This morning we looked at the self-portraits we made yesterday. Then we came up with “How many…” questions and answered the questions by counting the pictures. Some of the questions were: How many children? How many glasses? How many are outside? How many are buying toys? How many boys? How many girls?
We met Teddy today! He is very shy so he doesn’t talk. He has been in the class the whole time and we didn’t even know it! Teddy wants to learn all about first grade and make friends. Ms. Stern allows Teddy to sit with a friend when they are making good choices and working hard. Isabella thinks Teddy is cute. Bartosz likes his sweater. It has a star on it.
During Reader’s Workshop, some people shared their favorite books. Darren shared his favorite story, Rumbles Christmas Magic, Emily shared Disney’s Princess Collection, and Mia shared The Midnight Unicorn. Today we learned that we will have private time to read (when we read by ourselves) and partner time (when we get to discuss the books that we read). Kaitlyn thought partner time was cool. She worked with Sammy. They talked about their books and read them to one another. We also talked about our favorite places to read. Many children prefer to read in their rooms on chairs or in their beds.
We learned another poem today. It was our third poem. The name of the poem is Alan’s Apples. We read it together on the Smartboard, highlighted the short a words, and then put a copy in our poetry journals.
We had Writer’s Workshop. We learned that writers choose the paper that they need. Some people need more lines and some people need more space to tell their stories through pictures. Yesterday, we learned that “When you’re done, you’ve just begun.” That means we will add more details to our pictures, we will add more words, and then start a new piece.
Tomorrow is Patriot Day. We are all going to wear red, white, and blue to school.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
This morning we got to explore using our math manipulatives. We used bears, blocks, linker cubes, and pattern blocks. Kevin made neat designs with the linker cubes. Here is a flower made with the pattern blocks. 
Darren, Joshua, Michael, Sean, Sammy, and Bartosz placed the bears all around their table. There were lots of bears!
We practiced reading a poem for our poetry journals. It was called Welcome to Our Classroom. Different children came up to the Smartboard to find kindergarten sight words that we recognized. After that, we cut out and pasted a copy in our poetry journals. Then we practiced reading it three times.
We also talked about ways that we want to grow and learn in first grade and came up with goals.
Isabella figured out that our goals are different because we are different and we all have areas of strengths and weaknesses.
In P.E. we talked about the rules. We also played Skeletons and Mice. People who are the skeletons walk on the gym lines and the mice can run anywhere, even on the lines. If the skeletons tag the mice then they become skeletons, too.
Next week we will start spelling, Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop, and homework! Have a great weekend!
Darren, Joshua, Michael, Sean, Sammy, and Bartosz placed the bears all around their table. There were lots of bears!
We practiced reading a poem for our poetry journals. It was called Welcome to Our Classroom. Different children came up to the Smartboard to find kindergarten sight words that we recognized. After that, we cut out and pasted a copy in our poetry journals. Then we practiced reading it three times.
We also talked about ways that we want to grow and learn in first grade and came up with goals.
Isabella figured out that our goals are different because we are different and we all have areas of strengths and weaknesses.
In P.E. we talked about the rules. We also played Skeletons and Mice. People who are the skeletons walk on the gym lines and the mice can run anywhere, even on the lines. If the skeletons tag the mice then they become skeletons, too.
Next week we will start spelling, Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop, and homework! Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
First Day of School!
Welcome to one of the most incredible years your child will have in his or her school career! First grade is an exciting time as children embark upon new adventures in the world of learning. This is a year of important social and academic transitions. You will be amazed at just how much your child will grow this year!
The first day flew by! There never seems to be enough time in the beginning few days and the most important question that is asked is always, “When is it lunch time?” Today we read the story, Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes. We also played name bingo to get to know each other better. We will be settling into our normal routines and schedule over the next few days.
The specials schedule rotates on a 6 day cycle which is listed below. I always the daily special in the homework packet (which will start next week) so that you can make sure that your child is properly dressed and prepared. The schedule is as follows:
Day 1 (today)-PE
Day 2-Music
Day 3-PE
Day 4-Art
Day 5-PE
Day 6-Music
In the past, I maintained a class website that highlighted student work, resources, and photographs. The host site has closed so the information is currently off line. My hope is to recreate a new website this year and I will be sure to let you know when and where it ends up back online. In the meantime, we will be communicating via a blog. Please see the attached permission slip for more information.
If you have not sent in school supplies yet, please do so as soon as possible. Also, please provide a small healthy snack for your child each day. We will discuss all of these items and more in greater detail at Meet the Teacher Night (on Sept. 17th).
If you ever have any questions or concerns please feel free to email me at rstern@socsd.org or call me at school at 680-1301. I will get back to you as soon as possible.
I’m sure that we will have an adventurous, fun-filled, and successful year in first grade. Thank you for sharing your child with me!
The first day flew by! There never seems to be enough time in the beginning few days and the most important question that is asked is always, “When is it lunch time?” Today we read the story, Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes. We also played name bingo to get to know each other better. We will be settling into our normal routines and schedule over the next few days.
The specials schedule rotates on a 6 day cycle which is listed below. I always the daily special in the homework packet (which will start next week) so that you can make sure that your child is properly dressed and prepared. The schedule is as follows:
Day 1 (today)-PE
Day 2-Music
Day 3-PE
Day 4-Art
Day 5-PE
Day 6-Music
In the past, I maintained a class website that highlighted student work, resources, and photographs. The host site has closed so the information is currently off line. My hope is to recreate a new website this year and I will be sure to let you know when and where it ends up back online. In the meantime, we will be communicating via a blog. Please see the attached permission slip for more information.
If you have not sent in school supplies yet, please do so as soon as possible. Also, please provide a small healthy snack for your child each day. We will discuss all of these items and more in greater detail at Meet the Teacher Night (on Sept. 17th).
If you ever have any questions or concerns please feel free to email me at rstern@socsd.org or call me at school at 680-1301. I will get back to you as soon as possible.
I’m sure that we will have an adventurous, fun-filled, and successful year in first grade. Thank you for sharing your child with me!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
This morning we had a substitute because Ms. Stern had to go to a meeting with the other first grade teachers. We watched a video about telling time. Joseph B. liked that it had all the math symbols in it. Justin thought it was funny because the characters were silly. After we watched the video, we used mini-clocks to practice telling time together.
We read Swimmy by Leo Leonni. The story is about a fish that escaped being eaten by different sea creatures. He was lonely until he met a school of fish. They learned to stick together and that even though they were all small, working together as a team made them better. Afterwards, we each decorated our own small fish and then Ms. Stern stapled them on to the bulletin board in the shape of one big fish, just like in the book.
After lunch, we had our bubble-blowing contest. People who wanted to participate had to sign up on the Smartboard. Madison S., Jackie, Conor, Alexis, Kelsey, Erin, Julia, Jonathan, Nevin, Casey, Mikey, and Ms. Stern all signed up. Julia learned just for the contest. Lots of kids could blow small bubbles. Kelsey noticed that some people could blow really big bubbles but when it was their turn to go, they didn’t blow such big ones. Sometimes bubbles popped on our faces. It feels so sticky! Ms. Stern was the winner. She has won every year for the past 5 years, except for one year when she tied. Erin thinks that’s because she’s the oldest and has had the most practice. She’s probably right.
Remember: the Year in Review will take place in our class on Monday morning at 9:45. We hope to see you there!
We read Swimmy by Leo Leonni. The story is about a fish that escaped being eaten by different sea creatures. He was lonely until he met a school of fish. They learned to stick together and that even though they were all small, working together as a team made them better. Afterwards, we each decorated our own small fish and then Ms. Stern stapled them on to the bulletin board in the shape of one big fish, just like in the book.
After lunch, we had our bubble-blowing contest. People who wanted to participate had to sign up on the Smartboard. Madison S., Jackie, Conor, Alexis, Kelsey, Erin, Julia, Jonathan, Nevin, Casey, Mikey, and Ms. Stern all signed up. Julia learned just for the contest. Lots of kids could blow small bubbles. Kelsey noticed that some people could blow really big bubbles but when it was their turn to go, they didn’t blow such big ones. Sometimes bubbles popped on our faces. It feels so sticky! Ms. Stern was the winner. She has won every year for the past 5 years, except for one year when she tied. Erin thinks that’s because she’s the oldest and has had the most practice. She’s probably right.
Remember: the Year in Review will take place in our class on Monday morning at 9:45. We hope to see you there!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Today was Beach Day. Everyone came to school with their bathing suits on. Lots of people were laughing and being silly because they weren’t used to seeing each other in their bathing suits…especially at school! Some people noticed that Ms. Stern was filling up water balloons. She told us that weren’t for the class and that she and Mrs. Caverzasi were going to have a water balloon fight after school. She was just kidding. We played lots of games with a beach ball inside. One game was story telling. Ms. Stern started by giving the class a sentence about the beach or swimming. Everyone then took turns adding one more sentence to the previous ones. Joel’s favorite story was about boys turning into sharks, eels, and dinosaurs and the girls turned into fish and mermaids. Madison B. liked the same one. Erin liked the story about the girl whose sister likes to go to the beach to eat sand. Another game we played was Phonics Toss. Ms. Stern gave us a spelling pattern and the class had to think of words that went along with it. We had to think of short vowel and long vowel words as well as blends and digraphs. People continued working on their writing. We had a water balloon toss. Ashley and Alexis were the winners of 2 of the rounds and the championship round. Joseph V. and Jonathan also won a round, as did Joel and Justin. Kelsey thought the water balloon toss was really fun. Everyone wanted to keep playing but we ran out of balloons. Next, we played Duck, Duck, Squeeze. It’s played the same as Duck, Duck, Goose except we used a sponge filled with water to tag the person who had to chase them. People ended up getting very wet! The last part of our Beach Day before lunch was to lay out and read from our book bags. Lots of people started to complain that they were getting too hot. Finally, it was time to go inside and get ready for lunch.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Today was Stuffed Animal Day. We got to bring in our favorite stuffed animals and bring them wherever we went.
Tyler liked Stuffed Animal Day because he got to bring in his Spiderman. Jackie brought in Sheila, the first stuffed animal she ever got. Ashley brought in Ballerina (a dog) who was also her first stuffed animal. Thomas brought in a German Shepard, just like his real dog at home.
Julia noticed that Mikey has a very loose tooth. She thinks it’s going to come out when he goes home or maybe it will come out tomorrow morning.
We read a book called Fortunately. Lily noticed that the book is a pattern. It starts with something good (fortunately…) and then the next page has something bad (unfortunately…). That repeats throughout the book until the end, which ends with a “fortunately.”
This afternoon, everyone tried to write their own version of the Fortunately book. Alexis’ started by fortunately losing a tooth. Kelsey’s began by fortunately getting a new toy. Nicole’s fortunately had her celebrating her birthday.
Today we had P.E. Coach Hudson let us vote to choose a game. There were four choices. Most people voted for Wheel of Torture.
Tyler liked Stuffed Animal Day because he got to bring in his Spiderman. Jackie brought in Sheila, the first stuffed animal she ever got. Ashley brought in Ballerina (a dog) who was also her first stuffed animal. Thomas brought in a German Shepard, just like his real dog at home.
Julia noticed that Mikey has a very loose tooth. She thinks it’s going to come out when he goes home or maybe it will come out tomorrow morning.
We read a book called Fortunately. Lily noticed that the book is a pattern. It starts with something good (fortunately…) and then the next page has something bad (unfortunately…). That repeats throughout the book until the end, which ends with a “fortunately.”
This afternoon, everyone tried to write their own version of the Fortunately book. Alexis’ started by fortunately losing a tooth. Kelsey’s began by fortunately getting a new toy. Nicole’s fortunately had her celebrating her birthday.Today we had P.E. Coach Hudson let us vote to choose a game. There were four choices. Most people voted for Wheel of Torture.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
This morning we had our Father’s Day breakfast. We served different food than we did for Mother’s Day. Jackie thinks that’s because they were at different times of the day. First, we escorted our dads to our seats. Next, we brought them food and then helped ourselves. After that, the kids came to the rug to start our presentation for the fathers. 
We read a poem called “Daddy I Love You” and then Ms. Stern started reading the clues. Most of the dads did a good job guessing. When we were all done, the dads left and the kids got to finish eating. There was a lot of food remaining so different teachers came in to have something to eat.
Later in the morning we got to play with Jimmy. We haven’t gotten to play with him in a long time.
Julia thought Jimmy started moving faster after he was out for a while. He kept on going to Jackie and Erin over and over again. Cassie thinks it’s because they had colorful dresses on. Madison S. thinks that he might like flowers just like Ferdinand did. Many people had a chance to pet him and turn him around to keep him on the material.
During Gym we played Mumbles. It’s a game where you have a ball and you point to somebody before throwing it to them. If the person drops the ball (and it was a good throw) they are out. If it’s a bad throw, then the thrower is out. If the person catches the ball no one is out.
Today was our last spelling test for the year!
We read a poem called “Daddy I Love You” and then Ms. Stern started reading the clues. Most of the dads did a good job guessing. When we were all done, the dads left and the kids got to finish eating. There was a lot of food remaining so different teachers came in to have something to eat.
Later in the morning we got to play with Jimmy. We haven’t gotten to play with him in a long time.
Julia thought Jimmy started moving faster after he was out for a while. He kept on going to Jackie and Erin over and over again. Cassie thinks it’s because they had colorful dresses on. Madison S. thinks that he might like flowers just like Ferdinand did. Many people had a chance to pet him and turn him around to keep him on the material.During Gym we played Mumbles. It’s a game where you have a ball and you point to somebody before throwing it to them. If the person drops the ball (and it was a good throw) they are out. If it’s a bad throw, then the thrower is out. If the person catches the ball no one is out.
Today was our last spelling test for the year!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
This morning we went on a field trip to the IMAX Theatre at the Palisades Mall. Everyone was assigned a partner. Partners sat together on the bus, walked together, and sat next to one another in the theater. Erin’s mom joined us. We saw Dolphins and Whales: Tribes of the Ocean 3D. When we got inside the theater, they were playing music. Lots of people were dancing and singing along with it. We had to put on special glasses. The glasses made the animals look like they were coming at us. It seemed so real that everyone kept on reaching out to pet them. We learned about Spotted Dolphins, Killer Whales, Bottlenose Dolphins, Humpback Whales, Fin Whales, West Indian Manatees, Beluga Whales, Risso’s Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pilot Whales, and others. Nicole thought the trip was excellent because the movie was in 3D. Joseph V. said the glasses were too big and didn’t really fit him but he enjoyed the trip anyway. Nevin noticed that at the end of the movie, the sea creatures featured are mostly endangered or at risk.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Today was Crazy Chair Day. Ms. Stern would say “Crazy Chairs” and everyone would pick up their stuff and move to another seat or table. The rules were no running and only 6 people could sit at one table. Unfortunately, lots of people were fooling around and talking instead of getting their work done.
Because it was so hot today, we had a no hugging rule. Instead of giving regular hugs, we used our pointer fingers and touched them to the person/people we wanted to hug. It was so hot that we didn’t even have outdoor recess today! Ms. Stern turned on the two ceiling fans and two box fans but unfortunately they didn’t do much to keep us from getting sweaty! We did lots of things to try to stay cool. Ms. Stern sprayed us with cold water throughout the day. During snack, we watched a video on the rug. Ms. Foster let us use her room (because it has air conditioning) for a little while after snack this morning. Ms. Stern read more of The BFG. After that, we came back to the class and had ice pops as a cold treat.
We made sure to drink lots of water. 
After P.E., we went across the hall to Mrs. Caverzasi’s class to do independent reading because she also has an air conditioner. Because hot weather is expected again tomorrow, we’re going to have an early dismissal at 11:00!
Stay cool!
Because it was so hot today, we had a no hugging rule. Instead of giving regular hugs, we used our pointer fingers and touched them to the person/people we wanted to hug. It was so hot that we didn’t even have outdoor recess today! Ms. Stern turned on the two ceiling fans and two box fans but unfortunately they didn’t do much to keep us from getting sweaty! We did lots of things to try to stay cool. Ms. Stern sprayed us with cold water throughout the day. During snack, we watched a video on the rug. Ms. Foster let us use her room (because it has air conditioning) for a little while after snack this morning. Ms. Stern read more of The BFG. After that, we came back to the class and had ice pops as a cold treat.
We made sure to drink lots of water. 
After P.E., we went across the hall to Mrs. Caverzasi’s class to do independent reading because she also has an air conditioner. Because hot weather is expected again tomorrow, we’re going to have an early dismissal at 11:00!Stay cool!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
This week we started our special June activities. The first activity was Favorite Photo Day. Lots of people brought in photographs to share. Some people brought in pictures of their family members, old photos, and vacation photos. Kelsey brought in a poster-sized photo of her uncle riding a bull. 
After everyone shared their photos, we took a museum walk around the room so that we could get a close up view. We also got to see a performance of the book, The Story of Ferdinand. It was at the middle school. After the performance ended, some children were called to the stage to act out a little story. Jackie was one of the children who got to join the actors on the stage and act as a goat.
Yesterday was Crazy Hair Day. When Ms. Stern picked us up in the morning, she was wearing a blonde wig. No one believed it was real.
During snack recess, Madison S., Madison B., and Joseph V. got to make Ms. Stern’s real crazy hairdo using clips and rubber bands. 
Aidan painted his hair rainbow colors, some girls had lots of ponytails, Jackie wore her hair backwards, some people had color in their hair, and some people had fake hair on their heads. Lots of boys used gel to make new hairstyles. At the end of the day, we voted to see who had the craziest hair. Aidan had the most votes (12). Julia, Kelsey, and Jackie were tied for second place with 2 votes apiece.
Today was our trip to TZE.
Ms. Lipton, the assistant principal, spoke to us and showed us a presentation about the people we will see next year. We went to Ms. Galvin’s class. The children in her class taught us the words to the “Tappan Zee Elementary” song. 
They also shared some of the things that they do in second grade and answered our questions. We had a quick snack, a brief tour, and then we were on the bus back to school. 
We continued decorating our Field Day t-shirts. They came out awesome! Each one is unique and different. Ms. Stern read us another chapter of The BFG called “The Plan.” Sophie came up with an idea how she and the BFG can stop the giants from eating more “human beans” by mixing dreams so that the Queen of England finds out. We think the plan is going to work. Hopefully, we’ll find out tomorrow!
After everyone shared their photos, we took a museum walk around the room so that we could get a close up view. We also got to see a performance of the book, The Story of Ferdinand. It was at the middle school. After the performance ended, some children were called to the stage to act out a little story. Jackie was one of the children who got to join the actors on the stage and act as a goat.Yesterday was Crazy Hair Day. When Ms. Stern picked us up in the morning, she was wearing a blonde wig. No one believed it was real.
During snack recess, Madison S., Madison B., and Joseph V. got to make Ms. Stern’s real crazy hairdo using clips and rubber bands. 
Aidan painted his hair rainbow colors, some girls had lots of ponytails, Jackie wore her hair backwards, some people had color in their hair, and some people had fake hair on their heads. Lots of boys used gel to make new hairstyles. At the end of the day, we voted to see who had the craziest hair. Aidan had the most votes (12). Julia, Kelsey, and Jackie were tied for second place with 2 votes apiece.Today was our trip to TZE.
Ms. Lipton, the assistant principal, spoke to us and showed us a presentation about the people we will see next year. We went to Ms. Galvin’s class. The children in her class taught us the words to the “Tappan Zee Elementary” song. 
They also shared some of the things that they do in second grade and answered our questions. We had a quick snack, a brief tour, and then we were on the bus back to school. 
We continued decorating our Field Day t-shirts. They came out awesome! Each one is unique and different. Ms. Stern read us another chapter of The BFG called “The Plan.” Sophie came up with an idea how she and the BFG can stop the giants from eating more “human beans” by mixing dreams so that the Queen of England finds out. We think the plan is going to work. Hopefully, we’ll find out tomorrow!
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