We had so much fun in first grade this year! Playformance was the perfect way to celebrate. Thanks to everyone for the support from home and for making this year so great. Happy Summer! Take time to rest and recharge (and don’t forget to read.) Come by for a visit in August.
Second grade, here we come! 🙂
I
We spent this week in outer space! We learned about the sun, moon, stars and all of the planets. One week was hardly enough to cover all of this interesting information. The kids had so many great questions, we may have some future astronauts in class! We wrote about “if we went to space”, we learned the order of the planets, and even made a spinning model that shows us how the Earth, moon and sun revolve around each other.
This past week we also saw a lot of “lasts” in first grade; last spelling and math test, last homework, last DOL. We had our step-up days, too. We got to visit the 2nd grade classrooms and learn a little bit about what school will look like next year. Then we got to be the big kids with a visit from the kindergartners to hear all about 1st grade. A bittersweet time; we are so excited to be 2nd graders but are not ready to say goodbye to 1st grade.
Shout out to Ms. Scovil for the incredible art show! The students art work was beautifully displayed and it was so fun to see all their hard work this year! Be on the lookout for all of the masterpieces to come home next week.
Next week will be full of celebrating all of our hard work this year (and a little cleaning and organizing)
Here are some important dates to keep in mind for next week:
Monday- we will have a visit from the fire truck at 2:00. Make sure kids bring a change of clothes and a towel.
Wednesday – Class party at Playformance. We will leave school around 9:15, parent drivers needed and all parents are welcome to join us! Lunch will be provided and we will eat at Playformance.
Thursday – last day of school. 11:50 dismissal and there will be NO AFTERCARE
We sure had fun this week thinking about our moms (and dads, too!). We read stories about families, wrote about our moms and dads and put a little extra love into our art/writing projects. We sure hope they made your day special.
In math, we’ve been working on subtraction with regrouping and really locking down our time to the half hour. We’ve been practicing the subtraction work in class all week, and will begin sending it home for homework next week so please let us know if your child is struggling in any way. They are doing really well in class so we’re hoping for a smooth transition!
Of course, we ended the week with our fabulous Fine Arts performance. Mrs. S. was our guide for this darling show to celebrate children’s songs from around the world. The kids were so excited and did such a good job!
Next week we’ll be studying the work of author, Mo Willems. We can hardly wait to read all the Elephant & Piggie, Pigeon, and Knuffle Bunny books. We’ll also be practicing our subtraction with regrouping. A reminder that Wednesday is a half day with 11:50 dismissal.. Happy Mother’s Day!
Dates to Remember: 5/11-Half Day (11:50 dismissal)-Teacher In-Service; 5/13-5/15-School Musical-“FROZEN”; 5/20-Art Expo; 5/25-1st grade end of year party at Playformance; 5/26 Last Day of School-noon dismissal
It was a fun week in first grade–we studied insects AND got to go see the symphony! 🙂
We kicked off the week by talking about insects and what makes them different from spiders and other critters. We read nonfiction books about insects, ladybugs, bees, and butterflies. We even watched a video about monarch butterflies migrating–so beautiful! We made our own little ladybug contraction crafts, taste tested some products made with honey (yummy!) and wrote facts about bees. We also did some opinion writing on whether it is okay to step on ants and put some art work along with them up on our line. 
Honeycomb is delicious!
We also had a wonderful time on our trip to the symphony. We were treated to lots of beautiful music that tied into the seasons. (Of course, the most exciting part may have been the bus trip, but hey! We had fun.)
Symphony, here he we come!
In math, we are working on adding and subtracting 10 from larger numbers, as well as time to the half hour. The kids are getting great at telling time–we all know when snack and lunch are! :). Hope you’re seeing that at home, as well.
Next week, we are getting ready to celebrate mom (and dad, too!). We’ll be busy working on a top-secret project so if you’re not hearing about it, that’s a good thing! We’re also getting ready for our Fine Arts presentation on Friday afternoon. We sure hope you can make it. We hope you had a wonderful weekend and tons of fun at the Dine-In movie. Happy month of May!
Dates to Remember: 5/6-Fine Arts Night-Lower School; 5/11-Half Day (11:50 dismissal)-Teacher In-Service; 5/13-5/15-School Musical-“FROZEN”; 5/20-Art Expo; 5/25-1st grade end of year party at Playformance; 5/26 Last Day of School-noon dismissal
We had a great week in first grade talking about saving energy, recycling, the Rainforest, and Earth Day! We kicked off the week reading, The Great Kapok Tree. What a wonderful book to talk about the relationships between the rainforest and all its inhabitants. We also started our work on our own rainforest pictures. Next, we read The Umbrella–another rainforest story with beautiful pictures. Next up, we read 10 things I can do to help my world and wrote why we ♥ the Earth. We finished the week by reading the Dr. Seuss favorite, The Lorax and wrote what we’d do with the last Truffula seed. You can count on us to be stewards of the Earth and we’ve already started by bringing in recycling! 🙂
Amidst all our Earth Day work, this was standardized testing week for us and we did complete our tests in both math and reading (yay!)
In math, we’ve been working on groups of 5’s and 10’s. We are counting fingers, cube towers, and ten frames to practice. We’ve also been brushing up on telling time. We are really proud of these kiddos to the half hour, and many to 15 minutes (or more!). Good work! We’ll keep that going next week to keep us sharp and add in some vocabulary (half past, etc.)
Next week, it’s all about insects! (and our field trip, and dine in movie night!). We’ll be studying (and writing about) all different types of insects including bees, ants, ladybugs and doing a little play on words with “what bugs you…” We’ll also be heading to see the Symphony on Thursday. We will be leaving at around 8:30, by bus, and returning at around 11:30. They will hold school lunches for us for that day. Please remember that all students must wear masks on the field trips per TSO rules. If you have any questions, please let us know. Also, please reserve your space for the Dine-in Movie event this Saturday at the park–a wonderful family event!
Dates to Remember: 4/28-Tucson Symphony Orchestra Field Trip (students travel by bus and MUST wear masks per TSO guidelines; 4/30-Dine-in Movie event at the park; 5/6-Fine Arts Night-Lower School; 5/11-Half Day (11:50 dismissal)-Teacher In-Service; 5/13-5/15-School Musical-“FROZEN”; 5/20-Art Expo; 5/26 Last Day of School-noon dismissal
The eggs are ready! 🙂
We had a great week in first grade–getting all set for Easter, and a nice break.
We kicked off the week reading about chicks. We did a mini-unit on adjectives and wrote about little chicks we made using describing words. We also read, The Best Easter Eggs Ever and made our own beautiful eggs along with a letter asking the Easter Bunny to choose our eggs as this year’s design. We read, The Easter Bunny’s Assistant and did a darling directed draw of a bunny and wrote notes to share the talents we have and why we might make a good assistant (that skunk had nothing on us!). We rounded out the week with our wonderful Easter Egg Hunt and enjoyed snack (thank you, Kara and Nicole!) along with the movie, Here comes Peter Cottontail. According to at least one of our students, “Best day ever!” :). Thanks so much to all the parents who could come help with hiding eggs, and helping us find them all!
We are just about read to share our Country Posters. The kids worked really hard to get them just about ready to share. Look for those out on the line when we get back from break. And, in math, we are busy graphing and making charts to count things that come in two’s, five’s, or ten’s. We’ll keep that going and add a little work on telling time to our homework mix when we get back.
When we return from break, we’ll be talking all about Earth Day, doing our Renaissance Standardized testing, showing off our work on the Country Posters, and doing lots of practice telling time. Have a wonderful break, and a very Happy Easter! We appreciate all of the support from home and are counting you as one of our many blessings this season.
Dates to Remember: 4/11-4/15-Spring Break; 4/18-4/22-Renaissance Testing Window; **4/28-Tucson Symphony Orchestra Field Trip (students travel by bus and MUST wear masks per TSO guidelines**; 4/30-Dine-in Movie event at the park; 5/6-Fine Arts Night-Lower School; 5/11-Half Day (11:50 dismissal)-Teacher In-Service; 5/13-5/15-School Musical-“FROZEN”; 5/20-Art Expo; 5/26 Last Day of School-noon dismissal
We had a great week in first grade studying Fairy Tales, graphing, and working on our Country Posters.
We kicked off the week with, The Three Little Pigs (and a few other versions of it, as well!). We wrote about who a 4th little pig might be, and what materials they’d use to build their house–we definitely learned from the other pigs! 🙂 We also read, The Little Red Hen and wrote about whether or not she should or should not share with the other animals–surprising results! We read, Cinderella and thought about what it would be like to have a Fairy Godmother. We also read Jack and the Beanstalk and did some ordering to retell the story as well as writing about if we would climb the beanstalk. We finished the week with The Three Billy Goats Gruff, and did a character/setting page. Here are some scenes from the classroom as we read Fairy Tales, and share our stories with each other. ♥
On Friday, of course, we added a little April’s fools fun with some brown E’s (and brownies!). We also worked a lot on our country posters. The kids are becoming really interested in their countries–what they look like, where they are, and everything else we can learn. It’s lots of work, but really showcases our learning.
In Math, we are finishing our graphing unit, and will be moving on to place value in our book which should be an easy transition with all the pre-work we’ve done. Yay! We are doing lots of work with money, as well (as you’ve seen.). Great work 1st graders!
Next week we’ll be reading about, writing about, and making art work about Easter! From jelly beans to eggs, and chicks to bunnies, it’s going to be a really fun week. We’ll cap it off with our egg hunt on Friday afternoon, so please join us if you can. Egg hunt starts at around 2:00 p.m.
Finally, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who was part of making the garden memorial for my son, Geoffrey, a reality. It was finished on Friday and is absolutely amazing. We are humbled and so grateful as a family to have something so beautiful exist in memory of our son. Please take time to enjoy it and know that we are touched by the love and beauty sent our way.
Dates to Remember: 4/8-Easter Egg Hunt-2:00 p.m.; 4/11-4/15-Spring Break; 4/18-4/22-Renaissance Testing Window; 4/30-Dine-in Movie event at the park; 5/6-Fine Arts Night-Lower School; 5/11-Half Day (11:50 dismissal)-Teacher In-Service; 5/13-5/15-School Musical-“FROZEN”; 5/20-Art Expo; 5/26 Last Day of School-noon dismissal
We had a great week in first grade studying author Kevin Henkes and kicking off our work on our Country Posters.
We started the week with the story, Chrysanthemum. We talked and wrote about our names, and why they’re special. We also read, Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, and wrote about how Lilly changed during the story–characters do that! We read, Wemberley Worried, about a little mouse who worried about everything and what helped her feel better. We even re-told what she worried about and wrote about things that make us worry. We finished the week with the story, A Weekend with Wendell, (who wasn’t a very good guest!) and wrote about our top 10 must have items for a sleepover. Lots of great stories and connections!
We also started working on our Country Posters. The students picked their top 3 favorite countries to study and we did our very best to oblige them and have them study those countries. Everyone seems happy now and we have started learning about our countries and transferring the information to our BIG posters. There’s lots to learn and lots to read, so we will continue our study into next week. (*one of our kiddos even brought in something native to their country–the Rhinocerous beetle of Peru!) Take a look: Thanks, Quinn! 🙂
In math, we are busy graphing all kinds of things–including surveys of our own! The kids did a great job coming up with questions like, “Would you rather eat cake or ice cream? (tough question!) and “Can you tie your shoes?” We are figuring out lots of ways to read graphs and to use math vocabulary to share what we “notice” about them as we go.
Next week, we’ll continue our work on our country posters and in Language Arts, we’ll be studying Fairy Tales! This is a fun little unit and we are excited to read some of the classics as well as a few new twists on old stories! 🙂 Enjoy your week!
Dates to remember: 4/8-Easter Egg Hunt; 4/11-4/15-Spring Break; 4/18-4/22-Renaissance Testing Window; 4/30-Dine-in Movie event at the park; 5/6-Fine Arts Night-Lower School; 5/11-Half Day (11:50 dismissal)-Teacher In-Service; 5/13-5/15-School Musical-“FROZEN”; 5/20-Art Expo; 5/26 Last Day of School-noon dismissal
We had a fun week preparing for St. Patrick’s Day, and studying rainbows, too! ♣
We kicked off the week with some color mixing after reading the books, Little Blue and Little Yellow and Mouse Paint and talked about primary and secondary colors. We read lots of St. Patrick’s Day books and wrote about why we are “lucky.” We also wrote about what we’d do if we found a pot of gold and made some lovely watercolor rainbows as well as some cute little leprechauns. Look for those outside on our line tomorrow! We learned that rainbows are actually full circles and watched some videos of what they look like from an airplane.
On St. Patrick’s Day, we entered our classroom to a mess–those pesky leprechauns got us again. But, after searching for gold coins on the playground, we were rewarded with a special treat. (maybe they’re not so bad after all?!). We also got to do some graphing with Lucky Charms that day–a delicious assignment. 🙂
In math, we were busy this week with Math Mystery. This had us doing all kinds of math like, identifying 2-D and 3-D shapes, ordering numbers up to 3-digits, and equations with a sum or difference of 40. We are also working in our book on graphing. It’s a fun unit with lots of surveys.
Next week, we’ll be starting a BIG project in first grade, our country reports!! We will be selecting a country to study for the next two weeks, and learning all about their flag, where it is in the world, the country’s leader, and even some of their holidays. This takes time, but the kids are excited to show what they know about their respective countries. We will also doing an author study of Kevin Henkes. We look forward to reading some of his wonderful books.
Have a great week!
Dates to remember: 4/8-Easter Egg Hunt; 4/11-4/15-Spring Break; 4/30-Dine-in Movie event at the park! Join us!
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