Our day started out learning how to put our backpacks on our hooks...getting out everything we need, where to put our lunches and gettting started on Morning Work. Each morning I will have a slide of what the students are to do when they enter the classroom. This is a quiet time for everyone to get settled, listen to announcements and get ready for the day! Please remember the Cafeteria opens at 7:30. Your children should be in there by no later than 7:50. I will pick them up there and we will walk to the classroom together! During our Daily Start we talked about writing the date, we looked at patterns, did some movement and practiced our handwriting! From there we read a book...I heard "I love stories"! I told them that was great because I LOVE reading. We read First Day Jitters
We started out by predicting what or who jitters was! Several of us thought the dog's name might be jitters...But at the end we figured out that jitters meant being nervous! Make sure you ask your first grader about the SURPRISE ending in this story!!! (Sarah turns out to be THE TEACHER!!!)
After reading we all took a much needed bathroom/water break! We will do this as a whole group for awhile at the beginning of the year. After that students will be able to go as needed...I was SO IMPRESSED with our hallway and bathroom behavior...EVERYONE got and extra WOW (first grade behavior cash)!
We moved into reviewing what a cirle map is used for. A circle map is used to define something or someone! I modeled a circle map about Miss Guy. The 1st graders were very excited to add words/pictures to the circle that could be used to tell all about me: teacher, aunt, old, nice, 2 cats! Then EVERYONE got the chance to make thier own!
Well...it was then time to practice lunch!!! We had a bit of a delay so we sat in the floor and learned a little bit about one another! Let's see if I can remember everything! Well... let's just say I need to hear it a few more times...(refer to circle map...OLD)
Practice went well...and then I had to break the news...too hot/orange level day so inside recess! We had games, puzzles and paper to play with!
Lunch was "quick"! Some of you joined us to find some different procedures in place. If you come to eat with your child you will need to sit at the tables closest to the lunch lines. These are marked Parent tables. (The first two are reserved for our TLC class so please try to not sit there) This procedure is in place school wide this year!
After lunch we have a calming few minutes of read aloud time! We started Ready Freddy Tooth Troubles. These are fun books about a boy who always has a problem! We had a discussion that sometimes we read just for fun...and sometimes books have words in them that we do not encourage or use at school!
During read aloud I send students to the bathroom by tables. It will be very important for your child to be listening so that he or she can go before we start writing or calendar.
We will go into calendar more in depth this week. Today we introduced our August poem and noticed that August looks the same on the calendar and in the poem! Great observations...we talked about noticing that means we are becoming great readers! We talked about yesterday was, today is and tomorrow will be.
Then it was free exploration of tubs. Lots of practice today...we needed to be reminded that tubs are for learning during math time. We talked about what we could do with the chains, unifix cubes, pattern blocks and bears...lots of great answers! I heard add, sort ,pattern and measure. I saw lots of that going on today!
What should we not see or hear during tub time? "Loud voices, manipulatives being thrown or students playing"
We also collected some data today...and one of my friends told me that data was information! WOW After collecting it I asked how we might organize the data so that it would be easy to read! We decided a graph would be the best way!
After we constructed our graph and organized our data we had some observations to make! Vylani said, "The car riders have more than daycare!", Emily said, " The bus riders are in the middle.", Hayden said, "Daycare has the least of all of them!", "There are 9 car riders", said Ryann, Gracie and Diego said, "School and walkers are equal." And we noticed that we could write a number sentence that equaled 20 by putting them all together. 3+1+4+10+3=20
And then...It was finally time to split up for specials! I hope everyone got an email Saturday telling you what day your child would be going to what specials class!
After specials it's time to pack up eat our snack and fill out our behavior folders!
While I'm on the subject of snack...Please do not send drinks (other than water for snack...) your child may drink juice boxes, pouches, gatorade and such at lunch but in the classroom only H2O!!!
We talked extensively about behavior folders this morning! I told them that GREEN is GREAT, purple and blue were OK (first graders still need reminders) but if they start getting into yellow, orange or RED...then we have some issues! Please note that I will let you know if behavior becomes a problem! (I PROMISE)
Pick up! Today was a trial run! We found out that we needed to explain walk up and car rider! Hopefully everyone now knows the difference! Please just jot a note in the behavior folder if you have a change in the way your child will be picked up! I sent home 2 "car tags" please if you drive up to get your child put these in the window so we can quickly identify you and get your child in the car!
Thank you all so much for sharing your precious little ones with me!
Okay...so in a nutshell...that was the first day of FIRST GRADE! I can't wait til the 2nd!
