Pumpkins

Fall has officially arrived (actually, it looked more like winter on Friday), so it's time to start decorating the room for....Halloween! The children had fun cutting out big pumpkins this week, and then adding shapes to make faces.

They all worked soooooo hard! Look for our Pumpkin Patch if you stop by school this week!

Happy Halloween!

Conferences

Wow! Last week flew by, and with shortened school days due to conferences, I didn't take any pictures, although we were VERY busy! Thanks to everyone who came in for conferences. I'm happy to report that we had 100% attendance! Yes, everyone came, and it was great to have a chance to chat and share information. Please do not hesitate to contact me by phone or e-mail if you have any questions or concerns!

Hopefully, all the kids will be feeling good after our short break. We had 4-5 kids gone each day last week, so the germs have definitely been making the rounds. Please remind kids to wash hands frequently, and to keep their fingers out of their mouths!

Fire Safety

The second week in October is Fire Prevention Week, and for as long as I can remember, the Cannon Falls firefighters have been coming to school to teach our students about fire safety. On Wednesday, we had a lyceum in the gym, and then the kids went outside to see the firetrucks.

The firefighters shared information with us about kitchen safety, home hazards, and what to do if clothing catches on fire .
STOP, DROP, AND ROLL!!

Then, we headed outside where they showed us the fire trucks and equipment.

The kids were great listeners!

There was a lot to see and hear!

The kids got to ask questions, too.

Firefighter Jeff (a former student of mine) showed us the fire rescue truck.

We also saw the "jaws of life." The fire rescue truck is very important in medical emergencies as well as fires!

We got to see the ambulance, too.

We are so fortunate to have brave firefighters in our community to help protect us and teach us how to be safe. Thanks to all the volunteers!

Homecoming

Last Friday was Homecoming and the whole school got to go to a Pepfest in the gym. We had our own private cheering section at the side of the gym since the cheerleaders needed lots of room in the front for their acrobatic routines. It was so much fun to watch!

We were all dressed in red, white, and black, and we made signs earlier in the morning to help cheer on the Bombers.

The pep band played, too!

We learned some new cheers,

waved our signs,

and had a lot of fun!

GO, BOMBERS!

Learning to Read!

Learning to read is a first grader's main job, and we spend a lot of time each day in the process. Our morning Language Arts block is spent in whole group activities such as singing songs, listening to stories, practicing phonics, and learning comprehension stategies. Then we break into small groups. During group time, the children meet with me for small group instruction where we practice new vocabulary, review high-frequency words, play games, and read stories. There is also an independent seat work time, and an activity centers time. If you walked into the classroom between 8:30 and 11:00, you would be amazed at how independent and focused the children are on their "jobs." They have already made so much progress!

The children can play games, color, and read books at our activity centers.

We are working on our first theme, "All Together Now," in our anthologies.

This week, we have been practicing decoding words with the short a sound as we read a story called "A Day at School."

It's fun to read independently!

Our classroom para, Mrs. Robinson, is available during work time to help and answer questions.

We use our finger to point at words as we read.

During work time, we work independently in our Practice Books and also do various reading, writing, and drawing projects.

We can also do free choice reading and writing when we finish our assigned tasks.

Children have a Center Buddy for the week as they rotate through five different centers, one per day, while other children are working with me or doing their assignment for the day. Every center has a choice of activities, and reading books pertaining to the center is always a choice. The manipulatives center is always a favorite.

Puzzles are fun to put together, too!

The book corner is a great place to relax and just read!
It's so much fun to learn to read!

Gunnar's Walk

Last week, we had the opportunity to meet Gunnar Swanson, a soldier who served in Iraq. He came to visit our school and told us about his 1,000+ mile walk to raise money for the children of war-torn countries. After listening to Gunnar tell about some of his experiences with the children, we drew pictures about friendship for them, while older kids wrote letters.

Then we went outside to make a tunnel for Gunnar to walk through as he made his way to the high school.
We all wore red, white, and blue.

We brought our classroom flag, too.

Here he comes!

Yeah, Gunnar!

The kids were very excited to be sharing in Gunnar's project, and seemed to understand that children everywhere deserve a safe, peaceful place to live and learn. The pictures we drew will maybe become the prized possessions of children in Iraq or Afghanistan!

To learn more about Gunnar and his 1,000+ mile walk, or to make a donation, google his web-site at warkidsrelief (for some reason, the link isn't working - sorry!)

Strip Sculptures

We had a great first week of school, and one of our most fun projects was making strip sculptures. First, we learned that a sculpture is a piece of artwork that takes up space instead of being flat. Then, we learned how to use paper strips and glue to make lots of shapes.

We had to share strips with a partner, and we could make our sculptures any way we wanted.
We had to be very patient while we waited for the glue to dry.

Our hands got kind of sticky from the glue, and so did our papers, but fortunately, our hands can be washed, and the glue dries clear.

It's fun to be creative!

We concentrated so hard!

Stop in and see all of our sculptures on display outside of our classroom!