Our First Fabulous Full Week in First!

We are having a BLAST!
Your children are wonderful!

This week the kids have finished up telling us their favorite activities from the summer. "Our Cool Slices of Summer" bulletin board is now complete. Please come in to take a look. Your children are quite the artists.

We have also started our first full week of a routine for our morning work. The routine looks like this:

My Thoughts Are In My Journal Monday
Together We Fix It Tuesday
What I Know about Math Wednesday
Thinking About Spelling Thursday
Fabulous End To The Week Friday

On Mondays your child will complete a journal entry. On Tuesdays he/she will read a sentence(s)-correct the sentence-illustrate the sentence-have a friend check their sentence. Wednesdays will be a review of the math concept we are covering for the week. Once spelling tests begin, your child will review their spelling words on Thursdays mornings; until then we are using our word wall, freinds names and our Writing Words Book for some sight word review. Friday mornings will be something fun and different for your child to celebrate a fabulous end to our week!

Our journal entry this week: The best thing about first grade so far is __________!

Monday morning we reviewed our CLASSROOM EXPECTATION CONTRACT that we had created the previous Friday. We also introduced our new behavior system, THE CLASSROOM LADDER,  that we use within our classroom.  A note should have come home to you on Monday regarding this system. We love the ladder because it has a major positive component to it. 

Ms. Lorfing reviews the classroom contract before the children sign it!

Please take a look at the pictures below. They include our mornings of literacy learning. Your children have completed a Time Capsule which lists some of their favorite things, what they are excited to learn in first grade and 3 goals they have for themselves this year. We will collect their time capsules and hide them away until the end of the year. They have also illustrated their very own classroom book! After reading The Night Before First Grade, the students shared how they felt the night before coming to first grade and illustrated their sentence. We brought in the iPads on Thursday and introduced the logical thinking app-FLOW.  You should have seen their brains working. They have participated in a Handwriting Without Tears (for those of you who are new, this is the program we use to teach handwriting) lesson and are now familiar with the first grade level workbook. They have also completed a guided lesson and become familiar with their new phonics book! We have been very busy and your children are moving right along.

Mrs. Waller hides all 21 TIME CAPSULES! The children voted on the best hiding spot after several suggestions!

Our first classroom book!

SELF PORTRAITS.....a fun beginning of the year activity!

Handwriting Without Tears

Ms. Lorfing guides a small group through the first pages of their phonics books.

An intro to the iPads...FLOW, an app that encourages logical thinking!

In social studies Ms. Lorfing introduced the children to Sean Covey's Seven Habits of Happy Children.  We will incorporate the seven habits throughout the year. Habit #1: Be Proactive/You're In Charge. We also use The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown (author of Good Night Moon) to talk about the importance of each and everyone of us as individuals.  The students are making a classroom IMPORTANT book. Each child will write and illustrate a page that talks about all the reasons they are important. ........

Evan reads his page from the classroom IMPORTANT BOOK!

In math this week, we completed a review of repeating patterns and have also introduced growing patterns. The were given manipulatives to create many different patterns this week. Mrs. Waller read Stuart J. Murphy's book, BEEP BEEP, VROOM VROOM! for a review of this concept. Rooster's Off To See The World by Eric Carle, was also used to help children understand the concept of a growing pattern.  We will use literature in math and social studies often. This helps the children make connections to their own world and help cement future connections as well.

Mrs. Waller also introduced NUMBER CORNER to the children. Every day we use the date to create equations. For example, if the date is the 20th...then all equations must equal 20. We also used the number 20 to explore place value, tallies, ten frames, odd/even, skip counting, etc....it is  great way to enhance your child's number sense.

David's job this week: NUMBER CORNER

David is showing us the number 18 on the abacus!

Look closely at our equations...and it's only the first week of school!

Joshua recreates a pattern from our book!

Raquel and Page have conquered the concept of a repeating pattern!

Asa finishes his repeating pattern.....

Lila and Abby work collaboratively to create their very own pattern with dominoes!

Look closely, Maddie and Elianna have created a growing pattern....wow!

Evan and Julian were very proud of their growing pattern!

LEGOS....a growing pattern!

Finley helps complete out growing pattern from Rooster's Off To See the World!

Above the students use a recording sheet to record their answers as they decide if the patterns are repeating or growing.

We are constantly assessing your children as we monitor the collaborative work taking place in the classroom. The children do not know it.....but they are being assessed, even in the first week of school. 

Speaking of assessments, we do not take many formal tests in first grade, but will on occasion and we do have our weekly spelling tests that will begin early October. The kids always love to create their very own SPY CAVES! We pulled them out today and let them get to work....CREATIVE BRILLIANCE!

Page, David, and Maddie practice using their SPY CAVES!

ARTISTS, hard at work!

The children visited the computer lab for the first time today.  Ms. Lorfing and Miss O'Connor introduced the kids to ABCya.com and they played MOON PATTERNS and COUNTING FISH.  Computer Lab is tool we use to reinforce concepts that are being taught in our classroom. 

Hands-On  Science was explosive!  What happens when gas builds up inside a small space? Ask your children all about it! We had a BLAST!

Patience.....

POP!

                                HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALEX!

We are so happy you are here with us at St. Paul's!

                                                       REMINDERS

• Lower School curriculum night is Thursday, August 28th at 6:30pm.
• No school Monday, September 2nd-LABOR DAY
• Please continue to help your child remember to wear the appropriate shoes for P.E. days: Tuesdays and Fridays
• Also continue to help encourage your child to bring a snack every day. We appreciate it!

Thank you for returning your questionnaires about your children so promptly. This really helps us as we get to know your child.

We have had a great week! We hope you have a great weekend and enjoy your time with these AMAZING children. See you back here on Monday!

Love,
Sara and Carey