Thankful...

Dear First Graders,

    I have so much to be thankful for and all of you definitely top my list!  We had a blast this week learning all about the First Thanksgiving and how it is similar and different from our own. The kids also enjoyed playing some fun Thanksgiving games in the lab. Here is a link to some great games that Mrs. Rose made:  Thanksgiving Games

 We also enjoyed a mystery reader.

Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Kids in Culture

Dear First Graders,

     Today we celebrated our friend's birthday! It was so neat that she also got to help during our assembly.  What a special day!

All the stories had the message of being kind, brave and persevering. 

Thanks PTO for brining us another great program.

Bear Hugs,

"Stay Curious and Creative."

Dear First Graders,

      Boy was I intrigued by the author our mystery reader brought to share with our class.  Tao Nyeu, author of the book Squid and Octopus: Friends for Always, was a Rosendale graduate! Cyrus and his mom wrote to her and asked her some questions that they shared with us. I also did some digging and believe that she had the teacher that previously taught right in our classroom!  Very cool!!

    Here is the message Tao Nyeu sent us...

Stay curious and creative.

One of the best ways to do that is to read books.

And never be afraid to make mistakes

because that is the best way to learn.

- Tao Nyeu

(click name to visit her webpage)

This is a post card Tao Nyeu sent Cyrus! 

Bear Hugs,

Battleship... Shape Version!

Dear Builders!

     You did a great job today identifying your 3D shapes by name and playing Battleship... Shape Version! Check out these two videos of 2 different groups at work! 

Shape Battleship

Shape Battleship Take 2

Keep working on identifying those 3D shapes!  Sphere and cylinder seem to trick us the most.

Bear Hugs,

PJ Day!

Dear First Graders,

     I enjoyed being all cozy in our PJs today!  Here is a cute class picture of us.  Don't forget, picture retakes are Thursday.

    Here is another twin picture from earlier this week!  We all have such good fashion taste!

     Do you celebrate Thanksgiving at home?  Talk with mom and dad about the traditions that you have as a family.

     Mrs. McCullough will be our guest teacher tomorrow. I can't wait to hear about your fabulous day!

Bear Hugs,

Shape Up Shapes!

Dear First Graders,

       Making composite shapes has been exciting (and challenging!). We really had to think and keep trying to build a trapezoid with four of our shapes.  Did you challenge your mom and dad to try at home?  The pieces you need were part of your homework.

    Here are some of the composite shapes we made!  (I also included one way to make a trapezoid with four of shapes we had).

     Two of our friends unexpectedly were twins for the day!  So fun!!

     We also enjoyed a very silly book read by our mystery reader! 

 One last thing, on a more personal note, I became an aunt again on Saturday! My sister and her family welcomed their newest addition, Eve Ingrid. She is a peanut and absolutely adorable.

Bear Hugs,

Happy Veteran's Day!

Dear First Graders,

     I hope you enjoyed our assembly today called "Bubble Mania!".  Try to be scientists at home with bubbles.

     I was very impressed with the great job you did singing our patriot songs in honor of Veteran's Day!

Bear Hugs,

Shapes Galore!

Dear First Graders,

     We had a fun week, celebrating our friend's birthday and having a sibling as our mystery reader!!

   We have also been learning a lot about 2D (flat) and 3D shapes!  Some of our new 2D shapes include trapezoid and hexagon. Did you tell mom and dad that a square is a special type of rectangle? Our 3D shape names can be a little harder for us, but we love using our poem to help! 

    I was very impressed with the great patterns we made with our partners.  I wonder if you can find patterns around your house!!

Bear Hugs,
Mrs. Jefts