Growing in God's Love: January 2019

Monday, January 21, 2019

January Happenings

This month we bean our study of snow using the works of "Snowflake Bentley" - a pioneering photographer who perfected a process of catching flakes on black velvet in such a way that their images could be captured before they either melted or sublimated. We learned that snowflakes are clear ice crystals that have six sides, but when they're all piled up together they look white. We learned how to fold and cut patterns to make snowflakes, and each child cut out and "glitterized" three snowflakes to make a mobile. These decorate our classroom. We continued our snowy theme last week learning about the Arctic, Antarctica, and polar animals. Our main focus was on the polar bear and penguin, their habitats, and their special adaptations for survival. We added pages to our science journals on these animals. With penguins, we also read penguin poetry then students chose their favorite poem to copy and write. Then then crafted a penguin, giving it a "fluffy belly" by mixing shaving cream and glue and sprinkling it with glitter. This was a fan-favorite activity. Our science experiments included "Why do penguins swim but don't get wet" and a hibernation bear butter experiment. I grabbed 2 empty food jars and labeled them "hibernating bear" and "awake bear".... we let the hibernating bear jar rest somewhere nice and quiet in the classroom. The awake bear jar got passed around to each student for them to shake for 25 seconds and hold for a minute or so each. Then we talked {and wrote} about our findings.

This coming week we will learn about snow men, create "snow" with a special science experiment, read the stories Snowmen at Night and Snowmen at Work, using these themes to write about the story, identifying nouns and verbs. Next week we'll wrap up snow with literature about snow globes, creating our own snow globes and and Arctic Animal snow globes. Our first grade snow projects will be showcased in our primary hallway entitled, "It's 'snow' secret, we're a great school!"

In social studies we dive in to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We'll complete a study on the power of words and learn some of Dr. King's "BIG WORDS." We'll learn about Yolanda, Dr. King's grand daughter, and use Dr. King as one source of study in guided reading. If you are able to make it to our Catholic School's Week kick-off and Open House on Sunday, January 27th (beginning with 11:30AM Mass in church), be sure to check out our first grade wall "I Have a Dream" (in the primary hallway) where you'll see the dreams of our SMS Firsties on display.

We completed MAP math testing last week, and MAP reading tests will be administered this week. Students also completed the Unit 5 math assessment in class, and we move on to Unit 6 this week. The class was super-psyched to have our classroom store where they counted up their golden tickets and exchanged them for pennies, nickels, dimes and dollars to shop at store. They were able to utilize calculators to assist with totals, addition, and subtraction. They have so much fun learning about money this way! One of the kids' all time faves this past week was the Doubles Addition to 12 song. Be sure to check it out: Doubles Addition to 12 Song.

A few quick photos I was able to grab of our math B.U.I.L.D. time!

(keep reading below)

In religion this month our focus has been on the Baptism of Jesus, the parables of Jesus, the Miracles of Jesus, and the return to ordinary time. We reinforced our learning about the Sacrament of Baptism by heading over to the church and visiting the Baptismal font where we filled little heart bottles with holy water. The children brought these home around their neck and are encouraged to hang them up someplace special so they don't leak, and also so that they can bless themselves, their family members, their rooms, and their stuffed animals.

The 100th Day of School celebration is rapidly approaching! Celebrations will be held on Friday, February 1st all day. Your child is responsible for preparing two items for this special day, and information was sent home about this on January 10th. In case you missed it, you can read all about it here! Also coming up is our Valentine's Day party on Thursday, February 14th from 1:15-2:15pm. First graders exchange valentines with their class. More information and a sign-up genius for volunteers will be sent via email within the next week.

Sunday, January 6, 2019

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a joyful and relaxing Christmas break. I want to extend a sincere THANK YOU to all of you for the generous and lovely Christmas gifts! Truly, I am grateful for your generosity and thoughtfulness! I hope you all enjoyed the beautiful snowmen handprint ornaments and "Gift of Jesus" cards that your child worked so hard on. They were so excited to give them to you. :)

The kids were very happy to be back at school last Thursday and Friday, and they worked super hard getting back into the routine of school. They had a great time chatting with each other and swapping stories at snack time. We read The Night Before New Year's Eve and sequenced the events of the story; we also drew a picture of our own family celebration of New Year's. We also read Squirrel's New Year Resolution and how squirrel resolved to help people. We learned the meaning of the words RESOLUTION and RESOLVED, and the students wrote about their own 2019 New Year's resolutions (these are hanging in the hallway!).

Students also took their Journeys Reading pretest for spelling on Lesson 12, and both pretests and word lists were sent home on Friday. We'll be back in the guided reading schedule this week, so be sure to check RED folders for nightly reading assignments. If you'd like a refresher on RED folder reading, re-read this letter from the beginning of the year. SIX FLAGS READ TO SUCCEED also came home in the RED folders Friday. Your child can simply record their reading minutes each night to earn a FREE TICKET to Six Flags Great America! All Six Flags logs are due February 22nd.

During the month of January we will hit the ground running in science, learning about the science of snowflakes and snow as well as our unit on animal adaptations, biomimicry, and hibernation. Animal adaptations will continue through the rest of the year as we compile information in our science journals about different animals and their adaptations. We'll extend this in spring when we go back to our learning on plants and apply biomicry to plant life. This month we'll also learn about the science of sound and polar animals.

In social studies, we'll learn about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and complete a study using BIG words. In religion, we'll study the parables of Jesus and have a special day of "Parable Theater" with our Mass Mates. We'll also prepare for Catholic Schools Week happening Sunday, January 27th through Friday, February 1st. Please mark your calendars to attend the 11:30AM Mass on Sunday, January 27th and have your child(ren) wear their school uniform. #representSMS Afterwards, there will be an open house in the school from 1:00-3:00 PM for all current and prospective students and families.

In Math, we are back into our groove with Rocket Math. Please remember that you can download the Rocket Math app or subscribe to the Rocket Math online game. The students have been incredibly engaged with their number scrolls - a "fast finisher" activity where they can count as high as they want by writing their numbers, beginning at 1. We have some students into the 2000s - WAY TO GO! Below are a few pictures of number scrolls that are getting taller than the students. :) There's also a few fun pics of playing less than/greater than.

On February 1st we will celebrate the 100th day of school! More information will be sent home this week via your child's GO binder as there are several at-home projects to complete for special school activities. It's truly an amazing day that the students thoroughly enjoy!

Until next time, I leave you with my favorite find of the new year: