Homecoming - Color Day and Pepfest

Homecoming 2010 will be remembered for the 8" of rain that fell in Cannon Falls on Thursday, and the flooded Cannon River on Friday! Thursday was Color Day, and 1st grade celebrated by wearing purple.

Here we are!

I just had to take a "goofy face" picture, too.
Friday was Spirit Day and most of the kids wore red and black. I was planning to take a picture after lunch, but we ended up going home early due to the rising water in the Cannon River, so no picture. Oh well.
The HS kids came to the Elementary in the morning for a pepfest.


The kids filed into the gym, looking a bit unsure about what was about to happen.


We found a place to sit, and we listened to the Pepband.

We made signs on Thursday afternoon so we were all ready to cheer the Bombers!

The Pepband played again as we all stood and sang our school song.

The cheerleaders performed some great cheers.

Wow! They're really good!

Then we met the captains of the volleyball, cross country, tennis, and football teams.
Finally, we got to meet all of the 2010 Cannon Falls Homecoming royalty!

And.... the king and queen for 2010! Congratulations!

Several of the royalty are former students of mine. Who knows if some of this year's 1st graders will be future CF Homecoming royalty??

Homecoming Week

No pictures to post yet this week, but be prepared for some excited kids over the next few days! It's Homecoming Week at CFHS, and the first graders are participating in Color Day on Thursday (wear purple), and Spirit Day on Friday (wear red and black)! We will also get to go to a Pepfest on Friday, where we will meet all of the Homecoming royalty and also athletes from the football team, volleyball team , and cross country team. Plus, the Pep Band and cheerleaders will lead us in singing our school song! The cheerleaders will teach the kids some good cheers, too. Pictures coming soon!

Unfortunately, it's pouring rain at the moment, so send your kids dressed for the weather in the morning!

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 9:30 and 12:00, you would be amazed at how independent and focused the children are on their "jobs." They have already made so much progress learning routines, although remembering to "whisper" can sometimes be a challenge!

We have spent the first few weeks of school reviewing letters, sounds, and the high frequency words learned in kindergarten, and we are now ready to start Theme 1, "All Together Now."

This week, we will practice decoding words with the short a sound as we read a story called "Mac the Cat" in our new anthologies.

The kids learn to use their finger to point at words as they read.

We also read lots of "mini-books" which will be sent home to provide extra practice. Sign and return after reading at home!

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

This gives children a chance to listen, follow directions, and practice skills on their own.

They can also do free choice reading and writing when they finish their assigned tasks.

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

They also practice math skills.

It's fun to learn to read!

First Grade!!

Well, here is the Class of 2022! We have completed two days of school in the 2010-2011 school year, and the kids are doing great! Getting in the routine of being at school all day, everyday, takes a while, but so far, so good! We spend a lot of time the first few weeks of school reviewing and assessing kindergarten skills, learning new procedures, making new friends, and having fun! There's a lot to learn and remember! Don't be surprised if your kids come home exhausted by the end of the week!

It was cold and windy on Tuesday, but the weather this morning was really nice so we had a chance to take a break and get in a little exercise before going to Art. Here's the whole class! What a great group of kids!

After posing for the group shot, everyone had a chance to stretch those muscles after working hard all morning!

Keep checking often for more pictures of our beginning of the year activities!

Welcome, 2010/2011 First Graders

Hello, new students! I hope you had a wonderful summer and are all ready to begin an exciting school year in a brand new classroom! We will learn lots of new things this year, and have a lot of fun while we're at it. I will be posting pictures and comments to this blog about once a week, so check in often! The first day of school will be here soon, and I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you!

Look for me on Tuesday!

End of the Year

This will be my last post of the school year. I want to thank all of you parents for your support and help during the last nine months, and also thanks to all my fantastic students for your hard work and positive attitudes! We've had a great year, with tons of learning going on, and it's been so much fun to watch your progress, particularly in reading. You guys are AWESOME!!

Every year, I take my kids on a walk to my house for a snack, and then to Eastside Park for some playtime. We chose a beautiful morning with lots of sunshine and blue sky. My neighbors love this tradition and look forward every spring to seeing my class walk up the hill.

We set off to my house at about 9:00 am.

While I went inside to get treats, the kids played a rousing game of Duck-Duck-Gray-Duck in my front yard.

Run!!

Popsicle time!

Hmmmmm, good!

Very tasty...

And no drips to wipe up from the desks!

After finishing up and wiping sticky fingers, I let the kids peek in my front door, and then we walked through the backyard and off to the park.

All of the first grade classes were at the park when we arrived, so the kids had lots of fun playing with all of their buddies. The equipment was very busy, and building sand castles was popular, too. Kind of dirty, but very fun!

These boys were having a great time burying Carson in sand.

First, his feet...

and then all the way up to his neck!

Still smiling. 

Time to stand up...

and brush off.

The park was a very busy place with over 80 kids there, but

the kids had a great time, and everyone hated to leave.

My last message to all of you is one I've said many times this year: "The more you read, the better you read!" So... read lots this summer, and stop by my room in the fall and show me how much you've grown over the summer!

Thanks again for a fantastic year!