October in B4

I hope you enjoyed your October as much as we did!  We were very busy in room B4.  At the beginning of the month, the first graders had a great time visiting the dance museum.  I was so excited about this field trip, because as many of you know, dance is an important part in my life.  I am a dance teacher too!  One of their favorite parts of the trip was acting out the parts of Frozen.  While the dance teacher told the story and played the music, the students enjoyed "building a snowman," "dancing with streamers," ""driving" a toboggan, and taking part in many other creative movement activities.  Take a look!

After all the dancing, we got to tour the museum.  The students learned about many of the exhibits, costuming, and even local dance inspired art work.  We all enjoyed seeing the pictures of the pointe shoes that local artists created and installed throughout Saratoga.  The students got to stand in front of their favorite one and share their reasoning with the group. 

Our tour guide was excellent.  She was very knowledgeable and taught us so much!  She did a great job making the information kid friendly and easy to understand.  We liked spending time in the movie theater and watching dance movies and videos.  We especially loved the children's room, where we got to dress up, try on dance shoes, and show off all of our cool moves!  

Then it was time to go back to Pashley.  We missed Mrs. Olsen, Mrs. Clark, and all of our second grade friends!  But first... we had to take a selfie :) 

(Wasn't I lucky to be able to sit with 2 of my first grade friends?!)

In order to celebrate Christopher Columbus Day, we put our map skills to use.  We discussed where Columbus was from, where he hoped to go, and where he ended up instead.  We looked at a map that looked similar to what Columbus thought the world looked like, and then looked at a real map of what the world really looked like.  We were amazed that Columbus thought the world was flat! Then we made our own maps.  Mrs. and Mr. Olsen burned brown paper bags to make them look old fashioned (I heard their house still smells like a campfire.... thank you!!).  After the paint dried, the students labeled Spain and the "New World" that Columbus discovered and drew his path.  Then, the students pretended to be Columbus and wrote about their journey.  Many of them wrote about how the journey was very long, how they thought they were headed somewhere in Asia, and how they weren't very nice to the Native Americans when they arrived in America.  Take a look at the fabulous work below!

 

Finally, we hope everyone had as much fun on Halloween as we did!  One of our favorite parts of Halloween is the TREATS!  The kids got lots of treats from all their teachers and friends at school.  Mrs. Olsen, Mrs. Clark, and I gave the kids "Bugs and Kisses" (thanks to http://dixiedelights.blogspot.com/2013/10/bugs-kisses-halloween-treat-free.html for the printable)  We thought they came out pretty cute! We also had a great Halloween surprise one day.  We were quietly working on our daily math lesson and there was a loud knock on the door.  When we opened it up there was no one there.  BUT there was a lovely little bag on the floor.  After we picked it up and opened it we realized that we got BOO- ed!  There were candy corns inside that we got to eat at snack time.  Then, to carry on the excitement and tradition, we decided that we would BOO Miss Pick's class.  We hope she and the kindergarteners enjoyed the spooky rings and pumpkins and we gave them!  

We also really enjoyed the minion cupcakes and the Halloween cucumbers (even if they were meant to be in another classroom... oops!) 

On Halloween day we had a great time dressing in our costumes; even the teachers dressed up!  The first grade teachers were Super Teachers.  One of our parent helpers, who is a teacher at Charlton Heights was also dressed as a Super Teacher.  Twinning!  The second grade teachers were Bat Girls, which was perfect because it went right along with the bat unit that we did in October.  The students loved marching in the parade and taking part in their grade level specific activities.  The first graders did fun Halloween centers, while the second graders had their much anticipated "Pumpkin Day."

Thanks to all of our helpers and thanks for a great October!

Where Were you Before You Stepped Into Room B4?

So... where were you Before you stepped into room B4??  See what I did there?!

I really took this idea and ran with it (as you can tell by the shoes on the door and the cute craftivity pictured below).  Mrs. Oslen and I had lots of fun with this "shoe" theme during the first week of school.  We think the students did too!  They enjoyed decorating their shoes, threading and tying (yes- I said it... they ALL tied the laces... practice, practice, practice!), and writing about what grade they were in last year.  It was a great activity, not only because the students got to practice tying shoes, but because they were able to use the writing to introduce themselves to the class.  As we explained at Back to School Night, we have a very special class.  We are so lucky to be the only class in the entire school, and actually district for that matter, with 2 grades.  Think about all of the neat things that we will be able to do this year!!  As you already know, we think it is so important that the students feel as though they are part of ONE community, but at the same time understand and know what grade they are in.  That is why we did this activity as the very first writing assignment.  The students told the rest of the class what grade they were in last year, and some of their favorite parts of being in that grade.  And now, we all have an understanding of what grade we are in this year and what grade all of our friends are in.

As I'm sure you can imagine, we have been super busy in room B4.  We have been practicing our daily routine, learning and re-learning classroom and school rules, making new friends, and taking part in LOTS of fun learning experiences.  On the very first day of school we read The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn.  This is my all-time favorite first day of school book.  I don't care how old students are... they LOVE hearing this book.

Here's a brief synopsis:

Chester the raccoon is nervous about the first day of school and is sad to leave his mom.  So Chester's mom comes up with a plan.  She kisses the middle of his hand and tells him that whenever he misses her to place his hand next to his cheek, which will always make him think of her.  Soon, Chester realizes that his mom could use a gift like this as well.  He decides to kiss the middle of her hand, for times when she is missing him throughout the day.  What a great plan!

The students, Mrs. Olsen, and I all agreed that we could use this kissing hand while we are at school as well!  After we read the story we made cute Chester projects.  The students also wrote about what they hope the new school year will bring.  Some of our little raccoons have Dr. Suess hats as well!  These belong to our first graders.  We made these after reading The Cat in the Hat when we were practicing the -at family.  We decided our raccoons would look great donning these fabulous hats!  What do you think?!

At Back to School Night we thought it would be fun to go undercover and try to get the parents to guess who we were.  The students wrote some really great clues about themselves and then disguised themselves with a little Groucho Marx look.  And... how lucky are we that one of our teachers also doubles as a photographer?!  We love you Mrs. Olsen!!  Thanks for the great pics!! They are so cute that I had to share a few.  Now lets see if you can guess who is in our class!

Did I mention that our class is so special?  This year in our district the first grade classes are piloting a Chinese class.  However, since we are so special, our 2nd graders are also taking part in this wonderful opportunity.  Miss Maria, our Chinese instructor has taught us many new Chinese words, how to greet a teacher when he or she walks in the door, and how to count using special dance moves.  We are really looking forward to a great year in Chinese class.  Below you will see some of our students practicing bowing, which is used as a sign of respect, as well as practicing special dance moves that help them to learn Chinese counting words.

In order to celebrate the first day of fall, we talked about characteristics of fall, read some great fall books, and then went on a fall scavenger hunt.  It just happened to be the windiest day of the year, which made for a very fun outdoor scavenger hunt with our clipboards, papers, and pencils.  But, as always, we made the best of it. :)  The students collected some things that reminded them of autumn and brought them back in the classroom for more investigating.  They chose three of these things to write about.  They enjoyed explaining how their findings remind them of fall.  

How are you celebrating autumn??  

Thanks for stopping by!!

End of the Year Fun :)

It's hard to believe that the 2013- 2014 school year has come and gone.  I will never forget my first class at Pashley.  The kids, families, and Pashley staff made it so very special.  Thank you to all of the the parents for being great educational partners and for the thoughtful end of the year presents.  I loved the apple photo and the scrapbook!  Take a look at the apple photo that I will be sure to hang in my classroom next year!

Teaching first grade is so rewarding.  Every year I am amazed at the growth of all my students.  This year is no exception.  All of the kids worked so hard and came so far! I am so proud.  At Back to School Night in September I shared my yearly goal for the class: For the students to become more independent in all areas.  They all rose to the challenge.  Many of them are independent readers, writers, and mathematicians and many can navigate social situations appropriately with minimal adult support.  The progress is astounding!

The best proof of this progress is the ocean animal research reports that they did at the end of the year.  With me as their facilitator, they researched and wrote, and researched and wrote, and researched and wrote, etc, etc.  Then they practiced reading to their peers.  Everyone was a great reader and great listener.  We all learned something new each time we heard a new report!

 

When the final day came they were all fully prepared to present their reports to the audience.  Here is a great picture that was taken during the Author's Reception.  Photo credit goes to Mrs. Hamm.  Thank you!

Our field trip to animal land was lots of fun.  The students walked around with their groups and got to see many different types of animals.  Some of the students even got to feed the animals!  They also played on the pirate playground.  They did a great job playing the part!

We had a great time listening to our mystery reader from Kuwait.  With some careful planning, we were able to Skype with Lou Malizia, Mia's daddy.  He has been overseas for most of the year, and it was nice to "have him in the room."  He "sat" right in our rocking chair, just as all mystery readers do, and read Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss.  The children were mesmerized during the read aloud.  Best of all, Mia was so surprised.  When she heard the Skype ringtone her face lit up!  Mrs. Malizia was able to snap some photos during Mr. Malizia's reading.  Mr. McGrath also heard about our special mystery reader and was able to visit as well!  Afterwards, the students were able to ask some questions.  They learned that Mr. Malizia works with helicopters.  They learned that while he was reading to us it was 1:30pm in Burnt Hills, but it was 8:30pm in Kuwait.  They also learned that it was VERY hot there... so hot that one day it got to be about 130 degrees!!

It was bittersweet saying goodbye on the last day. We blew bubbles as the kids got on their buses and waved excitedly from their bus window.  Then they drove away into the summer (look closely, you'll see some of our friends on their buses!)...  Have a great one everyone!!  Thanks again for a fabulous year!