Seesaw

Our class has started a program called Seesaw.  It's a free digital portfolio and a great way to share our classroom learning with you!  I'm sending home a paper about it in your child's folder which explains how to sign up.  We will continue to add work to our folders throughout the year, and if you sign up you will get an email notification when new work is added.  This is the second year I am using this app, and the first year I am sharing it with parents.  Let me know what you think!

Our First ECO day!

Our class joined Mrs. Griggs' class for a beautiful day of learning outdoors! First we explored Harrison Field and played a fun insect relay game in which the children "danced like bumblebees", "buzzed like mosquitoes", "jumped like grasshoppers", and "crawled like beetles". Next we entered the forest to look for insects, then built a model of an insect out of materials from the forest. Check out these cool insects! At our closing circle, we shared something we were thankful for from our ECO day. Thank you to our volunteers who helped make this day so much fun!

Small Moment Stories

Yesterday we published our first "small moment" story! The children have worked hard to write and illustrate a story from their lives. I have been teaching lessons around telling your story across several pages, sticking to one specific story and adding details in pictures and words. We are also working on getting our words down. Spelling can be quite a challenge for early writers because they have so much to say, but the task of actually writing it down is tedious.  First graders are learning to say words slowly and write down the sounds they hear, listen for little words inside of bigger words, and use tools such as "word walls" and print around the classroom to help them. When children are stuck on how to spell a word, I tell them to underline it and move on!  We will continue to write small moment stories in October, and students will learn more strategies for adding details and writer's craft to their stories. Continue to ask your child, "Tell me about the story you're writing at school."

First Grade Sing-Along

We met with all five first grade classes in the big gym to sing some of the insect songs we have been learning.  Has your child shared these songs with you?

Open House

Open House

Wednesday, September 28th 

6:00 pm -7:00 pm

Join me at Open House to see what we've been up to in first grade!  I'll meet you in the classroom!

First Weeks of Math

We have been busy these first few weeks reviewing counting and writing numbers.  See below for photos of the songs we have been singing to help us remember number formation. First graders have been decomposing numbers to 10 as well, using a number bond and two colored plastic beans.  We have been writing equations to represent what we find such as the problem below. In the example, the children decomposed 10 into 4 and 6, then wrote 10 = 4 + 6.  We have been playing lots of games to support these math skills!

Our First Walk to Harrison Field

In preparation for our first ECO day on September 29th, our class learned the expectations for walking to Harrison, and some of the routines of our First Grade ECO lessons. We played a fun tag game, observed the insects on the field, and practiced listening carefully to the world around us. We also learned about the "three cares" of ECO. We take care of ourselves, we take care of our friends, we take care of our community. Ask your child to tell you more!

Picture Day!

Our First Six Days

We have had a wonderful start to the year! These first days of school have been focused on learning expectations of  classroom such as how we transition from one activity to the next, what it looks  like, sounds like, and feels like to be a first grader during different academic periods, and how we take care of each other and our classroom.  The children have been earning paper "hoots" for exhibiting the school-wide expectations for cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control (CARES). These first weeks of school are also dedicated to building community. We have started to get to know each other by having a "Super Student" each day. The Super Student is interviewed, then the class writes about what they learned about their peer. Finally, I compile the papers into a "book". He or she is also the classroom helper for the day! Ask your child to tell you more!

Our First All School Assembly!

Our class joined the school for our first assembly of the year.  Gym teacher, MJ, and 3rd grade teacher Mr. McLane preformed a funny parody song, and Mr. Hennessy introduced this year's new staff. Mr. Hennessy then asked the audience questions about our school to help our new students learn about UES. We ended the assembly with the children singing the Vermont Song, These Green Hills. It was a great start to our morning!