Monday, May 4, 2015

Spring Things

Spring is a busy time in first grade, and it has been almost two months since I have had time to update our blog! We've been working so hard for the past few months, and we are so close to second grade now! This last month is extra important to really prepare our kids for second grade and beyond. I am so enjoying our last few months together and watching our kiddos continue to grow. 

Here's what we've been up to! 

As you know, we took several field trips over the past few months. 

The Nature and Science Museum was really incredible and our kids had a great time exploring. 












 We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the Mint, but we had an amazing time! This was my first time at the Mint, and I was so impressed with the information they gave us and the incredible process that goes into creating the coins we use. This was a great way to jump further into our learning about money! 


We also just finished up our Geography unit! Kids worked so hard on forming a global understanding of the world, and recognizing the different levels of communities we belong to. A big thank you to Kisule and his mom who gave an amazing presentation on Uganda! We loved hearing about a very different country, seeing pictures, and getting to take home real shillings. 




In math, our focus has been on exploring geometry and money, as well as continuing to build our understanding of place value and interpreting data. We really want our kids to be having mathematical conversations that apply to everyday life, so that math is an applied and interesting skill. Whenever you are using math, talk with your kids about it and point it out! 
Thanks so much for sending in so many great items for the school store! Students are having a blast shopping and using math in a real life scenario. 










We also finished our All About unit in writing! Students worked so hard to research and write these books. So many families helped with this research as well. Thank you for all your hard work at home! 

I hope you heard about our pen pals from your kiddos. Having authentic writing opportunities is so valuable to our kids, and we have really been enjoying writing back and forth. Special thanks to Dr. Brown, who bought brie for us to try at our after school French club in April! 









Now, we are studying Meteorology in science. We have been enjoying studying clouds, and are moving onto talking about the water cycle. This should be a perfect week to observe precipitation in action! 


Finally, a HUGE thank you to all of you who helped support our school with the Walk-a-Thon. I love this fundraiser because it is so much fun for the kids. 
























Thanks again for reading and keeping up with what is going on in first grade! 
This post's password is RAINBOW!