First Grade Values!

We study our core values throughout the year.  Here is a sneak preview of a few activities related to them.

Compassion activity after reading Those Shoes



Super girls with super values!!

 

Learning about responsibility and resilience while reading Brave Irene



Friends of Ten

In Math this week, the girls are exploring different ways to make ten.  Throughout the week, the girls have used counters, created fact patterns, and developed strategies for solving these addition problems.  They have enjoyed their new iPad app, Find Sums, where they can test their accuracy and speed with finding friends of ten!

Be sure to check your daughter's black folder to see more of her friends of ten work!!

Girls playing a game of Spill and Add!



How many ways can you make ten??
 

Spill and Add!

Working hard to find sums of ten with our new app!



Art: Monotypes with Shapes

First grade is practicing finding shapes in their surroundings, using their iPad cameras. They will be using these found shapes to make prints inspired by their environment. 

We practiced making monoprints with pre-inked Mylar shapes. Students discovered that the ink was dry on the plastic, but when placed on top of wet paper the ink came "back to life" and transferred to the paper! They each made two prints. Ask your child how she made a "ghost print." 

First graders used a special tool called a barren for printing by hand.

Art: Material Exploration Abstraction

First graders familiarized themselves with a variety of materials (crayon, colored pencil, and marker) and explored the marks they could make with each tools. Then they used materials of their choice to complete a guided abstraction, following verbal instructions using line and shape vocabulary. For example, they each drew a straight line that touched two edges of the paper. The girls made predictions about how the different materials would interact with watercolor,mans then used watercolor to transform their compositions. Afterward, students compared their artworks, and hypothesized about the source of commonalities and differences. One of the things they discovered is that while their work was guided with verbal instructions, the limited choices they did have resulted in a large variety of expression. Ask your daughter how the materials she used interacted with watercolor, and if it was what she expected. 

Johnny Appleseed Day!

This week we are celebrating Johnny Appleseed's birthday with a host of fun apple activities.  In Language Arts we have read aloud "tall tales" about this famous American, sorted apples with word families, and sequenced stories about his life.

In Math we tallied and graphed each homeroom's favorite type of apple.  Yellow was the clear favorite of the First Grade class!  The girls also practiced addition number sentences using dice and apple seeds.

Science is always a hit at school, and this week is no different.  The girls participated in multiple experiments- some trying to discover how to keep an apple from turning brown and some trying to predict what will float and what will sink.

It has been such a fun week in our First Grade classrooms.  Check out  some of our girls in action below.  Happy Birthday Johnny Appleseed!!!

Apple Taste Testing and Voting

Homemade apple muffins!!!

Story Sequencing

Which apple won't turn brown?

More Tasting

Counting apples by two

French: Playground Games

The girls have been taking advantage of the beautiful weather to play a favorite French playground game.  They sing a song about the mailman and the days of the week as the girls close their eyes to wait to see who will get the letter today.

Art: Exploring the Studio

First graders explored the art studio, and used their iPads to document their findings. They searched for geometric shapes, different kinds of lines, and things they wondered about or had a question about, and then shared their findings. Here are some of the collections that the girls were curious about:

Many asked questions about the spinning wheel. Here is a video of of a spinning wheel in action you can share with your first grader.

Lastly, first graders learned that since the studio is their shared space, it is also their responsibility to keep it in working order. Ask your daughter about her responsibility this month!