"When Can We Paint?!" :)

Pretty sure I've been asked this question a GAZILLION times since we unpacked those brand new vibrant watercolors on the first day of school. I decided today was the day.

We started our unit on the Sky and Space today. Today's focus was on the sun:

 

Then we FINALLY broke out those watercolors and got busy painting the sun. What wonderful artists I have this year! This really helps brighten up the dull wood paneling my room is rockin'! 

 

Tomorrow we move on to the moon and stars! I just LOVE teaching this unit!

Space and Planet FUN!!

So remember when Pluto was a planet?? Does anyone feel a bit sad that Pluto got the boot? "My Very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Noodles" just does not sound as catchy as "My Very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles". Sigh.

The science books that we have now still have Pluto listed as a planet. I do teach about Pluto and that it is now considered a dwarf planet. It's even smaller than Earth's moon!

I'm so excited to start teaching about the sun, moon, stars and planets. I have lots of fun activities planned for this week, so stay tuned! In the meantime, enjoy this freebie poem download to help your students learn the order of the planets!

Click the picture to download!

Back to School Ice Breaker for SMART Board!

I know some blog friends are just getting ready to head back to school. I offered these freebie downloads on Kleinspiration when I did a guest post for her a few weeks ago. Wanted to post them up on my blog for anyone who wanted to give 'em a try during the first few days of school. My kids just LOVED the Balloon Pop -- big hit!

Go HERE to download this freebie! Enjoy! If you like it, please leave me some feedback!

 Click HERE to download Tic-Tac-Know for free!

Daily 5 Newbie

Any other Daily 5 Newbies out there? I don't know about you, but I'm just L-O-V-I-N-G the Daily 5!

My kiddos are up to 14 minutes during Read to Self. Wowie! This makes me so happy! Reinforcing the behaviors and checking in after RTS is really working. They are silent and reading and want to read more!

Today we talked about "Where Readers Read" and made this anchor chart:

It did not take them long to realize that readers read EVERYWHERE!!

And here are some of the best books for launching the Daily 5. I especially loved Goldie Socks and the 3 Libearians -- it even talks about the 5 finger rule. I read Those Shoes right before I did the shoe lesson to introduce just right books. Great resources! I highly suggest these books! I loaned them from the public library, but I'm going to get my own copies for my book stash!

This and That in FIRST GRADE!

Hello blog friends! I'd first like to thank my many new followers --- please say hi and link to your blog, I'd love to give you a follow as well!

 The Daily 5 is up and running! My kiddos have built up to 12 minutes of Read To Self and Work on Writing. I'm so pleased with how everything is going. Here is a display of our anchor charts and CAFE Menu so far....

Here is a board I just put up --- Sticky Vowels! Thanks to The Teacher Wife for sharing! My kids LOVE this! If you would like to hear and view the song, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJCmlB3Xk_U

For our Word Work part of the Daily 5, I bought a big oil drip pan from Walmart for $9.00. It's about 4 ft by 2ft. Great for using magnets to spell words! This idea was from Pinterest.

Hope you all have a great end to your work week and a fabulous LONG weekend!! :)

Rules Rap!

Hey guys! I got this fabulous back to school idea from my friend over at First Grade Fever! I did tweak the song to fit the rules in my classroom. What a fun and engaging way to learn the rules! I bet my firsties won't soon forget this catchy song and the rules to go with it!

I posted the video of my kiddos singing the Rules Rap on my classroom blog. Click HERE to view!

Silly Sally Patterned Writing and FREE DOWNLOAD!

Hello there! We've been spending a lot of time this week working on rhyming. One of my most FAVORITE activities we do is based on the book Silly Sally by Audrey Wood.  We choral read the story, find the rhyming pairs, then brainstorm other animals that the students could meet on their way to town.

Each student picks an animal, then creates a rhyme (we do this whole group). Students fill in the blanks on the writing sheet, draw a picture to match, and I take their picture. I have the students stand with their legs apart, hands in the air....then I develop them, cut them out, and the kiddos glue their upside down picture to their paper. I display these in the hallway for Parent Night!

Enjoy the pics and a free download to use with your class.

Silly Sally