Hello Stupendous First Graders and Super First Grade Families!
I hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing break!
Thank you so much to all the parents who donated time and supplies to make our party great! Today was SO much fun! The kids had a great time at our party and they really enjoyed all of the Christmas centers. The party centers were:
1. Shoebox Snow Scene - The kids made a snow village in a shoebox! They used coconut for snow and they used candies, cakes and cookies to make houses and animals for the snow scene. They are cute and tasty! Thank you Mrs. Stucky and Mrs. Fox!
2. Hand and Footprint Reindeer - This was a fun and MESSY center! The kids made a picture of Rudolph using one foot (covered in paint!) for the body and two hands (covered in paint!) for the antlers. They added googley eyes and a red nose. These are adorable! Thank you Mrs. Wernett and Mrs. Baaken!
3. Movable Santa and Rudolph - The kids colored and cut Santa and Rudolph pieces and put them together with brads. They look very cute! Thank you Mrs. Abraham!
4. Finger Puppets - The kids colored different Christmas pictures, cut them out and taped them to turn them into finger puppets. They loved this! Thank you Mrs. Johnson!
After lunch we decorated cookies, saw the kindergartners perform "The Nutcracker" (it was adorable!) and had hot chocolate while watching The Polar Express. Thank you Mrs. Denotti and Mr. Abraham!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Have a wonderful break! See you next year!
Mrs. Johnston
December 16, 2011
December 12, 2011
Weekly Update, December 12 - 16
Hello Stupendous First Graders and Super First Grade Families!
The 1st grade play and the performance at Barnes and Noble were adorable! The kids looked and sounded great!
It's hard to believe this is our last school week of 2011! The kids are so excited for our party and for Christmas. We have a lot of fun stuff planned this week!
Supplies
* Please send in a shoebox with your child by this Thursday. We'll use these for a fun activity at our party!
* Please send in an empty plastic water bottle with the cap and a plastic hanger for our upcoming weather unit.
Christmas Pajama Party Information
* Our party is this Thursday, December 16 from 9:00 - 11:20. The children will do 4 different holiday centers.
* We are having an all day pajama party! Your child is invited to wear PJs to school.
* We will have popcorn and watch The Polar Express in the afternoon. We will also see the kindergarten Christmas performance. It will be a fun day!
This is our second week in our Christmas social studies, guided reading and writing unit and the children are really enjoying it! Today we learned about the characteristics of reindeer. We learned the word synonym and that caribou is a synonym for reindeer. The kids worked collaboratively to write 5 reindeer facts. After they wrote their facts, they colored and cut a cute reindeer to glue on their paper. We also learned a little bit about the history of Rudolph and the kids made a darling Rudolph puppet. Tomorrow we will learn about the history of St. Nicholas. The kids will make a St. Nicholas puppet and they will write St. Nicholas facts on the back. On Wednesday we will learn about Christmas around the world! We will learn about Christmas traditions in the USA, Italy and Mexico. The kids will identify the three countries on a map, write 1 tradition from each place and write which country they would like to visit for Christmas. On Thursday we will learn about needs and wants. The kids will learn the importance and difference of each, and they will sort various items into the correct category.
The kids had a lot of fun in centers today! They visited 2 centers. The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The kids listened to a cute story called "Olive The Other Reindeer," and they worked on sequencing the story by writing what happened in the beginning, middle and end.
2. Art - The kids made a darling angel ornament.
3. Writing - The kids wrote a persuasive letter to Santa to convince him to bring presents to them.
4. Math - The kids made snowman math flash cards. They picked their own problems to write on the snowman's body and then they wrote the answers on the back.
5. Reading – The kids did a Christmas word find and sorted Christmas words into word families.
6. Card Making - The kids made Christmas cards to send to our US Military to thank them for their service.
7. Art - The kids traced their hands on green paper and then glued them to a paper plate ring to make an adorable hand print wreath.
8. Art – The kids made a stand up Santa. It is a darling Christmas decoration!
There are no new spelling words this week. Spelling will resume after break!
In writing we are working on adding details to our work. We call these detailed words "juicy words." Be sure to ask your child about using juicy words! The kids are learning to write so that their writing gives the reader a clear picture in his/her head.
In math we practiced addition and subtraction facts. The kids correctly solved color coded problems to color a penguin. Tomorrow we will make a Christmas tree glyph and on Wednesday we will play Christmas bingo!
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
The 1st grade play and the performance at Barnes and Noble were adorable! The kids looked and sounded great!
It's hard to believe this is our last school week of 2011! The kids are so excited for our party and for Christmas. We have a lot of fun stuff planned this week!
Supplies
* Please send in a shoebox with your child by this Thursday. We'll use these for a fun activity at our party!
* Please send in an empty plastic water bottle with the cap and a plastic hanger for our upcoming weather unit.
Christmas Pajama Party Information
* Our party is this Thursday, December 16 from 9:00 - 11:20. The children will do 4 different holiday centers.
* We are having an all day pajama party! Your child is invited to wear PJs to school.
* We will have popcorn and watch The Polar Express in the afternoon. We will also see the kindergarten Christmas performance. It will be a fun day!
This is our second week in our Christmas social studies, guided reading and writing unit and the children are really enjoying it! Today we learned about the characteristics of reindeer. We learned the word synonym and that caribou is a synonym for reindeer. The kids worked collaboratively to write 5 reindeer facts. After they wrote their facts, they colored and cut a cute reindeer to glue on their paper. We also learned a little bit about the history of Rudolph and the kids made a darling Rudolph puppet. Tomorrow we will learn about the history of St. Nicholas. The kids will make a St. Nicholas puppet and they will write St. Nicholas facts on the back. On Wednesday we will learn about Christmas around the world! We will learn about Christmas traditions in the USA, Italy and Mexico. The kids will identify the three countries on a map, write 1 tradition from each place and write which country they would like to visit for Christmas. On Thursday we will learn about needs and wants. The kids will learn the importance and difference of each, and they will sort various items into the correct category.
The kids had a lot of fun in centers today! They visited 2 centers. The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The kids listened to a cute story called "Olive The Other Reindeer," and they worked on sequencing the story by writing what happened in the beginning, middle and end.
2. Art - The kids made a darling angel ornament.
3. Writing - The kids wrote a persuasive letter to Santa to convince him to bring presents to them.
4. Math - The kids made snowman math flash cards. They picked their own problems to write on the snowman's body and then they wrote the answers on the back.
5. Reading – The kids did a Christmas word find and sorted Christmas words into word families.
6. Card Making - The kids made Christmas cards to send to our US Military to thank them for their service.
7. Art - The kids traced their hands on green paper and then glued them to a paper plate ring to make an adorable hand print wreath.
8. Art – The kids made a stand up Santa. It is a darling Christmas decoration!
There are no new spelling words this week. Spelling will resume after break!
In writing we are working on adding details to our work. We call these detailed words "juicy words." Be sure to ask your child about using juicy words! The kids are learning to write so that their writing gives the reader a clear picture in his/her head.
In math we practiced addition and subtraction facts. The kids correctly solved color coded problems to color a penguin. Tomorrow we will make a Christmas tree glyph and on Wednesday we will play Christmas bingo!
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
December 9, 2011
Computers, 12/9
Christmas Comments!
Let's start by voting in this week's poll. After you vote, please come to the floor in front of the Smart Board and we'll learn about this week's activity.
It was fun learning about the history of Christmas and the Christmas tree! Today we're going to explore Christmas and practice writing comments on the blog. Go here:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/holidays/christmas/
We'll go to the website together to learn how it works.
After you've explored the website, you'll work with a partner to post a comment on the blog. Here is what you need to post:
1. I learned...
2. I want to know more about...
Remember to post your names!
Watch and we'll review how to post on the blog.
If you have time after you're done, you may explore the links on the website.
Have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
Let's start by voting in this week's poll. After you vote, please come to the floor in front of the Smart Board and we'll learn about this week's activity.
It was fun learning about the history of Christmas and the Christmas tree! Today we're going to explore Christmas and practice writing comments on the blog. Go here:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/holidays/christmas/
We'll go to the website together to learn how it works.
After you've explored the website, you'll work with a partner to post a comment on the blog. Here is what you need to post:
1. I learned...
2. I want to know more about...
Remember to post your names!
Watch and we'll review how to post on the blog.
If you have time after you're done, you may explore the links on the website.
Have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
December 5, 2011
Weekly Update, December 5 - 9
Hello Charming First Graders and Cheerful First Grade Parents!
The kids are really enjoying our holidays social studies and guided reading/writing unit! Today we began our study of the Christmas holiday. Today we learned about the history of Christmas. We also learned about one symbol of Christmas, the Christmas tree. The kids began a very neat Christmas writing/art project today. They each received a large Christmas tree that they cut out and colored a stem on. They wrote 3 facts on red ball ornaments and they glued them on the tree. Each day this week we will learn about a different Christmas symbol and there will be an ornament to match. The symbols we will learn about this week are: lights, presents, candy canes and stars. The kids will write facts on each ornament and, by the time the week is over, they will have a fully decorated tree filled with ornaments with great Christmas facts! They really enjoyed working on this today. The trees are hanging up all around the room and they are wonderful! This week in social studies we will also learn about needs and wants, a very timely subject!
In reading we are working on reading about common subjects, such as Christmas, to learn new information and make connections.
The children had a great time in our centers today. The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The children listened to Santa's Adventure, a story about Santa and how bad weather affected his Christmas Eve travels. The children made a Somebody - Wanted - But - So graphic organizer. They wrote a Somebody - Wanted - But - So to organize the events of the story.
2. Art - Shhh! It's a surprise! The kids are working on a gift for YOU!
3. Writing - The children wrote friendly letters to Santa on a Santa beard. They told Santa about themselves and asked him questions. After they wrote, they colored a picture of Santa and they attached it to the beard.
4. Math - The children made advent bells. They used a template to trace and cut a bell. Then the children numbered red and green strips of paper to make advent chains. They made the odd numbers green and the even numbers red to form an a-b pattern with the red and green paper loops.
5. Reading - The children read 1:1 with me. We focused on assessments for reading level and sight words.
This week in writing we are working on fact writing and acrostic poetry. The children have had a lot of practice writing facts and they are getting quite good at this skill! The kids had a bit of practice with acrostic poetry last week and they are enjoying poetry writing.
We have new spelling words this week. The kids came home with Rainbow Words and they are due tomorrow. This week in working with words we will practice alphabetizing to the 1st letter. In making words we are working on words with long o and long u sounds.
Today in math we reviewed concepts from chapter ten (greater and less than, one more and one less, counting up and down by ten) and we will take the test later this week. We will also complete a lot of review and complete testing to get ready for the 2nd quarter report cards.
We have a fun activity planned for computers on Friday! If you'd like to see what the kids will do, please check back at the end of the week for the blog posting called “Computers, 12/9.”
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
The kids are really enjoying our holidays social studies and guided reading/writing unit! Today we began our study of the Christmas holiday. Today we learned about the history of Christmas. We also learned about one symbol of Christmas, the Christmas tree. The kids began a very neat Christmas writing/art project today. They each received a large Christmas tree that they cut out and colored a stem on. They wrote 3 facts on red ball ornaments and they glued them on the tree. Each day this week we will learn about a different Christmas symbol and there will be an ornament to match. The symbols we will learn about this week are: lights, presents, candy canes and stars. The kids will write facts on each ornament and, by the time the week is over, they will have a fully decorated tree filled with ornaments with great Christmas facts! They really enjoyed working on this today. The trees are hanging up all around the room and they are wonderful! This week in social studies we will also learn about needs and wants, a very timely subject!
In reading we are working on reading about common subjects, such as Christmas, to learn new information and make connections.
The children had a great time in our centers today. The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The children listened to Santa's Adventure, a story about Santa and how bad weather affected his Christmas Eve travels. The children made a Somebody - Wanted - But - So graphic organizer. They wrote a Somebody - Wanted - But - So to organize the events of the story.
2. Art - Shhh! It's a surprise! The kids are working on a gift for YOU!
3. Writing - The children wrote friendly letters to Santa on a Santa beard. They told Santa about themselves and asked him questions. After they wrote, they colored a picture of Santa and they attached it to the beard.
4. Math - The children made advent bells. They used a template to trace and cut a bell. Then the children numbered red and green strips of paper to make advent chains. They made the odd numbers green and the even numbers red to form an a-b pattern with the red and green paper loops.
5. Reading - The children read 1:1 with me. We focused on assessments for reading level and sight words.
This week in writing we are working on fact writing and acrostic poetry. The children have had a lot of practice writing facts and they are getting quite good at this skill! The kids had a bit of practice with acrostic poetry last week and they are enjoying poetry writing.
We have new spelling words this week. The kids came home with Rainbow Words and they are due tomorrow. This week in working with words we will practice alphabetizing to the 1st letter. In making words we are working on words with long o and long u sounds.
Today in math we reviewed concepts from chapter ten (greater and less than, one more and one less, counting up and down by ten) and we will take the test later this week. We will also complete a lot of review and complete testing to get ready for the 2nd quarter report cards.
We have a fun activity planned for computers on Friday! If you'd like to see what the kids will do, please check back at the end of the week for the blog posting called “Computers, 12/9.”
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
December 2, 2011
Computers, 12/2
Kwanzaa KWL
Let's start by voting on this week's poll. After you vote, please come to the floor in front of the Smart Board and we'll learn about this week's activity.
It was fun learning about Kwanzaa this week! Kwanzaa was unfamiliar to many of you and when we learn about something new, it's good to make a list of questions so we can answer them to keep track of our learning.
Today we're going to make a KWL chart! This stands for Know, Want to know, Learned. You'll work with a partner to create this word document. Watch and I'll show you how! You'll work with a partner to complete your chart.
After you finish the Know and Want to know section, it's time to see what you can learn! Go to Scholastic's website: http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/holidays/kwanzaa to read to find out! After you've read and listened, see if you can add anything to the Learned section of your chart!
Have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
Let's start by voting on this week's poll. After you vote, please come to the floor in front of the Smart Board and we'll learn about this week's activity.
It was fun learning about Kwanzaa this week! Kwanzaa was unfamiliar to many of you and when we learn about something new, it's good to make a list of questions so we can answer them to keep track of our learning.
Today we're going to make a KWL chart! This stands for Know, Want to know, Learned. You'll work with a partner to create this word document. Watch and I'll show you how! You'll work with a partner to complete your chart.
After you finish the Know and Want to know section, it's time to see what you can learn! Go to Scholastic's website: http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/holidays/kwanzaa to read to find out! After you've read and listened, see if you can add anything to the Learned section of your chart!
Have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
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