Marshmallow Math

Hello Everyone!  Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to check up on what our first graders are doing!  Have you ever thought about what marshmallows have to do with math?  Well, when working on place value, marshmallows become the tens and ones places!  Today we used JUMBO marshmallows to show the tens place and regular sized marshmallows to  show the ones place. The kids stuck a toothpick into each marshmallow and then had to show me specific numbers using Fruitloops looped onto the toothpicks.  Kiddos then had to record the number by showing what the model looked like and then write the number.  Who knew math could be so sweet?

place value work mat

Jumbo marshmallows, regular marshmallows and fruit loops

Recording sheet

Gotta love hands on math!!
Thanks for peeking in!  Have a wonderfilled tomorrow and stop by again!
Joyfully!
Nancy

Word Surgery

Hey Everyone!  Did you every think that first graders could perform surgery?  Well, what a better way to understand contractions than to actually cut out the letters that are not needed anymore!  I saw this idea while researching contraction activities and thought I'd give it a try with my kiddos. I got some rubber gloves and masks for each kiddo and told them that we were going to become first grade word doctors.  We have been talking about contractions and have noticed them in our reading.  I had each of them write a phrase on a card, choosing from a list. We then donned our gloves and masks, skillfully made our incisions (with scissors), trimming off the unwanted letters, suturing the cut (with tape) and finally closing with a bandaid (which became the apostrophe.)  The kids had a blast and wanted to do more!  I think we may have some true surgeons in our future!!

Word Doctor Supplies

Skillful incision



Careful stitching



ready to suture



Confident surgeon



Successful surgery



Happy Word Doctors!




Thanks for taking a peek!
See you next time!
Have a wonder-filled tomorrow!!
Joyfully!
Nancy

Friday Fun

A peek into Friday...Hello everyone!  I thought I would post a little bit about Fridays!  This past Friday we had the incredible opportunity to dedicate a new bell for the school. It is so special because our building has been open for seven years which means that the first group of kindergarteners are now sixth graders and we will also have our first group of kids who went to this school graduate from high school this spring.  Our graduating sixth graders and our graduating seniors will be able to ring the bell. What a wonderful incentive to stay connected! What a wonderful new tradition!

Fridays in my classroom is Gold Nugget trading day.  Kiddos have the opportunity to earn gold nuggets (goes along with the western theme in my classroom) for going above and beyond the norm in the classroom.  They can save nuggets to trade in for things like "treasure box" items, pencils, stickers or ice cream.  It is always amazing to me what kids save for and what they choose.  Enjoy the pics!

Friday is also a day we celebrate science.  I call our science time SCI FRI!  The kids so look forward to our little experiments and experiences, and are really learning what scientists do.  Today we were distinguishing the differences between living and nonliving.  We went outside to document our observations.  We chose objects found outside and answered questions about their characteristics.  The kids had fun and learned so much about living and nonliving. All of our documents are added to our Science journals!!  I will post some of our outher SCI FRI activities soon!

Thanks for taking a peek into our Friday!!  Please stop by again soon!!
Have a wonder-filled tomorrow!
Joyfully!
Nancy

Growing Patterns and Adjectives!

A peek into our day...What fun we had in math today.  We have been studying growing patterns and when I found these cute little snowflake counters I knew how we were going to practice!  Each table group was responsible for creating a growing pattern using their snowflake counters. Then they had to record their pattern using addition sentences.  The kids worked so well together and tackled some tough problems!  Way to go, guys!! You are certainly "growing" on me!! :)

This afternoon we worked very hard on adjectives and decided to showcase some spectacular 2012 describing words!  I am "blown away" at the words these kids come up with!!  We had a lot of fun brainstorming words to describe how 2012 was going to be!!  Spectacular, awesome, fun, and devine :) are just a few!!  We also learned when to use commas while listing things in a sequence!  Look at how we spotlighted our awesome adjectives!

We had a very busy day and learned so much!  Thanks for taking a peek!!
Have a happy tomorrow!
Joyfully!
Nancy

Happy New Year

A peek into our day...  Happy New Year Friends and Parents!  We took time today to learn about New Year's Resolutions.  Sharing our resolutions helps us to be accountable!! :)  We read a short poem about resolutions and added that poem to our poetry folders.  Then we got busy brainstorming some things we wanted to work on in class.  We decided to call our list "I'm going to knock your socks off in 2012 by..."  the kids came up with some great ideas and they each picked one or two that they were going to focus on in the coming year.  I am constantly amazed at the maturity level of some of my first graders. They were pretty serious about what they were going to work on.  In turn, I told the kids my biggest resolution is to get more organized!!  They said they would help! YAY!  Anyway, the kids wrote their resolutions on paper and created sock backgrounds!  Great job, kids!!!

I introduced some new chunks today which included long i. I introduced the strategy of "Sparkly e" to the kids through a story and a poem about how special a silent e is.  We brainstormed words to practice this week and then created sparkly e's!  Loved it!  The kids will practice flipping the sound of the vowels (eg. rid to ride) this week.  Flipping the sound is a strategy useful while monitoring your child's reading. If you hear them applying the short vowel sound when it should be the long sound,(or the other way around) simply tell them to flip the sound.  They will know what you mean!

Hope you enjoyed a quick peek into our day!  Come back soon!
Have a joyful tomorrow!
Nancy

December Fun

A Peek into December... How do you turn a square piece of paper into a beautiful candy cane??  We had a lot of fun discovering the process.  We took a square piece of paper and colored the outside edges of it with red marker (about a quarter of an inch).We flipped the paper over, and started rolling the paper around a pencil starting at a corner.  The kids were amazed when a beautiful striped stick emerged.  They wanted to make more and more and more.  Some kids ended up making some beautiful rainbow striped canes!! So much fun!

 If you are one of my VIK parents and you have not opend up the gift your first grader made for you, please scroll past this next section :).  We worked hard on our gifts for our parents the week before school got out.  We bought some simple off white plates and hade the kids paint a light blue sky background using acrylic paint and cotton balls. When that dried, we painted a snowman head using white acrylic and cooton balls. We added some snowflakes using a cotton swab.   We let that dry and then painted the sweet face using cotton swabs and a foam brush.  Spraying the entire plate with a clear acrylic spray helps everything stay put.  The kids then wrote with pencil the cute saying and then traced over their letters with a sharpie.  We hot-glued the fabric on to look like a scarf and...... Ta-Da!!  Finished!  The kids are so proud of their hard work and can't wait to surprise someone special with their gifts!!  Great job, Kiddos!!!  Merry Christmas, families!!!!

As I enjoy a few days off  with my family to celebrate this wonder-filled time of year, I am sending thoughts of a joyous holiday season to my school families!!  Stay safe and see you all soon!
Have a happy tomorrow!
Jofully!
Nancy

Grinch Day

A Peek into Grinch Day... I've been busy planning for Grinch day for a while and it finally arrived last Thursday! Kids were invited to come dressed in green and were able to wear Santa hats if they wanted. Because it was also "Think Outside the Box Thursday" for morning warm up, I had the kids start with 5 green dots and a piece of paper.  They could create anything they wanted.  My kids always surprise me with what they create!!

After Calendar time, we enjoyed practicing our addition facts with a grinch dice game.  Paired activities always show me so much about how kids work together.

We practiced our "words to know" with spaghetti...green spaghetti, of course!  If you want to try this, simply cook spaghetti noodles and drain. Add a couple drops of green food coloring to about a teaspoon of oil and mix into wet spaghetti.  Some kids loved the feel.  Some wanted to eat it!  Some wanted to take it home and feed it to their little brothers!!! :)

It was finally snack time.  My kids got so excited when I told them they were going to make their own snack today. Who Pudding!!! I happened to find some color changing pudding mix, that actually turns a grinchy shade of green when milk was added.  I gave the kids 2Tablespoons of milk in a small cup and 2 teaspoons of the pudding mix in another small cup.  They mixed them together and stirred for one minute with a spoon.  They were amazed with the color and dove right in for a taste!!!  Most kids loooooved it and were excited to get the recipe for Who Pudding to bring home!

We, of course, read the well loved Dr. Seuss book "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and talked about why the grinch was so grumpy. This led to a discussion on  what makes us grumpy or grinchy, and then what makes us happy.  Great insights into my sweeties' hearts!!

It was then time to include some science into our day.  We have been working on the properties of matter, so of course we had to make some gak!  I renamed the substance "Grinch Grime."  Each table group mixed 1 teaspoon of borax powder (in the laundry section of the store), and 1 cup of water in a container.  They then mixed 4 oz of Elmer's glue (I used clear glue) and half a cup of water in another container.  They added 2-3 drops of green food coloring to the glue mixture and stirred. Both containers were then mixed together. The Grime got very thick very fast. The kids commented on the fact that everything started off a liquid and now was turning into a solid.  YAY!  Each kiddo got to take some home in a resealable container. Soooo Fun!!! I sent the recipe home and many kids came the next day and told me they were going to make some more at home!

 

OH! Can't forget the Grinch song we learned (written by DeannaJump), and the Grinchy word pointers we got to use as we learned the song!!  I found some green plastic icicles at Walmart that were perfect for that task! We put all of our treasures into a Grinch Folder labled with the lesson the Grinch learned in the story!!

We had a fabulous day, learned a lot about how characters in stories change  and the connections we can make with the characters in books!!  Thanks for taking a peek into our Grinch Day!!

Happy Tommorrow!

Joyfully!

Nancy