Week 32

"My Father's Dragon" Book Club

We spent past two weeks reading a chapter book called "My Father's Dragon" by Ruth Stiles Gannet. We were joined by many other first grade classes in the U.S. and Canada via Twitter. We read a chapter each day then shared our predictions, visualization, our thoughts and asked some questions. We enjoyed corresponding with other classes. Please ask your child about the story and favorite part of the book! If you would like to see our book club conversation, please search #1bc14 or you can view our tweet feed in the sidebar. Here is a map of classes that participated. (It was created by Mr. Kagei from Illinois.)

May Events & Water Helpers

Poetry Party

Thank you for coming to the poetry party. Everyone did a fantastic job performing their parts!

The Spice of Life

Kids Rule!

Snack Time

Senses Alive


Play Time


Big Fat Hen


No Fear


Happy Birthday to You

Week 28 & 29

St. Patrick's Day

We had fun participating a global project counting Lucky Charm cereal charms. We shared our predictions with Mrs. Malchow's class in Wisconsin via Twitter. Later we shared the results with them on a Skype call.  Our class findings were; 1) We had more clovers than any other shapes (91). 2) Mrs. Malchow's class had more charms in their box even though we had the same size of box. 3) Ten frames were good tools to count the charms. 

283 classes, 5366 students in the U.S. and Canada participated in this project. Here is the result.

Community Comparison

Our learning buddies, Mrs. Langus's first graders in Portland, Oregon were learning about communities just like us. We decided to ask about each other's community via Twitter. Here are some questions and answers.

After corresponding we came to a conclusion that we live in a rural community and Mrs. Langhus's class live in an urban community. We also enjoyed "visiting" their community on Google Earth. Please check your child's blog to see their comparing and contrasting.

http://kidblog.org/MrsDeGrootsClass2013-2014/

Also please stay tuned for the poems that we wrote about our community!

Rock Unit

We will be learning about rocks next few weeks. Please help your child find a rock outside. We talked about "just right" rock to bring to school:)

Charles Vigdal came to teach us about rocks & minerals and different kids of rocks. We are ready to think and learn like geologists! 

Please Mark Your Calendar!

We will have a poetry party on Wednesday, April 16 from 10:30-11:00. Parents, siblings and grandparents are invited!!

April Water Helper Calendar

Week 26 & 27

R.I.F.

(Reading is Fundamental)

Here are some pictures from our R.I.F. celebration. We had a lot of fun with stuffed bear friends!

Global Read Aloud Day

March 5th was Global Read Aloud Day. We had fun reading "Three Little Pigs" with Mrs. Langhus's class in Oregon.

Community Mural

For social studies we created a community that we would like to live in. We brainstormed what this community should have. We all worked together well! We also added augmented reality to our mural. If you would like to try it out, please feel free to stop by!

Upcoming Events

Parent/Teacher Conferences on Tuesday, March 18 & Thursday, March 20

NO SCHOOL on Friday, March 21

Early Dismissal @1:45 on Wednesday, March 26

Water Helper

Alex

Week 25

Presidents

We learned a lot about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. I was excited to read the bog posts this week. Many chose to write about what they learned about the past presidents. Please make sure to check out your child's blog.

http://kidblog.org/MrsDeGrootsClass2013-2014

Number Talks

We have been on Twitter to talk about numbers with other first grade classes. Please check out the Twitter feeds on the right. I love the way everyone is challenging themselves and explaining their thinking. Great job!

World Read Aloud Day

Wednesday, March 5 is World's Read Aloud Day! If you would like to come to our classroom to read one of your favorite children's books, please let me know. Skype call is also an option! 

March Calendar

Week 24

Lakeside Lab Trip

We were so glad to make it out there despite the weather. We got a little wet on the lake, but we still had a great time and learned a lot! 

 Learning about a food chain in the lakes.

 Looking at zooplankton that live in the lakes.

 We found deer tracks.

 The ice was 24 inches thick! 

 There was a underwater monitor set up in the ice shack.

 We touched a blue gill!

American Symbol Study

We picked one symbol to study and research. Everyone did a nice job working with peers and sharing their findings.

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, February 26 --- early dismissal @1:45

Water Helper

Finn

Week 23

Valentine's Day

We had a fun filled afternoon on Valentine's day. Special thanks to Tory, Isabella, Alex, Kiana's moms for helping us celebrate. Also we thank Ryker's family for providing drinks for the party!

Lakeside Lab Field Trip

On Thursday, February 20 our class will go to Lakeside Lab. We will take a closer look at the life under the ice, little creature that live in the water, and fish that live in the area. We will be hiking down to the lake, so please make sure your child has all the winter gear to enjoy the experience.

Upcoming Events

Thursday, February 20 --- Lakeside Lab Trip

Wednesday, February 26 --- Early Dismissal @1:45

Water Helper

Tory