Our Week So Far

Here's a little peek into what we have been doing this week:

We have been reviewing the letter names. Each day we do 2 - 3 letters. We read a poem with that letter, sing a song, listen for words that begin with the sound, and practice writing the capital and small letters.



O is for Ozzie Octopus. The children made their own Octopus completely of O's! Then they circled all the O's in words and glued them to his/her arms.





We counted, graphed, and compared the letters in our names.



Our lunch schedule was switched this year, so the children go to recess first, and then come back in for lunch. With this new schedule, they are allowed to come back to class as soon as they finish their lunch. To get the whole class back usually takes between 5 and 10 minutes. In order to keep control (or attempt to!), I play a book for them to watch/listen to as they come in. Those of you in my area, go to our city public library website and click on the link halfway down the page for "Tumble Books". You will find hundreds of books! The words of the story are highlighted as they are read aloud. They are educational, and so much fun!

This one is "The Boy in the Drawer" by my favorite author, Robert Munsch. He's Canadian which makes me love him even more!

We finished practicing our numbers 1 - 10. For each number we sang a song, practiced writing them on the Smart Board, and then practiced on papers.




One of our goals in first grade is to write to 100 in 3 minutes. We practice all year long, and when someone gets to 100 before the timer goes off, they get a jaw breaker! The frogs under the Smart Board are what we use to keep track of our progress. At the end of 3 minutes, I have them circle where they were with a crayon, and then we keep going for however much time is left in Math (5 or so more minutes). The beginning of the year starts off slow, but most everyone is able to make it by the end of the year. The only students I've had who don't make it, are those who sit and stare and don't try. I've told my class that as long as they try their best every time we practice, they will make it. And if someone has been trying and can't seem to make it, I still give them a jaw breaker at the end of the year.




That's a little taste of what our week has been like. Enjoy!