New Math Link

Today I discovered a great new website called IXL math and created a link for it under the Math Links tab on the blog. The website allows you to choose a grade level, then choose a math skill to practice, and quiz yourself on it. Kids can complete interactive math problems on all sorts of topics such as money, estimating, greater/less than, adding/subtracting, and much more, then have the computer check their answers and tell them how they did! I have only just begun to explore the site but it looks very well organized, user friendly, and fun to use all while targeting key skills that kids need to master! Another nice feature is that the website provides math problems at all the elementary grade levels, so once kids are ready to move on to a harder level, they are able to! Definitely check this one out under the Math Links tab. It looks like it would provide great math reinforcement at home!

Sweet Search

I just learned about a great new website called Sweetsearch.com! Sweet Search is an internet search engine just for kids and looks like a great, safer way that you can search the internet for information such as our first grade science themes (magnets, the night sky, solids and liquids, weather, chicks)! On the website sweetsearch.com there is a link for "SweetSearch4Me" which provides a search engine more specifically geared toward primary grade students. I have only just begun exploring Sweet Search but it looks great! I created a tab on the blog called Other Links and have put direct links to both SweetSearch and SweetSearch4Me under that tab if you want to check them out.

DARE

Today our class finished our DARE lessons for first grade. Yesterday's lesson focused on reporting versus tattling. We learned four steps to use when something is happening that doesn't seem safe or right. 1)Know (know what to do) 2)No (tell the person to stop) 3)Go (go get help) 4)Tell (report the problem to a trusted adult). We learned that it's not tattling to report an unsafe situation. It is called reporting and is something we should all do.

Today's final lesson centered around emotions, how to recognize them in yourself, and how to deal with them. Officer Fontaine discussed four steps to use when angry with the class. 1)Stop 2)Breath 3)Think (decide what to do calmly) 4)Act

Go Fish!

Last night our class participated in the yearly UMS whole-school musical, Go Fish! Half of the school performed in the play last night, and the other half will perform tonight. Go Fish is a musical about a tiger shark looking for friends. She doesn't understand why other sea creatures don't want to be friends with a shark. She does end up finding many unique and interesting friends during the play including a blowfish with allergies, a starfish who can't land an acting role, a clown fish who isn't funny, an octopus with 7 legs, an angelfish, a needlefish, and a tuna who can't carry a tune. The message in the play is that it takes all kinds to make the ocean a beautiful place and life would be dull if we were all the same! Below are photos from our rehearsal and the play!

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DARE

This week our class will be wrapping up our DARE lessons for first grade. In our first session the class learned about personal safety as it relates to following rules, paying attention to signs posted in the community, knowing who to ask for help if you are in trouble, and how to call 911 in an emergency. Today our lesson focused on personal safety as it relates to substances and their uses. The children learned about how to identify substances that are safe to smell, taste, or touch as opposed to substances that can be dangerous. We learned that we can often use labels, pictures on containers, and the shape or color of a container to tell us whether the contents are safe to touch. We also learned that sometimes containers that are unsafe to touch are kept in locked cabinets or have caps that are hard to open to help keep us safe. The children learned that many items such as glue, bleach, paint, and even medicine can be safe when it used the correct way but unsafe when used in the wrong way and they should always ask parents before using them! I will post information from our next DARE lessons later in the week.

Valentine's Day Party!

Happy Valentine's Day!
Today students started the day by filling each other's Valentine goodie bags with cards and candy, then ended the day with a Valentine's Day party in the afternoon. Again, we had a wonderful turnout of family members who brought beautiful, tasty treats and came to spend the afternoon with us! Thank you all so much for coming and helping to connect home with school, making our celebration that much more special! We spent our party time making a very sweet heart project and eating lots of red and pink treats. We ran out of time to explore our Valentine goodie bags, so those were sent home at the end of the day to enjoy! Here are photos of our class enjoying the party!

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DARE

Today our class began a four session DARE program where Officer Fontaine from the Colchester Police Department will be coming in to our classroom to teach about saftety. DARE lessons will look different as children get older but in first grade these lessons focus on teaching children about personal safety. Today we learned about rules in and out of school, why we need them, and how they help to keep people safe. We also learned about how to get help in emergencies and who to ask for help. Coming home today is a worksheet about calling 911 that you might use to continue the conversation with your children. One side of the sheet provides spaces where you can write your name, address, phone number, then post it beside the phone to remind your child what to say if they ever have need to call 911. Our next three lessons will continue to teach the children about personal safety including how to handle bullying.