Domino addition

We are in the first week of our addition unit here in D-8! I like to use dominos to help introduce the idea behind adding two numbers together. They help to illustrate the idea well, and the kids love to use them!

Fall fun!

This week we have transformed our classroom into a laboratory! We have been talking about scientists and the tools that they use. The students learned that scientists use all of their senses to discover the answers to their questions. We took a trip outside to practice our scientific observation skills. We also learned how to use our class iPads for reading and math centers. Finally, this afternoon we will have a fire safety assembly with the New Albany firefighters. What a great start to Autumn! 

Math Games

We have started preparing for Math centers by learning how to play math games with a partner. This will be one of the choices that the students will have each day while I work with small groups of students. This one is called "Roll it, Write it, Tally it, and Show it."

Math Guided Discovery

Today I introduced some of the tools we will be using in Math this year. I wanted to give the kids some time to explore with the tools. They had a great time building patterns and structures!

Mr. Plessers Minions!

Today we did some guided discovery on how to use some new classroom tools, such as scissors, glue, and crayons. We made minions to put out in the hall with our sign! 

Recess fun!

First Day Jitters!

We talked about being nervous and how it makes your body feel. Then we read the book First Day Jitters. You can ask your student how it ends! Then we made some "jitter juice" to help get rid of our butterflies!

First Day of School!

Here we go! The gang is all here! Let the fun and learning begin!

Pool Day!

Let the fun begin!

A skill they'll use forever! :)

Peter Brown!

Last week we got to visit with Peter Brown and learned the process that he uses to write his books. He also taught us how to draw Mr. Tiger!

I didn't realize that this hadn't gotten published! This is my blog from 2 weeks ago. Sorry for the delay!

Hello families! It's been a great week in our classroom! Carnival of the Animals was an amazing success but it's nice to get back to our normal classroom routine. It was so great to see all of you at the show, and I hope you praised your child for all of the hard work that they put in. It amazes me every year when I think of all they accomplish getting ready for the performance. Whether it's memorizing Shakespeare or writing non-fiction books about their animals, they never back down from a challenge. I want to say once again what a joy it is teach your children! 

Partners in Conservation

We have had a great week here in room D-8! We have been working hard on our rainforest/African life unit. As a part of this, the K-1 welcomed some visitors from the Columbus Zoo to our school. We got to meet Tressel the anteater, a kikajou, and a 9-foot long boa constrictor ! What a great experience! As you'll see, Mr. Plesser got to pretend to be Jack Hanna for a moment. 

When we went back to our classroom, we used rulers to measure the layers of the rainforest! The kids worked very hard, and the posters turned out great!

Happy Groundhogs Day!

Hello parents! I hope everyone had a great January and are ready to race through February on our way to Spring! We are extremely busy here in First Grade. We have started our practices with Miss Molly from The New Albany Ballet Company in preparation of our Carnival of the Animals performance in March. We have also started to work on our non-fiction writing unit where we will research and write All-About books on our animals. 

Here's a few pictures from our first practice.

We also had a chance to hear some of the high school band students play some of the instruments that will be playing during the Carnival. 

It's a very busy time of year at the K-1, but we're having a great time and learning a LOT! 

Have a great week!