Week 36

Lots of pictures from this week!  Enjoy...I hope they load up okay for everyone, since there are so many of them.

I let students choose our desk arrangement for the last two weeks, and they chose smilie face!

School is winding down for the year, and we had another great week of learning!

Special Activities: Australian Paul Taylor visited our school and taught the students about Australia.  They absolutely loved it.  They learned about European Australian culture and Aboriginal culture.  They were introduced to many new terms.  He also tied his presentations into science and writing.  On Thursday night students got to perform at an assembly with him. 

We also did some very fun Mother’s Day art projects, one of which was taught by a parent.  Students love it when parents volunteer, and they love it when we get to do art. 

Funny Stuff From Kids: One student was playing with a puppet, and he purposely gave the puppet a “kindergarten accent” of not being able to say r’s.  When I asked him more about it, he said that his puppet couldn’t say his r’s…just like in the word miles.  Then he tried to say the word miles with his “no r” accent. . .Of course, I had to tell him that “miles” has no r in it in the first place.

“I’ve had my first kiss with [some singer-I can’t remember who].” . . .After talking further, I realized that she actually meant the word “crush” instead of “kiss!”    

One first grader (not one of the ones in my class) asked me, “Is my hair messed up?”  When I replied yes, he said, “good” with a content look on his face. 

Students were talking about an upcoming volleyball camp in the community, and I discovered that many of them think that “volleyball” is called “ball-E-ball.”

“[So-and-so] said a bad word.”  I asked him to try to explain the bad word to me.   He replied  that the person said, “You have to move to the back of the line.”

Homework: Thank you to all who have been diligent with homework clear up to the end!  I sent the  last weekly packet home on Thursday.

Social Studies: This week for social studies we learned about Australian culture with Paul Taylor—as mentioned above—and in our class.

Math: This week we talked about weight, and the students were very interested in it.  We also watched a math video that reviewed everything they should know in first grade about a calendar.  We’ve finished our math curriculum, and now we will be reviewing what they’ve learned.

Project Read/Spelling: This week we focused on ending -y.  In a one syllable word it says “I” at the end of the word.  In a two or more syllable word, it says “E.”      

Speedy Words and Rocket Math: Students have been doing awesome!  They’ve learned so much when it comes to sight words and math facts. 

AR: Every student in our class earned their Samurai!

Writing: This week for writing we continued our class project of writing first grade memories.  I’ve been conferencing with each student about his/her writing, and it’s been very effective. 

Science: For science this week we learned the word “metamorphosis” about how a caterpillar changes into a butterfly.  Then we released our butterflies.  They flew around the room for a bit, which students loved.  Eventually they made their way outside.