The Question of the Day was: Do you know how a seed becomes a plant? Morning work was an activity that took an extended period of time. The first graders cut, arranged, glued, and labeled a puzzle of a flying ladybug. We did this in anticipation of what would happen when we released our ladybugs later in the day.
After our morning meeting, we took a close look at the Unit 3 spelling words. They all have the short u sound, but there are two different letter patterns included in this week’s list. During reading, we read and discussed the books Have You Filled Someone’s Bucket Today? and How Full is Your Bucket? This was a great follow-up to a concept introduced in kindergarten.
The boys and girls have been quite intrigued with the black bear articles in our Blueberries for Sal area. The bear scat, pelt, and paw print have been of special interest. Building on that interest, the first graders were introduced tracks of animals that can be found in our area. They used stamps to make the tracks of a deer, fox, raccoon, sandpiper, crow, duck, and dog.
Following morning P.E., lunch, and lunch recess, the boys and girls lined up to come back in the building. I use the words “lined up” loosely as it was more like “blobbed up” to enter the building. We still need to work on following directions quickly and turning our voices off when asked to do so.
After settling down during Quiet Time, the first graders made observations of their brassica plants again. Today, many also used small rulers to measure the height of their plants in centimeters. The brassica plants are growing, but they are quite delicate so we have to be very careful when handling the cups.
Next, it was time to bring the ladybugs outside so they could eat aphids and get ready for the winter. This was a very exciting event! We went to the school garden and opened the ladybug habitat. Some of the ladybugs flew out right away and others decided to take their time. Each student had the opportunity to personally help a ladybug or two enter the great outdoors. When we were wrapping up, some students discovered a cicada that had just emerged from its case. More excitement ensued. We brought the cicada inside with us to get a closer look at.
After a recess break, we returned to the classroom and the students took their first math test of the year. We will go over the problems together tomorrow. The final activity of the day was a review of our global addresses. The first graders began creating their own visual address projects. We will get back to these projects later in the week.
The boys and girls will have financial literacy tomorrow.