Week of firsts!

We survived our first full week of school!  It got pretty warm for a few days, but we did not have any early dismissals.  If the kids are as tired as I am, I'm sure they'll have a restful weekend!

READING!  We did lots of initial testing in order to get ready for guided reading groups to start next week.  We've been doing lots of reading and writing already!  We choose 1 child each day to "interview" and ask questions to, then we write a paragraph about that child together.  We have them all compiled in a binder.  The kids are able to read them to partners and we've even been working on reading to self (using whisper phones).

MATH!  For math, we spent some time with pattern blocks and pentominoes centers.  Later in the week, we discussed equality.  I first asked the kids if they knew what "equal" meant.  They told me that it means the answer comes next.  So I asked them if it would be possible for 2=2.  They said "NO!" So, we had to spend some time proving why we thought it was true or false.  Don't worry, they eventually figured out that equal means that they are the same.  This can be a very confusing idea, so we will re-visit this throughout the year.  We've also spent lots of time counting collections of things.  Several of the kids are experimenting and counting with 10's and 5's.  Next week we are going to be getting into some story problems.  I'm going to ask the kids to solve the problems, then we'll share strategies for solving the problem.

SCIENCE!  In science, we have been discussing whether things are living or non-living.  Using words on our PWIM poster, the kids have made t-charts of living and non-living things.  We've also talked about what living things need to survive.  We will be getting into butterflies and insects soon.

1st Day of First Grade

We are off to a busy start here at Newell-Fonda school!  Friday, August 19^th was the first day of school.  All 21 first graders arrived with smiles on their faces.  Don't worry moms, we even got pictures of them on the first day of first grade!  

Because this is my first year teaching at Newell-Fonda, the kids took me on a tour of the school.  They thought is was fun showing me where we go for art, music, P.E. and lunch.  The kids also did some counting with some collections of buttons and jewels.  It was fun to see what they remembered over the summer.  

We read a great book by Kevin Henkes, called Chrysanthemum.  This book is about a little girl learning where and appreciating where her name came from.  You’ll also find our own “chrysanthemum” flowers hanging out side of our classroom.  

We’re going to be doing some baseline testing next week in order to see how much growth the kids make over the school year. Thanks for checking out our blog!

Back to School - New Beginnings!

I'm anxiously awaiting a new school year.  I went to school today and got my new class list and our schedule.  I've starting putting names on all of the kid's things.  It's hard to start a new job - but I'm excited to get started.

READING!  Some of us have met over the summer to get the new bookroom set up.  There are, literally, thousands of books ready for the kids to read.  Some of us also took a class, called The Daily 5. I'm still curious to see other suggestions on how to implement some of the things we've learned into the guided reading program.

MATH!  I also took the official 2nd year training of CGI (Cognitively Guided Instruction) this summer.  I've been doing CGI in my classroom in my previous district for the past 3 years, but thanks to my great friends (Kellie & Becky) I was able to attend the 2nd year training to continue my learning.  I'm hoping to keep up with my blog better this year than I have in the past.  I'm hoping to post our monthly calendar and special events with pictures on here.  Follow me and hold me to it!! :)