One Hundredth Day of School

We celebrated the 100th day of school on Tuesday! Each day since September, we have counted the days by adding a stick to a ones box. When we got to 10, we made a bundle and added it to a tens box. Finally, we got to make a big bundle of ten tens and we put it in a hundreds box! We read stories about ways to make 100, counted our collections of 100 by making 10 groups of 10, practiced counting by twos, fives, and tens, and made a book and a headband.

Here we all are in our headbands.

We counted by tens to see how many fingers there were in our class on the 100th day -

210!

Carson and Mallory worked on their book about the ways to make 100.

Nice job on the headband, too!

We counted by fives to get 100 spots on those ladybugs.

The kids brought in collections of 100 objects from home, and then practiced counting by tens as they made ten groups of ten.

We discovered that 100 is a really big number!

The chocolate chips were tempting!

So were the M&Ms.

100 pony tail holders!
Elaina said she had lots more at home.

100 pennies makes one dollar.

Bruno had tiny pieces of rice - way too small to see in the picture.

Carson had 100 marshmallows - can you see them?

So what does 100 look like?
A lot!!

Of course, I can't take a class picture without someone asking to make silly faces.

So, here we are again!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is a very exciting day for 1st graders! They love to give and receive cards and candy, and it's especially fun since they can now read the messages on the cards! The kids made and decorated heart pockets, and since we have been learning about alphabetical order, we put them in ABC order in the commons area outside our door. During Centers time in the morning, several students at a time got to go out and deliver their valentines (under supervision of a parent volunteer - thanks, Mrs. Stodden!).

The pockets were literally overflowing by the time everyone was finished! It was hard to wait until after milk break for the grand opening, and it was a real trick getting all those goodies into the classroom without leaving a trail of candy and cards.
We made it!

Hey, I can read it!

Everyone had smiles as they sorted through their goodies.

Most of the kids wore pink or red clothing, and Ethan's shirt was especially appropriate - "Ladies Man"

Look at all this stuff!

After opening everything, the kids got to choose one treat to eat, and then it was time to pack up, put it all away, and get ready for playtime.

Backpacks were really full yesterday!

Thanks, kids, for all the cards and treats for me, too!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

January Students of the Month

Mrs. Giese came in this week to present awards to our January Students of the Month.

Congratulations to Mallory, Ethan, and Gavin for doing such a good job in the past month!

Centers

The kids have been very busy with puzzles and manipulatives at Centers lately, and they are very proud when they finish something. "Take a picture!" is a phrase I hear often during our morning reading group rotation time.

The following pictures were taken over the last month.

We have been working on maps in Social Studies, and it is quite an accomplishment to assemble this puzzle of the United States.

Good job!

The sequence puzzles practice putting events in the right order.

After getting all the pieces together, the kids are supposed to whisper the stories to each other, using the words first, next, and last.
From the occasional giggles coming from the corner, I think they sometimes get pretty creative with their stories.

The giant foam pattern blocks make really neat designs.

The rhyming puzzles practice phonetic awareness.

This shapes puzzle is fun, too.

The solids shapes teach beginning geometry concepts.
Which shapes can stack? Which can roll? Which can slide?
Balancing is an important skill, too, and we somtimes have some crashes.

The kids think they are playing, but

little do they know that they are actually learning at the same time!

We've been working on symmetry, too, and I didn't realize until I downloaded my pictures that this design is totally symmetrical - pretty amazing!

Centers time also encourages the kids to work quietly and cooperatively together, since they have to whisper, take care of materials, and clean up after themselves.

Keep up the good work!