November

November has been a very busy and exciting month.
We’ve centered our attention on Pilgrims and Indians and the importance of Thanksgiving. Our Social Studies unit has taught us that Indians are alive today. They do not dress in the traditional outfits except on special occasions. They live on reservations all over the United States. Some tribes have jobs in the cities along with white men. Some are very poor. Each tribe lives in different kinds of houses, according to what part of the country they live in.
We learned about Indian sign language and also American signing – ( the hand signals deaf people use to communicate.)
We have been talking about things we have and what we should be thankful for.
We had Pioneer centers in Mrs. Stites’ room.
We studied pioneer life and dyed yarn using onion skins and blueberries. Then we will use the yarn to make shell necklaces like the Indian’s wampum (money).
We ground up wheat by hand, and will follow directions to make bread. We will make our own butter for our bread also!
We made an old-fashioned yo-yo out of a string and a button. And we also made a ball and cup toy. They were both fun to play with.
In Mrs. Dye’s room we had Native American - Indian Centers. We played a Snake and Indian snake game, made a bead necklace and we also decorated a headband.
We learned that the Pilgrims stayed on the ship for 2 months and 5 days. (That’s a long time to wear the same outfit – day and night!)
In reading, we read Animal Park. We have been learning a lot of new words.
In math, we have been counting pennies and dimes, telling time by the hour, writing numbers, practicing our addition and subtraction facts, and counting by two's.

Weekly review with spelling words and reading lists are needed as our skills on both are getting more difficult. With the shortened week next week, we will have a review list for next week.

*** A reminder about dressing for outdoors*** Please make sure your child has a warm coat, mittens, hat and boots if it’s snowing, as we will be going out as many days as possible.

******Looking to December****
We will be studying Christmas Customs Around the World. We will also be practicing our Christmas Play.

Enjoy the weekend.
First Grade Teachers

April -May 2007

April is a very exciting month. We will be learning about 10 different types of birds. We will be studying the sounds they make, the nests they build, the food they eat, and the size and color of their eggs.

The week after spring break we will be traveling over to the Northwestern pool to learn water safety. Mrs. Britten will be teaching the children basic swimming strokes, and how to keep their head above water in case they would fall in.

We will be learning about insects this month, and actually growing six Painted Lady butterflies! We will learn the parts of an insect, along with interesting facts. The children will learn that butterflies hatch from a chrysalis, and moths hatch from a cocoon.

We will be planting peanut seeds, and watching them grow into full plants. We will study the parts of a plant, and what plants need to grow and live.

We will be reading the chapter book Charlotte's Web, and will be learning about Spiders.

We will be taking a field trip to the Children's Museum in Indianapolis. This will reinforce concepts we have studied throughout the year.

The children will be involved in a Jr. Olympics. They will participate in various track events and will be learning the basic concepts of track and field.