Artists of Geometry

This week has been a busy one, but a really cool thing happened amid the hustle and bustle of classroom activities and holiday excitement. Our children produced magnificent artwork using basic shapes!

Mrs. Glaspie and I made this discovery as we were grading station work this afternoon. I have been thinking about it all evening - wondering why I didn't have them complete the work in a way that would be fitting for a hallway display. I've contemplated doing the activity again with this idea in mind, but somehow the work never comes out quite as good the second time around. I finally decided that this "hallway" is the only one that really matters. We will share our geometry artwork with the people that care the most.

Enjoy!

Small Moments

In writer's workshop we have been writing about "small moments" from our everyday lives. The focus for this week has been learning to sketch pictures instead of creating beautiful artwork to accompany our "sloppy copy." It was so fun to witness the lightbulb going off! One student shared that a sketch helps to save time when you are writing a long story.

Another relevation occurring in room C102 is that things learned in writing also carry over to reading, math, science, and social studies.

Hooray for first graders!

Rock and Roll in 1st Grade

Yesterday in music class we learned to be composers. We made our own melody for a song about dreidels. We added musical instruments to our song (accompaniment). Then we added the choreography or dance movements. We even got to perform for Mrs. W when she came to pick us up from music. It was awesome...even Mrs. B thought so!

We also had a guest geologist in the afternoon. She brought real rocks and minerals to share with us. Then we got to do stations to test our own rocks for hardness, whether or not they could float, how much they weighed, how long they were, and for calcium or lime. This created a great deal of excitement.

Today we are receiving our reward for the marble jar. We voted for no shoes in the classroom. We promise to be careful!

The Beginning

I recently began a blog for my family as a way to share the happenings and photos of our life. Working on this made me realize that a blog might be a wonderful way to share the highlights of our school days. I hope this will help you feel more connected and gives you a reason to smile.