Diorama Display!

The 1st graders were so proud of all thr hard work they did while creating their dioramas. Last week each class had a chance to visit our classroom and take a peek at them. Then, in the afternoon our parents had a chance to come and look at them. They did such a nice job of explaning their habitat; they loved it!

The Feast of St. Nicholas

Last Friday the 1st graders made shoes to leave out over the weekend for St. Nicholas! Well, he made a visit to our classroom while we were away for the weekend and left behind some chocolately treats in our shoes. Then while we were working in literacy stations on Monday morning, he paid a visit to our classroom!

Visit from the Veterans

Last week we had the great honor of some special visitors from our community - veterans. The kids were so respectful and asked some really great questions!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Wishing you and your entire family a wonderful, happy, safe Thanksgiving! Enjoy this long weekend and we'll see you next week!

All Saints Day!

Sister Bernelle kindly made each of the 1st grades a special crown with their saint name on it for All Saints Day. The children decorated them, loved them and wore them proudly all day! You may have seen a groups picture of the class wearing their crowns in the church bulletin a few weeks ago.

Science Song!

In Science we have been learning about living and non-living things and what makes them different. The children learned a song to help them remember what makes something living. Unfortunately the end of the video was cut off, so here are the lyrics in their enirity:

Plants are living things,
So are animals
So are people and I know
Living things need food and water,
Living things all change and grow!

Happy Halloween!

We had a fun afternoon celebrating Halloween in 1st grade: pumpkin and cupcake decorating, pumpkin bowling, toilet paper mummies and a scavenger hunt!

Pumpkin Seeds!

Today we spent some time getting messy, ooey and gooey digging out the seeds of a pumpkin. Then the kids worked in small groups to count the pumpkin seeds! The 1st graders came up with 297 seeds... give or take a few. :)

Special Guest Day

On Wednesday, October 27 we celebrated an afternoon of special guests. We had grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, mentors, parents, and siblings visiting! It was a fun afternoon of lunch, games, coloring, and touring.

The Great Wall of China!

Last week we learned about The Great Wall of China! The children worked in small groups to create a small replica of The Great Wall using sugar cubes. When the groups finished, we lined each part up and made a longer wall!

I Lost a Tooth!!

We have been losing lots and lots of teeth in 1st grade! Such an exciting time!

Chicken Curry!

Our taste of India this morning, Chicken Curry, was an absolute hit! The children loved it and most of them had seconds. We also had a special treat from Rachel Malecha - I believe it was a butternut squash curry flavored soup! We had our lunch before our lunch. :) Many of the kids requested the Chicken Curry recipe. If you are interested:


Chicken Curry
4 onions, chopped
1/4 C. butter
3 pounds chicken
3 T. curry powder
dash salt
2 C, water
1 T. lemon juice
Saute onion in butter.  Add meat and saute 10 more minutes.  Add curry and cook until chicken is browned.  Add water and salt, cover and simmer about 40 minutes.  Add lemon juice.  Serve over rice.

India!

For the past two weeks, we have been busy learning about India. We've made the country's flag, played a traditional game - Bengali Boggle, painted the Taj Mahal and made elephant masks! Tomorrow is our last day learning about India and we will celebrate by tasting Chicken Curry!

Hop Into Learning!

Marathon!

We did it! The 1st grade class walked 2 miles for our marathon for non-public education this morning! They did awesome and we had an absolutely perfect morning! We walked on the track at the Northfield Middle School. I even saw some friends doing push ups and sit ups on the sideline - they were so motivated! As of Friday afternoon, the pledge total was $14,000.

The "ladybug"

You may have heard your child talking about our flower and ladybug. It hangs on our bulletin by the door and each time the 1st graders, as a team, are making great learning choices, the ladybug moves up a spot, or a few! Once the ladybug reaches the top, we will vote on 4 different rewards: free choice time, extra recess, movie, or trampoline time. The children have been responding really well to this and have been working extra hard to make it to the top!

Hopes and Dreams

With the help of a parent volunteer, each child was able to make their hand print on our bright yellow banner and share what their hope and dream is for our 1st grade year. It's hanging in the hallway outside of our classroom!

Mama Tesha

Mama Tesha came to visit St. Dominic School. She is from Tanzania, Africa and teaches at a school called St. Margaret's. She's spending some time in Minnesota visiting schools, families and churches. We snuck in with the Kindergartners on Wednesday and had a chance to ask her questions! The kids seemed to love her and wanted to continue asking questions, but unfortunately she had to make her way upstairs to visit the middle schoolers.

Week 2!

Each day we are growing more and more acquainted with one another. We are learning about the procedures and expectations in 1st grade. It has been so much fun to hear the children's stories, see their smiles, share their energy and of course receive the hugs! Today we learned a song to help remind us of the 7 continents. Take a peek!

Welcome back!

Today was fantastic, our first day in 1st grade was a success! It's so exciting to be back at school surrounded by kids, smiles, laughs and stories. Today we spent lots of time discovering and exploring our classroom and desks. We had a sneak recess, a delicious lunch made by the Hideaway, art and gym. It was nice to have a cool refreshing day for our first day of school. I am so excited about our year, and about this new blog for our class!