It's that time of the year! The time of the year when we are all getting antsy, we are wrapping things up, making sure we have final assessments done, that we have finished all of our projects, and that we have no loose ends to be left. It's a very bittersweet time of year: we're excited for three months off, but we're sad to be leaving each other. I have enjoyed having each of your students this year, and am very glad that I get the chance to have them again next year in social studies!
I have a few housekeeping items for the upcoming week:
- Blue folders are going home today for the FINAL TIME. They do not need to come back signed. I will have a few items that will be going home next week, but those will go home in the green folder.
- Green folder still need to be coming back to school each day, signed. Your student's reading calendar is due on Thursday, May 31st. Friday can be a hectic day, and there's a good chance things won't be able to be turned in that day. I do expect everyone to continue to read each night up until that Thursday, though. I sincerely hope that his has become a habit that will continue through the summer. It's such a good habit to have!
- If anyone has paper bags they could donate, that would be great. Living alone, I don't accumulate many paper grocery bags, but they are very handy to send home with the students the last week of school. I will most likely be sending extra stuff home each day next week so as not to overburden them on Thursday. Having paper bags on hand will be great for the big items.
- Tuesday afternoon is Field Day. Please send your child with a water bottle, either empty or one that we can fill. It will be a hot afternoon! Sunscreen would also be beneficial.
-Wednesday is our field trip day, unless we are rained out. We are going to the NEW Zoo! Your child will need a disposable lunch, as we are not going to carry around containers and lunch boxes all afternoon, and we don't want to lose things. Please pack a healthy lunch that is easy for travel, such as a sandwich. Forks and spoons are fine, as long as they are disposable. It may be easier to stick with finger food, though.
Thank you, and enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend!
Ms. Hermus
Friday, May 25, 2012
Friday, May 4, 2012
Weekly Upd ate
This week in math we started our unit on shapes, which is an introduction to geometry. Today we talked about symmetry, and the students are doing a wonderful job with it! We are working hard to finish everything we need to accomplish in math this year. Soon we will be working on adding and subtracting 2-digit numbers!
In reading this week we focused on the long i sound using ie and igh. They did a wonderful job using those two chunks to make words! We also practiced with kn and wr, which are two sounds that can be difficult to spell, since we don't hear the k or the w.
This week we ended our last country in Social Studies. South Africa is our last country, and we started "practice prezis." The students will be making their own prezis to review the countries we learned about this year, but since most of us are new to the program, we're doing a "practice prezi" first to get comfortable with the software. I know that some students have been using the software at home, and Jack even taught me how to find pictures on the program itself! If you are interested, Prezi.com is a website that offers the opportunity to make presentations. It is something like powerpoint, but with about 10 cups of coffee. It's very easy to pull in pictures and video clips to make your presentations more interesting. If you got to prezi.com, you can sign up for a limited, but free, membership, or you can pay a bit per month for more space.
We have been talking about a few miracles in religion, and we are currently finishing a project about the 10 lepers. It is a wonderful story that not only teaches us about Jesus' power and mercy, but also the importance of giving thanks!
In science class we have been talking about how we change and grow. While we were looking at our baby pictures, we noticed that we're not only bigger, but some of us have hair colors that changed, or our faces used to be more round, among other things. We also talked about what we couldn't do then that we can do now, such as walk and talk, but also ride a bike, swim, and play basketball. We're always learning and growing!
There will be no blue folder coming home this week. Look for a very full blue folder next Friday!
Thank you, and enjoy the beautiful weekend!
Ms. Hermus
In reading this week we focused on the long i sound using ie and igh. They did a wonderful job using those two chunks to make words! We also practiced with kn and wr, which are two sounds that can be difficult to spell, since we don't hear the k or the w.
This week we ended our last country in Social Studies. South Africa is our last country, and we started "practice prezis." The students will be making their own prezis to review the countries we learned about this year, but since most of us are new to the program, we're doing a "practice prezi" first to get comfortable with the software. I know that some students have been using the software at home, and Jack even taught me how to find pictures on the program itself! If you are interested, Prezi.com is a website that offers the opportunity to make presentations. It is something like powerpoint, but with about 10 cups of coffee. It's very easy to pull in pictures and video clips to make your presentations more interesting. If you got to prezi.com, you can sign up for a limited, but free, membership, or you can pay a bit per month for more space.
We have been talking about a few miracles in religion, and we are currently finishing a project about the 10 lepers. It is a wonderful story that not only teaches us about Jesus' power and mercy, but also the importance of giving thanks!
In science class we have been talking about how we change and grow. While we were looking at our baby pictures, we noticed that we're not only bigger, but some of us have hair colors that changed, or our faces used to be more round, among other things. We also talked about what we couldn't do then that we can do now, such as walk and talk, but also ride a bike, swim, and play basketball. We're always learning and growing!
There will be no blue folder coming home this week. Look for a very full blue folder next Friday!
Thank you, and enjoy the beautiful weekend!
Ms. Hermus
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Announcing: That Goat Has GOT to Go!
On Monday, April 23 at 2:00 pm, the first grade reading class will be performing "That Goat Has GOT to Go" in a readers' theatre style. Parents are invited to come and see this once-in-a-lifetime show! It will be performed in the first grade classroom.
Thank you,
Ms. Hermus
Thank you,
Ms. Hermus
Thursday, April 12, 2012
It's Great to be Back!
We are so excited to be back at school after Easter Break! This week in reading we aren't doing our normal routine. Instead, we are practicing a play! We are very excited. We want to tell you what it's about but SHHHHHHH! It's a secret! We're not quite sure when we will be performing it. It will most likely be not next week, but early the following week. We will let you know in hopes that you can come and see us!
We were practicing money before break, and now we are learning about time. So far we can tell what the hour and the half hour are. We're still learning and need a little more practice. If you can practice with us at home, we'd really like it.
Our current country in Social Studies is Mexico. Yesterday we learned how to dance the cha-cha, and today we got to try some arroz con leche. Some of us liked it, and some didn't. The recipe is on the back of our Mexico books that will be coming home soon. Tomorrow we hope to try making quesedillas!
Today in religion we read the story of Jesus' First Miracle! This was at the Wedding at Cana. Jesus turned the water into wine. We are making a craft so we can pretend to do the same.
In science we are learning about one of Ms. Hermus's favorite science topics: the sun, the moon, and stars! We learned about constellations today, and don't think they make very good pictures. They are kind of confusing. We will be making our own next week. Hopefully we'll understand them better then.
On Tuesday we finally broke our cascarones! We filled them with bird seed before Easter Break. We took them outside on Tuesday and broke them over each others' heads. We know that we shouldn't usually break eggs over each others' heads. This was a special case.
We have a request as well. Today we learned about Orion's Belt. We would love the chance to see it this weekend! We know that the stars don't come out until after we're in bed on school nights, so we thought this weekend would be a great chance to see it for ourselves!
We were practicing money before break, and now we are learning about time. So far we can tell what the hour and the half hour are. We're still learning and need a little more practice. If you can practice with us at home, we'd really like it.
Our current country in Social Studies is Mexico. Yesterday we learned how to dance the cha-cha, and today we got to try some arroz con leche. Some of us liked it, and some didn't. The recipe is on the back of our Mexico books that will be coming home soon. Tomorrow we hope to try making quesedillas!
Today in religion we read the story of Jesus' First Miracle! This was at the Wedding at Cana. Jesus turned the water into wine. We are making a craft so we can pretend to do the same.
In science we are learning about one of Ms. Hermus's favorite science topics: the sun, the moon, and stars! We learned about constellations today, and don't think they make very good pictures. They are kind of confusing. We will be making our own next week. Hopefully we'll understand them better then.
We have a request as well. Today we learned about Orion's Belt. We would love the chance to see it this weekend! We know that the stars don't come out until after we're in bed on school nights, so we thought this weekend would be a great chance to see it for ourselves!
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| The Easter Bunny brought us scented bubbles! We got to take them outside on Wednesday and try them. |
Thursday, March 22, 2012
March 22nd Update
This is the first week that the ENTIRE CLASS is helping me write this blog! Here's what we have to say:
This week in literacy we practiced contractions using the word "not." For example, do + not = don't. This week we also read our first play and are writing our own plays! We're excited to read more plays after Easter.
In math, we are learning about money! Money is fun. So far we have practiced counting quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies. Next week we are going to practice using our money skills in a "store" in our classroom!
We just finished learning about Ireland in Social Studies. Mrs. Klitzke came in and talked to us about her home country! She brought us Irish Brown Soda Bread. It was so yummy! Here is the recipe she sent me:
This yields approx 15 cookie size “scones":
We also used some new skills on the website prezi.com to create a presentation about Ireland. I already put up the url, but here it is again as a link: Ireland Prezi We can finally find it if we search! We found that it just took a few days, and some patience.
Speaking of patience, we are finishing up our unit in religion class on the Fruit of the Spirit! We are completing this unit by making collages of all the fruits. We are finding pictures in magazines that show examples of the different fruits.
AND speaking of fruits, in Spanish we are working with food words! We have been playing "vaya a la pesca" (Go Fish) and our favorite game, matamoscas (Kill Flies - the Flyswatter game). Soon we will be putting together our own menus using the words we have learned.
Just like every spring in Wisconsin, the weather has been CRAZY! It is the perfect time to study weather in science class! We enjoyed making kites to observe the wind, and learning about the water cycle. We also made a cloud in a jar!
This week in literacy we practiced contractions using the word "not." For example, do + not = don't. This week we also read our first play and are writing our own plays! We're excited to read more plays after Easter.
In math, we are learning about money! Money is fun. So far we have practiced counting quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies. Next week we are going to practice using our money skills in a "store" in our classroom!
We just finished learning about Ireland in Social Studies. Mrs. Klitzke came in and talked to us about her home country! She brought us Irish Brown Soda Bread. It was so yummy! Here is the recipe she sent me:
Irish Soda Bread
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup self raising flour (any white flour will do) plus extra for rolling out dough
1 level teaspoon baking soda
½ stick butter
½ cup sugar
1 egg (beaten)
¼ cup of milk (warmed up cream will yield softer bread )
Mix flour & baking soda.
Add in sugar & mix
Mix in butter to breadcrumb consistency
Mix in beaten egg and add enough milk (or cream) to make soft doughy consistency
Roll out to ¼ inch height (approx) cut out scones or use cookie cutter to cut out
Bake at 425 for approx 10 mins – just a very light golden brown.
We also used some new skills on the website prezi.com to create a presentation about Ireland. I already put up the url, but here it is again as a link: Ireland Prezi We can finally find it if we search! We found that it just took a few days, and some patience.
Speaking of patience, we are finishing up our unit in religion class on the Fruit of the Spirit! We are completing this unit by making collages of all the fruits. We are finding pictures in magazines that show examples of the different fruits.
AND speaking of fruits, in Spanish we are working with food words! We have been playing "vaya a la pesca" (Go Fish) and our favorite game, matamoscas (Kill Flies - the Flyswatter game). Soon we will be putting together our own menus using the words we have learned.
Just like every spring in Wisconsin, the weather has been CRAZY! It is the perfect time to study weather in science class! We enjoyed making kites to observe the wind, and learning about the water cycle. We also made a cloud in a jar!
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| We loved flying our kites! |
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| It was a beautiful afternoon to be outside! |
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Ireland Prezi!
Our class has been using a new website called prezi.com. They are really excited! We can use it to make presentations. We made one together in social studies about Ireland. Soon I'd like us all to be able to use the program. It's amazing how many steps they can remember to help me make it! Here is a link to the one we made about Ireland:
http://prezi.com/zhs_p_gzprtj/ireland/
I'm sorry if you have problems connecting to it. I'm having trouble finding it while searching, but I'm working on that right now. The kids are so excited for all of you to see it, though, so I wanted to get it out here in case it worked!
http://prezi.com/zhs_p_gzprtj/ireland/
I'm sorry if you have problems connecting to it. I'm having trouble finding it while searching, but I'm working on that right now. The kids are so excited for all of you to see it, though, so I wanted to get it out here in case it worked!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
I apologize for the lack of blue folders last Friday. I had all the work corrected, but I ran out of time to get the work in the folders. That work will go home this Friday with this week's work.
This week we are going out of our reading books and doing a short unit on Dr. Seuss! Dr. Seuss's birthday is Friday, March 2nd. This year he would be 108 years old! We started off the week by reading Fox in Socks and finding rhyming words. We made lists of rhyming words and are using those to write poems. Another book we've read is Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! This book was started by Dr. Seuss, then finished by Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith after he passed away. The pictures are wonderful mixes of Dr. Seuss's own illustrations and Lane Smith's wonderful paintings. In the same style, we are cutting out pictures from magazines and drawing pictures around them. They look wonderful!
We are running low on dry erase markers. The ones I use on the board last me about half a year, since I use many different colors on the board. The students each have one in their desks, though, for use each day, and those run dry faster. We could use about twelve more dry erase markers to get us through the year. If anyone can do that, please let me know.
This week we are going out of our reading books and doing a short unit on Dr. Seuss! Dr. Seuss's birthday is Friday, March 2nd. This year he would be 108 years old! We started off the week by reading Fox in Socks and finding rhyming words. We made lists of rhyming words and are using those to write poems. Another book we've read is Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! This book was started by Dr. Seuss, then finished by Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith after he passed away. The pictures are wonderful mixes of Dr. Seuss's own illustrations and Lane Smith's wonderful paintings. In the same style, we are cutting out pictures from magazines and drawing pictures around them. They look wonderful!
We are running low on dry erase markers. The ones I use on the board last me about half a year, since I use many different colors on the board. The students each have one in their desks, though, for use each day, and those run dry faster. We could use about twelve more dry erase markers to get us through the year. If anyone can do that, please let me know.
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