Royal Reader!

This week, we had a Royal Reader pay us a surprise visit! She read "Mrs. Twiggley's Tree". This was a book that most of the students had not heard of before, and they loved it! Thanks so much for joining us!

Dreidel game

Last week, Mr. Smith visited our class to read us a Hanukkah story and teach us the dreidel game! Most of the students wrote down the rules that Mr. Smith wrote on the board for us, but in case they didn't, I've posted the rules here. (Click on the image to enlarge) Enjoy!

Happy Hanukkah!

Today we began our Holiday Traditions unit, in which we will study Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Eid, and also discuss various family traditions. As this is the first day of Hanukkah, we started our unit with the book, "Our Eight Nights of Hanukkah", and the students illustrated a menorah on the Hanukkah page of our Holiday Traditions book. In this photo, one of our students enthusiastically models for the class how to draw a menorah! We will continue our study of Hanukkah tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so thankful for the little turkeys in 1-1! They have made such wonderful progress so far this year, and they have such joyful personalities. Thank you for all of your support at home, and enjoy the time with your families over this Thanksgiving break!

Art Appreciation

Our second art appreciation lesson of the year was a success! Mrs. Geisler came in to teach a lesson about the painting "St. George Slaying the Dragon". The students enjoyed sharing their ideas about what may be happening in the painting, and then they were able to use colors to add details to their own picture of St. George and that pesky dragon. Thank you Mrs. Geisler for all of your hard work!

Royal Reader!

This week, we were surprised by another Royal Reader! She read us "The Thanksgiving Day from the Black Lagoon", which was just perfect for this time of year. The kids also enjoyed meeting a special little visitor who accompanied her! Thank you for coming in to read to us!

Correction- AHML reading event!

The event at the library that I mentioned in my last post will actually continue throughout the school year until the end of May! Even more time to take advantage of this special opportunity!

Arlington Heights Memorial Library Event!

Below are the details for a special event just for first graders at the library! Enjoy!

Dates: Mondays, November 1, 15, 29 and December 13; Tuesdays, November 2, 16, 30 and December 14
Times: 6:30–6:45 p.m., 6:45–7 p.m., or 7–7:15 p.m.
Location: Kids’ World Desk

Calling all first graders! Come in and get your picture taken with a book you can read all by yourself. Your photo can be displayed in our I Can Read area. Bring a familiar book to read aloud to a librarian. Register online or at the Reception Desk, 847-392-0100.

Halloween Parade & Party

More party photos that wouldn't fit in the last post!

Halloween Parade & Party

We wrapped up our week with our Halloween parade and party! The students had a blast dressing in their costumes, parading through the neighborhood, and enjoying treats and games when we returned to the classroom for our party. Room representatives Mrs. Hall and Mrs. Geisler did a fabulous job of planning and running the party for us! The students enjoyed playing bingo, doing a relay race, and playing a "pass the gourd" game while listening closely to a story!

First Grade Musical

The next event during our busy week was our First Grade Musical! The first graders worked so hard and were so excited to perform their fall musical for the other students in the afternoon, and for their families in the evening. (These photos are from the afternoon performance.) Bravo!

Pumpkin Carving Day!

And one more photo that wouldn't fit in the last post!

Pumpkin Carving Day!

Last week was a busy one in first grade! We kicked off the week with our annual pumpkin carving day. We began the day by measuring our pumpkins in various ways and by reading stories to them. I've posted the group pictures (click on the images to enlarge). We had many spooky and cute Jack-o-lanterns when the event was finished! Thanks for coming in to share in the fun.

Royal Reader!

This week, we were surprised by another Royal Reader. He read us the book, "Otis", and we realized that new things aren't always better than old things. Thank you for coming in to read to us!

Water Cycle Experiment

This week, we concluded our Water Cycle unit with a water cycle experiment. We actually made it rain in our classroom! While the students were expecting thunder rolling in and water falling from the sky, we did keep it contained to one tank. We observed as a bowl of water (a puddle) was heated by a light bulb (the sun), and turned to water vapor. We then had ice on the top of the tank, so that as the water vapor rose, it was cooled and began sticking together to form a cloud. Finally, as the water droplets became too heavy to stick to the top of the tank, it began raining on our green paper plate (the grass). The students were so excited to be able to witness the water cycle actually taking place in our classroom, even if we didn’t get wet! (Click any of the photos to enlarge)

Royal Reader!

Our next Royal Reader made a special Halloween themed appearance, as you will notice she opted for a witch hat rather than the Royal Reader crown! She read us two witch-approved stories, “Miss Fiona’s Stupdendous Pumpkin Pies” and “Miss Nelson is Missing”. Thank you for coming in to read to us!

Royal Reader!

Another Royal Reader surprised us last week! She read us a hilarious book, “Walter the Farting Dog Goes on a Cruise”. The kids got a real kick out of it! Thanks for coming in to read to us!

Art Appreciation

Last week, Mrs. Misner came in to do our first art appreciation lesson. The students enjoyed learning about tribal masks, and even got to create their own mask to take home! Thank you Mrs. Misner for all of your hard work- we had a fabulous time! (Click any of the photos to enlarge)

Author Celebration!

On Friday, we celebrated the end of our first unit of Writer's Workshop with a first grade author celebration. The students published their autobiographies, and met in the LMC with other first graders to share. We used our microphones within our groups to identify which author was sharing. It was an exciting way to wrap up our focus on autobiographies before moving on to our next unit, which focuses on writing about "small moments". The autobiographies will be hanging outside of our classroom for all to enjoy! (You may enlarge any of the pictures from our author celebration by clicking on them.)