Merry Christmas!

From my family to yours, may the days be filled with family and fun!

These are a few of my favorite things ...

The school sing along is one of my favorite days of the year! I LOVE hearing all the music for the season! As 1st grade sang "Christmas is the time for love".

Merry Christmas!

White Out Day!

Well, we didn't get snow but everyone had a cool time! The morning started with a letter from Frosty, cutting snowflakes and writing why we were special. Before lunch we made sugarcube castles. The afternoon was finished with a witer clothes rely (a little warm rely), snow ball fight, and movie with a white snack! It was a great way to celebrate.

Learning and cartoons...

Today 2 gruops that had been working on putting our learning into action finished up their project. I hope you enjoy their xtrra-normal scripts they wrote. Students were allowed to pick a topic we have studied and write and produce an xtra-normal video. I hope to have more published in the weeks to come!

p>The Liberty Bell by Caden, Jake, Keeley, and Mohammad
by: mrsj1stgrade

p>Maggie and Asher & the American Flag with George Washington
by: mrsj1stgrade

Welcome Home!

Wow- What a great day to be HOME! The best thing about this being this first Day...we already knew everyone! Today was a great day of learning and enjoying our new building. This is what a few of the kids thought.

Maggie "it looks pretty"

Lindsey "Splendiferous"

Cecilia "The school is awesome"

Anna "Super Cool"

Sydney "Great"

Chris "Kinda Cool"

Meredith "Awesome"

Keeley "Fantastic"

Haytham "Cool"

Abby "Awesome"

Mohammad "Extremely Awesome"

Bronson "It was good"

just a thought...

Today in church I heard a great quote that really made me think. With the start of something great tomorrow, I wanted to take a minute and share my thoughts. Thanks for humoring me as I do...

"No pressure, no diamonds". On the way home we told Addie about how precious diamonds are made. It led me to think about other precious things that are made under pressure.

Thinking about the last 18 months and teaching in general, pressure is one thing that is pretty strong. As a faculty and community, we made it through an outdoor campus where hot days were hot and cold days cold. We worked together to make it work, while still thinking about what the kids needed. Bathrooms down the hall and gates that had to be monitored extra carefully. Emotionally we grieved as we lost a friend and co-worker who truly had a heart for kids. Babies were born, and positions cut. Packing mid year, and maintaining a normal classroom environment (at a crazy time of the year already) without loosing our minds. No pressure, no diamond.

Personally, I look at my sweet class that takes challenges everyday and works through them like kids can only do. So tomorrow, at 7:30 our Diamond will open. In it will come more challenges but wonderful rewards. Rest assured the people you trust your kids to everyday are up for the challenge. We have grown as friends and professionals, and I am honored to work everyday in a job that lets me make diamonds. See you in the morning for a DIAMOND DAZZLING DAY!

And we are out of here...

Wow! Hard to believe we are out of the T-shacks. Kids had a great day celebrating our last day. We started the morning writing poetry using onomonopia. After lunch, we packed up and moved out. The day was capped off with a great holiday party! Thank you to everyone for a great day.

I will see everyone Monday morning for a super 1st day!

What do you think?

We are working on graphing and need your help. Please add a comment below with your answer so that we can graph your responses.

Do you think the hallways at the new Meadow Wood are

___ carpet

___ tile

___ concrete

Moving Day!

The day is here. I have spent all Saturday at our new home. Thanks to Addie for her hard work, we are close to being ready! Enjoy the pictures from start to finish!

Odd or Even?

In math this week we have been focusing on odd and even. Students are learning the patterns that are created with odd and even numbers. Did you know if you add an odd number and odd number, the sum is even?

Asher found that if we skip count and start with an odd we will end with an odd number.

Sydney, Lindsey, and Meredith were able to see that we can use our odd/even song to help us skip count by addin 10s.

Another great week of learming. I can't wait to post pictures from our new room Saturday!

Reader's Theater!

Yesterday and today, we spent the morning practicing our Reader's Theater Scripts! Student's worked in groups to pick parts, practice, and then make their costumes! It ws greatt o see so much creativity!

So much to be thankful for...

Today, in my opinion, is the kick-off to Thanksgiving. I LOVE the Thanksgiving Feast, and the chance to visit with so many family members.

Today in Community Circle, we talked about how Thanksgiving got it's name. Students were quick to say that the Pilgrim were thankful to the Indians for sharing their land and food. We followed up with sharing what each student was thankful for...

Zach "I am thankful for spaghetti, because I get to eat it! And that my dad goes to work, but I miss him"

Meredith "My cousins because they are so fun"

Altwaime "myself, because I am working so hard (and Mrs. Johnson agrees he is working hard!)

David "My mom because she brings me nice things"

Abby "food because I love to eat"

Chris "my dogs, because they go upstairs with out me having to tell them"

Anna "my mom and dad because they do fun things with me"

Keeley "my friends and family because when I am sad they make me feel better"

Haytham "My friends"

Mrs. Puckett "my friends and family because they take care of me"

Asher "thankful that I get to play soccer, because my dad coaches"

Caden "Dr. Pepper because when I am thirsty I can drink it"

Jake "I am thankful that my dog will wake me up in the morning"

Elija "I am thankful that the Pilgrims created Thanksgiving"

Sydeny "for my brother, because he plays with me"

Cecilia "my sister, because she is nice to me"

As for me, my list is long. I am constantly blessed with an inspiring class full of energy and thoughts. I am thankful for my family - blessings abound with happy kids, a loving husband, and wonderful example for parents (and especially for my Dad that he has offered to help me pack my room) Hoping your Thanksgiving is full of family and fun!

Problem Solving

Thank you to all parents that were able to make some time last Tuesday to learn more about the problem solving model. We felt like this was a great use of time, and hope you learned something new. I appreciate your dedication to your student. Thank you for taking time, at home, to reinfource what we are learning at school.

If you were unable to make it to the meeting, we are providing the video link from the night! Simply cut and paste the address below in your browser. As always, if you have any questions feel free to contact me.



http://youtu.be/g935cX-_Ztk

Putting Things in Motion

I can't think of anything better to teach a group of busy learners than motion! We have been learning about all kinds of motion with some very interesting experiments.

Yesterday we built roller coaseters to look at push and pull. Students learned that the steeper the drop the faster the marble would move. One group even figured out how to make the marble stay on the twisting track (Just like the old GREASED LIGHTENING!).

Today we tested back and forth motion and found out that weight doesn't efect how many times something will swing back and forth. Ask your student's how they came to their conclusion about back and forth motion?

so what is the WORK desk?

Thank you for taking time to meet with me during parent conferences. I thought it would be helpful to give some more information to one of the most asked question during conferences. What is the work desk? And has my child gone?

from the student's eyes, this is what they think about the work desk...

"because sometimes people be bad"

"so you don't talk to the person you are talking to"

"If somebody is not doing the rite thing"

"I think we use the work desk so that people can not get distracted"

"We work there when people are being loud"

"So we can get our work done"

The real truth, the work desk is meant to be a place for students to work independently with out distraction. It is located close to my table so that I can add extra assistance and still work with a small group. At times, I will move a student to sit there if they are talking - but it is not intended to be a punishment. I hope this helps clear the water.

Learning from our peers!

Today 1st grade teamed up with 5th grade to begin writing a creative story. We had a great time working with the leaders of school. We will be getting together in a few weeks to publish our writing using The I Touch app, Picture Book.

A Special Visitor...

Today we were glad to welcome Representative Jim Murphy to 1st Grade. This was a great time to ask questions, and I was very impressed with some of things that students were wanting to know. Representative Murphy talked about what he does, and how reading is a valuable tool he uses while making laws. He took time to read to the grade level. We were thankful for his visit!

Welcome Miss. Puckett

We are excited to have our student teacher from HBU. She started Monday! Below is the letter from her...

Dear Parent's

My name is Carissa Puckett, and I am a student teacher from Houston Baptist University. I will be in Mrs. Johnson's room until December. Yesterday was my first day at Meadow Wood, and I really enjoyed meeting your children. I will be observing the class, helping students with their work, and teaching lessons. I look forward to getting to know your children over the next few months.

Carissa Puckett

Fun Times and a Beautiful Day!

Today was a perfect day for a field trip! We started the morning at Miller Outdoor Theater. All the kids loved running on the hill and a picnic lunch! OUr trip to the museum was filled with hands on discovery and learning. I even made it up the power tower. I am sure your kids came home tired (the bus ride back was much quieter than the ride to the Museum). Enjoy the pictures and I would love to hear what your student's said - please feel free to post comments!

Something to ponder???

Natural light and artificial light...today we worked on sorting sources of light into these 2 groups.

We found pictures of the sun, stars, fire, light bulbs, flashlights, and glow sticks. We even had someone draw a gun to show the light that is created when a bullet flows through the barrel (I have to admit Mr. Johnson had to be consulted on if this really happens)!

Here is something to think about...
Is a candle natural or artificial?

Some argued that a person had to make the candle, but the light comes from the fire which would be a natural source. But if the fire is started by a match it might be artificial.

This led to an interesting discussion at my dinner tonight, we would love to see what you think. Please feel free to add your comments below.

Hands on learning (with a little bit of cold fingers!)

This week our scientist have been learning about heat and light. We did some hands on investigations. Students made a hypothesis about how best to melt an ice cube, and then tested their idea.

Several kids thought that holding it in their hand would work the best.

Zach said "blow on it"

Keeley said "hold it to the light"

Mohammad said "use a microwave"

Chris thought to "throw it against the wall"

Haytham said "put it in the sunlight"

After working in our classroom, we tried Haytham's idea. Students were amazed at how fast the "solid turned into a liquid" (What a great way to apply what we learned the last few weeks!)

Once the investigation was complete, we came to a conclusion...HEAT was the one thing that was in every idea that worked! It was a true (cold) hands on learning time!

Maps, Models, and More...

Today we finished our map unit by making a model neighborhood. We have learned about directions. Some of these pictures are from a Bird's Eye View.

This was a great day of creative learning

Go Pack!

It was a great Satrday morning. I got to see the Packers roll over the Steelers!

Happy Johnny Appleseed Day!

Did you know that today is Johnny Appleseed day...We celebrated by reading a book about John Chapman and then made applesauce! Here is a what the we thought about it...

Anna - I did not try it, but it made our room smell AWESOME!

Altwaime said, "It was yummy!"

David "The classroom smelled like applesauce"

Elijah said, "it taste like applesauce"

Lindsey said "it taste like vinegar!"

T-E-A-M!

Dear Parents,

Thank you for taking time away from your family to visit our room. I hope you found the night to be full of information, and a glimpse into your child's day. If you were unable to make it, the handout from tonight will be sent home tomorrow. Please take time to watch the video our class wrote and directed. As I said tonight, my technology goal for the year is to have each child either individually or collaboratively produce a video that showcases their learning.

I LOVE curriculum night, it is the first time we get all the players together. They are a great group of kids and we are going to have a wonderful year! As always if you have questions or concern e-mail me! This is a team and together we will help your child succeed!

Mrs. Johnson (the coach with no voice tonight!)

Mac Welcomes you to Class!
by: mrsj1stgrade

It's all GOOD!

Today was a great day for learning. We were able to see and learn from the author of Pete the Cat. Here is a little bit about what the kids thought...

Cecilia, Asher, Zach said "I liked to the illustrator draw the picture"

Lindsey, Caden and David said, "The illustrator was funny because he talked in CAT!"

Mohammad. Alauna, Altwaime, Abby, and Elijah liked singing the songs.

Meredith liked when Mrs. Johnson got asked the big question.

Reagan and Jake thought the story was funny

Chris said, "he liked the way the author could play music"

Keeley liked the way he played the harmonica (and Mrs. Johnson wishes she could do something like that)

Make sure to ask you students about Pete the Cat, because "It's all good!"

Game Time!

With the kick off to football season, we are ready to kick off Guided Reading! Look for guided reading bags to come home next week. Guided reading is a time that I work in small groups with students to deliver instruction to fit their needs. They will bring home a reading bag every day with books, please return the books the next day.

We will also start words their way (a spelling program fit to meet their developmental level). They will have homework every night and a test on Friday. This program is designed to teach spelling patterns and not just memorize words. I will move them to a new spelling pattern once they have mastered and shown application of the pattern in their daily writing. The first 2 lists are a whole class list and will seem very easy. We do this to teach the procedures (they have classwork everyday). In 2 weeks they will get their individual list and we will be ready to hit the field running because they will know what to do.

Enjoy your weekend, and Gig Em Aggies!

Busy BEES...

This has been a busy week. We have started full force and have our routines down. In Writer's Workshop, we started a genera study. I love putting books in kids hands, and seeing what they notice. We are looking more closely at ABC books and writing our own. See the book the class is writing in a shared writing experiance...very creative thinkers! Centers are in full swing, we even are learning how to log on (believe it or not, this takes time to learn!)

Enjoy the pictures from the the 2nd week. I look forward to being back together next Tuesday, Happy Labor Day!