Merry Christmas!

Good Evening!  I hope this post doesn't find you for days as you are spending time with your loved ones; however, my little ones are nestled in bed and I am feeling the urge to post some adorable photos from this past week!

We began our week learning about a few other countries around the world.  We learned that during the celebrations in Mexico, children often hit a Pinata filled with treats!  We did just that.  I was very nervous about it breaking after only a few swings (not allowing all students a turn) so only allowed one hit per student.  On the fourth hit, the head flew off!  Thankfully, one of our school cooks came to the rescue with duct tape.  Soon the head was reattached and after 18 hits, the Pinata was still holding strong!  We tried to pull the ribbons to break it open and nothing happened.  By now, I was just chuckling as things weren't going as planned (this happens often in 1st grade) so I just gave it an extra "tug" and out poured the candy!  The kiddos grabbed as much as they could.

By now you have seen the adorable gifts your child made for you.  I hope you think the painting was as adorable as I did!  The students did such a great job following directions and painting carefully on the canvas.  Even the wrapping paper and cards allowed them to get creative!

 We celebrated our first 1/2 Birthday of the year!  We try to celebrate our summer birthdays during the year so that these kiddos don't miss out.  Isaac treated the class to Birthday Ice Cream!  Happy 1/2 Birthday Isaac!

Even though it was short week, it was jam packed with events!  On Tuesday, we attended this month's Character Assembly.  This month's Character Champion was Aiden.  Aiden works very hard to follow school and classroom rules each day.  He is also eager to extend his learning through investigating his own questions through research and questioning.  Way to go, Aiden!

Finally the students had another successful classroom party!  I am so spoiled this year as the Room Parents did all of the planning and prep work, again!  Thank you to Melodie, Sarah, Rachel and Kris! Below are a few photos from the great party!

Merry Christmas from Mrs. Sterling's 1st Graders!

Holiday Globe Trot

Have you heard the news?  Has your 1st grader told you about the packages that have arrived in our classroom this week?  I told the 1st graders that on my trip to Orlando I met a boy named Scott.  Scott and I got to visiting about Christmas and I told him I wondered about what other children around the world did to celebrate the holidays.  It just so happened, that Scott was on his way around the world to learn about other countries and cultures, what a coincidence!  During the week, two packages have arrived to our classroom each day from Scott.  Each package is carefully postmarked from a country (I even did my research in formatting the return address correctly) around the world.

Adrien and Sonja make their "Sandman" from Australia.

So far we have received packages from France, Uganda, Italy, Germany, Israel, Sweden, Australia, Russia, China, and England.  We have read stories, sampled treats, made crafts, played games, and even found special treats in our shoes.  After learning about each country, we fill out a page in our travel journal and label the country on our map.  The students are so excited to see if a package has arrived in the office each day.  They also can't wait to see what is inside!

This is our Tomten from Sweden.

Aiden found a special treat in his shoe left by Pere Noel from France. 

Tinah decorates her gingerbread man and samples some cookies.

Aubrey's Drum from Uganda.

Carter's drum from Uganda.

Will more packages arrive next week?  Perhaps!  

This week our class was also responsible for ringing the bell for the Salvation Army.  Check out these great bell ringers!  Mrs. Baarstad even got in on the action and joined us (with her coffee, of course)!

Finally, the class snapped a photo with Cydney, our Jet Student from North High, who only has a couple more weeks with us.  Cydney has been such a help in the classroom when she visits each morning.  She helps me with projects, prep work, and works with the students.  We have appreciated Cydney this year!

Upcoming Reminders:

Tuesday, December 22: Classroom Holiday Party/Pajama Day

Tuesday, December 22: Character Champion Assembly

Wednesday, December 23-Sunday, January 3: No School/Winter Vacation

Happy Thanksgiving to Your Family!

Greetings 1st grade families!  I hope this blog post greets you enjoying time with your family and friends.  Even though it was a short week, we still managed to cram in lots of fun and memories.  We began our week learning a little bit about the history of Thanksgiving.  We read The First Thanksgiving and watched a short video as part of our Studies Weekly curriculum.  We then practiced retelling the story while making bracelets.  Each color bead represented a different event in our story.  Here is Connor showing off his work!

Next it was time to review verbs.  We read the story Run Turkey Run and then came up with our own phrases using different verbs.  We had some really cute ideas including: "Dance turkey dance, cartwheel turkey cartwheel and finally launch turkey launch.  Below Hazel and Aubrey work on their Turkey Verbs project.  The adorable projects are on display in our classroom right now!

Then it was time to work with non-standard measurement in math.  Students used a turkey feather to measure objects around the classroom, including their partner.  Below Coby, Aiden, Connor, Colton and Chace work on measuring.

In math we also played counting on Turkey Thump.  Partners practiced rolling a numeral dice and a dot dice to add and count on with numbers up to 18.  They covered a turkey feather with a candy corn and could "Thump" their neighbor off if a feather was occupied.  Below Isaac, Nico, Tina, Coby and Brookelyn play.

We then read the story, Turkey Trouble, where a turkey decides to disguise himself so that he won't be eaten.  Following the  story, the students worked to disguise a turkey of their own.  Below you will see turkeys disguised as a Ninja and Superhero.

In the midst of all of this Thanksgiving fun we had our November Character Assembly.  The following students were recognized this month:

Exercise: Ella

Patriotism: Preston

Giving: Coby

Character Champion: Carter

Finally, our class learned about the real meaning behind Thanksgiving, being with the people you care about and spending time together.  We watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and then had a Charlie Brown Feast of pretzels, popcorn, jellybeans and toast.  The students each took turns sharing something or someone they were thankful for as we enjoyed our meal.  YUM!

Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday and break,

Field Trip Fun!

Happy Friday!  We had a great week in 1st grade, minus a few hurdles such as a sick teacher and snow!  It is definitely getting cold, so please send snow pants, boots and winter gear daily.  The students can store the items in their locker and bring them home on Fridays (or leave them at school if you have an extra set).  Remember, Fargo Public School students will go outside as long as the windshield is -15 degrees or above.

This week we prepared for Thanksgiving with a fun turkey project, which you will see on your child's locker.  We will make another turkey next week while learning about verbs which will be on display in our classroom.

We visited the Plains Art Museum on Thursday, November 19 where students learned about Picasso's art work as well as made their second clay project, the penguin!  The penguins will be brought home with students in about a month.  Your child should have brought home a bright, pink coupon for your entire family to visit the museum again, free of charge!  Enjoy this wonderful opportunity.  I am sure your little artist can share with you what they have learned.  While you wait to see the finished project, check out these great photos below!

In science we have been learning all about sound and vibrations.  We spent a day exploring like scientists with balloons, drums, string, harmonicas, and rubber bands.  The students were challenged to make the objects vibrate which would in turn make sound.  Check out some of our exploring below.

We celebrated another birthday, today!  Happy Birthday Sonja!

Upcoming Events

November 25-November 29: No School, Thanksgiving Break

December 7-13: Mrs. Sterling absent on a family vacation.  Mrs. Eide will be the substitute teacher all week.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend and prepares for a short week where students will explore why they are Thankful, at the start of this holiday season!