Snack Donations!

Our class is currently down to a half bag of pretzels. Any snack donations are greatly needed and appreciated. Some great snack ideas include: dried fruit, fruit, vegetables (we have a small fridge), wheat thins, pretzels, or goldfish. We ask no sweets please. Thanks for your help!

Reading Centers

Our literacy block is every morning from 8:00 to 10:00. We start by singing a few songs and then transitioning into reading centers. This week the class has been practicing the different centers. Monday we learned what it meant to work in a "small group". We decided the top two rules were to whisper and share. Today we learned about the spelling center. In the spelling center, the students will do many phonics based activities to expand their knowledge of words. We practiced using our different spelling tools to make all the names in our class. 

For the rest of the week we will be learning and practicing what to do in the writing, reading and computer centers! Next week we will have a chance to rotate through a weeks worth of centers and start to become comfortable with this daily routine.

Taking care of each other's hearts

Today we re-read the story Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. We used this book discuss what happens to our hearts when we use unkind words. The students listened to the story and each time they heard unkind words, would wrinkle up the heart. When the book was finished we had two very sad looking hearts. The students realized that the unkind words we use leave wrinkles on our hearts that are hard to smooth back out. We all agreed to practice using kind words. We placed our paper hearts on the board to help us remember to use encouraging and friendly words. 

Weekly Math Skills

This week in math, we are going to be reviewing shapes, number formation, and skip counting. One of the first grade objectives is using skip counting of 2's, 5's, and 10's to count collections of objects. The following songs will be used this week to help us learn skip counting!

Fantastic Friday!

On Friday afternoon, the students have a block of time reserved as Fantastic Friday. During Fantastic Friday the class has free choice with any of the academic games and centers they have previously played. This is a great social time for the students. Not only does it allow interactions among classmates, but the students get academic reinforcement. Here are a few pictures from our 1st Fantastic Friday of the year!

Our First Day of First Grade!

We had a GREAT first day of school! It was a busy day spent learning all the new routines of the classroom and making new friends. We learned the school wide CHOMP rules and talked about the many ways to follow CHOMP. To get to know the other students in the classroom we played giant game of Classroom Bingo followed by a few ice breaker activities outside. After lunch our class went to see Mrs. Carole for music, where we practiced singing "This Land is Your Land".  To end the day we made pictures to illustrate our first day of school!

There are many important papers in the GREEN HOME FOLDER (this comes home every day!) PLEASE check these items and send back the forms.

Looking forward to a great year with some great kids!!

Morning Routine

Classroom Preview

I have been working hard to get our classroom PERFECT for the first day of school on Thursday! I can't wait for you to see it! 

Classroom Library

Student Tables

Behavior Clip Chart

 Front of the Classroom

 Supplies Area

 Computers and Math Focus Wall and Bathroom

 Student Cubbies and Teacher Desk

Supplies Galore!

As the school year begins, we ask that students bring a few supplies with them in order to complete their 1st grade work! Click here to see the Glenwood Supply List for 2011.

If you would like to donate more supplies to the classroom, they are GREATLY welcomed and appreciated. Click here to see our classroom wish list. You can order online or pick up the items at your favorite store while you are out running errands.

Thanks for all you contribute to our classroom! I could never do it without the help of our awesome parents!