Summer is here!

Hi Friends!

Yay! It is officially summer! Or at least for our school it is! The weather is absolutely PERFECT today, and I must say that I am taking full advantage of it. J I planted some flowers in the yard, did a little yard work, and went for a run. My sweet puppies are even enjoying the beautiful weather. This is my little darling Kash.

I decided to give him a haircut today, which was slightly unsuccessful. It looks more like the lawn mower got him, but the good news is he has ‘shaggy’, crazy hair by nature, so it doesn’t look to bad. Ha! Poor baby! Oh well, it’ll grow. J

Even though summer is here I have been playing around with school stuff. I know, I know. It is summer and I’m supposed to not be thinking about school stuff for a bit, but I honestly love working on crafty things. This was something fun and crafty that I’ve wanted to do for a while, so when I saw fabric on sale, well… I couldn’t help myself! This is also a fun idea that you could do with your kiddo at home as a fun craft that can possibly spur them to do some summer ‘practice’. The other great part is…it is pretty cheap to make!

All you need is a clipboard ($1.88 at Walmart), and then 1/4^th yard of some cute fabric. I used a patterned fabric and a solid color fabric. Cut the fabric into strips. Then all you need to do is tie the fabric in knots around the top part of the clipboard, alternating the patterned fabric and then solid fabric. I then took a permanent marker and wrote inspirations quotes on the board. They are super fun and cute!

I hope that you’re enjoying your time off and taking advantage of the weather.
Take care!
~ Mrs. Christensen  
Empathy – Adaptability – Communication – Arranger – Developer

Baby Chicks!

Hi Friends!

First of all, I want to apologize to all my kiddos who tried to look last night at the pictures. I promised you that I would post them, and when I went to do it -technology wasn’t wanting to cooperate. The website was down for posting last night. L

But…
Great news! We have chicks! The kids are so excited! Sadly, our little eggs didn’t end up hatching. When I came into the classroom this morning, we still didn’t have any cracks. I decided to email the guy that brought them to us from the extension office, and he informed me that he would bring out some chicks to us!

Our baby chicks came with names: Chicky and Lucky. After playing around with them today though, a few of the kids decided they liked the name ‘Happy Feet’ for one of them instead. He was doing this funny little kick causing the wood chips to fly around. It was very cute! J

When the gentleman from the extension office came out, he did end up cracking the eggs to peek inside. He said that the chick was fully developed inside all 3 of the eggs, so he wasn’t sure what caused them to die. L This gave us a good opportunity to talk about how not all things live in nature, and while it is sad, this is sometimes how nature works. The kids weren’t to down though because we had talkative chicks chirping in the background!

We had them through the day tomorrow, and now they're on their way to a new happy home as a 4H project for a family! J

I’m also including a few pictures that some of the firsties drew of the chicks! Super cute! Check out the detail! Love it!

Thanks for checking in on our day!
Have a GREAT weekend!!!

~ Mrs. Christensen  
Empathy – Adaptability – Communication – Arranger – Developer

It’s in the small stuff…

Hi Friends!

We are in our LAST full week of school of the year! I can’t believe it. This time of year we are doing all kinds of odds and ends. I think it might be safe to say that the kids are starting to ‘check out’. Ha! It is getting harder and harder each day to keep their attention. Do you ever feel like the microphone just isn’t on, and you wonder if anyone can hear you? Yep, starting to get that way!

I had to share something sweet that a few of my girlies did for me today! I’m sure if you have ever had kids of your own, or worked with kids before you have got the ‘beautiful’, yellow flowers that grow in the grass this time of year. Yes, I’m talking about dandelions! Well today, I didn’t just get a small bouquet; I got a whole mountain of beautiful flowers! A few of my kids pointed out that they are just weeds, and who would want weeds? They are right. They are weeds. And while they will die in a few short hours, I have to admit that it is really sweet and I do love getting them. As I reminded my darlings today, they might be a weed, but it is the thought that counts. I think that is a lesson that we can all remember, as I reflected on my own words today. It is the thought that counts. It is the small things that you do for others that make the biggest difference. Hopefully, this picture of my BEAUTIFUL flowers will help us all remember to remember it’s in the small things!

Speaking of ‘small stuff’, in other news, our baby chicks should HOPEFULLY be hatching any time now. In fact, I’m starting to get a little nervous because they haven’t arrived yet. This year, we were lucky enough to get the new and improved incubators that are on the market.

The incubation process, for all of those that didn’t know like me, is 21 days. We’ve had these little guys since the beginning, and with our new fancy incubator, have been able to watch the whole process. We even had a microscope that attached to the top where we could watch the changes that take place.
Well, it is now day 22… and still no chicks. YIKES…
I have to tell you, I’m really hoping to come in to the classroom tomorrow and see baby chicks! I’m hoping that at least one decides to come out. :S

I will keep you posted as to what happens with the little chickies!

I hope that everyone is having a good week!
Take care,

~ Mrs. Christensen  
Empathy – Adaptability – Communication – Arranger – Developer

Happy mother’s day and a Hawaiian luau!

Hi Friends!

What a week! We have been busy, busy, busy!!!

First off, Happy Mother’s Day to ALL the wonderful mama’s! I hope that each and every one of you have found time to spend time with your babies today and spend time with your own mom. I feel very blessed because in a little bit my mom and family will be coming over for supper! I feel so lucky to have such an amazing mother. She has been patient, loving, and caring. She offers advice, but knows when to listen. I truly believe that being a mother is one of the toughest jobs out there, but I hope that each and every mother knows that they are appreciated and loved for everything they do!

For Mother’s Day, we spent some time reflecting on our own moms this week in class. Since we are ‘authors’, we decided that it would be a great present to share a special memory of our moms that we have. The kiddos each wrote a small moment story about them and mom, and then illustrated their books. We then published it by creating our very own moms and posting the story in the middle! Check out our ADORABLE Mother’s Day presents below. I do have to say that they turned out pretty cute! J

Another exciting event that took place this week was our ‘Poetry Luau’. What a fun day it was! All the kiddos were each assigned a poem. Over the past several weeks, we’ve spent time practicing our poems and talking about the importance of fluency when we read aloud. Students practiced their poem both at home and at school.

Here are a few of the poems that we read at our luau:

If School Were More Like Baseball

If school were more like baseball

we'd only have to play.

We'd hang out in the sunshine

and run around all day.

We wouldn't have to study.

We'd practice and we'd train.

And, best of all, they'd cancel

whenever there was rain.

--Kenn Nesbitt

Dirty Socks

My socks were very dirty,

So I washed them in the lake.

It wasn't long before I knew

I'd made a big mistake.

The water changed from clear to mud.

Then fumes began to rise.

And soon a cloud of air pollution

Covered up the skies.

When bullfrogs started croaking

And ducks began to quack,

Some campers started chanting,

"We want our clean lake back."

I've got a pile of dirty socks.

I'm in an awful bind.

I guess I'll have to bury them.

I hope the worms don't mind.

�Bruce Lansky

After much anticipation, FINALLY, the big day had arrived for our ‘Poetry Luau’! The kids looked awesome, as well as our classroom! We had a tropical paradise! The firsties had on Hawaiian clothes, lei’s, grass skirts, sunglasses, flip-flops (pretty much if it was Hawaiian attire - we had it!

We had an AMAZING turnout! Both first grade classes read, which means we had parents from both rooms in one. We also invited a bunch of our community volunteers to come listen. The kiddos knocked it out of the park, and did a fabulous job. All their poems were cute, funny poems, so the audience got a good chuckle out of them, which the kids enjoyed.

Afterwards, we had some watermelon, pineapple, and lemonade to celebrate!
Overall, it was a great day!

~ Mrs. Christensen  

Empathy – Adaptability – Communication – Arranger – Developer

J ). The kiddos also brought along beach towels. They were so excited they could barely contain themselves!

Cups, pints, quarts, and gallons!

Hi Friends!

The past few weeks have been spent learning about different forms of measurement. One of the hardest forms of measurement for kids (and even adults) to remember is cups, pints, quarts, and gallons. How many cups are in a pint? How many cups in a gallon? I’m sure all of us have had to stop and think about it before!

I am the type of learner where I need a visual to connect my understanding. To help my kiddos understand this concept, I used a really cute, and creative story that I found.

Here was the story:

The Land of Gallon

In the Land of Gallon lived four Queens. Each Queen had their very own Prince and Princess, and each Prince and Princess had two Children each!

Before I told my kiddos what we were even doing, we started by drawing a picture of a castle/kingdom. The students then colored the worksheet of queens, princes, princesses, and children that I had copies of and cut them out. Then, I read my kids the story and we placed all the ‘people’ into the kingdom. After that, we put them to the side for a bit to dry, and I let the kids forget about them.

Then we came together to start math. (Little did they know we already had! J) I had brought my cups, pints, quarts, and gallons jars in, so that I could visually show the kids what it looks like as I introduce this concept to them.

Then I used another little trick to help them understand better.

We started out with a large G and I drew it on the board. Inside of a gallon there are 4 quarts, so we drew four ‘Q’s inside of the G. And inside of each quart there are 2 pints, so we drew four ‘P’s inside each of the ‘Q’s. And finally, there are 2 cups inside of each pint, so we drew two ‘C’s inside of each of the ‘P’s. We then used this to answer questions. The kids were able to understand which unit of measurement was bigger and which was smaller, and how many of each there were inside of the other.

Now, it was time to go back to Land of Gallon! It was actually pretty cool because the kiddos actually made the connection before I had the chance to show it to them or lead them to the idea of it! WAY TO GO MY SMARTIES!!! All of the kiddos did a really nice job of grasping onto this concept! Here they are proudly displayed in our hallway!

Well, 3 weeks to go before my kids become second graders! I am so sad to see them leave because I have enjoyed each and every one of them so much, but am SO excited for them. They have grown so much this year!

‘Till next time!

~ Mrs. Christensen  

Empathy – Adaptability – Communication – Arranger – Developer

A sense of renewal…

Hi Friends!

I had to share that today was an amazing day! I had the opportunity to attend an AMAZING workshop called Love and Logic, By: Jim Faye. The premise of his teachings, for those of you who may be unfamiliar with it, is to help set limits for kids. Mr. Faye shares techniques and ways to help you, as the adult, learn to respond to situations that arise when interacting with kids. I love attending workshops like this because you always walking away feeling good! Like you learned something new that will benefit both you and your kids! All of the lives that it touches will be enriched because of this training! J

As an educator, you are always seeking to have positive interactions with kids. We are there to make a positive impact in their lives, and to teach them to be responsible and productive citizens. I think that is what every parent and educator wants for their kids.

The very cool thing about Love and Logic is that it not only works in the classroom, but works for parenting as well! The workshop today had both educators and parents in attendance. I would highly recommend it to anyone that comes in contact with kids frequently! J

I’m including a link to the Love and Logic website. If you get a chance, take a peek at it. It has some great tips at how to help the child learn to be responsible for their actions, help set limits for kids, and SO much more!

Click on the icon to be connected to the website!

Take care,

~ Mrs. Christensen  
Empathy – Adaptability – Communication – Arranger – Developer

Perfect poetry!

Hi Friends!

It is hard to believe that we are down to only a few short weeks left of school! As I reflect on the year it is AMAZING at how far these kiddos have come. In our first grade room we do LOTS of writing! We love to write! Most recently we’ve been learning about poetry. We actually spend time throughout the duration of the year reading different types of poems, but it just now that we are starting to look at it from a writer’s point of view.

We started our unit by studying what published authors do when they write poetry. Here are a few of the books that we read to help us get excited about poetry.

 

I picked these two books because they also are correlating with a special ‘readers celebration’ that we will be having very soon. (More so come about that later!) They are both very cleaver books, with cute poems in them. All of my kiddos got a good laugh out of them. :)

After seeing that poetry can be fun to read, we ventured into trying some of our own.

Poem # 1: I Am…
We started out by creating a list of all the different things that we are. For example: a son, daughter, sister, brother, soccer player, responsible, etc. By the time we were finished we had well over 50 different words! We talked about how we can all describe ourselves in different ways. We also talked about the pattern of this poem. The kiddos then created their own poems. Once they were finished with their words, they posted it on a white piece of construction paper, and then created a boarder of the different things they described themselves as. This poem is now proudly being displayed in our hallway! J

Poem #2: Acrostic
This poem is the type where the main idea goes vertically down the page. Then coming off each letter, you find a word, or phrase, that describes/tells about the main idea. We started this poem with me showing them an example of a poem that I’d written. We then created one together as a class. After that the kiddos had the opportunity to pick a topic they would like to try. Students were able to work with partners or small groups to discuss ideas with each other. At the end of Writer’s Workshop, we came back together and shared our perfect poems. The one below is a simple example that I did. The kids took their poems home before I had the chance to sneak a picture! To be honest, theirs far out did mine! Way to go my smarites!

Poem #3: Easter is…
As you might have guessed, not all the poems were about Easter. That is just what my example for the kids was about. I showed the kids how I thought about Easter and created a big list of ideas of what Easter reminded me of. As a class we then created a ‘School is…’ poem together on the white board. The students came up with AWESOME ways to describe school! Students then had a few options of different poems they could pick from. Here is a list of a few of the possible starters they used:
Spring is...
Family is...
Baseball is...
My Birthday is....
Students then worked in teams to create their poems.

My firsties came up with some great poems over the past week! I’m very proud of them all! Later this week students will learn how to incorporate onomatopoeias into their poems as well. I can’t wait to see all the creative ideas they come up with!

That’s all for now from first grade!
Take care,
~ Mrs. Christensen  
Empathy – Adaptability – Communication – Arranger – Developer