Monday, September 16, 2013

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
 

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

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

Thursday, September 5, 2013

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