the snake, then they cut it out and we hung them in the back of our room.  I think they make our classroom look like a jungle and I love it!  Especially since we are going to be learning about the rainforest soon, which is close to a jungle sort of.

This is the "e" and the story about e that we made.

I love how they all turned out SO different.

When we learned about soft g, we made a giraffe.  

They had to write soft g words on the neck and glue it all together.

Last but not least, we read The Mitten and did an activity with it!  The activity was to help them remember the story so that they could retell the story at home.  They had to cut out mittens and glue them together.  Then they cut out the animals and write the numbers on the back to remember the order that they went into the mitten.  Last, they get to tell the story!

We did a lot of learning and it was a fantastic week.

I have such a sweet class and I appreciate all that you parents do at home.

I love my class and I love being a teacher!

Thanks for all that you do parents!

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!