Weather and Water

Our last chapter in Science was about weather and seasons.  It also included a section about the Water Cycle.  In 1st grade the Water Cycle is pretty basic but my kids were great with learning the simple steps. 

After gluing on the sun, which we learned is the energy source used to keep the Water Cycle going, we made 3 rings.  The light blue ring was for evaporation, when the tiny water droplets go up through the air.  The white ring was for condensations, when those tiny water droplets form together with dust particles in the sky to make clouds.  And the dark blue ring was for precipitation, when the water droplets get large enough to fall from the clouds.  Those long words were sometimes hard to remember but the process was remembered.
We also did an experiment to show that water evaporates.  I put water in a clear cup, drew a line where the water level was and wrote the date.   We checked the cup 5 days and 10 days later.  The kids were amazed that the water level lowered.  I was asked how the water vapor got up in the sky since it was in the classroom.  I said "it turned into water vapor in the classroom, then when the door was opened it went out into the hallway, then eventually when someone opened the door to go outside the vapor went up into the sky." ... not sure if that is how you explain something like that but they seemed to understand :)

~Ms. Anglin

Easter Fever

We had to do a quick change into Easter from St. Patrick's Day this year but I think our change went smoothly. 

We made Easter eggs for the hallway with paint and shaving cream.  We put paint drops onto shaving cream and swirled it around with popsicle sticks.  Then our eggs went into the mix.  After sitting for a few seconds I scraped the mess off with a ruler (It's the best I had!)

The kids did a great job decorating eggs for our bulletin board. They each got an egg ouline and were told to decorate it however they wanted.  Then they made a crack with their scissors anywhere they wanted on the egg.  I used brass fasteners to hook the 2 parts together.  A close up picture was then glued to the bottom part of the egg so it looks like the 1st graders are hatching.  They loved making these and seeing themselves hatching out of the eggs.  My class truly is 'egg'cellent :)

We will end our Easter celebration with a short video, It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown, and an Easter egg hunt with the rest of the lower elementary.

~Ms. Anglin

Blurt Board

I saw this idea on Pinterest (of course) and thought it would work wonders in my room to make my students aware of how much they just shout out answers, change the topic in the middle of a lesson, and talk when they are supposed to be quiet.  A little pon-pom, googlie eyes, foam shape, magnet, and hot glue can make the coolest things!

Meet the Blurts.  They live on our classroom Blurt Board.  Each child has 3 Blurts, or chances.  If someone talks out of turn, changes the subject inappropriately, or talks when they are to be quiet they take a Blurt off.  At the end of the day, if someone has all 3 Blurts removed they receive a consequence. 

Once a Blurt is removed from the board, it goes in the bucket.  The goal is to have an empty Blurt bucket at the end of every day.  Today was the first day this was implemented and so far so good, its working! So far...

:)

~Ms. Anglin

Luck o' the Irish

St. Patrick's Day is almost here, next weekend to be exact.  We have lively decorations up in our classroom and are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Leprechaun.  At our school, the leprechaun often makes naughty apperances throughout the day.  However, we can never catch him!  I wonder if he will come since St. Patrick's Day is on a Sunday...

We decorated our bulletin board with our hand prints in all the colors of the rainbow.  They really had fun tracing each other's hands.  They were cut out when we were waiting inbetween classes.  I could have classed up the rest of the board... maybe next year :)

 I pieced this beautiful project together from different resources.  I think the hat was from a Mailbox article and I think I found the face on the internet.  Once the 2 pieces were colored and glued together the colorful tissue paper streamers were glued on.  They were cut about 1 1/2 inch wide.  They are haning from the ceiling and flutter when the heater turns on :)

Have a safe and lucky St. Patrick's Day!!

~Ms. Anglin

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!

Tomorrow is the great and powerful Dr. Seuss' birthday!  We celebrated all week in 1st grade with different book, videos, and projects.

First we watched a video of Green Eggs and Ham from YouTube.  Then we made Green Eggs and Ham picture frames.  I'm not sure where I got the templates from.  We colored our ham and glued a picture to it.  Then we made the yolk of the egg green with green cellophane.  After we glued the egg onto the ham we wrote our name on the bottom. ________-I-am!

At the end of the week we watched another YouTube video of Justin Beiber (enter 1st grade girl SWOON here) reading the Cat in the Hat.  We made Thing 1 and Thing 2 out of painted hand prints.  Then there was a writing page "If Thing One and Thing Two can to my house..." to complete.  Some chose to play with them, some chose to call mom and dad, and there were quite a few police officers and a lot of jail time!  Super cute hanging in the hallway!

~Ms. Anglin