Sunday, September 29, 2013

A Little Fun with Star Books!

Students had a little extra fun with one of our "Star Books" (familiar favorite stories)titled, Harry the Dirty Dog. This story is all about a little dog who runs away from home and goes all around the town. He gets really dirty and when he arrives back at home, his owners do not recognize him. The students had some fun painting their dogs with spots and a little extra "dirt/mud."

Literacy Centers

Students were so excited to get their hands on the different literacy centers that they learned about the week before. They don't even realize that behind all of the fun they are having, they are practicing skills and learning!! Students rotate to a different center each day. The literacy centers that they participated in are: lowercase abc bingo, reading around the room (with pointers), big books (with partners), rhyming bingo, rhyming puzzles, and star names.

Teacher of the Year

We were so excited to hear that Mrs. Snead, our art teacher was announced as our Teacher of the Year! She is so deserving of this honor! As a great coincidence, our class had art as our scheduled resource the same day that she was announced as our school teacher of the year. So we dressed her up a bit and made a sign for her.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Students have been so busy learning their letters, sounds, and numbers. Here are a few pictures of some activities from the past two weeks that students have been practicing and doing. Students practiced sorting shapes (pattern blocks) by different attributes. They also used these pattern blocks to make different "shape animals." When they completed their "shape animal," they had to try to name the shapes they used and describe them with their attributes. We also played a game in which we called out an attribute, such as "a shape with four sides" and students had to find a shape that fit that description and hold it up. They loved these hands-on activities!
Students also practiced writing their numbers during Math Choice Time.
Students really enjoyed sharing their homework bags that they filled with objects that represented the first sound in their name.
Students worked on identifying the main character in the books that they were "reading."
Lastly, students worked on retelling story elements for Goldilocks and the Three Bears by cutting and gluing the bowls, chairs, and beds in order.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Open House

Wow! What an amazing turn out for Open House. We had so many parents attend and we are very grateful for that. Students had a great time showing off all of their rituals, routines, and hard work! We went through a mini version of our day. Ask your child what his/her favorite part of Open House was and leave us a comment about it. You can also tell us your favorite part of Open House too! Thanks again to all of the families who were able to attend. Below are a few pictures of students "reading" to their parents and explaining their math journals.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Math Games

Students worked together in math pairs to play the game "Roll and Record." Students were given a recording sheet and a die. They took turns rolling the die. Whatever number the die landed on, the student identified the number and recorded the number on their sheet in the correct number column. Some students were able to quickly identify the number of dots on the die and others had to count the dots. On the recording sheet, some students were able to recognize the numbers and others needed help finding the correct number. Math games are a great way for students to work together, and also learn and practice skills in a fun, hands-on approach. Students will play many different games throughout the school year. These games also allow for challenging all of the different level of learners.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Remembering and honoring the Heroes of 9/11

It is very important to teach kids about events in history, both the good and bad. Yesterday we read the book, titled: September 12th, We knew everything would be all right!
We talked about the amazing heroes of 9/11-police officers, firefighters, first responders, and everyday men and women. We also talked about how thankful we are for our military men and women who protect our country and keep us safe. Students colored their own American flag and we painted a class American flag with their handprints!