and we now say ....

Its been a great year .... and now its over. Enjoy this video ... it will give you a good feeling and it is a special reminder for all of us to view every day of life knowing that each morning is a beautiful gift. Looking at these sweet faces, how could anyone doubt that?!

Have a great summer!

Love,

Ms. Carol and Mr. Rusty

Earth

Next week we're going to the movies to celebrate Earth Day...click on the title of this entry and watch the trailer and find out what we'll be watching....

Back in the Saddle

We all made it back after the holiday feeling a bit tired but enjoying our 133rd day of school on this cloudy day. We practiced using a new sheet for reading where children may choose of one of six questions to respond to their reading. Mrs. Leinbach introduced several new words for our word rings with the "er" sound. Later I introduced some more words to add to our word wall. We are nearly finished adding to the wall and at the moment we have 93 words!
In math we practiced reading the clock and worked on reading the clock to the quarter hour. We did some hands on practice with our classroom clock as well as working in our math journals. Tonight's homework will practice with the quarter hour too.
As we were talking this afternoon we realized that there are only 7 more weeks of school and how important it is to treasure each day.

It's been awhile...

I think with all the happenings during Famous American Week I failed to remember to write about all the happenings in our classroom. Our classroom website which Mrs. Leinbach keeps updated so well relates many of the events of last week as well as pictures and videos. Also if you haven't seen the voice thread yet please take some time to visit and respond or comment to all of our Famous Americans!
Today finds us in much cooler temperatures and there seems to be tiredness all around...although I attribute much of it to the Carolina game! We've been looking at poetry this week and introducing some wonderful poems to the class. We are enjoying Shel Silverstein's Runny Babbit a collection of poems with mixed up letters that the children enjoy listening to and figuring out. I enjoy reading it to them as well. We also read Casey at the Bat, first published in 1888, but still popular with kids today. I checked out four books today from the library based on the poem that we'll look at more closely tomorrow.
In math today we created a bunny on a graph by plotting out specific coordinates. Children listened to directions and were amazed by the figure they created at the end.
At the moment Senora Morgan is introducing more Spanish vocabulary about spring and going to restaurants to eat different foods. This Thursday we'll be going to Clemmons for a field trip at Tanglewood where we'll be tracking some wildlife! Be sure to check out Recent Happenings to see photos that will be taken on our trip!

Mr. Greedy Duck returns...

Every year first graders are introduced to our puppet friend Greedy. It seems that this greedy duck is of the kindly sort, but he always choices things that are longer, heavier, and bigger than other things. We use Greedy to introduce the ideas of more than, less than and equal to. We begin by drawing his mouth pointing to the bigger thing which leads rather easily into the abstract signs of <, >, and =.

Our rough drafts of our speeches were due today so we spent some time have children read what they had come up with so far. The most repeated suggestion was to talk louder and slower. Each year it seems that these two items appear at the top of the list each year. Also several students began working with Ms. House to create their tee-shirt designs on the computer. By Thursday they should be done and ready for parents to iron on this weekend.

Just a hop, skip, and a jump until Friday...

We enjoy making words at least once or twice a week. I give children a group of letters that they cut apart and move around to make as many words as they can. Today the letters were "i,i,g,h,n,s, and w." All the letters finally make a big word that most try and guess right away. Later we created our time line of our Famous Americans. In the hallway we placed the years on sentence trips in a very similar way that a number line reads. Along the line we've placed each Famous American as to when they were born, along with some interesting facts along the way. If you stop by the classroom please take some time to enjoy our completed timeline. Before days end we passed out our speeches and delivered them home to be completed by Monday. We also have been learning a song about the presidents that we've nearly memorized up to half-way.

Perfect day for a stroll...

With the temperature nearing 70 degrees and the sun shining just the right distance from our heads, we walked next door for a tour of the Reynolda House and Reynolda Gardens. As we continue to study Famous Americans, we thought it might be a good chance to take a peek at some Famous Americans right next door. We got to view the artwork and paintings of several artists, dress up in period clothes, and stroll through the house where the infamous Reynolds family took up residence. As usual the indoor pool, bowling alley, and shooting arcade were the places that received the highest verbal ratings! On our way back to school Mrs. Leinbach gave us a wonderful tour of the gardens. We got back in just enough time to celebrate Jackie Roses' birthday with her mom. Just yesterday we did the same for Hannah and in a few days Bobby will turn seven as well.

Our postcard project continues to increase as we received one from Maine and Mrs. Clauset graced us with one from her recent trip to Australia.

Welcome back...Famous Americans!

After a week of spring break we are back in school. Breaks are always welcomed but it sometimes takes a moment or two to get back into the routine of a normal school day. Monday began with teachers giving speeches to all first grade students in the screening room. They listened attentively as each teacher represented many different Famous Americans including Thomas Edison (Mrs. Ornelles), Grandma Moses (Mrs. Helm), Frank Lloyd Wright (Mrs. Keene), Beverly Cleary (Mrs. Clauset), and yours truly as Charles Schultz. As we regathered in our classroom we began the process of writing our own speeches using the worksheets we created a few weeks ago.
We began our unit on Presidents and began by listing some of the jobs a president must do. Later we talked about how much money they thought a president would make each year. They made predictions starting at $1000.00 to $!,000,000,000. When they learned it was closer to $400,000 they were amazed what someone could do with all that money. Now wouldn't that be a fun thing to do

Happy Spring Break!

How did spring break find us so quickly? Now that we have been in school for 113 days the time seems to just flying by.  Just this afternoon Carol mentioned how quickly the end of the year would arrive...but enough of that kind of talk...let's remember the present.  Today we began at 8:45 by heading to the Science Lab to determine the fat content level in different types of food. Due to holidays and snow days Mrs. Reynolds gave up some of her time so we could squeeze in a lesson before the break.  By (9:20 we were eating apples before boarding our bus and heading to the Little Theater to see a wonderful play about the alphabet that got thumbs up from many! Screams were heard on the playground later in the day when Max reported that our outside thermometer read 60 degrees. That is the temperature when coats are optional...and only then. It's a magic number for the class. We ended by having a sing time with Mr. Storie's third-grade-class and sang several old favorites and introduced our new president's song. I hope everyone has a wonderful break this coming week and is blessed with great safety and lots of good books and laughter. As for me I'll spend some time near Milwaukee where temps will be in the low 30's...go figure!  See you on the 16th!

What does a TRILLON dollars look like?

    To get an idea of what a trillion dollars looks like, click on the title above.  It's a wonderful visual picture for children and adults alike!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Actually March 2nd was the national Read Across America Day in honor of the birthday of Theodore Geisel, commonly known as Dr. Seuss, but we celebrated today. It seems we were having a snow day on Monday, so we finally got around celebrating today. We the day doing a word search of Seuss characters and then read one of my favorite titles Horton Hatches an Egg. Several children brought in their favorite titles to share and then we had an extended time of reading devoted to the books of this wonderful author. As I roamed the room listening to children read it was apparent how much his books are enjoyed by kids today. Some of the books I remember reading as a child that still engage them today. Afterwards Mrs. Leinbach led a wonderful project making hats from the book Cat in the Hat! Click on the title at the top to take you to a wonderful site for more information on this beloved author. It was a wonderful reading and learning time for us all.

We also made time to complete our Kevin Henkes cabinet project for the auction and I must say that it stands in a class all its own. After school Jennifer S. was working diligently putting on the final touches. For everyone who gave their time and creative energies...you are in our gratitude.

FYI

     It's just me...on a Saturday no less.  The raindrops continue to fall just enough to induce sleep as I attempt to finish my novel.  To wake me up I decided to check my email and came across this great article from the New York Times that may be of interest.  It seems that Recess remains the favorite class of children each year...and for good reason.  Perhaps those of us in the adult category need to reexamine taking up this class once again!  Enjoy the rain...and the nap!

ps  just click on FYI to take you to the article...

Let the Research begin...

For the parent auction we are working on painting and decorating a dresser in honor of Kevin Henkes. For the past several months we have been reading anything by this author. So for our auction project we decided to have children draw favorite characters from the book and create a work of art in honor of Mr. Henkes...and by george...I think they've done it! With the help of some very dedicated parents (YEAH! Sallie, Jennifer, Lisa, Garfield) we are on our way! Thanks to everyone for helping out!
During the day today we spilt the class in two as they made trips to the library to visit Mrs. Jester as they begin gathering information on their Famous American. They gathered books and materials that will assist them as they begin to think about writing their speeches. Later we read a short biography about Abraham Lincoln and practiced writing facts using the text as our guide. Math found us measuring and introducing the infamous tape measure. "This is so cool!" Bobby was overheard saying as he measured things all around the room. Parents, they aren't very expensive...they'd make wonderful stocking stuffers! Just a thought!

And the Famous American is...

Today was an important day in the life of all first graders at Summit. After much anticipation students learned their new identities for the next 8 weeks. For the past month we have been reading biographies and talking about the words "famous" and "Americans." In a somewhat formal ceremony each child sat in the stool as teachers revealed their new names to fanfare music to boot. They each received a bag of information as well as upcoming dates and a speech worksheet. We try and call them by their new names but it takes a few days for my memory to kick in. During math we reviewed math times by playing a concentration game with clocks and times. Anders brought in David Shannon's new book about toys which we read and enjoyed. At the present time they sit in a circle at the feet of their french teacher learning words that are beginning to make me hungry. We'll end the day by sharing the Famous Americans from the other classes. It's a great time for learning!

Welcome Famous Americans!

Today begins our unit on Famous Americans that is a well known study all first graders at Summit engage in at this time of year. Today we began by introducing several groups of Famous Americans such as writers, humanitarians, presidents, and athletes. Mrs. Leinbach created a power point slide for each category and we discussed each group giving examples from each. We also discussed the words "famous," and "American." Students are asked to spend the next several days thinking about and then selecting three persons that they would be interested in studying. All three choices are due this Friday, the 20th. Enjoy your time discussing various people and then making their final selections. Students will find out in one week who there Famous America will be. This assignment cancels out the math homework for this evening...happy exploring!

Another Tuesday...

One of the things that students look forward to is Toby hanging out in the classroom. Toby lives on our classroom counter with no cage and from time to time wanders around the classroom as children work. He is such a gentle soul that attends to children as long as they're quiet. When noise abounds he runs to a dark place...like under the couch. As we approach the 100th day of school next week, we began a special 100 book today and our homework this week is yet another 100 project. Look for it in your child's bookbag today! We also got a letter from UNICEF thanking us for helping to raise nearly $400.00 from our first grade classes at Summit!

TGIF! and more...

Oh how the days go by...and today was no exception. During our math period we worked on an activity that each year children seem to enjoy. We are using pennies to find all the combinations of sums from 6 to 20. Each child begins with six pennies and places some in the right hand and some in the left. They record their responses on a simple graph. When all the number combinations are recorded they add a penny to work on the next sum. So when working with six pennies the child records 3 and 3, 6 and 0, 0 and 6, 5 and 1, 1 and 5, 2 and 4, and 4 and 2. Some children can do the calculations in the heads to begin with but as the numbers get busy it gets a little more of a challenge.
Later we recorded two more postcards we received on our United States maps. One from Ohio and the other from Indiana.
As we left the room for home we sang our infamous "Happy Trails to You" and headed for home. See you Monday!

Chinese New Year and the Dragon Parade!

Today was our annual First Grade Dragon Parade. In honor of the Chinese New Year all the first grades classes parade around campus singing, playing instruments, and become part of a dragon. It was wonderful seeing everyone along the parade route chanting and singing along with us. It made for quite an fun-filled morning...and for a Monday no less! We continued the celebration with an ancient Chinese secret...donuts from Krispy Kream. During math we worked on using our bodies to measure items from the classroom and noticed that our 100 piece puzzle we began on the first day of school is near completion. Just before lunch we practiced with Mrs. Shelton for the sing and then were serenaded in lunch by a fourth grader who plays classical guitar. During science lab they worked with Mrs. Reynolds to discover how to get an egg into a bottle! It's been a great learning day...and now let's take a moment and relax...

Comparing and Measuring

As temperatures dip down to those I remember from my Chicago days, our activities inside keep us moving and warm! At the moment children are listening to Mrs. Jester, our librarian, finish up a book about Santa that was left unfinished from 2008. These are the moments when I locate the nearest computer and drop you all a line.
We continued our Kevin Henkes book study today by doing a comparison of Lilly (the mouse with the purple plastic purse) and ourselves. After rereading the story children were asked to identify ways in which Lilly was just like them. They drew a picture of the main character on the left side of the paper and a portrait of themselves on the right. In the middle they listed the ways they both were alike, using the text to support their ideas.
Later we began talking about measuring and the different ways people in the past used their bodies to measure things. Tonight's homework will support this conversation by asked them to measure all kinds of things...so get ready!
Senora Morgan stops by later for some Spanish review while Mr. Calhoun is working with the class to create Pandas to go along with the things we are talking about from China. Story time is over...and I'm off to help someone locate another new book. Until tomorrow...

We're Back!!!

My goodness how time does fly! I'm learning that writing a blog is very much like going to the gym. Once you get out of the habit, it's very easy to forget all about it. Luckily, however, I have Mrs. Leinbach. Her gentle reminders and her constant updating of our web page keep me on task! Now that that the school year has resumed we should be returning to regular updates ( at least until Spring Break).
First I want to thank each and every one of you for making the holidays so special. The treats and tokens were greatly appreciated. I especially enjoyed the gift certificate from the class that now makes it possible for me to enjoy a fruit smoothie after each and every workout! I give thanks for you as I carry my weary and heavy laden body to the counter and with a smile and order yet another raspberry banana to go.
So much has transpired since returning that I hardly know where to begin, so let me review today first and then add remembrances throughout the week. We began learning a new Martin Luther King Jr. song this week and have been singing it each morning as we approach the celebration of his birthday. You'll find a copy of it in the Poetry and Song Journal. We also began an author study of Kevin Henkes (Hen-kiss) last week and have read several of his books already including Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse and Sheila Rae, The Brave. We have an entire wall full of his books but we would love having some more so if you have any at home please send them along as read together. Today we generated our first story map. We looked at one his books to record such information as the stories plot, characters, problem, solution and setting. Story maps are a great way for children to reflect on what they've read and supports their comprehension skills.
As first graders we attempt to familiarize children with various aspects of world geography and culture. Our task in the next few weeks is to introduce our class to the country of China. Yesterday we created a list of all the things we already know about China and tomorrow we continue our discussion by sharing what we'd like to learn. Each year I enjoy getting thoughts about China by helping to see how many of the things we use daily are made there. Children are asked to find things in their homes that say Made in China and bring them in to share. So be on the lookout!
Today we also had another visit with our Big Friends. We walked over to the middle school building and learned how to cut out snowflakes on paper. Now if only the real stuff would fall! Later in Science Lab with Mrs. Reynolds they continue there learning with solids, liquids and gases. When I arrived to pick them up they were pouring vinegar into baking powder and watching the reactions!
We will keep you updated to don't forget to check back and leave some feedback from time to time.