Totally Teeth

Each month I plan on taking a photo of the kiddos that have a lost a tooth during that time period. We started the with two children in August (playing catch up on the pictures right now). Next week with the end of September we have at least 4 faces so far, but several wigglers! Keep watching!

Who Wood-n't Like Science?

This week we began our study of Wood and Paper. We have been exploring several types of wood-redwood, pine, basswood, plywood and particle board. We have been describing, comparing and classifying. We also have been exploring what happens when the different types of wood interact with water. Ask your child about their favorite type!

Yoga!

Today we had our first day of Yoga class. This program will run for the next 10 weeks. The children enjoyed working on the different poses and breathing. Lots of groans were heard as we reached for those toes, but they loved the "easy" position. Ask your child to give you a demonstration! Namaste!

A Few More Tie Dye Pics...

Tie Dye!

Thank you to all of our amazing volunteers that made tie dye this year easy and FUN! The kiddos had a great time while practicing the important science vocabulary of "saturate!" The shirts look awesome-we'll take a picture of soon all decked out in our new shirts!

Not Just An Ordinary Birthday...

What? No birthday? This Love Bug decided that this year he would give up his birthday to help an organization called charity: water. This group works towards funding and building clean water sources in countries like Ethiopia. Instead of getting birthday presents, he has asked that everyone he knows donate money in his name through charity: water to build a well. He has raised over $14,000 so far!!!! Did you know that over a billion people don't have access to clean water? Something we definitely take for granted! Many of the children in the class thought this was pretty cool, so if they ask about giving up their birthdays, you'll know where that's coming from. I asked his parents if it was okay to include his webpage. They agreed so here is the link: http://www.charitywater.org/birthdays/fundraiser/sept/view/72

Still letting the pictures say a thousand words!

Just a Few More Pics...

Five Senses

As part of our introduction to science this year, we began with a unit of study on the 5 senses. One of the favorite activities was trying to identify different "mystery" smells (vinegar, perfume, lemon, baby powder, vanilla, chocolate). We practiced "wafting" the smell to our noses as scientists do. Using our sense of touch we tried to identify 6 unknown objects in bags, and we also practiced using our sense of hearing and sight with games.

The Colors of Us

As part of talking about ourselves this year, we read a great story called The Colors of Us followed with an discussion about all the different colors we had in our class. Using multicultural paint, the children selected a skin tone and painted their faces. Then we added additional facial features and hair. The children were so serious holding different papers up to each other faces to match lip and nose colors. If you haven't got a chance to see the finished product, stop by our room!

Zero the Hero

Today is the tenth day of school! To celebrate, we had a visit from "Zero the Hero." We have learned a special song for our hero which he performed fabulously with us. The kids were so excited and all day long asked, "When is Zero the Hero coming?" We drew pictures of what he might look like and where we think he lives. This was a great way to begin our discussion on place value. We already can't wait for the hundredth day when there are TWO zeroes in our number of the day!


The other big event of the day was heading to our first library checkout for the year! Now that we are big first graders, we can check out 2 books. Our library day is every Monday at 10:30. Each week will alternate checking out books with story time.
Your child will get to keep their books for two weeks before they are due.

Your child is able to choose one book for fun, and another book to help them learn to read. As the year progresses and their reading levels change, I will give them more guidance in their book they "learn to read with." For now we began by choosing a book that we recognized at least a few words or letters on the page. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful librarian that helps foster our children's love of books and literacy development. Please consider donating to the "Friends of the Zilker Library" fund-contact Mrs. Kraal for more details!

Week Two!

I can't believe we are already in our second week of school! I feel like I have a permanent smile on my face. The children are amazing, the families are wonderful and it's great to be at Zilker!

We had fun eating our special Wild Things Snack on Friday. Who knew that rat toes, dried worms, ant eggs and bug eyes could taste so yummy? In math we have been working together to learn games to build fluency, and we are laying the foundation for Reader's and Writer's Workshop.

I just wanted to do a quick post with a few more pictures of the children!