Off and running!

Well two weeks have flown by and they have been packed with activities both in school and at home. We have jumped into reading, writing, math, social studies, science, and phonics all while learning to navigate laptops, google classroom, google Meets, dual screens in school, and technical issues that were bound to arise with so many students online simultaneously.  A huge thank you to families for helping your kids succeed with this. They are fast learners!

I just love seeing how focused they are when they are writing, drawing, or otherwise engaged in activities- the seriousness and conscientiousness that they show as they do their best work is so endearing and appreciated!

Writing lessons have focused on letter formation, using lower case instead of capitals, and practicing a feature often seen in non-fiction books- writing labels. The kids are so artistic! They have created their own drawings  to label and have labeled pictures that coincide with other topics we have explored. Yesterday after our lessons on Johnny Appleseed and apple trees, they drew a labeled life cycle of the apple tree- so detailed and accurate! They labeled a poison dart frog after we learned a bit about animals of the Rain Forest, and they drew and labeled an American flag after we read and learned about our flag and the Pledge of Allegiance. Next week, we begin 'Writers Write Lists'.

Our read-alouds this week have provided a chance to practice comprehension strategies. We have identified characters and main characters in books as we read Little Bunny's Sleepless Night, compared and contrasted characters as we read Fred and Ted, and observed how characters can change when we read the funny book Ten Apples Up On Top. Reading The Red Eyed Tree Frog was a good introduction to non fiction books as was reading books on Johnny Appleseed. How do readers sound when they read? We practiced expression while group reading several books on epic and while reading the The Spooky Old Tree and There's A Monster Under My Bed. The kids did the follow-up response pages to many of these books- thanks for helping them find them in their many papers sent home!

Have we been moving and dancing these last weeks? YES! Sitting at desks or home with a laptop for lengths of time mean we really do need movement breaks. We have daily sight word review dance and movement opportunities along with numerous chances to be active with other online videos, brain breaks, and content related songs.  Let's keep in shape!

    

 Vibrations, sound waves, volume, pitch- we have certainly had fun in science learning about SOUND! We've tried experiments, watched fun and informative videos, and practiced making sound, feeling and seeing the vibrations, and recording or drawing the results. Next week we begin LIGHT energy!

I have seen that this is a group of very responsible kids! In social studies, we began with 'citizenship'- being responsible, understanding and following rules, and practicing the Golden Rule of treating others the way we would like to be treated. We had some companion stories and songs that reinforced these character traits, and we certainly have some wonderfully caring children here in our class!

Ten frames, number bonds, cube trains, math notebooks- these have been daily tools as we have learned how to use them, how to record number sentences, and how to make combinations of a number. We have explored the commutative property of addition- adding in any order as we made cube trains in 2 colors and then flipped the train to record the new order of numbers. Nice work everyone!

In reading and phonics we have reviewed letter sounds, sung sight word songs, introduced all short vowels, and have worked with rhymes and syllables. Rhyming is such a great foundation for isolating sounds within words and for reading and spelling words with similar ending patterns (win, fin, thin, chin...). It was loads of fun 'feeding' our Feed Me Monster with silly rhyming food and seeing what rhyming object My Aunt Came Back With on her travels!

There have been many firsts in these last 2 weeks of first grade. Everyone is doing so well! We are even managing a little google classroom work and learning how to turn in or mark as done. I will send more info about that. Enjoy the weekend and thank you everyone once again for your incredible commitment to your kids education!

See you Monday,

Mrs. Dagley

Welcome new first graders!

 

Look for our classroom door!


Our first day of school is coming up, and you might like to know what the classroom door looks like when you walk down the hall. Our room is way down almost to the end of the hall. It has my name on the wooden apple beside the door, and the door has animals all around the tree. I will be looking for you as you arrive! Other teachers will be along the hall to help you find your room- no worries! You will also notice some fun stickers on the floor of the halls. There are arrows showing which side of the hallway to walk down or back on. Maybe you have seen arrows in a supermarket- this is the same idea so I know you will be experts!



Here is a peek at our classroom! Don't you love how sunny it is? You get to have your very own desk in first grade!! There is a drawer in your desk where we can store your laptop while we are doing other things. On top of your desk you have a name tag, a cute pencil cup with pencils, a glue stick, a whiteboard marker, an eraser, and scissors. There is a little crayon box too, a math 'toolbox', a book bag, and a lanyard to put your mask onto during snack, lunch, or recess. 

These are all for you!

Are you wondering what you will do when you first walk in the door? You will take your backpack right to your seat and hang it on the chair. Then you will find a little container of playdoh sitting on your desk ready to play with as your friends arrive. You can call out, "Hi _____" as your friends come in. You can also say hello to Mrs. Swerk who will be in our class too. She remembers all of you! When everyone has arrived, we will check in with our classmates at home. They will be all logged in and ready to say "Hi" too! 

Fancy teacher station
How will I see my school friends at home? Right here on this brand new, big monitor! It might take a little getting used to and we may have to practice using laptops and sites, but we can do it! If you are having trouble in school logging on, I will help you. What does Pete the Cat say when he is frustrated? "It's all good!" Let's take his advice!

Our hands-free hand sanitizer station

Anytime you need to use hand sanitizer, you can use this new one that the sign is on. It's ok if you bring your own too- the small ones that clip to a backpack would make the process even easier and faster. 

Did you have a fun summer? I did! This is one of the places I went to- I think I will miss it! Do you have any pets? I have 2 cats, Shadow and Ginger. Here is a picture of Shadow:

Sorry I don't have a picture of Ginger today!

It will be so much fun to get to know you this year. I am excited to see you in class and online!
Bye for now!
Mrs. Dagley