Newsletter-Week 6

What does it mean and why do we say it?

That was the big question today when we started "dissecting" the Pledge of Allegiance to the US flag. We looked at a book (Created by Mrs. Stagg) and learned what all those big, fancy words meant. We learned that a pledge is a promise and allegiance means to be true or loyal to something. We rewrote the pledge in kid-friendly terms!

Then we had a little fun! We used magazines to create American flags! The room was kind of a mess, but it was worth it. We had so much fun!

We're Scientists!

Today we did what scientists do. We used our five senses to observe and describe things. It was a blast! We teamed up with Mrs. Edelmon's class to see, smell, feel, hear and of course taste popcorn! Then we wrote words to describe the popcorn with each sense. We finished up by reading "The Popcorn Book" by Tomie dePaola. We learned so much!

Neat Stuff for the Weekend

This weekend's activity comes from Mama Jenn... mother of 5! This weekend, start a "Mama and Me" or a "Daddy and Me" journal. This is an interactive journal you will share with your child. Now, Mama Jenn uses this journal with her daughter, but personally, I think first grade boys would love this too. You take turns writing to each other in the journal. How neat to have all of your messages documented?! And to be able to pull that out when they graduate from high school, on their wedding day or when they have a child of their own? How fun!

Newsletter-Week 5

Neat Stuff for the Weekend

For this weekend's activity, I found this fun, easy addition to any movie night. This comes from http://blondieandbrownies.wordpress.com. What a fun idea...candy/snack necklaces! Before you start the movie, have your kids make their own necklaces using foods and sweet treats they love! I see some yummy ideas in this picture-fruit looks, yogurt covered pretzels, regular pretzels. You could even use live savers or cheerios! Get creative... I'd love to know if you come up with anything else!

Neat Stuff for the Weekend

So I don't have kids yet, but hopefully someday I will :) I thought it might be fun to do a weekly post of fun things that I would do with my kiddos if I had any. And since I don't, I can live vicariously through yours!

Not only can you provide a fun experience for your kids with the activities in my posts, but it will link to their success in school as well. Since we write about true events (things that are close to our hearts), the more experiences they have to pull from, the more stories they have access to to write about! Also, making connections to reading is a huge skill all readers should have. When they have experiences to connect to, they may have an easier time making connections while reading. They also may be creating, problem solving, designing, thinking and using creativity with these activities. These are just a few examples of how doing these activities can connect to academic performance, and plus... they are just plain fun!

So, if you must know I am addicted to Pinterest, so I find most of the activities on that site! Warning... if you are not on/have never heard of Pinterest until now, set aside some time and beware of addiction!

I'll start off with something that will look like a blast to any 6 or 7 year old. This was a photo on chive.com and it looks like it only takes a duvet cover and a fan. How fun to read or play inside this "tent!"

Happy camping!

Letter Vests!

Today we played letter vests for the first time and it was a blast! I've never had a class catch on so quickly. Today we were practicing short a and short i words. They were all fully engaged and paying attention when it was their turn. This activity serves as a fun way to engage all types of learners (auditory, visual and those who learn best through movement). This is one we will play again, and again and again!

 We love letter vests!

Our last word was kind of gross, but we could still spell it!

Week 3 Newsletter