Welcome to Ms. Bookbinder's 1st grade class! I am so excited to be your child's first grade teacher. I am thrilled to get to know your child and to dive into learning this year. 

A Little Bit About Ms. Bookbinder:

I grew up in Williamsburg, Virginia as the oldest of three children (a brother and a sister). I had the privilege of growing up in a bilingual household and enjoy incorporating Spanish in the classroom. I graduated from The University of Virginia with a Masters in Teaching and a Bachelors in Studies of Women and Gender. I always knew I wanted to work with children and at UVA I realized teaching was my calling. 

I have taught kindergarten for 3 years and am going on my 10th year of teaching 1st grade. It is a joy to teach 1st grade as I love to see the growth in my students throughout the year academically, socially, and emotionally. I look forward to working with your child and your family to allow your child to express themselves and reach their full potential.

My family and I love to spend time together. I have 3 amazing daughters, Shoshana (10), Eliana (10), and Aviva (5). Shoshana and Eliana (yes, they are twins :) ) will be attending SPES as Fifth graders and Aviva will be a kindergartener this fall. 

It is going to be an amazing year! If you need to contact me at any time please feel free to email me at jngbookbinde@henrico.k12.va.us. 

 Fenway Fun and Touch a Truck

April 9th, 2023

 Clocks, Maggie Walker, Sun, and Coding

March 19th, 2023

We have had a lot of fun this past week. We continued telling time with a lot of hands-on games. The students went on a virtual field trip to Maggie Walker's house. The students loved learning about Maggie Walker by "walking" through Maggie Walker's house. This would be a great place to take your child to review everything we have learned about Maggie Walker. To learn about the sun, we did a sun project and discussed the ways the sun heats up the air, dirt, and water. Lastly, we had Mrs. Claytor come and teach us how to code a new device that we have in HCPS. To code the car, the students had to use different colors to make the car move in different ways. The kids had a wonderful time and they were able to code the car and get it to do a lot of cool things.   

 Arthur Ashe STEAM Project, Clocks, and R-Blends!

March 5th, 2023

We had a great week of hands-on learning. After learning about Arthur Ashe the students were tasked to make a tennis racket that would have helped him win the Wimbledon. The racket had to be able to bounce an actual tennis ball and stay in one piece. The students created their rackets and tested it throughout the creating process to ensure it would pass the test. They were so creative and worked so well with their partners to complete this task. Look at the fun racket designs in the pictures. 

We finished out unit on calendar and began our unit on time. To start off the unit the students learned about the different parts of the clock and then made a clock of their own with their teammates with the materials provided to them. They had to have the numbers 1-12 in the right order, 5 minutes in between the numerals to represent the minutes, an hour hand, and a minute hand. The kiddos did such an amazing job. I am so proud of them. 

In Phonics, we were learning about r-blends (fr, gr, dr, tr, cr). To have a little fun and review all the r-blends we listened to music from trolls and danced to arounds like trolls when the music stopped they had to find a r-blend hidden around the room. Once they found a r-blend, they had to find a picture on their paper that had that blend in it. They had a blast! We have some fabulous dancers in the class.  

 Valentine's Day and Young Scientists

February 25th, 2023

The Young Scientists came this past week! This was a great review on our past science unit on force and motion. The students made a kazoo to investigate vibration, made a helicopter to see spinning, and played with a top to investigate spinning. The kids had such a fun time reviewing these concepts. I was so proud at how much information they have retained. They were able to answer all the questions that the instructor asked them! Look at all the pictures to see the fun they have had with this experience. Also, look at the pictures from the Valentine's Day fun that we had. 

 Motion, the 100th Day of School, and Mystery Reader!

February 11th, 2023

It was an exciting time in 1st grade this week. In Language Arts, we continued learning about activists and people who created change in education and laws for my people with disabilities. We read the story "Biblioburro", a true story about a man in Colombia who brought books (a library) to kids in rural Colombia. We also read a story about Malala ("The Magic Pencil") and discussed how lucky we were to all be able to go to school and be able to learn with one another. Then we read a book called "All the Way to The Top", a true story about young girl who was in a wheelchair and her participation in the Capital Crawl. We used these books to further develop our vocabulary skills, with finding out the meaning of unknown words by using context clues and pictures. 

In Science, we investigated the different types of motions by a variety of different hands-on explorations. Students explored motion through moving a paperclip on a string, investigating the ways toys move, and playing a tissue box guitar. They were so enthusiastic when we learned about vibrations and how they cause sound. The students felt the vibrations that our vocal cords create by putting their hand on their neck while humming. Look below at some of the things we did to explore motion. 

Lastly, it was the 100th Day of School! We had so much fun doing all things 100. The students or should I say 100 year old grandma and grandpas had a blast counting to 100 in a variety of ways and building with 100 pieces. They also transformed the digits in the number 100 into something, which will be made into a book. They wrote about what they would do, say, and wear when they are 100 years old. We also had a mystery reader, Carloline's Mom who came out to read us a 100th Day of School book! It was an amazing day of fun and learning. 

 Groundhog, Push and Pull, and a Special Visit

February 5th, 2023

We had a busy week in first grade. In Language Arts we have been learning about how to find the meaning of unfamiliar words while also investigating people who advocated for change. We read about Rachel Carson, a marine biologist who found out that pesticides were one of the causes for Bald Eagles becoming endangered. We also read a book about Greta Thunberg and discussed about how she stood up for environmental issues. The students loved learning about these people and how they can be advocates themselves, even at the ages of 6 and 7. 

In Science, we finished our unit on animals with a culminating STEAM project on Groundhogs Day. The students were tasked to recreate a habitat for a groundhog who lost their home due to construction (a connection to the books we were reading in Language Arts). There had to be an entrance, a sleeping quarter, and an alternate escape route. The students had to collaborate with their partners to discuss the different ways that they were going to create these with the materials provided. Thank you to all of you who donated and sent in some recyclable materials last minute. The kids loved the project. 

We also began our unit on force and motion. The kids were tasked to sort objects by either push and pull. They were also given the challenge of having to move a "rock" from a farm to the market by only using a paperclip, rubber band, string, construction paper, and a straw. The challenge here was that they were not allowed to touch the "rock" with their hands. They had fun investigating the different ways they could create a push or a pull (a force) to move the "rock". 

Lastly, Ms. Gilmore, our wonderful student teacher from the fall came back to visit. She read the kids a fun and silly book and spent the afternoon with the kids. The students loved seeing her again! You can look below to see some pictures of all of these fun activities. 

 Animal Project

January 29th, 2023

This is week we had a blast investigating endangered animals. We have been discussing how we can help endangered animals and looking at different ways to find information on this beautiful animals. The students loved learning about endangered animals, so we decided to do individual research projects on different endangered animals. The students first wrote questions about the endangered animals that they wanted to find answers to. They used these questions to guide their research. The students went on PebbleGo to research their animals. Once they found the answers to their questions, they organized their answers with a graphic organized. They then used the graphic organizer to write a paragraph about their animals. On our half-day, the kiddos were given the challenge to create their animal using the provided materials and their animal had to have appendages, correct body covering, and at least one moving part. We then created a museum of our animal creations and had the other first graders walk through our museum to see our wonderful animals. Look at the pictures below to see some of the animals that we made. 

 Young Scientists, Math Routines, and One Word Challenge

January 14th, 2023

We have had such a great few days back at school! We are getting back into the swing of things with all of our routines. This week we had the Young Scientists come and join us to teach us about animals and their habitats. The kids were able to see and feel deer fur and antlers, they built beaver dams, and Teepees. They had so much fun and asked very thought-provoking questions to our in-house scientist. 

In Math, we have gotten back into our routines and enjoying our different Math Stations. They have learned some comparing and ordering number games. Some of these games you can do even at home with just a deck of cards. You can play Place Value War-- In this game you pick two cards and your child will pick two cards (before playing decide if you are playing "greater than war" or "less than war"). If you are playing "greater than war" the player with the number that is greatest wins the cards. If you are playing "less than war", the player with the number that is the least wins. Ask your child to teach you this game. Another game that is fun to play is a game called "I Sea 10", this game can be found on Amazon and is a great way for your child to work on learning the different combinations to make 10.

This week Mrs. Bernheart challenged us in the One Word Challenge. In this challenge the kids were tasked to come with one word that they wanted to focus on for the new year. As a class we decided our focus was going to be "SHINE". We said "Shine" would be good because we can all shine in different ways: math, reading, writing, science, social studies, behavior, and even as a class. 

 Workout with Mr. Gray, Jingle Bell Jam, and Winter Party

January 1st, 2023

Happy New YEAR!!!! Before the winter break we had a lot of fun. Mr. Gray had a winter workout in which we exercised and we learned a dance and the whole school did it at the Jingle Bell Jam. We had a fabulous Jingle Bell Jam! We danced, the kiddos laughed at the teachers (who were doing silly things), we went on a "sleigh ride", and we made lots of noise. Unfortunately the kiddos couldn't go outside to do their Jingle Bell Walk due to the weather, but they walked around the school jingling their bells away. 

At the winter party, the students created penguins with water bottles, cotton balls, and construction paper. They were so cute! Then it was game time: pin the nose on the snowman, snowball relay race, and snowball fight. The pictures below show how much fun the kiddos had. Thank you so much to the parent volunteers and those parents who sent in items for us to be able to enjoy the party! Enjoy the pictures of the fun activities we had this week. 

Experiments, Flip, and Place Value

December 11th

We have been so busy these past few days of school. This past week was Computer Science Week, to celebrate the week we had Mrs. Bernheart come and teach the kids how to use a new program on their computers called FLIP. In this program the kids are able to create videos and create a QR code to share with family and friends. For this project, the students created a video wishing their loved ones a happy holiday or made a video just to let someone they care about know that they loved them. The videos turned out to be so cute and the kids had a blast learning how to use the program and play with the different backgrounds. 

The students are doing a lot of hands-on learning in Science and in Math. The students began learning about place value and building numbers with tens and ones. They built numbers using unifix cubes and challenging one another to guess the number that they created. In Science, the students investigated the different properties of matter. We did 2 experiments investigating what types of paper allow light to pass through it and how many pieces of paper it took to not allow light to pass through. Ask your child about these experiments. 

Buzzy Visits, Jamestown Fort Building, Turkey Trot, and Fall Rotations

November 28th

This past week was short in days, but we did so much. We had a visit from Buzzy and did a Reading Buddy dedication ceremony with our stuffed animal. In Social Studies, the students were challenged to build the Jamestown Fort with the provided materials like the English settlers had to do. On Tuesday, we had a lot of fun with running in the Turkey Trot. We also had fun in our Fall Rotations. The students made a placemat with Mrs. Moore, danced and had a movement break with Mrs. Darden, found turkeys with Code and Go Mice with Mrs. Golding, did a STEAM project with Mrs. Buchanan, and made a Thankful Turkeys with me!! Look at the pictures of some of the fun that the students had this past week. 

Counting Fun, Young Scientists, and Code and Go Mice

November 21st

We had such a busy week in first grade. The students worked on counting in fun ways. We did a lot of exercise while counting and played a lot of fun games. Ask your child about the games that we played and if you have some dice then you could play at home. We also had Mrs. Bernheart come and teach us how to use Code and Go Mice while learning about counting. The students did an amazing job. Our first Young Scientist lesson was this past week. The students learned about matter and the different properties that matter has. Look below at some of the pictures:

STEAM and Veteran's Day 

November 13th

This past week was short, but a lot of learning and fun was packed in those 3 days. We had Mrs. Bernheart come and read the book "Sticks" and gave the students a challenge of creating something with one popsicle stick. Some of the things the students created were: a bow, a person, a rooster, and a toy. In Language Arts, we read the book "Weslandia". The students learned asking "why" and "how" questions when reading a book. Then the students were given the challenge of making a water tower to help Wesley, the main character in "Weslandia" to get water to his new community. We will be testing to see how much weight (with pennies) their towers can hold this upcoming week. You can see some of their creations below. 

The students did a great job on their Veteran's Day Performance on Friday. I am so proud of all of them and all the hard work that they put in to learn the songs and the hand movements. 

Pumpkin STEAM Project, Part-Part-Whole Fun, Jamestown Outreach

November 7th

We were so busy this week in Room 208! We started the week with a Pumpkin STEAM Project. The students were tasked to make a package to ship a pumpkin to students in a city who used all of their pumpkins for Jack-o-lanterns and needed some to make pumpkin pies. We discussed how sometimes in the mail packages are dropped and we needed to ensure that the pumpkins do not break. Students planned out what their packages should look like and then collaborated with their team on how to build a package to protect their pumpkins. Once they created their packages, we tested their designs to see if their pumpkins "survived" using their packages by going to the field and dropping them from the tower. The students were so proud that all of their designs delivered a pumpkin all in tact.

In Math, the students investigated Part-Part-Whole with a lot of hands-on games. They were looking at all the combinations of making the numbers 4, 5, 6, and 10. We played "Bears in a Cave", "Shake and Spill", and a game called "I Sea Ten" (which can be bought). Ask your child how to play these games. Some can be played easily at home (especially "Bears in Cave"). 

We had Jamestown Settlement come to us and share with us some artifacts that the Powhatan Indians and the Settlers used and wore. The students loved being detectives and trying to figure out how some of the tools were used and how things have changed from the past. Look at the fun pictures below:

Library Event, Phonics hunt, and Bye Ms. Gilmore

October 23rd

This past week was a bit bittersweet. We had a lot of fun learning, but we were also sad to say goodbye to our student teacher, Ms. Gilmore. First, I need to say thank you to all of you for helping make Ms. GIlmore's last day a special one. Thank you to all of you who sent your child in with flowers, Ms. Gilmore was in shock and so overwhelmed with all the flowers she got. Also, I want to say thank you to Mel, Harmon's mom for drawing the wonderful tree in which all the kids put their fingerprints on to give to Ms. Gilmore. This piece of artwork brought her to tears and she stated that she will be putting it up in her future classroom to always remember her first "class". I could not have pulled this day off without all of your support. SO THANK YOU!

Also, thank you so much for all those who came out to the Library Event at Gayton Library. It was great to see all of you and the kids outside of school. Going to the library is a great way to promote a love of reading and finding books that interest your child. I loved being able to see your children reading to reading buddies and to an adult at the library. Thank you for fostering this love of reading at home. 

In Phonics, the students enjoyed playing a game that was a little like freeze dance with an academic twist. The students were able to move around the room when the music played trying to find all the hidden pictures of things with ending s-blends. Once the music stopped, they had to freeze. The goal was to get all the words down on the paper. They had a blast trying to find all the pictures around the room.

Look below to see pictures of some of the fun that we had in room 208 this past week:

Firefighters, symbols, and graphing fun!

October 16th

We had so much fun this past week! We had firefighters from Station 13 come and visit us to teach us about fire safety and to show us what firefighters have to wear when coming into a building. The students learned that even though they may look "weird" and sound funny when they are wearing their masks that they are not so scary. The students were able to touch the gear and got to see an ambulance and fire truck up close. They had a great time and afterwards wrote thank you letters to the firefighters from Station 13. 

In math, we began learning about graphing and the different types of graphs there are: object graph, picture graph, tally charts, etc. The students learned about how to collect data using a survey question and tally charts and began to analyze the data. They went around the room asking their peers about what activity they enjoyed doing: art, music, or sports and then graphed their results. The students also collected data by playing "basketball" and tallying how many times they made or missed a basket. Math was a lot of fun this week! 

In Social Studies we began learning about Virginia symbols and talked about the Virginia State Flag, The Capitol Building, and about the Virginia State Bird: Cardinal. There were a lot of hands on activities during this time of the day. Please look below at some of the cardinal that we made. They can be seen "flying" in our classroom and on our soon to be Dogwood tree out in the hallway. If you come to volunteer or be a mystery reader, take a look :). 

Thank you to Caroline's mom for being our Mystery Reader this past week! The students LOVED listening to new stories and they were so surprised. 

Growing Patterns, Identifying Important Events in Text, and Mystery Reader! 

October 8th

This week was exciting to say the least. Ms. Gilmore, our student teacher took over teaching the whole day and has done an amazing job so far. She has one more week teaching full time. Then we had an alarm that involved fire trucks at our school and we got to eat lunch in the classroom! If that isn't exciting, I am unsure what is! :)

In math, we began investigating growing patterns and seeing patterns in numbers. Students created and extended different patterns throughout the week.  They also worked on differentiating between repeating and growing patterns. The kids continued playing the math games that they learned last week with patterns. These are some games that you could even play at home with manipulatives that you have in your kitchen or toys your child may have. Ask your child to teach you "Break the Train" and build growing patterns with them. 

In Language Arts, students worked on beginning "s" and "l" blends with making words and using sound boxes. They also learned about retelling a story and identifying the important parts of a story.  Our focus this week has been fairy tales and folk tales. When reading with or to your child ask them what the important parts of the story were (something that happened at the beginning, middle, and end of the text). 

Thank you to Monaco's mom for being our first Mystery Reader of the year! The students LOVED having a guest in our classroom and enjoyed listening to new stories. 

Sorting and Seesaw

September 25th

The students in Room 208 have been getting into a great rhythm and have learned all of our routines and classroom expectations. This class is so kind to one another and we have formed quite the classroom family. Every morning we start with a morning meeting in which we work on social skills and being respectful to one another. The kids are doing amazing and are so thoughtful during this time. 

In Math, learned about sorting and were able to "play" many sorting games when in math tubs. The students sorted shapes, attribute blocks (shapes that are different sizes, colors, and thicknesses), buttons, and toys. Ms. Gilmore, our student teacher, taught the students how to play a game called "Attribute Train" in which a shape is put down and the next person needs to put another object that is connected to that shape based on an attribute (same shape, color, size, thickness, etc.). The students had a blast sorting and playing the different games. 

We had Mrs. Bernheart come in this week to teach us how to use the different tools we can use in a program called Seesaw. The students learned how click and drag objects, label, write text, draw, and take a video. To click and drag on the computer can be very difficult to do with little hands. The best way for the kids to do this is to use both hands: one hand has the "lazy" finger in which just clicks while the other hand has the "runner" finger which moves the object. Practice this at home with your child to help them when we use this program again. Look below to see some of the fun we had this past week. 

Shapes, Scrapbook Pages and STEAM TUBS

September 18th

We have been hard at work and learning a lot. We made it through our first FULL week of school and I am impressed at how much the kids have grown in the little time they have been in first grade. They have most of the routines learned and are building their reading and writing stamina daily. We learned a lot about one another when the kids presented their scrapbook pages. The students showed one another respect, had self-control, and worked on their presenting skills. 

Every morning the kids work at their tables using different manipulatives within STEAM tubs. Currently these STEAM tubs consist of: playdoh, wiki-sticks, shapes, brain flakes, and chain links. This gives the students some time in the morning to explore, build, create, and collaborate with one another. One of their favorite tubs has been the Brain Flakes. You can see some of their creations in the pictures below. 

In Math, we explored shapes in our environment. Students went on a shape hunt, played a shape spin and cover game, made shapes with playdoh, and used geoboards. We read the book "Shape of Things", which inspired us to create our own book like that. The students took a shape of their choice and turned it into something we see in our environment. Some things they created were: boats, the sun, moon, a pond, stuffed animal, and an ice cream cone. They were so creative. We also explored artworks from famous artists like Dali, Modrian, and Picasso and found shapes within their artwork. Ask your child to identify the different shapes that they see in the world around them. 

Read-to-Self, Ordinal Numbers, and Computers 

September 11th

We have been busy in room 208. We worked on learning our routines to allow for independence when in reading and math stations. In Language Arts, the students learned to differentiate between REAL reading and fake reading. We discussed how there are 3 ways to read a book: read the pictures, read the words, and retelling a story. The kids worked on practicing these 3 ways during our Read-to-Self station as well as worked on building their reading stamina. Our end goal is to make it to 20 minutes of reading silently and in one spot. The first time we practiced we made it to 1 minute and now we are at 8 minutes! They are doing great! 

We began our phonics unit on short vowels and learned a variety of games to practice these sounds. The kids used sound boxes and manipulated sounds with a game called "Change It". They have loved playing the different word games and being able to come to the board and show what they know. Look below at the fun games we have played to reinforce the phonics skills. 

In Math we worked on ordinal numbers and applied this concept to the real world. The students discussed the different places we see ordinal numbers: the different school grades, in races, when ordering ice cream scoops, when talking about floors in a house or apartment building, etc. The kids learned 2 new math games and practiced being in math stations and "playing" the games. We also ran 3 laps around the track to get data to record the order in which the students passed the finish line. We represented the data in different ways: left to right, right to left, top to bottom, and bottom to top. They loved applying what we are learning in math to the real world. We have continued having our daily number/math talks. The kids love to explain their thinking during this time and sharing with their peers. 

The students were super excited when they received their computers and we had our first lesson with Mrs. Bernheart. They learned to log on to their computers and how to get to CLEVER. We will continue to practice logging on to their computers in the upcoming weeks, but they did an amazing job. I was so proud of them! 

First Week of School! 

September 5th

Wow! I can't believe that we just finished the first week of school. We had so much fun in room 208. We learned classroom expectations, began our classroom routines for the morning and afternoon, learned about our friends, and began to form a friendly classroom environment. I have loved getting to know each child in the class and know that this is going to be a wonderful year of learning, fun, and laughter in room 208. Please take a look at the fun we had during the first week of school. 

Below are Blog Posts from 2021-2022 School Year

Camping Day, Beach Day, and Field Day

June 10th

Making Characters/Setting and gl"ow" Party

May 9th

Thank you to everyone that helped make me feel so special and loved for Teacher's Appreciation Week and for my birthday. Just being able to help your children grow is gift enough, but you all spoiled me. Thank you for being so supportive of the class this year. Thank YOU! 

Even though this past week was only 4 days, it was packed with learning. In Language Arts, we discussed the importance of making connections to the texts that we read. The kiddos realized that making connections allows them to understand why and how the character feels and can understand the text better. We also revisited story elements, we read the book, "Old Rock (is NOT boring)" and then created our own "OLD ROCK" character and made a setting for said rock. The students were then tasked to identify some events that their "rocks" may have gone through. Look below at some of the wonderful rock characters that the kids created. 

This week we learned about the "ow" sound as in "COW" and then discussed that "ow" can also have another sound- the sound we hear in "glow". To identify which type of "ow" sound it is, we had a Gl"OW" Party. We turned off the lights, had glow sticks and went around the room finding different words and writing them under the "cow" or "glow" columns. Look below at some of the fun. The kids enjoyed showing off their dance moves as they roamed around the room looking for words. 

Zoo Trip

May 2nd

It was such a great past week in room 208. We had our field trip to the zoo, which was so much fun. This was the first field trip for many of the kiddos. It was great to be able to see their excitement about animals as they walked throughout the zoo.  Take a look at some of the pictures from this amazing day:

Weight and "One Plastic Bag" STEAM project

April 25th

What a fun-filled week we had this past week. We investigated weight by using balance scales, playing games, and doing a fun experiment. Our experiment looked at how much weight an egg could hold. We were all quite in shock that something so fragile as an egg could actually hold a lot of weight. We were able to put 3 BIG books on top of 2 eggs without either one of them cracking and we even put a water bottle on top of on 1 egg. 

In Language Arts, we read the book- "One Plastic Bag" and made text-to-self connections. The students realized that this book had a problem in which we investigated earlier in the year: pollution and the people found a great solution to help protect the Earth. After reading the book and making connections the students were tasked to make a good to sell using one plastic bag (just like the ladies in the book did). They were so creative. Some made articles of clothing, jewlery, kites, parachutes, nets, and so many other creations. They had a lot of fun and enjoyed thinking creatively and critically throughouto the project. 

Length and Making Words

April 18th

This past week we investigated how to measure objects using nonstandard units of measurements. Students were able to measure different objects using paperclips, cubes, jellybeans (paper ones), meatballs (paper ones), their hands, and any other objects that that they found. They were able to collaborate and communicate with one another to compare their findings and use the vocabulary of longer, shorter, and same as. Look below at some of the fun we had with length. 

In small group, some students were able to make long words by applying their phonics knowledge and breaking up the word into syllables. They have made so much growth and make me so proud on a daily basis. 

Money, The Sun, and Mystery Reader

March 27th

We had a lot of fun this week identifying money. The students were able to sort coins and identify the different features of the different coins. We played a game of Four Corners in which each corner in the classroom was a different coin and the students were given clues and had to go to the corner to which the correct coin was located. In Science, we discussed the importance of the sun and the different things it does to help the Earth. The students created a sun project in the shape of a star to help remind them that the sun is a star. They added facts to go along with their projects. We did an investigation on the sun's heat. We observed what things the sun would melt. We also put water and soil in the sun and in the shade to see the temperature difference. 

In P.E. the students are working on their basketball skills. They are working on dribbling and having control of the ball when they move. We have quite a few fantastic basketball players in the class. 

On Friday, we had Delaney's mom come to visit us as our Mystery Reader!! Thank you so much for coming and reading to the class. The students loved hearing some of Delaney's favorite books. It was such a special treat. I look forward to seeing many other mystery readers in the class. 

/ar/ and /ee/ Phonics and Spring

March 20th

This week we played a variety of games with our phonics features. To review /ar/ the students went "fishing" for words around the classroom like sharks. Then the students were introduced to the feature of /ee/ and they played a game of 4 in a row with different /ee/ words. The kids had so much fun playing these games. I sent home the "4 in a Row" game home for you to play with your child. 

In Science, we looked at the different signs of spring that we are beginning to see. We discussed how plants, animals, people, and the weather changes in spring. Then the students created a flipbook to demonstrate their knowledge of the season of spring. Look below to see pictures of the students creating their flipbook. 

NEW ACTIVE PANEL, Motion, and Time

March 13th

We had quite an exciting week! We finally received our new Active Panel and the kids couldn't be happier. The kids are enjoying getting to write and learn with this new piece of technology. Look below at how we used this new piece of technology in the first 2 days of having it: 

In Science, we continued to investigate force and motion. The students shared some of the toys that had movement and described what type of movement it was: straight, circular, spinning, or back and forth. It is great for kids to make a real-world connection with what we are learning about in school, this is just one example of that. We also explored the type of movement that makes sound- vibration (a fast back and forth movement). We made a guitar with rubber bands and a tissue box. Try and make one at home. 

In Math, we continued learning to tell time to the hour and to the half hour. The students practiced writing the hands on the clock to tell the hour and showing the time on a digital clock. Ask your child to tell the time at home. 

Force, Motion, and Time

March 6th

This past week we investigated the topic of force and motion. The students were tasked to find a way using a straw, rubber band, string, and other supplies to get a "crop" (rock) from the farm to the market without using their hands. They realized that they needed to either use the force of a push or a pull to make the object move. They collaborated and communicated with one another to come up with a way to get their "crop" to the other side. To investigate the different types of motion, the students were given a paperclip on a string and had to find different ways to make the paperclip move without touohing it. They were very creative in the ways they made their paperclip move. Look below at some of that fun. 

In Math, we began our unit on Time. We discussed the different parts of an analog clocks and the differences between an analog and a digital clock. We also discussed ways of representing time to the hour on both a digital and analog clock. Below you can see the kids showing off different times on an analog clock. Help your child with telling time by asking them to tell you the time to the hour and half hour on an analog and digital clock.