Peek at My Week: Week 8 2016

Hi Everyone!

It has been such a relaxing weekend at our house that I almost forgot about linking up with Mrs. Wills Kindergarten for her Peek at My Week linky. Go check it out and link up with us if you can. I love seeing what different classrooms are working on each week.

This week is a pretty tame week in first grade which I am super excited about. Next week will be completely bonkers so having a calm week before the madness is a nice relief. We will be reading the story Me on the Map and doing some activities that go along with this story. My favorite activity is a circle craft that shows my firsties how where we are is just a small piece of what we are a part of. It is a big project but I love how much learning happens with this story and activity. I included a photo below so you can see what I am trying to explain.

We will also be rocking some place value and time activities this week. My firsties will be so excited when they find out that their math centers will be games this week. They love games so we try to play some as often as possible.


Our Smart Cookie time tests have been going really well so far. The kids like them and I am seeing great results. It is already giving some of my strugglers confidence that they had trouble finding before because they can see they are finishing just like everyone else. We will be continuing on with them through the remainder of the school year.

Links to any packets I am using can be found below my lessons.

 Place Value Packet of Fun
Thankful Thoughts
Smart Cookie Math
Second Step

Have a wonderful Sunday evening!

Ashley

Peek at My Week: Week 7 2016

Good Morning Everyone!

It is so nice to be coming to you on a Monday morning!! I really needed this three day weekend to recoup after the flu bug hit my house and to recharge my teacher battery. Another bonus is that it is a four day week so hopefully I won't wear myself out this week.

Anyway, I am linking up with Mrs. Wills Kindergarten for her Peek at My Week linky to show you what we will be working on during this 4 day week.

This week we will be studying George Washington in social studies. My teaching partner covered Abe Lincoln last week during reading using the story Abe Lincoln's Hat so I will teach George this week. We are keeping things simple with George because of the shortened week and because we have some bigger projects coming up within the next few weeks.

We will also be attempting another STEM activity from the amazing Brooke Brown. It is one I wanted to use the Friday before last but some scheduling conflicts came up and it didn't work out. This week I really want my kids to work on the Air Mail activity from her February activity. I love how engaged they are during these activities and am so excited to see what their young minds come up with during this activity.

My lesson plans for the week are below and links to any products that I will be using this week can be found below that. 

Place Value Mystery Pictures
Smart Cookie Math
George Washington: Our First President
Abe Lincoln's Hat
Thankful Thoughts
STEM for February
 Double Digit Math Packet
Second Step

Have a wonderful 4 day week!

Ashley

Valentine Activities

Hi Everyone!

I am so excited to be coming to you today for an original post. This doesn't happen very often for me. I'm usually a little too chicken but I am trying to be braver in 2016. Tonight I thought I would share in detail our awesome Valentine's activities that happened this past week.

On Monday we partnered with our third grade friends and created our own Valentine Monster glyphs. I love creating glyphs because they always look so unique and you get to know new little things about your students. It was a little crazy, loud, and chaotic for a little bit of time but the end result is awesome and our firsties always enjoy spending time with the older kids.

On Wednesday our students finished their Valentine's gifts for their parents. It is a little paper jar craftivity. They get to write sentences about things they like, love, thankful for, etc. about their parents. The strips get cut out and then placed into their little paper jar. The jar says "Overflowing with Love." It is a sweet project and so fun to see what the kids write. I am sure their parents loved every sentence from their cute little valentines.

This week we have also been enjoying Valentine themed math centers. I have a few task card sets. I taped them around the room so that the kids had to move around a little. It completely through for a loop the first day. This was the first time they have done task cards and any change in the routine tends to send this group into a temporary tizzy. They are over it now and enjoying the task cards.

On Friday we made a book about love verses throughout the Bible. We aren't using all of them because that would take way too long; however we are using a collection of the most popular ones. I love this project!! I love giving them a solid, visual reminder that they can read over and over again that reminds them of how much God loves us. This will hang on our Bible Adventure wall for the next week or so and then I will send them home.

Well that's all the excitement I have tonight. Tomorrow I will be linking up with Mrs. Wills Kindergarten for a Peek at My Week. You can catch a glimpse of all the activities we will be using to help us study Washington and Lincoln.

Have a great night!!

Ashley

Peek at My Week: Week 6

Happy Sunday!

Good Morning! I am coming to you early this morning for a peek at my week because it is Super Bowl Sunday and we will be glued to the TV this afternoon. Go Broncos!! If you are able link up with Mrs. Wills Kindergarten for this awesome Peek at My Week linky.

 This week we have lots of Valentine activities. We are joining our awesome third grade buddies to make a Valentine Monster Glyph. They are so fun and the kids love having "monsters" hanging in our room. We are also working on Valentine's for our parents this week. This is a project that my fabulous teaching partner puts together. I am just there to assist.

For math this week we have all Valentine themed math centers. They will review time to the hour and half hour, double digit addition, and place value using task cards. We will also be working on some new strategies this week.

To go along with our Bible studies we will be making a book about love verses throughout the Bible on Friday. This will be a great reminder for our kiddos about how much God expresses his love for us. We will also end Friday with a Valentine exchange and a small party with just first grade. We didn't want to do anything big this year since we just finished National Lutheran Schools Week and we have Saints week in three weeks. A little calm is good for the time being.

Links to all the packets I am using this week can be found under my plans.

Valentine Math and Literacy Activities
Second Step
Thankful Thoughts
Bible Verses for Valentine's Day
Holiday Worksheet

Have a fun Super Bowl Day and a wonderful week!

Ashley