Sixty-Eighth Day

No homework for today.

We will go ahead and have our class celebration on Friday despite the program being on the same day.

I have told the kids that I will match any cougar-pon received at YDP with another from me doubling their chances in order help out the YDP supervisors enforce positive behavior.

FYI: I read a book about Santa Mouse (a treasury from my childhood) to the children. A child asked me after I finished story 2 the other day, "Are you sure that's true?" Hmm....So the legend goes, that if you should happen to find a small (tiny) gift tucked somewhere in your tree, perhaps tied with a yellow bow, then you will know that Santa Mouse has been to your house. *Shrugs* I don't know, it's just what I heard. Who knows how these stories get started?

Sixty-Third Day

Some students have begun to start their notes for their Unit Project.

You should find your child's progress report in your child's backpack. Do not sign and return this copy; it is yours to keep. If there are any questions concerning your child's report, either come see me after school or send a "contact" email. I will make sure to check the inbox regularly over the next few days.

For art we had a lesson on primary and secondary color and painting.

Sixtieth Day

We are bringing home a polymer (long stranded molecules of glue joined by sodium borate) as the result of our observations for science. The compound is harmless if kept away from porous materials such as clothing, carpeting, matte-finished walls and the like. It will eventually dissolve in water if it ends up in an undesired locale. First grade is so much fun.

Also in our bag o' tricks you should find a child-written copy of the first stanza of our vowel poem. Some students will want to keep this some place safe as it is part one of five which should be memorized.

Note: 3 shoes flew off at PE today, all of them slip-ons.

Unit 3 Week 1 Preview

In our next unit we will be exploring fun and laughter. Over the course of this unit, students will be collecting funny stories, riddles, and anecdotes to make into a book. Please assist children over the winter break to write notes about family members' favorite funny stories, riddles, and jokes.

We will begin our study of long-vowel spellings beginning with the spelling pattern long-vowel 'a' spelled 'a_e' (eg., rate, cage). We will learn the first stanza of our vowel poem which students may later memorize for a star on the Star Chart. Our vocabulary words of the week are: amuse, humorous, delighted, mood, and ridiculous. We will review sight words: all, put, show, together, under, and want in addition to introducing away, school, today, way, and why. In grammar we will be taking another look at verbs. We will discuss again, respect and good sportsmanship. As we did last week, we will use a Flow Chart to independently retell a story.

Fifty-Eighth Day

One student has completed a PowerPoint presentation and another has begun. It is slow going with computer work because only one computer works adequately to make presentations.

We will take a short test on Topic 9 tomorrow. If the copiers are up and running in the office and if the material warrants, we may attempt to take a full test; we'll wait to see.

We worked briefly with compound words and took some time to illustrate a fold-out book which some students completed and took home.

We had an art lesson today on the element of shape. We distinguished between geometric and organic shapes and created a self-portrait.

Yesterday, we discussed the Sun and it's influence on weather. We discussed the transformation of matter and the sun's role in the water cycle. We discussed the removal and addition of heat to transform matter into its various states. This will be a tested concept.