Talk Talk...My Crayons Talk!

What another exciting week in first grade! We learned more about the properties of rocks, performed another play, ate Popsicles for a "Book & Cook," and went on a field trip. Whew! I know the students HAD to be exhausted because I sure am!

During concepts, we continued our exploration of how we can sort rocks, or essentially what makes one rock different from another. The students had a great time sorting the rocks and completing different activities with the rocks they brought in from home. It was interesting to see how different rocks are around each of our homes!

During shared reading this week, we read My Crayons Talk. The students enjoyed this book and made puppets for their play that they performed on Wednesday. After they perform, I always allow them to see themselves on the "big screen" - our Smart Board. I hope you enjoy watching the play as much as we do!

 

On Thursday, we went to Fort Mill High School to see the play, "Xanadu". The students really enjoyed the play - especially with all of the singing and roller skates! Miss Moreno, the Teacher Cadet in Mrs. Owens's class first semester, was in the play and played the part of Cupid. The kids were so excited to see her up on stage that they could barely contain themselves!

When we returned from the play on Thursday, we ate lunch and went outside for recess. The students were able to work up a sweat playing outside, so the "Book & Cook" fit in perfectly upon our return from the playground. A HUGE thank you to Mrs. Gondos for the popsicles! The students were on cloud nine! :o) Enjoy the pictures below!

-Until next time...Mrs. Miskelly

Rocks, Water, and MONEY! :o)

This week in concepts, we have been learning about Earth Materials. This is the unit I am planning for my IWS (Internship Work Sample) that I will turn into Winthrop for a grade. I am trying to plan fun, hands-on activities that the kids will love. So far, we have learned about the properties of water and how people use water. Below are some pictures from our "water stations" that we had on Wednesday.

Lillie investigating how water feels.



Benji pouring the water onto the pan which then flowed "downhill".

This group is observing how water takes the shape of the container in which it is in.

We also started to talk about rocks and their properties on Friday. The students were given three different types of rocks and the opportunity to observe their rocks for a few minutes with a magnifying lens. The students LOVED this!

D'Andre observing the rocks.

Peyton holding up one of his rocks.

Christopher getting a close-up of his rock.

Destiny studying her rock.

Lily using the magnifying lens to get a closer look at her rock.

After we studied our rocks for a few minutes, I instructed the students to begin to rub their rocks together, starting with two rocks that were the same. The students began furiously rubbing their rocks together and noticed that more "rock dust" came off of the lighter rock (tuff) than the dark (basalt) rock. I explained that this is because the basalt, or the dark rock, is harder than the tuff, or white rock. We will continue talking about characteristics of rocks next week and how we can sort them.

Jenna rubbing rocks together to see the rock dust.

Will rubbing rocks together.

Look at all of the rock dust Gracie has on her paper!

This week we also began our math unit on money. We asked parents to send in a few coins for the students to use as we worked through this unit. The students responded really well to working with real money. This allows them to make connections from what they are learning to real life and it makes it more relevant and meaningful for them. One activity this week that the kids loved was the "Money Cube Toss." One of the other teachers generously made the game pieces (cubes) for us to use. On the cube are pictures of coins along with one side saying "lose a turn" while another side states "role again." The object of the game is for the students to pass the cube around their table and roll so they can graph the coin they land on. This allows them to strengthen their identification of coins quickly. You can see the kids playing the game below.

-Until next week....Mrs. Miskelly :o)



Oops - One More Thing!

I almost forgot to post the play we worked on this week - Little Cloud! During shared reading, we usually spend time each week rehearsing for a "play" that we will put on at the end of the week. The "play" is the book we are reading/studying and the students make puppets and read their lines just as if they are in a real play. They love for us to record them and then watch the performance on the SmartBoard. Enjoy this week's "play"!

-Mrs. Miskelly



What A Week!

Whew! Yet another week has passed here in first grade and we are chuggin' along into March!

Before moving into March this week, I wanted to focus a little more on black history (specifically MLK Jr.) because February is Black History Month. I know most of the students know the story behind Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream, but I really wanted them to be able to connect with it so we worked on writing our own dreams in writing. The students learned more about Dr. King through books we read and then thought about what their dreams are. I was very humbled as I read through the students' dreams as so many of them simply dreamed that the world could be a better place by everyone treating others with kindness and respect. WOW - Out of the mouths of babes! I think we can all stand to learn from our children. Their simple points of view can remind us of the people/friends to one another we should continue to strive to be. :o)

Abbie's Dream

Danielle's Dream



Gavin's Dream



Ritu's Dream



A few days this week, we have had inside recess due to the inclimate weather. The kids LOVE inside recess! I thought since this was one of their favorite things about first grade I would post for you to see them "in action" during inside recess. We have sooo much going on that is almost chaotic for 20 minutes, but they work so hard all day they need the free time!

We finished our concepts unit on Health/Nutrition this week. Our cafeteria manager was so generous to let us come down for a tour of the cafeteria! The kids were so excited to get a "behind the scenes" look at how the food is prepared for us.

Next week, we will begin our concepts unit on Earth Materials. This is the unit that I am planning for my student teaching project. It is going to be hands-on and super fun! :o)

We had another "Book and Cook" this week (which is unusual). A HUGE thank you to Lillie's parents for sending in the ingredients. We had been studying Eric Carle's Little Cloud, so our "Book and Cook" was a cloud treat - blue jello, whipped cream, and sprinkles. Very tasty!!

Finally, at the end of the week we were able to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday!!! The kids had a blast! I brought in "Seuss Juice" (Sprite & Hawaiian punch) for an activity and Makayla's mom sent in edible Seuss hats and "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" cupcakes. We were even able to send our administrators some treats that we had left! :o) Enjoy the pictures of our Dr. Seuss celebration below!



-Until next time...Mrs. Miskelly



All Smiles In First Grade...Toothy Smiles That Is!

Wow! Another week has passed in 1st grade! I can't believe how fast this semester is flying by! Before you know it, spring break will be here! Yay!!! :o)

This week in Mrs. Owens's class we have been learning more about healthy dental hygiene and how to take care of our teeth. We ended the week by making a health "toothy smile" snack that the kids LOVED! A big THANK YOU to the parents who helped provide the ingredients for our "smiles." Enjoy the pictures below of the students!

Abbie's Toothy Smile

Benji's Toothy Smile

Caleb's Toothy Smile

Danielle's Toothy Smile

James's Toothy Smile

Jazlyn's Toothy Smith

Lillie's Toothy Smile

Thomas's Toothy Smile

Gavin's Toothy Smile

Gracie's Toothy Smile

Destiny finishing off her "Toothy Smile" snack! Yum!

Another part of our day that I wanted to share with you was our "Book & Cooks." We don't have "Book & Cooks" everyday, but it is usually the culmination of something we have been learning. A "Book & Cook" is theme based and we "cook" a snack to go along with the theme. For example, last month we had been talking extensively about wintry tales and weather so we had a hot chocolate "Book & Cook." Usually the "Book & Cook" just consists of several simple ingredients we give the students to "cook" or mix together for the finished product. For this month's "Book & Cook", we made butterflies as we had been reading about the life cycle of butterflies during shared reading. The butterflies were made of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, licorice, grapes, and celery. A huge THANK YOU to Abigail's mom for helping provide the ingredients! I don't know if you can tell, but we love to snack! :o) These were a big hit and the kids ALL wanted their picture taken with their butterflies. They were all wonderful!



A finished product!

Benjamin, Lily, Hayley, and Caleb enjoying "Book & Cook" time!

Abigail, Christopher, Gavin, Destiny, & Makayla enjoying their "butterflies."

Benji's butterfly

Jenna's butterfly

-Until next time...Mrs. Miskelly