Math Centers

On Friday, the Firsts had a chance to experience some math centers.  The students had a blast working with calculators, finding a mystery number, working with numbers one more and one less, and adding with watermelon math.  Some tasks were more simple, but we worked hard on using complete sentences and good math vocabulary when they found an answer. 

This is a little peek into our Friday!  Have a great week. 
Cheers,
Mrs. Sienknecht

 

School Rules and Worries?!

This year, we will be studying one Caldecott book each month and doing some activities related to the books.  One Caldecott medal is given each year to an outstanding illustrator of a picture book. Our first book is Officer Buckle and Gloria.  It's about a wonderful relationship between a dog and police officer surrounding safety rules.

 

Then, during our buddy time, the students each thought of a safety rule to write down and illustrate.  Here's an example.

I absolutely LOVE their creativity and out of the box thinking!

We also discussed our worries when we read Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes.  We brainstormed our own worries on a circle chart, then the kids illustrated themselves looking worried.

AMAZING, huh?  Yes, first graders grow up quickly and have wonderful abilities!  I am so super impressed with all their hard work.

Cheers,
Mrs. Sienknecht

Using Your Resources!

Well, it's Thursday, so we did a lot of learning today!  First of all, the Firsts did a pretty good job turning in their first homework assignment.  Just a little reminder that your child should bring the homework folder WITH the homework in it every day to school.

On to the day...we spent the morning learning how to properly write tally marks by doing a Listen and Tally Activity; Dice, Roll, Tally game in our journals, and graphing with tallies.  Here's what we found out about the Firsts and what pets they own.

Our next project included using our resources and learning to research information to write a class book!  Sounds so advanced, huh?  Well, the Firsts learned to look in ABC books to gather information about what pictures they could draw for a class ABC book.  They were very focused and serious about their research assignment.  They did a wonderful job illustrating their pages, and some Firsts even referred back to the books for more ideas.  I'm so proud of their first project.


Research books



Class ABC Book

Thanks for letting me share about our productive day!  Hope this message finds you all well.  Have a great evening, and we'll see you all Friday!

Cheers,
Mrs. Sienknecht

Explorations!

Each unit of our math curriculum (Everyday Math), there is an Explorations lesson.  In this lesson, the students use math are introduced to a variety of math tools that they will learn to use in the unit or some time this year.  This allows them time to experiment and have free time to discover what is the purpose of the tool.  And, they have fun, too.



Linker Cubes

Base Ten Blocks

Geoboards

The firsts had a blast visiting all the centers and trying out the new tools.  Next job, learn how to use them in math!

Reminder:  Back-to-School Night is scheduled for Tuesday, September 3rd!

Cheers,
Mrs. Sienknecht

Just a Little Test...

I haven't posted here for awhile...Learning new tricks has not been easy for me in the area of technology.  So, let's give the blog another chance.  I'd love for this to be a place where my parents can get a window into Room 12.  My lovely little firsts sometimes have some difficulty bringing home details about their day.  Their brains swim with all sorts of thing and yet, nothing comes out of their mouths except, "I don't remember," or "I don't know." (I have personal experience with this as I have a first of my own this year.)
I will try my best to give you a little glimpse this year.  Hold on to your computers...it's going to be an exciting and fun filled year.  I can feel it in my toes!

Catch you soon,
Mrs. Sienknecht