Sorry!!

I am so sorry this is so late... I just got done with dinner and homework with my own kids. My son had a football game tonight and we had a 30 minute storm delay. Needless to say, it's a late night for me. Please forgive me! :))

Today we learned how to make predictions in science. Scientists ask questions and then predict what they think will happen when they experiment. We practiced doing this with our 'Walking Water' experiment. Tomorrow we will find out if our predictions were correct. We learned that it is okay if they aren't right. After we see the results, we will share our findings with others. That's what scientists do! Today we made our Rainbow Hair books. We practiced reading them fluently while using a reading tool. We used pointers to help us keep our place and point to each word. Also in our book we found many compound words and discovered that they are just two words put together that make a new word.

Homework- Read Rainbow Hair to a family member or friend. Tell them what a compound word is and then show them the ones you highlighted in your book. Place Rainbow Hair in your book box when you are finished. Share the home link 1.4 with your family.

Fluency and Favorite Places to Read

Today we learned more about punctuation and fluency. We learned about commas. They tell us to take a breath when we read. We also learned that good readers have favorite places to read. We shared and then drew our favorite place to read. We also learned more counting strategies like counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s. Some other strategies we discussed were using tally marks and grouping objects to make them easier to count.

Homework- Read!! Find a place for your library box. We will be adding our first book tomorrow.

We need more time! :)

We ran out of time today so this post will be from me instead of the students. Today we learned that good readers have special reading memories. We learned how to use consonants and vowels to make words. We practiced making CVC words today and noticed that all the words had vowels. We continued to write our stories today and learned that we can add details to our writing to make it better. Finally, we decorated our shoe boxes. We made these boxes to keep our special books in this year. Each week the students will bring several books home to put in their 'library' box.

Homework- Read!! Don't forget your forms and fees. Have a nice evening!

Goals for next week!

Our goals for next week include:
Staying in our seat during instruction.
Raising our hand before we speak and waiting to be called on.
Listening when others are talking.

I know we can do it!! Keep working hard. 

Favorite books

Today we learned that good readers have favorite books. We also learned how to read with a partner and share our favorite books. We learned that scientists do experiments to help them learn things. We got to investigate Magic Playdoh and found out that we are going to have a great year!

Homework- Read!! Read the poem of the week and have your lucky listener sign your book. Bring your notebook back on Monday. Don't forget your shoe box. Have a great weekend!!

Today we learned what scientists do. They ask questions, use tools, do experiments, read to find information and they think! Tomorrow we will do our first experiment. We learned how to compare numbers using a number line. We practiced this by playing Monster Squeeze. We also learned that writing is just telling on paper and we practiced writing our own stories. Shhh! Don't tell anyone but my story said 'I love my class!' We will continue writing tomorrow. Finally, we learned that good readers read every day... and that's what we will do!!

Homework- Read!! You can read the library books you brought home. Share the math letter (Home Link 1.2) with your family. If you didn't bring your favorite book today, bring it tomorrow. Don't forget to bring a shoe box by Monday.

Today we learned about punctuation when we did our poem of the week. Punctuation helps us to read fluently. We know to stop at a period and to get excited when we see an exclamation point. In math, we learned about counting a collection of objects and we also learned about estimating. Estimating is taking a good guess about how many things are in a collection. In science we learned that we are all scientists and that scientists work hard all the time. They also do experiments and investigations to learn about things. Finally in gym we learned it is a good idea to exercise to keep our bodies healthy. Whew! First grade is a lot of work!

Tonight's homework- Bring your favorite book. If you don't have one at home, don't worry. I will help you find one at school. Show your parents the Home Link 1.1 parent letter. READ!!! (for at least 10 minutes)

The First Day of School!

Today we had a great first day... we were very busy. I enjoyed getting to know the students and can't wait to learn more about them as we go. Each day we will post what we learn. This list will be generated by the students to keep you informed and it allows them to reflect on their learning each day. I will also post the homework. So...

Today we learned how to read fluently. We want to read like we are talking: not like a robot and not too fast. We will practice this with our poem of the week. We learned how to sit quietly at the carpet and get ready to learn. We read books. We made a graph about Jitter Juice in math.

Tonight's homework: Think about a promise that you can make to our class. What promises will you make to your teachers? What can we do to have a successful first grade year? Finally, take the time to read for at least 10 minutes.

See you tomorrow!