September in Mrs. Johnson's 1-1 Class

We have been very busy in Mrs. Johnson's Class!

Here are just a few fun photos of what we've been doing:

Number Bonds

Freckle Math

Rhyming Words

Rhyming Words

Being with friends

Being with friends

Music for Youth Assembly

Remembrance Day

Our new writing curriculum

Mrs. Johnson and baby Beckett visited us as our Royal Reader!

Hello 1-1 Families!  We have now moved on to our second month at school and are getting used to new routines and enjoying new friendships.  Students are ready to begin their guided reading groups and will be bringing home book bags at least once a week with their weekly book and site word sticker book.  1-1 loves their reading workshop and we have been learning a lot already about different book genres, note taking and how to pick a 'just right' book while reading in a 'just right' spot.  

We are just completing our unit on Community Helpers and will be having a visitor from the Arlington Heights Fire Station next week!

In math we are finishing up our second unit on number bonds, which builds on our first unit on counting.  We've been using a lot of manipulatives like number blocks and a number balance to gain a stronger understanding of these early math concepts.  

Students love our new writing curriculum and while filling up their journals, are also filling their writing binders with structured writing on things they like, how they help, what they want to be, and what they like to do with their friends.  The focus is on cultivating a joy of written expression, while we gradually build up our word skills in the process.  

Mrs. Johnson came to visit us with Baby Beckett!  The students were all so excited to have her read them a story and stay for a visit.  

Happy Fall!

Welcome to First Grade!

The sky is the limit this year in Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Bolithon's Class!  

We're shaking off those first day jitters and posing for our first group photo of the year.  Go 1-1!

Last Blog Post of the Year!

Thank You!

I can't believe that today is the last day of school. The year has gone by so quickly. I have enjoyed working with your children each and every day this year! They have grown so much! I am inspired by their love of learning, wonder, and curiosity! May they always keep that passion and excitement to learn! It has been my privilege to be their teacher! They have brought me many smiles and happy memories over the course of the year! Thank you to all of you for making this year a wonderful year. I appreciate all of our parent volunteers, you made the year extra special! I wish all of you a happy, relaxing, and safe summer! Please stop by and say hello next year!

Summer Birthdays

This week, we celebrated all of our July and August birthdays. Happy birthday to Charlotte, Nell, Charlie, and Ryne! We hope that you all have very special birthdays on your special day!

Field Day Fun

Field day was a huge success! The children enjoyed participating in all the field day games. Their favorite station was the Big Splash  (if you hit the target, it dumped a bucket of water, splashing water on a TEACHER!) Thank you to our two parent leaders, Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Ubert. The children enjoyed moving around to all of the stations with you. Thank you also to ALL the parent volunteers who made field day possible. The children had a great time! Please click below to view a slide show of photos from field day. 

Enjoy!

Field Day Photos

Bugs, Plants, Worms, & More!

At the end of May, Scientist Victoria joined us from High Touch High Tech. She taught the class all about our Bugs, Plants, Worms, and More. The children learned about life here on Earth and how living organisms like plants and animals need soil, sunlight, and water to survive. Then they investigated sunlight, the chemical reaction of photosynthesis, chloroplasts, and plant parts. They loved engaging in some Hands On Chemical reactions. The children also explored soil content and what makes the soil so special, along with how worms help the soil. To conclude, the children learned how plants and insects help each other with topics like Pollination and some engaging bug experiments.

Click HERE for a slideshow of photos!

Summer Learning Links

Summer Packets - I sent home a few packets  today that the students can work on over the summer, a writing packet and a packet that contains math, grammar, and some additional writing activities.

Fact Practice - For those of you who asked for ways to practice gumball math over the summer, I can not send the exact sheets home but click on the above link to visit a site where you can print similar pages. I'm so proud of the students progress with gumball math this year! Keep it up over the summer!

Last Day Fun Photos!

The children made predictions on if Baby Johnson is a boy or a girl! We graphed the predictions today. I will let you know when Baby Johnson arrives who was right! Todays predictions: Boy 14, Girl 5 Who is right?

Thank you so very much for the precious end of the year gift! I LOVE all the cute baby items! Baby Johnson is so lucky! Thank you also for the gift card to Target. That will really come in handy!

Shaving cream fun! Wait art and cleaning all in one! How fun!!

Congratulations You're Officially Second Graders! 

I wish you all the luck next year as you begin your Second Grade journey! 

100th Day & Valentine's Day Fun!

Hello 1-1 Families!

What a fun week we had last week! Read about it below!

100th Day!

Last Monday, the children celebrated the 100th day of school. They looked great dressed up like they were 100! The children enjoyed participating in an assortment of 100th day activities. They created a 100th day crown showing different ways to make 100. The children heard the story, 100th Day Worries. Later in the day, the children created artwork using the numbers 1, 0, 0. Then, they created a story about their artwork. In the afternoon, the children were excited to work on an assortment of 100th STEM math stations. We had a wonderful 100th day of school!

Valentine's Day!

Last Thursday, we celebrated Valentine’s Day. In the afternoon, the children had their valentine’s party. They passed out their valentines, listened to Valentine stories, enjoyed creating a “Sweet Love Frame”, played Valentine's Heart Walk/Dance/ Move & Grove, and played a few Valentine math games.

A special thank you to our room reps Mrs. Humann and Mrs. Pellum for organizing and prepping the craft and game for our party. Also, a BIG Thank You to Mrs. Humann, Mrs. Pellum, Mrs. Grzesinski and Mrs. Kubow who attended the party and ran the stations. You made our party a huge success! Thank you!

I would like to thank all of you for making my Valentine’s SO SPECIAL. I loved all my valentines, flowers, gifts, and yummy treats. Thank you so much!

Click on the link below to view photos from our Valentine’s & 100th Day Fun!
Fun Photos

Gumball Math

The children have been working hard at making progress on their gumball math tests. Our goal is to try and get to two tests every week. Sometimes this does not happen due to other events in our schedule. If you are looking for some ways to practice gumball math at home, please see below!

1. This his website has practice sheets you can print: 
http://jerome.northbranfordschools.org/Content/Math_Fact_Fluency.asp

It allows you to print out sheets based on which facts you would like to practice. It has addition and subtraction practice sheets and includes some practice sheets for mixed practice as well.

2. There is also an app called Math Bingo on our classroom iPads, I taught the children how to use this app last week. The app allows them to practice their addition and subtraction facts with a few fun games. Your child may enjoy using this at home.

3. Flashcards are very helpful for some children. They allow the children to work on building their Fact Power by automatically calling out the answer as they see the fact in front of them.

Star Students 

James, Gianna, Ryne, and Stella were our star students. Thanks for sharing all about you about you!

  

Royal Reader

A special thank you to James's Mom, Sonny's Mom, Gianna's Mom, 

and Ryne's Mom. They joined us the last few weeks as our Royal Readers. 

The children enjoyed listening to the wonderful books that you read!

Birthdays

Happy Birthday to our friends who celebrated birthdays over the last 

couple weeks! We hope you had so much fun!