Week 10

Students playing "Pumpkin snatcher"

Students being wrapped up like mummies

Students playing Halloween musical chairs

A student showing off her vampire teeth

Students being wrapped like mummies!

Students playing candy corn toss

Students playing "guess that Halloween thing"

With Halloween this week, our classroom was full of craziness, but we tried to keep learning through it all. 

Special Thanks: Thank you parents!  Parent volunteers make such a big difference in the kids’ learning.  The kids absolutely loved the party that four parents came and put on.  Most importantly, I appreciate the sincere respect and thanks that so many of you express to me from time to time.  It can be difficult to keep a group of first graders safe and orderly, yet enjoying and progressing in their learning.  Your comments always help buoy me up and kindle the flame I have for teaching. Thanks!

Halloween Activities: This week we had a Halloween party put on by four parents.  The kids rotated between three activities: mummy wrapping with toilet paper, hot potatoe pumpkin, and guess the Halloween item by feeling it (for instance, sliced green peppers represented ears).  At the end we had scrumptious treats while watching a short educational video.

On Halloween the kindergarten class paraded around the school in their costumes, and my class absolutely loved watching their parade.

The kids enjoyed a short presentation by a police officer that highlighted important guidelines for trick-or-treating safely.  One of the things I love about first graders is that they think police officers are so incredibly cool!  

Funny Stuff From Kids: At one point on Halloween I needed the class’s attention, so I said, “I need every student’s voice at a zero.”  One student dressed in a dog costume from the Disney Bolt movie said, “How about the dog voices?”

Homework: Please continue doing the weekly homework.  Students get a prize for every 8 homework assignments (one week’s worth) that they complete.

Social Studies: We’ve been learning about kids in far away places, so this week we touched on what kids in the floods in Thailand are going through.  This was very interesting to my class, and I encouraged them to “think big” and come up with ideas regarding how we can help them as a class.  This concept will continue the next few weeks.

Math: In class we’ve been doing worksheets similar to their homework, math-fact practice, and a lesson.  Our lessons this week have mostly revolved around subtraction.

Project Read/Spelling: This week we focused on two of “the h brothers”.  We focused on the ch and wh sounds.  The kids are grasping it really well. 

Speedy Words and Rocket Math: Each student is progressing on their facts and instant words!

AR: Students are continuing their goal of 80 books this year to reach their Samurai, but they are starting over on their quarterly goal (every two months) of 20 books.

Writing: We’ve done various writing projects about both Halloween and snow.  They’re really starting to get the concept of a compete sentence.     

Science: Sadly, this week we replaced Science—which is normally two days—with rehearsing our routines and rules over and over, because the kids have been struggling behaviorly.