Fun in First

We were excited to bring our Food Drive to life this week with our field trip to the Atlanta Community Food Bank.  We enjoyed a tour at the Food Bank on Wednesday and learned all about where the donated food is stored and organized.  We even saw something called a “Digestor” that can turn the food into water to be disposed of.  Finally, we concluded our Field Trip by decorating cards for the ACFB donors.  These cards will be sent to many of the generous donors who have given so much to the ACFB.  Thank you so much to our parent drivers, Courtenay Gabriel, Lacy Hernandez, Sara Abercrombie, and Harold Hudson.

One of the most important skills we teach the children is working together to accomplish a goal. This week, the children demonstrated this in a variety of ways.

On Valentine’s Day, the boys and girls were delighted to create Valentine cards with their third grade buddies for members of the Trinity community. The 1st graders and their buddies made flowers, hearts, and butterflies using pattern block shapes to complement their heartfelt messages. It was wonderful observing the boys and girls come up with ideas, making compromises, and then bringing them to life. The children felt a sense of pride in working together to spread smiles around our school. Our wonderful moms, Penny, Amy, and Courtenay worked together to coordinate a fantastic Valentine’s party for the boys and girls. The children enjoyed making sundaes, playing Bingo, and creating a craft. Thank you, Moms, for all of your hard work!

Last week, our student teacher, Miss Heath, led the children through each step of the process including brainstorming, outlining, drafting, editing, and peer conferencing. It was during the peer conferencing that we noticed another example of the strength in having the children work together. After being paired with a classmate and with a marker in hand, the children worked together to edit each other’s piece of writing. They took turns listening, checking for capitalization and punctuation, and praising each other. The room was abuzz with a sense that the children were engaged in important and relevant work. We were so proud of their hard work and their persistence throughout this process. During our publishing party, each child was given the opportunity to read their writing in the “Author’s Chair.” As a part of the celebration, Miss Heath provided sparkling grape juice, as we toasted their wonderful work.

Throughout the week, we continued to see the children working together with a purpose in mind. At recess, the children worked together in Discovery Woods to build a structure. During free choice time in the morning, the children worked together to build a “castle” for Brownie. While this may seem like just child’s play, we observed many important life skills in this effort, including problem solving, questioning, cooperation, leadership, and compromising.

As a Washington/Wilson class community, we are working together to collect food to provide for those who are less fortunate. Thank you to those who have already donated food and money to this truly worthy cause. Thank you in advance to all for your generosity.

Throughout the year, we continue to work together to ensure that we help each student reach their potential. We look forward to working together to make the second half of the year a happy, successful, and memorable one.

We have all enjoyed this beautiful, sunny weather this week!  What a treat to have weather like this in the middle of February!

Reminders

-Our Food Drive begins on Friday, February 10th.  Please send cans and non-perishable items to school.  There will be a bin outside of our classroom.  Stay tuned for a special silent auction item next week!

-Please send in a Valentine for every child in our class.  Valentine’s will be distributed on Tuesday, February 14th.

Phonics

We introduced vowel teams this week and all practiced the poem “When two vowels go walking the first one does the talking”.  This poem helps the students remember that when two vowels are paired together, only the first one makes it’s long sound.  We had students act the poem out and got many giggles as they walked hand-in-hand around the classroom with only the first student saying the vowel sound.  After learning about the /ea/ and /ee/ vowel teams, we got into a lively discussion about homophones.  We talked about words like deer and dear and how they are spelled differently but make the same sound.  We then played a game where each child was given a card and asked to find his homophone partner.  The students enjoyed seeing the wide variety of homophones in our language and then made up silly sentences using their homophones.

Visiting Author

On Wednesday, we had a special visit from Julie Jones Guerry, author of the children’s book The Rossman.   She read us the story and told us all about the inspiring life of her dog.  This special book is for sale in the Artists Market.

Living Museum

Students loved seeing our third grade buddy class in their Living Museum on Thursday.  The third grade buddies each chose a historical figure to research and highlight.

Many children wanted to write a Newsbook entry about this exciting week. Unfortunately, we were not able to do so on Thursday. So here is a summary of our week. This has been a week chock-full of  memorable events for our First Graders. We celebrated Miss Amanda’s birthday, enjoyed spending quality time during Dad’s Day, and finding fun ways to celebrate the 100th day of school!

Throughout the year we have focused on different ways to affirm each other, as our classroom is a “home away from home.” This was especially true on Monday, as we celebrated Miss Amanda’s birthday. The children were so pleased to bring in a special treat to create a basket of healthy snacks for her. Also, the homemade cards were such so special and warmed Miss Amanda’s heart. A big thank you to all for making Miss Amanda’s birthday so special, particularly Mary Beth, Kate, Kristy, and Penny.

On Tuesday, we loved spending the morning with the Dads. The room was abuzz with excitement! The children played games, read books, enjoyed the portraits and poems about the dads, and shared work that we have done throughout the year. It was wonderful to see the dads and their children working side by side to make a creation out of ribbons, toothpicks, a cup, balloons, rubber bands, and paper clips.  The ideas were wonderful-We saw creations from hot air balloons, to aliens, to party machines! We truly appreciate everyone who made this day such a huge success, especially Mary Beth, Kate, Susan R., Linda, and Kristy.

As we reflect on this first 100 days of school, it is truly amazing the growth that we have seen in our students.  For example, in 100 days, the children have progressed in their reading abilities, have become better writers, learned about the human body, beginning to tell time, count a mixed group of coins…the list is endless. With each year, we are amazed at the children’s capacity to learn and look forward to the next 80 days of school.

We also had a visitor from Georgia Tech that spoke about the brain. The children loved doing an experiment with Starbursts to highlight how your senses effect the sense of taste. Be sure to ask them about it.

We hope you have a great weekend!

We have had an eventful and exciting week in First Grade!  On Tuesday, the students loved presenting their “Human Body Assembly” for you and the whole school.  We hope you enjoyed our class’s segment, Fitness for Fun.  The students worked very hard researching facts about exercise and we were proud of each child for the poise and confidence they showed.  What a wonderful way to start our week!

Phonics

We are so proud with the inventive spelling that each child is using in his writing.  We continue to encourage the children to “write the sounds they hear” and it is such fun to see the words looking more and more like the “real”  spellings.  The children have been experimenting with contractions in their writing and so we started the week off with a lesson called “Contraction Action”.  This fun song is sung to the tune of the Hokey-Pokey and explains how letters are popped out to put apostrophes in.  The students have been working hard in their centers this week to practice using contractions.  Ask your child to sing the “Contraction Action” to you at home!

Science

On Wednesday, we had a special visit from Arjun Srinivasan, who has two students at Trinity.  He is a doctor at the CDC and presented an exciting program all about his work with germs and infectious diseases.  A highlight of the program was when Dr. Srinivasan showed us the special suit some of the doctors at the CDC have to wear to protect themselves from various diseases. Kate had a chance to put on the suit.  Please see the pictures on our website of this exciting opportunity!

We also had a chance to add the important parts of the respiratory system to our bodies this week.  Students added the lungs, trachea, and diaphragm to their bodies.  Throughout this unit, the students have truly gained an understanding of what it means to work in a cooperative group.  We are amazed at the growth we have seen in working as a “team” while building their bodes.  Please visit the bulletin board outside of our classroom to see our nearly completed bodies!

Birthday

On Wednesday, we celebrated Harrison’s birthday!  We all enjoyed the delicious donuts that he brought in to celebrate!  Happy Birthday, Harrison!

100th Day of School!

As you know, the 100th day of school is on Wednesday, February 1st.  Please don’t forget to work with your child to decorate a shirt with “100″ of something on it.  Please also send in your assigned item for our 100 day mix.  The children are very excited about this event!

Wow, we have had an amazing start to the New Year! Since our return to school, we have declared our resolutions, engaged in deep discussions regarding Martin Luther King’s dream, and learned about the respiratory system! During Doctor Day and we had a special visit from Dr. Perlstein a neurologist, Dr.  Petro a cardiologist,  and Ms. Em’s chiropractor who shared important facts about their areas of expertise in the medical field. But, the biggest news was the announcement that Ms. Amanda is having a baby! We are so happy for her and look forward to learning whether she will be having a boy or a girl.

CELEBRATIONS:

Happy birthday to Sam! The birthday boy was all smiles as his classmates sang to him. He also brought in yummy brownies to celebrate!

COMING UP!

The students are  very excited to present all that they have learned in Tuesday’s assembly about the Human Body. Please remember to send your child to school in workout gear. Please be creative! Sweatbands and knee highs are perfect accessories!

On Wednesday, Dr. Srinivasan, a former First Grade parent , and current Second Grade and Kindergarten father, will present information on infectious diseases. Last year, he was the highlight of Doctor Day and we just had to invite him back!

IN THE CLASSROOM:

In Math, the students are learning to tell time to the quarter hour. We have also started the number scrolls. This practice aids the children in understanding place value and helps with practicing the correct formation of the numbers. We have been with how enthusiastic the children have been about this new activity!

In Phonics, we introduced the FLOSS rule, which states that in a one syllable word, with one short vowel, ending f, l, s, and sometimes z, you double the final consonant. For example, the words puff, hill, chess, and buzz follow this rule. The students enjoyed learning this rule, and reciting it as a cheer and football huddle chant. Be sure to ask your child about it! We have also introduced contractions.

In Social Studies, we continue our study of the human body and have learned about the respiratory system. The boys and girls have impressed us with their wealth of knowledge!

We have had an exciting week preparing for all of the holiday fun! The children loved making reindeer antlers, decorating gingerbread houses, creating a personal toy soldier, and making special holiday gifts for you! To top off the holiday cheer each student was assigned lines from the beloved poem by Clement Moore, The Night Before Christmas. The children practiced their lines and drew wonderfully detailed pictures to accompany their lines.   Please click  below to enjoy this holiday Photo Story. Happy Holidays!

We wish you all a happy, safe, and wonderful holiday season!  We look forward to seeing your wonderful children in 2012!

Social Studies-

This week the children discovered the different parts of their nervous system. They delighted in learning new facts. They particularly enjoyed learning that the right side of the brain controls the left side of our body, while the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body. Working in cooperative groups the children used tinfoil to create the spinal cord and bubble wrap to represent the brain. It is wonderful to see the children connect the information they are learning with their everyday world. Be sure to ask your child about all the great things they are learning about the human body!

Science-

In Science class the children happily welcomed Ms. Anna back to school! They had a blast learning about germs and even participated in an experiment where they are growing germs! What will the children discover? We will have to wait and see!

Math-

In math class the children discovered that they can learn information quickly by using a graph. They had a great time using the Active-Inspire voting remotes to graph information about each other. As we begin Unit 4, the children will work with linear measures and review and extend their use of thermometers and clocks. We will continue the important work of achieving “automaticity” of basic addition facts.

Santa Visit

One of the most special Trinity traditions is the Santa visit. This week the children listened intently to Santa read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. After reading the story each child had the special opportunity to sit on Santa’s lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. If that was not a treat itself, each child then received a yummy Christmas sugar cookie!

Guest Reader-

Thank you to Mrs. Hernandez for reading to our class. The children loved the stories she read. She read wonderful books like The Last Straw, The Giving Tree, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Library Lion! We truly enjoyed having Virginia’s mom and little sitter as our special guests!

We have officially begun the month of December and our class is definitely in the holiday spirit!  We kicked the month of December off with many impromptu Christmas carols and even a line of Rockette-like dancers.  The children have also had great fun decorating Brownie’s cage for the season.  The even made some mistletoe to hang from the top of his cage.  On Friday, we were treated to the 5th Grade production of the Nutcracker.  It is always a great way to get in the holiday spirit.  We are looking forward to a fun-filled and exciting season ahead!  Please read below to hear all that we have been up to this week.

Phonics

We are concluding our study of beginning blends.  The students have loved brainstorming words for each of the different blends we have studied. We are proud that we are seeing the students use more and more blends in their writing.  We all had fun playing “Sparkle” today to review words with beginning blends.  Please ask your child about this fun game that we love to play.   Next week we will conclude our blend study with a look at ending blends.

Math

We are nearing the end of Unit 3 in Math.  We have spent the past few days introducing the students to dollars-and-cent notation as well as counting a mixed group of coins.  The students are practicing making exchanges for coins and showing the fewest number of coins for a given amount.  Please continue to practice counting a mixed group of coins at home.

Science

We have many budding doctors and scientists in our class!  The students are all incredibly enthusiastic about our human body unit.  We had a special visit on Monday from the famous Slim Goodbody.  He sang songs and taught us all about our amazing bodies!  Ask your child about some of the interesting facts he/she learned from Slim.   This week we have focused on the Muscular System.  The students have learned all about the biceps, triceps, quadriceps, and more!  They have learned that bones and muscles work together to allow us to move.  On Thursday, we worked in cooperative groups to add the muscles to our ever-growing bodies.  Please visit the bulletin board outside of our classroom to watch these bodies grow!  Next week we will study the nervous system.

We hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

We would like to thank you for the conversations that we had on Tuesday and Wednesday. We truly feel like we are in a partnership with each of you, which allows us to teach your children more effectively. Through our conversations and with the reports as a guide we were able to probe more deeply to find more specific ways to personalize the learning experience for each of our students.

Thank you for working together with us in ensuring a successful and happy First Grade year for the boys and girls.

Social Studies

This week we read books to help us build our knowledge of the skeletal system. The children loved learning the names of the major bones, how many bones are in the body, and what they are made of. We brought in the skeleton, affectionately named “Mr. Bob Bones”,  from the Science Lab. We had fun labeling the different bones on a Mr. Bones.

The children also enjoyed a visit from Mrs. Verlander. She also brought in model of a skeleton to aid in a wonderful game that she and Harrison prepared for the class. While we have learned so much from our lessons in class, Mrs. Verlander also shared many interesting facts with us. Thank you to Harrison and his mom for a wonderful presentation!

Looking Ahead

• We will continue to practice telling time to the hour and half hour, as well practice our addition facts to sums of 12.
• Please remember to send your child in to school with blue jeans and a brown shirt for the Thanksgiving Program. The program will be on Tuesday, November 22nd at 9:30.
• Dismissal is at 11:00 on Tuesday, November 22.