April 23, 2009
Happy Earth Day Songs……yep….written and sung by someone named Puglisi
Here are some songs I am sneaking here an Earth day gift to you:
March 22, 2009
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
On the first day of spring we had a cake to say goodbye to a student going all the way to Tennessee, and then we made Very Hungry Caterpillars.
He’s an excellent artist and it was SAD but we tried to be positive.
And safe journey…..
All the kids made terrific covers for our books. We are making Very Hungry Caterpillar books…..
a la Eric Carle.
It is hard work for sure.
Here they are just ready for the insides to be put in place.
Let’s just see them all…
Those are the very hungry caterpillars.
My daughter made a five foot poster to help with next week’s lessons as we REALLY learn about the caterpillar. He’s AMAZING.
We are talking a five foot caterpillar!
So this all came from our finding time for a nice story on the first day of spring.
And then I found this one, how adorable is this?
Now that’s a very nice job, we are going to borrow an idea or two.
And I think my class will like this one as well…
But it is especially wonderful to hear Eric Carle talk about making his book… a book of hope.
We are preparing to make a lot of books, one on the Sun, On Our Earth, On Birds and Bugs….just lots to do as we start our writing projects that will help us learn to write by becoming little authors. Look at everything all ready to go for making next week into our books.
To make our books each project will have various “graphing” or data tables to keep track of what’s going on like this one:
Spent some time today getting those made and printed.
March 16, 2009
Flutterby’s
Our class really enjoyed several types of butterfly art making.
We’ve been waiting the annual order of butterfly caterpillars that we order so that we can grow our butterflies.
Isn’t this beautiful? I wish I could share why this one is especially touching.
Last year it was a success, so we’ll see this year. Our theme in Avenues (the language support program we are mandated to use in ELD every mandated morning) is “Wings and Things.”
Reminding me of last year and “wing it” when I was told to move rooms, the lasting effect is a severely herniated disk and an expansion apparently of the syrinx for straining with the weight, wing it becomes a life shift of pretty serious proportion….ah well, no one really looks at that.
Get what you need to grow butterflies here.
We’ve looked at the life cycle and read the wonderful book I Wish I were a Butterfly along with
Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert
The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Giant hardcover edition by Eric Carle
I Wish I Were a Butterfly by James Howe and Ed Young
Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly by Alan Madison and Kevin Hawkes
Fly Like A Butterfly: Yoga for Children by Shakta Kaur Khalsa
Butterflies in My Stomach and Other School Hazards by Serge Bloch
Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons
Butterfly, Butterfly by Petr Horacek
Butterfly Kisses and Wishes on Wings: When someone you love has cancer…a hopeful, helpful book for kids by Ellen McVicker and Nanci Hersh
The Butterfly Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta’s Alphabet Books) by Brian Cassie, Jerry Pallotta, and Mark Astrella
How to Hide a Butterfly and Other Insects (Reading Railroad) by Ruth Heller
Eyewitness: Butterfly & Moth (Eyewitness Books) by Paul Whalley
Butterfly Tattoos (Temporary Tattoos) by Jan Sovak
A Blue Butterfly by Bijou Le Tord
Where Does the Butterfly Go When It Rains? by May Garelick and Nicholas Wilton
The Life Cycle of a Butterfly by Bobbie Kalman and Margaret Amy Reiach
The Butterfly Jar by Jeff Moss
Little Butterflies Stained Glass Coloring Book (Dover Little Activity Books)
I asked my kids…..no that’s wrong…I told my kids that butterflies are used often symbolically to represent various feelings, states, to create connections to change, growth concepts. Then I asked a simple question, “What do you think about when you see a butterfly?” This is what they answered, written here on an old tattered envelope I used.
“A butterfly is free to go.”“A butterfly seems like the flowering coming over to say high.”“I get afraid of them sometimes because I am afraid of bugs and they come to you.”“When I see a butterfly I think it’s my grandmom.”“A butterfly has patterns that are the same on two sides so I think about how we are repeating.”” A butterfly, a butterfly can go and it flies around and it is pretty.”” A butterfly could be a way to show you that change happens.”” If I see a butterfly I think I have a lucky day.”“Some people don’t know but you can wish on butterflies.”” I like to think that a butterfly will come and touch down on my nose.”“One time my mom had a butterfly land on her shirt. It was so cool.”“Butterflies are for peace.”‘The butterfly is a beautiful sign.”
Pretty cool I thought.
As I reach toward poetry.
March 15, 2009
Hats For Sale
One of the things the 1st graders in room 5 at Hathaway in Oxnard have been doing is reading, writing and drawing hats.
Inspired by Caps for Sale
and the Cat In The Hat ,
as well as using a fantastic Reading Rainbow that introduces a shop called “Hats To Where” then watching LeVar put on a cap and be transported ( racetrack as a jockey, miniature train station,to a hockey rink)Â they made several different kinds of works.
The first was a terrific bunch of stacked hats:
Ironically I was asked during this time to teach teachers in a presentation on arts integration. And further prompted to do “self portraits” with the teachers so thinking that was too much decided to opt for a portrait “in hat.” There are ways we modify in the arts and in our work with children to gain skill, support learning. I was attempting to support success.
So there are the teacher’s works, following the kids,( unfortunately in the clunky word press just posting pictures now is a major pain, wish I had built this in blogger.)
Kid’s tried hat pictures too, but so far I’m not sure these are ones that I like well enough, may try again before we do some writing.
There is a world of language in hats for 1st graders to think about, especially in their second language work.
If you want the basic lesson plan go here....Hats !
I have a friend that once wrote about a lucky cap. Or hinted at the story he actually never shared. I have a lucky hat as well. And my students are all on St. Patty’s Day, or during the week, writing about a hat that was lucky. We’ve been brainstorming.
March 15, 2009
Local Treasure
In our area, about 15 miles from my school is a museum, a research center called the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology.It houses a major collection of a collector that donated it to them.
Yesterday I got to visit. One day I hope to take my class or a group from my school. This week the director is visiting my husband’s district where he’s a Superintendent trying to set up a bird study, or at least understand better what is involved in a goal like that.
I was present for a talk on raptors. It was fascinating given by Peter H. Bloom.
I took a lot of pictures I want to share with my students so I’m setting them up here for sharing.
It’s very hard to load this on our equipment, but I always hope that something changes and they get us something newer, or that I’m given that opportunity. (as some others were given by our technology czar, in the inequity replication)
Boy what a place this is, interesting.
March 10, 2009
Catching Up (EST)
It’s been a long while since I posted.
My bad.
Let’s try to catch up………..with a post or four about the things we have been doing in 1st grade.
How about our Shadows and project on following the movement of our EARTH!
That’s pretty cool stuff.
We are in a project carried over from last year called Exploring Space and Time. Wat we did to initiate this project was go outside on a lovely February day, Groundhog Day to be precise and use shadows in a little different way than anyone might expect.
We drew ourselves in chalk, outlining each other, and when stepping back into places a bit later a magnificent thing happened, the shadows had moved! this totally and completely astounded the children. What had happened. They thought and thought. The continued to think perhaps they had made an error, they sat and watched it move further until one said, “We are moving, the earth is moving!” I loved that as the teacher, watching them pose questions , observe and then work to figure it out.
So here is the day talking in pictures. It’s here for families and children to access and to be seen on our projector at school. But it’s a marvelous way of recording the day. An observation of the learning.
February 9, 2009
Hearts From Home, 100 days of school
Is it really time for Valentines and the 100th Day of School?
Both, as always.
For the troops we all made Love Bugs and sent these Valentines to them via the Hearts From Home project. Ms. Wolfson and my class often team up so we teamed to construct something for those we hope are kept safe as they keep us safe. Her great idea to send them seemed perfectly expressed in Luv Bugs.
I no longer can easily insert things in this blog, this newest version awful with Flickr so here is the link out to see the Valentines. See them here
The 100 bug directions
A Hearts from Home Valentine.
A class prepares the project
Our cupboard mailboxes ready for our notes.
January 25, 2009
Our President Obama Portraits (and Writing)
These are the Portraits of President Obama drawn by children trying very hard to learn not only about the new President but how to make a portrait. It is not easy at all!
After they finished the kids wrote what they thought about what a President does, we have been reading and writing this week on the subject, watching the Inaugural. Our school was especially set up to get to see it via TV’s.
The Question I asked was “What Do You Think A President Does?“
ET-” A President has to write well.”
EJ – ” A President is about learning and leading.”
AD- “He makes a country able to make more money.”
LP-”Cares about the children, their family and help us all.”
AD-”To lead people, to unite us, not allowing hitting or fighting.”
KM-”A President does (not) want to fight.”
EV-” A president does things in charge.”
JA-” A President works hard to lead us and follow laws.”
KG-”He works really hard, on writing, on listening, thinking, and showing the world who we are. He is smart.”
GA-”He works a lot.”
MP- “Works hard, organizes America and makes a living by signing laws and he lives a good life. We try to. He has a nice……He promises to not quit on us.”
AM- ” He does nice things, talks, gives speeches, teaches American ways to be and stops us from mistakes.”
OV-”Works hard in his job, helps people, stops fighting.”
TG-” “He does hard work, they think up important stuff. They say what we are going to think over.”
SH-”He is helping but he can make war so he tries to find peace.”
EZ-using a poetic device-
“He works.
He prays.
He helps.
He smiles.
He cares.
That’s it.”
I thought that was a cute job description.
We are reading various books on the new President. Two stood out really.
A great one by Nikki Grimes and…
These books are good.
One of the things that surprised me was a child in my room recalled we made Obama portraits the day after the election. Very cool for them as they sort out exactly what a country, President, what a nation is.
It is Soooooooo hard now on Word Press I once could add slide shows and things now I’m forced into one by one hours. Improvements to me seem to have made this a real nightmare to function using.
I cannot load a flickr slideshow only link over. That’s ridiculous.
Ah well. Lots of things going on. we are starting a President Portrait Gallery.
One a week as we learn those Presidents.
And now we sart the week drawing the White House.
January 21, 2009
Obama Portraits
We made some nice portraits watching the Presidential Inauguration. Our school made it really great by being sure all the TV’s were hooked up.
Just a fantastic way to learn history.
Also a great way to get inspired to draw.
