Our 1st day in First Grade

Wow! We had such a busy first day. 23 girls and boys came in to Room 14 ready to learn what 1st grade is all about this morning by 7:40. There were many bags of supplies to unpack and put away, friends to say "hello" to, and new friends to meet. This week we will be learning everyone's name and some interesting things about us. Reading books is a good way to learn about school and people -- so we enjoyed listening to 4 books already! First Day Jitters, All Are Welcome, One World, One Day,and If You Want to Bring a Dinosaur to School, DON'T!. Ask your child which was his/her favorite. My favorites change each time I read a new book, such as All Are Welcome, or I reread a old longtime favorite, such as One World, One Day, or a book that I enjoy reading the speaking parts, such as First Day Jitters. All books are good and all are welcome in our room, just like all people are welcome in Room 14.

During our 1st recess -- indoors due to rain-- the  principals, home school communicator, and counselor came to our room to say "welcome" and introduce themselves to our new RBE bears. Then it was back to indoor recess, serious business for 1st grade. I am crossing my fingers that we will have outdoor recess tomorrow. It will help take care of the serious wiggles that all 1st graders have.

We created a graph of our feelings that we had before coming to school this morning after reading First Day Jitters. It was definitely a book that each of us could make a connection to. Then we compared the results on our graph during math time. We will be making more graphs during the first couple of weeks in order to get to know each other better, as well as how to read information shown in a graph.

It's time to rest up for tomorrow. So much to learn, so much to do!

New School Year, New Goal

My goal is to blog 1-2 times a week about what is happening in Room 14. The school years always start out with so many good plans and then time flies with all of the happenings and I forget to share. So this year I am putting it on my school planning calendar. My plans are to have my 1st graders write and take photos and then I will be the editor and submit it to the blog.
If you like what you see and read, please leave a message so that my 1st grade writers and photographers know that what they do is making a difference in your life, even if it is just a quick note. Small acts of kindness create big impacts for 6- and 7- year olds.

Stay tuned for the 1st day excitement on Tuesday, August 14.

Mrs. Howard's 1st grade class got to have a VIP tour of the Daniel Boone Regional Library this morning before it even opened. First we went to the Children's area of the library and learned about the red desk and who can help us. We saw the real life Great Horned Owl that is in that area. The cool thing about it is it seemed to follow us with its eyes as we walked by it. Ms. Megan took us to the Green Egg and we found and touched the red tile for good luck. We talked about library cards don't cost anything and we are all owners of the library. Then we went up 46 steps to the top floor and we went into the quietest room in the library. From the windows in that room we could see a cemetery, a playground, a water tower, and a building that looked like a castle. We even got to talk in the quietest room in the library because nobody else was there. When we left we got a pencil that changes colors, a certificate for a free book the next time we go with our family to the library, and most of us got a library card if we didn't have one already. It was a very good field trip.

Edible math

Leading the class by writing under the hover cam for everyone to see. 

I have been a little behind on our blog posts. I apologize. Now that the Chicken BBQ excitement has died down things in our class should be getting back to normal. Last week we were finishing up our subtraction unit and used snack time to demonstrate our understanding. We would set out a number of snacks and then eat some of them. Then we had to write the subtraction sentence that matched what we did. That made snack time into math time. You might try that at home and see what your 1st grader can show you. 

Finding the answer before clearing the work mat by eating the snack all up!

We like to share

We spend time after lunch writing about small moments from our lives. Everyone is writing their stories in 3-page books that have an illustration for each page. Ask your 1st grader what they do when they are "done" with their stories. Our writing motto is "when you think you are done, you have only begun". The correct answer should be that we add more details to our pictures, add more writing to each page, and use our writer's eye to watch for capital letters and punctuation. Our "reward" for using our writing time productively is having something to share at the end of writing. A great way to learn how to add more details to a story is to learn from other 1st graders. You can tell by our photos that sharing is a time of collaboration and engagement.

Dot - 3D style

International Dot Day encourages courage, creativity, and collaboration. We discussed how we could do that as 1st graders and as a class. We spent some time this morning creating 3-D dot art together. Then we enjoyed working with partners to see it "come to life" using the Quiver app on I-pads. It was so much fun to "play" with our dot art. The Quiver app is free at the Apple App Store or at the Google store if you want to try it at home. I will send a blank dot art page In the Friday folders so everyone can create another 3-D dot masterpiece. 

Getting ready for International Dot Day

Tomorrow we will be celebrating International Dot Day in Room 14. It is a celebration of courage, creativity, and collaboration. We have read The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds and have talked about what it means to "leave your mark" on the world, be it big or small. If you would like to read it tonight and see what we mean here is a link for the book online. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS5YU66s5tc

If your child has polka dot clothing or socks, this is the day to wear it. I am going to make my shirt with a white t-shirt and some Sharpie markers. That is an easy idea too.

Stay tuned tomorrow for photos of our dot celebration.