Bingo for our Readers to Leaders

 Every nine weeks, Mrs. Phillips celebrates the students reaching their 25 book goal by having an activity for all to enjoy. This quarter it was one of the children's favorite games to play - BINGO.

 Miss KK (our Media Specialist) had prizes lined up for our BINGO winners. The prizes included posters, books, pencils and bracelets.

 Mrs. Phillips loves calling out the BINGO picture clues. It was theme-related - pots, stirrers, chef's hats, and kitchen utensils.

 Miss KK was prepared for the onslaught of prize winners.

Looks like we have some winners.

A surprise visit from some players on the "Jacksonville Giants" basketball team during our BINGO game!!

100th Day is Worth Celebrating

 Today was the 100th day of school and a very exciting day for our First Graders. We have been tallying each day since the first day of school and talking about reaching the 100th day. Students brought in 100 items contained in water bottles to share with the class. They worked on 100 piece puzzles, played math games to reach 100, made 100 day trail mix, and made a necklace with 100 cereal pieces. We think it was a day worth celebrating!
  100th Day First Grade 2013 on PhotoPeach

Groundhog Gets A Say and More 2013

 On Friday, we were treated to an extra special "Fun Friday Treat" when Mrs. D. came in and read the children "Groundhog Gets a Say" by Pamela C. Swallow.  This is a fact-filled book that teaches the students about groundhogs including: How fast they can run, how loud they can whistle, and how many uses they have for their teeth.

 Afterward, there was a special pudding treat with some cute groundhog cookies popping out...I wonder if  these groundhogs saw their shadows.

 Well, according tot the real groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, did not see his shadow so an early spring is on the way!

Potato Planting Time

On Friday, we went out to the Chets Creek garden and planted potatoes. The children learned that you can grow a potato by cutting one in half and planting it with at least two "eyes" facing upward.

The trench had to be least eight inches deep. Students used the trowel to dig and cover the hole. Dr. Zenk helped the children in the planting technique.

 After they planted the potato, students went over to the lettuce patch and learned how to pull weeds.

The final step in the planting procedure was to cover the planted potatoes with two inches of mulch. In this case they used dried leaves. It was a great experience for the students and we will be checking back in a few weeks to see how our potatoes are doing. We may use them for our "Cooking Wednesday" cooking class when they are harvested!

Read Aloud Before the Day Starts

Children come in the classroom a little earlier than usual on Tuesdays. We have our morning reader, Mrs. H. who reads the students a few books before the first bell rings. They have the opportunity to hear the books and answer questions during and after the reading. They love sharing their experiences and talking about the book. It is a great way to start the day and we appreciate Mrs. H. coming in each week.

Cooking Wednesday: Nutella Cookies

 Measuring, pouring, mixing and baking were all included in this "Best Cookie Ever" as described on Pinterest.  With only three ingredients, it made for an excellent example of  how easy it can be to make a batch of cookies. After mixing and rolling the cookies in small balls, they were placed in the oven for about 6-8 minutes. From the general reviews of the cookie, it was a thumbs up!

This recipe calls for:  1 cup of nutella, 1 cup of flour, and 1 egg per batch. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes.  Now how simple is that?

Bulletin Board: Common Core and Technology For First Grade

 The purpose of this bulletin board was to display the work of four students who used the computer to write a fiction story. The characters in their story were taken by our recent Kevin Henkes Author Study and the setting was the field trip to Diamond D Ranch. With this background, they got to work "tip tappin" each day until their story was completed.  According the Common Core Standards for First Grade in Writing it says:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.6 With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers. All of them completed this project on their own each day during Writer's Workshop. They typed their stories, added clip art, and drew their own pictures digitally. By incorporating technology into our daily lessons, we are not only meeting the standard but we are making lessons interesting, challenging, and fun for the class. 

How to Eat a Candy Cane

 After a few weeks off, getting back into the swing of school takes a little time. However, when there is a sweet treat involved, it always spices up the school day and makes for an especially fun Writer's Workshop. Today, the children watched as a big box of cherry candy canes was opened. We talked through each step: opening the box, snipping off the end of the wrapping, carefully peeling back the plastic and then enjoying eating it. They listed the items needed for this activity on the bottom of the sheet and included pictures and captions.  When they were finished writing, they followed their own directions and enjoyed eating their candy cane.  What a great way to get back into writing!!

Wrapping Up The Year 2012

**Sock Snowmen**

The Mall-ard's were very busy the last week of school. We saw a play, made ornaments, and had our annual holiday breakfast followed by crafts. Then we went to the Media Center to await a visit from "Auntie Claus" (Santa's sister). Every year Mrs. Phillips, our principal, dresses up as "Auntie Claus", reads us a book and gives treats out to all the children in the school. As she leaves she wishes all of her "young darlings a safe and happy holiday season." As the children ran out of school on Friday afternoon, each was so excited knowing that Santa would be visiting them very soon.

Looking over the pictures from the week and seeing the joy and innocence of our six year olds, we can't help but think of our fellow first graders,  teachers, and principal  from Sandy Hook Elementary and the tragedy that their families and community are enduring. There are no words that express the sympathy that we feel for each precious life that was taken.

The Mall-ard's wish all of our first graders and families a very happy Christmas and New Year. Please give  them a BIG HUG from both of us!!
Nov/December Happenings 2012 on PhotoPeach

Hannukah - Chanukah Presentation

Every year we look forward to our former student (J) and his father come to our class and teach the children about Hannukah. They bring in books, games and artifacts to help the students understand the story behind "The Festival of Lights". (J)  told the story ...over 2000 years ago, the Jews in Judea rebelled against their Syrian ruler because he insisted that all Jewish people must worship Greek Gods. After three hard years of fighting, the Jews defeated the ruler and to celebrate, they restored the Temple and rededicated it to their God. As part of the celebrations they lit an oil lamp which should have been kept burning all the time, even though they could only find enough oil to keep it burning for one night. But a miracle occurred, and the oil lamp stayed lit for eight days, which was the time it took to make new oil for the lamp. This  was the Miracle of the Oil. Thank you to the Morris family for sharing your traditions with our class...Happy Hannukah!!

Time to Decorate the Tree

Today was the day when all of the classes in school bring down a string of homemade ornaments with each child's picture on them and we decorate the Christmas tree in the lobby. It is one of the fabulous traditions that make our school so special. As you can see, everyone loves to see their picture on the tree!!

Nouns -- Parts of Speech for 1st Grade

This week students were introduced to the term "noun" and what it means as a part of speech. They were invited to draw a person, place or thing to put on our "Noun Town" chart. This beginning lesson  is the first step in helping children learn what a sentence actually contains. Knowing the parts of speech will also aid in punctuation, writing and speaking.
The Common Core Standard in Language CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.1  Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.1b Use common, proper, and possessive nouns.

Our next stop in "Noun Town" will be learning more about common, proper, and possessive nouns, in particular. But for now, we're just be driving by and enjoying the scenery!!

Field Trip - Diamond D Ranch

We went on our first field trip of the year to Diamond D Ranch. The children loved seeing the animals and learning about them. They went on a nature walk, fed cattle, fish, and goats, and had fun in a bounce house and spin ride. It was a great day to be in first grade!

Planting Veggies in the Garden

 On Friday, we visited our own Chets Creek garden in back of the school. Students from every grade level learn about gardening, plant seeds, check on their growth and get to pick them when ready. We planted lettuce and it will take about 45 days to grow.  We are lucky to have a great parent volunteer, Dr. Zenk, who tends the garden and teaches then children how to care for the plants.

 Students had fun digging for sweet potatoes.

 It was like finding a treasure when they found a sweet potato.

Another one was found and put into the basket!

Kevin Henkes Puppets & Celebration

It is going to be sad to say goodbye to all of the Kevin Henkes characters we learned about during our author study: Owen who took his blanket everywhere; Sheila Rae who was very brave; Wendell who learned how to make a friend; and of course Lilly  who is everyone's favorite. This week students brought in the puppets they made for homework. Each child retold his/her favorite story using these puppets as props. On Friday, we celebrated by going from room to room for center activities. They made purple purses and artistic ties. They ate cheesy snacks and played Kevin Henkes bingo. It was wonderful way to cap off a great author study!

Fractions in First Grade - Common Core Standard

 This month our bulletin board features fractions for the first time in First Grade. The Common Core Standard for Geometry - Reason with Shapes and Their Attributes was addressed.
       1.G.3. Partition circles and rectangles into two and four equal shares, describe the shares using     the    words halves, fourths, and quarters, and use the phrases half of, fourth of, and quarter of. Describe the whole as two of, or four of the shares. Understand for these examples that decomposing into more equal shares creates smaller shares.
These lessons taught the children how to divide their "pizza" in half and make 'half of" it one topping and the other half another topping. Students labeled each side with 1/2 noting that each side had equal shares. They also designed "rugs". These rugs used two halves - triangles or rectangles - to make half of the square also understanding that these decomposed into smaller equal shares. We are "dividing and conquering" the common core standards...pizza anyone?

October 31st is Here!!

There have been a lot of celebrations going on in our classroom as of late. We had the Literary Character Parade, The Fifties Party (for the 50th day of school), and now it is the day that we love as much as the kids do, Halloween!  They came in all excited in the morning telling each other what they were going to be for this Trick or Treat night. After the initial buzz, we were able to keep them focused for Reading, Writing and Math. However, in the afternoon, they played a pumpkin game, drew the above art project, and then, because it was "Cooking Wednesday" we made our traditional "Witchy Poo Brew". First we labelled all of the ingredients and then one by one everything went into the pot. Afterward it made a delicious snack mix for all to enjoy! Thank you to James and Brody for the ingredients. See below for the recipe:

1.  Butterfly wings - Fritos
2. Owl's eyes -M&Ms
3. Witches toenails - Bugels
4. Ghoul Stomachs - Mini marshmallows
5. Worms - Gummy worms
6. Lizard blood - Red hots
7. Cob webs- Triscuits
8. Chicken toe nails - candy corn
9. Bugs - Chocolate chip morsels
10. Bones - Pretzel sticks

Surprise Guest Reader!

We had a surprise guest reader this week and it was Mrs. Alvarado (Shalyn's mom). During her resource time, she read the children two books, "The Cow That Laid an Egg" by Andy Cutbill and "Have You Filled a Bucket Today?" by Carol McCloud. The first book was about an insecure cow who wished she had a special talent. The children found out what that talent was by the end of the book! The second book was more serious. This book told how each of us carry an invisible bucket and with everyday kindness, respect and generosity toward one another, we can fill each others buckets. That make us all feel good inside.Thank you to Mrs. Alvarado for filling our buckets with your time and great life lessons for our class.

50th Day of School - 50's Style

Looking way too cute for the 50th day of school!!

Perfect doll for the 50th day!

Ready for a day of fun!

Enjoying an ice cream float.

Looking so 50ish!

All the trimmings for a rootbeer or coke float!

Happy memories in first grade!

:Looks like they like this 50ish treat!!

Capping off a great day!

Can we do this again?

Happy 50th Day from Mrs. Dillard and Mrs. Mallon!!!

Literary Character Parade & Festivities 2012

Thursday was a very exciting day for our first graders. We started the day with the Literary Parade around the first floor of the school. When we came back to the classroom the morning was spent making crafts. These included: finger pens, owls in a tree, bat hats, and pasta skeletons. At 6:00 at night the children returned to school in their costumes to trick or treat and teachers gave out candy at their classroom doors. Afterwards, they went outside to the school carnival. Our booth was the Lollipop Tree - a picture is included in the slideshow below. It was a great day to be a student at Chets Creek!!

Literary Costumes and Crafts on PhotoPeach

Diners, Drive Ins and Dives Completed Pumpkins

Our pumpkins are completed and what a hit they are. Our inspiration was the book "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives: An All-American Road Trip...with Recipes." by the Food Network Channel's Guy Fieri. We chose this book for a few reasons: Our school theme this year is  "Recipe for Success"; our class name "The Mall-ard Diner"; and the children's excitement when we talked about the book and how many of them watched the show!!  We knew then that it had to be that book for our pumpkin display.  Kind of gets us in the mood for a big juicy burger...how about you?

Diners, Drive Ins, and Pumpkins

 Every year, our school celebrates the Fall season with a Pumpkin Decorating display for the front lobby. Every class submits a book with pumpkins that are decorated to represent the book that was used.  This year we are celebrating the "Mall-ard Diner" by using the book "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives: An All-American Road Trip...with Recipes!" by  the Food Network Channel's Guy Fieri.  The students decorated pumpkins to look like hamburgers. You can catch a glimpse of Mr. Fieri along the back of the table (not yet completed).  Thank you parents for working with the children on this very special assignment. We will have the pumpkins completed by Monday...stay tuned!!

First Grade Fractions - Common Core

 The Common Core Standards in Math for First Grade state that students should be able to "Partition circles and rectangles into two and four equal shares, describe the shares using the words halves, fourths, and quarters, and use the phrases half of, fourth of, and quarter of." So this week was the start of children recognizing what a half means. Using  a paper plate to represent their pizza, students were invited to create a half and half pizza with the toppings of their choice. They drew a line down the center with the help of a straight edge and center dot and made some beautiful pepperoni, sausage, and green pepper pizza pies.

 

Students had the opportunity to share their work and explain how they knew that it was "half of" the pizza.

Today it was "Cookin' Wednesday" and children made their own real pizzas using English muffins, sauce and cheese. They ate half - then the other half. Some said it was the best pizza ever...who could argue with that!!

Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad-Jumpstart Read for the Record!

Today our class was counted in a world record number of students reading  "Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad" by Jacky Davis and David Soman. This book was about a play date that had a few bumps in the road when things didn't go according to the plan. "Jumpstart's Read for the Record is a call to action to Americans to recognize the importance of quality early education, especially for our most vulnerable children,” said Jumpstart’s president and CEO, Naila Bolus. “When children start behind, they tend to stay behind. The language and literacy skills instilled in preschool children by the Jumpstart program help set them on a successful path in both school and life.”  Jumpstart has raised more that $7 million for this cause together with the Pearson Foundation which has donated nearly one million books.

We are anxious to hear how many children around the world read "Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad" as we did today.  To learn more about this organization, you can visit http://www.jstart.org/.

Common Core Based Bulletin Board

This is our first official bulletin board of the year. With "Mixing in the 'Write' Ingredients", we thought it would be a good idea to showcase student's writing from the initial writing piece and compare it to being in school for a few weeks. The results were amazing. Mixed in were mini lessons of great beginnings, remembering details, and staying in the moment when telling a story (not saying they went to bed or went home at the end). Our writers are getting the "write" ingredients everyday to make each story better than the last one!! (And, yes, that is us at the table preparing the next menu item!) :)

Open House: A Self-Directed Tour

First Grade Open House was last Thursday. We thought it would be a good idea to have the children show their parents around the classroom. Outside the room, the children made a replica of themselves as chefs holding a recipe card that states what they like best about First Grade. 

They were handed the above "menu" and a highlighter. After each station was visited (the calendar, word wall, book bins, Common Core Standards board, etc.) they highlighted the menu and received a treat when they handed it in. They also played a math game with their parents at their seats after looking through their various journals and folders.

 Students loved showing their parents around the room. It was a relaxing and enjoyable Open House.