Math Lesson: Slides, Flips, and Turns

The children learned the difference between a slide, a flip, and a turn in this math lesson. They learned how each movement changes the position of a shape. They reognized that the object is the same shape and size, just in a different position. This lays the foundation for understanding congruence, symmetry, and other geometry concepts.

Reading Unit: There was an old lady...

We have been reading various versions of the story, "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly." We are comparing stories, making flow charts, and noticing how the ending is the same or different. Author Lucille Colandro has a serious of "old lady" books in which she swallows: a shell, a chick, some snow, and a bat. We also read:
There was an old lady who swallowed Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold
I Know a Shy Fellow Who Swallowed a Cello by Barbara Garriel
There was a Coyote Who Swallowed a Flea by Jennifer Ward
I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson
There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Trout by Teri Slout

With the book involving the Cello, we made a list of the instruments that the shy fellow swallowed and put them in their correct family in the orchestra: woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings. Mrs. Kinion was proud of us!
Who knew there were so many "old lady" books!!

FIELD DAY 2009

We had a great time at field day this year! After an all-school hot dog lunch, we did our class cheer. Then we played tug of war, a sack race, obstacle course, Ga-Ga, fireman's relay, and water balloon toss. We had a hula-hoop contest and danced with a D.J. The children were very good sports and had so much fun!

Reading Workshop

This is a video of reading workshop. Reading workshop has a mini-lesson, independent reading, and then buddy reading. Children read from just right books. The mini-lesson focuses on reading skills and strategies.

Ms. Wolf's Marine Corp Marrathon!

This is Ms. Wolf's mother - letting you know that Sara has successfully completed the Marine Corp Marrathon in Washington D.C.! We are all so proud of her and she can't wait to get back to school on Tuesday to show you all her beautiful medal!

Ms. Wolf's Birthday

The children had a birthday surprise for me yesterday! They gave me a card, a picture in an adorable frame, and we had a treat. They helped make it a special birthday!

Field Trip

We went on a field trip to Main Street Theatre! The first graders enjoyed a wonderful performance of Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type. We were very well behaved and a wonderful audience. There was singing, dancing and a great interpretation of the book by Doreen Cronin.

First Grade Fall Sukkot Party

First grade had a Fall Sukkot party today! We had 8 stations and rotated through them all morning. The kids enjoyed leaf painting, making a leaf man, an apple math game, and shaking the lulav and etrog. We also made a Sukkah out of grahams, cream cheese, and dried fruit. We tasted 3 kinds of juice and made a juice graph. We had a great time!

A special thanks to our room mom's and parent volunteers who made our party possible!

Creature Features

Creature Features: The children were given grid paper and colored square tiles. They had to use 15 tiles to create a creature. Then they colored in the tiles with the matching color. They were then given a sheet on which they had to name their creature, write the number of each color tile they used, and write a description of their creature. At that point, groups got together and put all of the creatures in the center. Each child in turn read the description of the creature and the others had to choose which one matched it. This activity teaches spatial visualization, following directions, counting, comparing, deductive reasoning, and writing descriptions. The children has fun using their imaginations!

Literacy Workstations Video

Tashlich

Mrs. Picus helped us with Tashlich for Yom Kippur! We wrote down our bad habits or actions with washable marker and washed them away in the water. We thought about how we can be better in the new year. Shanah Tovah!

Audio Books in the Listening Center

Making words at the ABC Center

Motivated Readers

My greatest goal for this year is to create motivated readers in your children so they become lifelong readers. I want the children to turn to reading for relaxation, to learn something new, to seek out information, and to research an interesting subject. I want the children to see that reading is something that adults do for these very reasons. A child is motivated to become a lifelong reader when they see a love for reading modeled by the adults in their lives. Your child will love reading when they see you reading for personal enjoyment. Your child will love reading when they see you shopping for books in the bookstore. Your child will love reading when they see you reading pamphlets, magazines, newspapers, and even the internet. Your child will love reading when they see you researching a topic or a city you intend to go to on vacation. So on that note, Ms. Wolf loves to read nonfiction books about American History, souvenir books from places I've visited, and mysteries! It goes without saying that I love children's books the most! I could spend hours in the children's section of the book store. My favorite book is Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley. What do you like to read? What is your favorite book? I welcome your posts and comments!