Blog Archives

ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL AND ACTION PACKED FALL DAY!

9/30/2015

WHAT NUMBER DO I HAVE?

9/29/2015

Today we played, what number do I have? One partner holds a number on their forehead without looking. Their partner tells them how many more they need to make ten. Then the first partner has to figure out what number they have. For example: I have nine SECRETLY on my forehead. My partner says I need one more to make ten. Then, I know I have nine because 1+9=10.

Happy Birthday Will!
Seven is going to be the best!

Happy Birthday Lee!
We're so excited to spend seven with you!

AUTHOR VISIT

9/28/2015

Today we met a real author! Her name is Claudia McAdam and she has written 15 books. She even lives in Colorado. We listened to her share her book The Mermaid's Gift and then learned about the process of writing and publishing a book. She wrote the words, sold them to a publisher, and then another person illustrated her story (someone she never even met). Her story is based in non-fiction. Even though the mermaid is not real, the events in this book actually took place a long time ago on a tiny island in Italy. How cool!

RETURN OF THE READING BUDDIES

9/25/2015

Our reading buddies made a return today and we were so excited to see them! We've grown as readers since we last saw them. We were excited to read them more challenging books! And they were so proud of how much we've grown.

And Miss Lisa May in library is still our favorite!

CURLING UP WITH A GOOD BOOK

9/24/2015

Today we started to practice our IDR or Independent Daily Reading. We're working on reading books that are just right for us--book that are just the right amount of challenging and interesting too! Today we read for five minutes. Tomorrow maybe we'll try five and a half! We're building on reading stamina everyday.

TARGET PRACTICE

9/23/2015

Today we played target practice. It's a great math game you can play using only a number cube. We picked a target number, rolled the number cube, and found how many more to hit the target.

Talk about beautiful fall weather. Go outside this afternoon and enjoy the fresh air and changing leaves! We sure did at recess.

STORY PROBLEMS

9/22/2015

In math we are working on creating pictures and number sentences that match story problems. It's tricky to make a picture that tells a very specific story, but we're getting really good at it! Today we even made up our own. Can you make a story to go along with the expression 8+2?

BRAIN BREAK
Which motion goes with which work?
allowance sneak feast gab outline

WRITERS AND ARTISTS

9/21/2015

Everyday we're working on our writing--adding detail to our small moment stories, stretching out our words, using capitals and periods to mark the beginning and end of a sentence, and so much more. But we're also working on our artwork. The pictures add detail to our writing and help us tell the story too. Give us some colored pencils and crayons and you'll be amazing what we create.

REKENREK! What's That?

9/18/2015

What's a Rekenrek? Good question! It's basically an abacus that we use in first grade to help us count, add, subtract, and make number sentences. A Rekenrek makes it easy to see groups of ten and five, which are the building blocks we use in math.

Today we made our very own Rekenrek bracelets with two groups of five. With the bracelets we were easily able to find all the different combinations to ten. There are a lot!

An easy was to see all the combinations to 10--a staircase!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARY!
Thanks for sharing cupcakes with us.
We hope that 7 is just spectacular.

WE'RE EXPANDING OUR VOCABULARY

9/17/2015

Our reading program Making Meaning builds in time for vocabulary discussion. This week we're working on synonyms. We're finding words that mean the same thing as words we've seen in books. Ask us how we use the words rapidly, delighted, bold, and timid. Listen for these words in our conversations and look for them in our writing!