Hello again friends,
Did you think I forgot about this blog? I didn't but sadly right before Christmas my computer crashed taking with it all the pictures I had been gathering up to post when Grad school calmed down. But I am back and in an effort to make up for lost time I am going to set myself a goal to post at least once a week. Even if it is a short post.
So today in first grade we started studying the states of matter!!!
I am so excited. We talked about solid, liquid, and gas (this one got a few giggles, can't imagine why). We also talked about what makes the 3 states of matter different. How can water be a solid, liquid, and a gas?
Here's what we learned:
Solid states of matter have tightly packed molecules so they hold their shape even when they could spread out.
Liquid molecules spread out to conform to the shape of their container.
Gases on the other hand do not have a fixed volume. They expand to fill the available space (Like the air in a balloon.)
After we had talked about the 3 main states of matter we got out our Science glossaries and defined solid, liquid, and gas. We also defined matter as "anything that takes up space and has mass".
To begin our snowman science experiment we filled balloons with water and put them in the freezer. Tomorrow we will find out what exactly has happened to them.
Let's be honest here, Spelling is 2 things.
1. Really, really, really important. The more words you can spell the more efficiently you can read, and the more you read the bigger your vocabulary becomes. However the importance of spelling doesn't change the fact that it is also....
2. HARD!! Ugh Why is read spelled the same was as read which is spelled different than red even though they sound the same? WHY? WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!?!?!
Well, I don't know why any of this works the way it does but that doesn't mean I can't figure out the correct word if I use my context clues. Still this can be such a challenging and frustrating concepts for kids.
Luckily, the best thing about first graders is that they can be pretty easy to teach when they don't know they are learning. That's why I want to give you a list of some ideas that seem like pretty fun, and sneaky, ways to practice spelling words.
Now there are about a quadrillion possible activities, so this is in no way a complete list, but these are some of the ones that appeal to the giant child who happens to be me.
1. Rainbow writing- I remember how much I used to loathe writing my spelling words 3 times everyday in spelling class, however rainbow writing gives this practice a fun aspect since students can use 3 or more colors to make beautiful words. The constant tracing of the word first in pencil, then in 3 or more colors still helps with the fine motor skills that students need to work but it is slightly less boring because it's almost like making art.
2. Shaving cream writing- Yes it's an absolute mess, but it's a wonderful smelling and surprisingly exciting mess. Just spread a thin layer of shaving cream on the table or a small tray and use a fingertip (or paintbrush) to write the words. When one word is done erase by smoothing the shaving cream out flat again and write the next word. Pro-tip this is a great activity for getting those germy winter hands nice and soapy.
3. Hopscotch spelling- write letters on the sidewalk in chalk or write on sheets of paper and scatter inside (that could be slippery though) then hop from letter to letter to spell the word.
4. Cup stacking- write letters on plastic or foam cups and line them up to spell words. For added fun stack the spelling words in a pyramid and see how high it goes before it falls down.
5.Scrabble spelling- I had a student last year who did this every week. His parents would take out all the letters he needed to spell his words plus a few extras just to keep him sharp and he would use the tiles to spell each word as practice for his test. This could be fun to do as the scrabble game even, trying to make the words connect through common letters.
6. Flashlight spelling- find an alphabet chart, or make your own on poster board, turn out the lights and spell the words by shining the flashlight at each letter in order. Who doesn't love playing with a flashlight right?
7. Scavenger hunt spelling- one small slips of paper write the letters for all the spelling words then place them inside of plastic eggs and hide them. Send your children off to find the letters then have them put them together to spell the words.
8. Unscramblers- scramble the letters for each spelling word, then let your little detective solve the mystery. Bonus cool points if you can get your child to wear a deer stalker and pretend to be Sherlock Holmes.
So that's my short list of ideas, but there are many more out there on pinterest and other blogs. The most important thing is that you and the kids all have fun!
Another frustrating area for the kids can be Shurley English, we have a parent handbook coming home soon to help with that area, but I also recently purchased a video camera to use for my practicum class. Would it help for you all to be able to see what a typical English lesson looks like for us?
If so let me know and I will be happy to record a session and post it for you to see!
To keep in theme with spelling I'll leave you with one of the lovely songs we are learning during Bible time. So fun, but so much of a tongue twister.
Have a blessed and safe weekend!
Hello everyone!!
Remember when I was going to post soon. I may need to get a new watch. Oops!
But alas, here we are at the first post of the year!!! It's time to meet the heroes of first grade!
I just can't even describe how much these kids brighten every day of my life!! Thank you for letting me spend time with them!!
A quick run down of some of our activities!!
We had a fabulous surprise to come back to after a brief nature walk to explore God's magnificent world!
Thank you again to our stupendous parent helpers who came in to fancy up the room!!
Love that hair!!!
We also made some Creation mobiles to sum up our first Bible lesson.
I love how no two students' mobiles are alike!!
We are having an absolute blast in first grade! I can't wait to share some more of our exciting adventures with you! Up next I'm working on putting together a post of fun ways to practice spelling words, I promise it won't be another month before I get that posted.
Before I go I want to leave you with one of my current favorite songs, this is a song that is amazing relevant to my life right now. Every time I listen to it I think about these incredible kiddos and wonder what dreams He has planned for them.
Better late than never as they day, here are some of our pictures from our Nativity play, I do have some others as well that contain all the kids from our class, these ones only have the students who I have permission to share on the blog. If you would like a copy of the pictures please let me know and I will be happy to email them to you as they are now saved on my computer. My email is abc123bailey@gmail.com.
Joseph, our Shepherd boy and his faithful sheep.
Such a happy smiley pair.
Joseph and Mary
Our Wisemen
Some of our lovely angels singing at the end
I have been absolutely blown away by what these kids have done this year, learning those parts for our little class play is what inspired some of our more recent projects. These kids are such a blessing to me everyday. I am getting really sad when I think about how close we are to the end of our year.
I will get pictures up of the countries projects very soon. I am in awe of the work they have done!!
When we last left off here at Miss Bailey is a terrible blogger, I had shared with you our 50 states that rhyme song. I must admit that I wasn't sure if the kids would be able to pull off the memorization of that song but WOW was I in for a surprise!! Not only did these amazing kiddos memorize the song, several of them had it memorized before it was "due". Next up was our states project. Here are the pictures of the INCREDIBLE work that blew me away again (some of my friends were camera shy).
Timothy's Washington box
Tyler's North Carolina Box
Ben's West Virginia Box
New Jersey poster by Luciana
Kansas display by Kira
Mississippi
I am so immensely proud of these wonderful students, they learned so much about their states and I learned several really cool facts as well.
The next project I assigned is going to be an absolute hoot to see. I asked the kids to pick a country and talk about the country in the character of a person, place, or thing from that country. Then they are going to decorate a poster to use when presenting on their country. Here is the example I created to share with the kids. (Please remember I have all the artistic talent of a blind snail.)
“G’day Mates, I’m
Kasey Kangaroo and I’m from “the land down under”, Australia. Did you know that
Australia is both a continent and a country? It’s divided up into 6 states and
2 territories.
Life gets pretty
crazy down here, we’ve got some wild and dangerous creatures to watch out for!
Because of her size Australia has many different landscapes with unique plant
and animal life from tropical rainforests to deserts we’ve got something for
everyone to enjoy. You might find a Kola friend hanging out in the Eucalyptus
trees, a wandering wombat, or a crazy looking bird called an emu. Do me a favor
and warn me if you see any wild looking Dingoes though, they might try to have
me for dinner.
The humans in
Australia mostly speak English but with an Australian accent.
If you ever make it
down to Australia be sure to check out a performance at the Sydney opera house
and visit the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef system.”
I am really excited to see what the kids come up with!!
We also made continent plates by painting an oval shaped paint and then coloring and cutting out the continents and oceans. I am a genius and forgot to get pictures of the kids gluing the continents to the plates but here are some pictures of stage one and the finished projects displayed on lockers.
I have managed to recover our Christmas play pictures that I had thought were lost forever so I PROMISE to do a much overdue post with those this weekend.
I can't wait to see what else this year has in store for us!!
