Stuff ...

We have been so busy here in Mrs. Edson's classroom!  We have been reading and writing and working our marvelous mathematicians brains!  We thought we would catch you up with what we are going to be working on this week and next and then we have some very exciting news and thoughts to share with you!

This week we are continuing to write our small moment stories.  We are taking big moments, such as our weekend, or a birthday party, and finding a small moment inside it to zoom in focus on.  We have small moment stories about swimming lessons, watching tv at a grandparents house, and sleepovers with friends and cousins.  We will be stretching our moments and adding details to make the reader feel like they are there with the author. Then we'll publish!  Yay!

In math we are exploring pattern blocks and manipulating them to decide how many we can fit into specific designs.  We are also using fancy pants words such as vertices.

Reading has really taken off in here!  With the beginning of our reading groups and the Book-It program sponsored by Pizza Hut, we are really showing our stuff as readers and thinkers.  Your students have been working so hard on making text-self, and text-text connections with the books they are hearing and reading in JRR.  They have learned how to write their thoughts down on sticky notes and how to share with their classmates.  Our Cardinals are always thinking, "Today I did ________________ as a reader.  This is is going to help me because _______________________."  We are always looking to be deep thinkers while we read.   

Just a few housekeeping items to mention :

• October 10 - School holiday
• October 15 - Fall Creek Carnival!!  11-2
• October 24-28 - Red Ribbon Week - see calendar for daily activities
• October 26-28 - Early Release / Parent~Teacher Conferences

I will be sending out conference schedules next Tuesday.  Please send back your choices ASAP and I will do my best to honor them!

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Last but not least, some of our exciting First Grade news!

The first two students that were crowned as Caldecott Kids came from our room!  We are so proud of them!  We have since had two more!  I think we may have the whole class crowned before Christmas if we keep this up!

Another student, raised the largest amount of money for our Yankee candle fundraiser!  I am so proud of all my doobies!

Here is my favorite vignette of the month:

Child: Did you know Mrs. Edson lives in Maine?

Mom (knowing I've been here at least several years): I think she's from Maine, but she lives in Texas now.

Child: No, she just visits so she can teach us things.

LOVE!!!  Have a wonderful day and keep reading!!

Schema and Pasta

I feel so neglectful!  I haven't touched this blog in over a week! It is amazing to me how time flies when you're having fun!  :o)

These past two weeks we have been discussing what readers and thinkers do when they are reading.  Activating our schema and using our tools from our Reader's Toolbox have been large parts of our discussions.  "Schema?" you ask.  What a large word for such small children!  Come on in and hear what they have to say about 'schema':

• "It's when your brain tells you what you know."
• "It's what you have done."
• "It's what your brain knows."
• "It's how you think."
• "Schema is the filing cabinet in your head."

What brilliant first graders we have!  They are all right.  Schema is what you know and when we activate our schema as readers, it helps us to understand what we are reading with more depth.  For instance, this week we used a big book called The World of Ants.  Before we read this book, we talked about our schema for ants.  We know quite a lot, it turns out!  Our first graders know that there are many kids of ants; that fire ants bite; that ants live underground; and that ants are insects. We added to our schema when we read the text and found out that ants can live in nests in trees; ants can hatch from cocoons; and that ants can also form ant-shaped pupa :::shudder::: Adding to our schema helps us as readers because it will help us understand the text we read. Three cheers for schema!

We also spend some time sorting pasta!  We have been talking about properties of matter and last week we explored veggies and came up with words like heavy, light, bumpy, squishy, soft, smooth, red, green, etc.  This week we spent some time sorting pasta and then graphing our favorites.  Apparently there are a lot of us that really like 'twisty' pasta!

Have a wonderful, wonderful weekend!  Read, read, read!!!

Love, Mrs. Edson

Class promise, staircases, and more ...

This week we talked a lot about what it means to be a first grader in our room.  We are a family and we needed to have a discussion about how we will relate to each other within the confines of our group.  After our discussion, we made self-portraits and we signed our promise to each other.  Here is the finished product.  At the end we included a little inside-family joke.  Ask your child what it means! :o)

During math we used snap cubes to build staircases.  This is an activity where children build and order a set of cube towers from 1-12 and possibly higher.  They focus on counting and ordering quantities and linking them to written and spoken numbers.  It was a lot of fun!

Last but not least, I wanted to let you know about the Caldecott Kid reading promotion that FCE is starting.  Here is the link:  http://www.humbleisd.net/Page/30206.  I think this class would just soar with this type of challenge!  Have a great long weekend and don't forget to read!

What fun!

We have been so busy today!  This was the first day that we really started getting into the nitty gritty of first grade.  We spent some time today talking about what readers do when they are thinking about their reading.  We talked about how readers get their minds ready by looking at the cover of a book and how taking a book walk helps us predict what might happen in the story.  Using our schema really helps us with our understanding of the text when we read. 

Today we also started our math journals.  After we played Collect 20 with a partner, the class received their math journals and were given tubs of pattern blocks.  I asked them to explore the blocks and write about their noticings in their journals.  Oh my gracious!  What a wonderfully articulate bunch of mathematicians I have on my hands!  I'm looking forward to tomorrow!

Phew!

Oh my goodness!  What a wonderful, tiring, busy, and exhilerating day we have had today!  I woke up at 3:30 and just could not go back to sleep ~ I was far too excited about starting school today!  I promised some pictures so here are the 'before-the-kids-come' pictures:

Some things have changed.  Most noticably, I have kids in my room now!  I will not be sharing photos of them until I have permission from all my parents.  Hopefully we will have that soon.  I hope your children had a great time today ~ I know I did!  What a special class we have this year!

Oh my goodness! Only 5 more days .....

I cannot believe that school is starting next Monday!  while I have been coming into school off and on all summer, this is the first week back for all teachers in the district.  We have inservice days for a week and then the babes come back on Monday.  I am going to post pictures of our room in a little while ( have to clean off the table messes first!) so that you can see how ready we are to fill this room with little ones and their great thinking! 

Yesterday, I started thinking a lot about my own personal goals for this year.  I think the biggest one I have is to maintain this blog and use it as a tool to inform and engage my families this year.  Oh boy!  I'm getting more and more excited!!!  :o)

Only 5 more weeks ....

I just have the hardest time believing there are only 5 more weeks left before I start back at work.  I love teaching and I love, love, love the beginning of the school year.  It's the best feeling to be back in the building with the friends you love teaching with but haven't seen all summer.  I love putting my room together and I love getting ideas and putting them to life for my kiddos.  However, I can't express how much I will miss my own three babies.  It has been a lazy summer filled with swimming and friends and cookouts and lemonade stands.  We've been to the beach and the pool and the library and camps. I am going to miss them terribly and with the start of school comes athletics and sports and we are on the go again.  Why can't I have the best of both worlds???  Maybe I do?

Welcome to First Grade Fun!

Welcome to First Grade Fun! 

This is my 14th year teaching and my 8th year of first grade!  This is, by far, my favorite grade and I am always looking forward to the start of school!  This year is no exception!  While I may have some experience in teaching, I have absolutely no experience in blogging!  I hope this will be as reflective and fun for you as for me. 

- Mrs. Edson