Sterling's Snippets: March 2019

Welcome spring! We are so excited for the nicer weather to get outside and play! Please note, our playground still has about 2-3 feet of packed snow. As this melts, it is going to be very wet! We will do our best to hang winter gear after recess so that it can start drying at school. Rain boots are not a bad idea as the weather begins to warm.

This spring we also welcome a Practicum Student from VCSU/NDSU. Miss Erica Johnson is joining us for 40 hours in an introductory education course. She is from Fargo and looks forward to teaching in a primary classroom upon graduation. Miss Johnson is spending her 40 hours observing, helping with prep work, and reading with students.

We have been having so much fun exploring the new materials in our STEAM Bins. The conversations and discussions are so fun to see. We are thankful to Midco and Fargo Force for the funds to purchase new supplies this year!

Star Students

Jersie was our Star Student as we had a great time getting to know her more! Jersie is really good at swimming, baking and coloring. She especially loves to color with her gel pens which she showed the class during her show and tell. What I love most about Jersie is her kindness towards others. She always wants to make sure her friends are happy.

Mari was also a Star Student in our class! Mari has ten cousins and enjoys spending time with them all. Ms. Wills was extra excited when she heard that Mari wants to be a gym teacher when she grows up! Mari would make a great teacher because she is kind, supportive and generous. We also celebrated Mari's birthday during her special week!

A Peek at Our Week

Reading: We are learning about so many complex skills in reading and the students are wowing me with their understanding! Last week we learned about synonyms. Students had fun making synonym, cinnamon rolls! This week we will explore compound words. We will also learn about prepositions with some fun read alouds and projects. We will be reading Little Rabbit's Tale this week to learn more about cause and effect relationships.

Writing: It is publishing time in writer's workshop again! Students will work to publish their latest personal narratives this week in writing. Next we will move to writing research in writer's workshop, beginning with shared research and finishing with student led research on animals of their choice.

Math: The mathematicians are having so much fun practicing new math strategies to add numbers to 20. Has your first grader sang our "Doubles Rap" for you yet? I'll be sure to record the kiddos this week!

Science: In science we just wrapped up learning about matter. We made Oobleck and learned that it isn't technically a solid, liquid or a gas! Oobleck is actually a Non Newtonian fluid which means that it can change from a solid to a liquid based on the pressure from outside sources. It sure was messy but lots of fun!