Domino Professionals!

Check out this falling domino train.  Pretty cool!

October Costume Party Fun!

Everyone had fun at our October 31st party time.  We had a parade.  Then we got to dig for candy in PUMPKIN BRAINS.  Eek!  After that, we ate some food and played some games.  Check out the great costumes too!

Here are our wonderful room parents. 

Thank you for the great party!

“Llama, Llama, Red Pajama”

On Thursday, October 6^th, all of Sibley school read the book, “Llama, Llama, Red Pajama” by Anna Dewdney.  We did this to celebrate reading.  In addition, everyone wore their pajamas to school on Thursday AND we had some visiting alpacas.  (Alpacas are kind of like small llamas.)  It was a fun day!

Show and Tell

First graders in room 210 can bring show-and-tell items daily that fit our topic of the week.  The topic of the week is based on the non-fiction books that I read to and/or share with the class.  The next two weeks, our topic will be "snakes" since I am reading the Amazing Snakes book to the class.  Check with your child for the topic of the week and ask what he/she knows about it!

A Volcano Erupts!

The Sharks reading group, Mason Griffith, Libby Hanson, and Taya Jeffrey, recently read a book about volcanoes.  After reading the book, they decided to learn about how to make and erupt an experimental volcano.  Here are pictures from the experiment.  At the end, you will see a video of the results!

First we read the instructions.

Second, we formed our volcano out of a pop bottle and dirt.

Our hands got very dirty! :)

Third, we measured one tablespoon of dishwashing

detergent and put it in the bottle.

Fourth, we added a few drops of red food coloring.

Fifth, we measured one cup of vinegar...

... and poured it into the bottle.  Then we added some

warm water to fill the bottle almost to the top.

Last, we put two tablespoons of baking soda in a cup with a little water.

When we pour it in, our volcano should erupt!

We double check our directions to make sure we did all the steps.

We are ready for the eruption!

What Makes Hot Air Balloons Rise?

On Thursday, March 24^th, the Stingray reading group presented their reports on hot air balloons to classmates and family members.  The four students in this group, Trey Hill, Carsen Knutson, Landon Stadheim, and Lucy Stay, had read a book about hot air balloons in their reading group.  They then broke into two teams and each team wrote a report telling what they learned about hot air balloons, both in history and now.  They also developed questions to ask the class about hot air balloons.  After presenting their reports, the students used a small experimental hot air balloon to show the class how hot air makes the balloon rise.

Math Scroll Contest!

Our math scrolls are finished!  I recently challenged our class to a contest to see who could write to the highest number on his/her math scroll.  A math scroll is a number of glued together number grids where the a student starts at zero and writes numbers in order.  It is rolled up around an empty paper towel tube.  Every student was required to write to 200.  However, many students chose to go beyond 200... way beyond! 

This contest has been ongoing for a number of weeks and finally came to a close last Friday.  Check out our math scroll winners below!

Trey is our first place winner.  He wrote his numbers to 2,820.  That is

an all time high for first grade for as long as the scroll contest has taken place!

Here are the hard working winners who placed in the contest (left to right):

Sixth Place:  Lucy (wrote to 1,103)

Fifth Place:  Taya (wrote to 1,117)

Fourth Place:  Landon (wrote to 1,150)

Third Place:  Henrik (wrote to 1,361)

Second Place: Brennan (wrote to 1,389)

First Place:  Trey (wrote to 2,820)

Look how long these scrolls are!

Here is our whole class with our number scrolls stretched out.

Wow, they are as long as the hallway!  Great job, everyone!!

How many taste buds do we have? A LOT!

Our class has been studying the five senses... seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching.  We learned that our brain uses those senses to find out about the world around us.  On Friday, February 18th, we did a taste test experiment to find out the different taste buds our tongue has.  Do you know what the four flavors are that our taste buds can taste?  Find out below during our "taste test"!

SALTY

Logan and Lexi try out the salty taste with real salt.

Did you know that the tongue has more salt taste buds

than any other flavor?  Our bodies need salt to live.

SOUR

Landon tries out a slice of lemon.  Wow, that's sour!

Henrik is not too sure what to think about that sour lemon slice!

BITTER

Here's what Carsen thinks about bitter baker's chocolate!

Sam  is thinking that bitter is not such a great flavor by itself!

SWEET

Kami tries out the sweet flavor.  Now that's good!

Did you know that we do not have any taste buds on

the middle of our tongues?  (Except for bitter, which is

farther back in the middle.)  Kami found that out by

putting her sucker in the middle.  No taste there!

Neissa, Taya, and Karter all agree that

they like the sweet flavor the best!

Most foods are a mixture of some or all of these four flavors.

Check out Google Earth!

  

Our reading story this week was entitled, “Me on the Map” by Joan Sweeney.  In the process of reading this story, our first graders are also learning about maps.  Today, I showed the class Google Earth.  Google Earth is great computer program that allows you to see satellite views anywhere on Earth.  It gets close enough to see recognizable rooftops (we saw the top of Sibley School) and even airplanes parked at airports.

A number of my students asked if they can access Google Earth from home.  The answer is YES, if you have Internet Access.  The first thing you will need to do is go the link I’ve provided below and download the Google Earth software.  It is free and easy to use.  Then you can open the software and go to it.  You can type in an address in the “Fly To” box and it will fly you there.  Or, you can type in a place of interest such as the Eiffel Tower or the Grand Canyon.  You can actually see these things from the satellite view.  You can also zoom in and out to get a perspective of where you are on the Earth.  Many of the point of interest areas have places to click to find out more information about where you are and what you can see as well.

This program is great fun and very educational.  Check it out at this link and have fun:    http://www.google.com/earth/download/ge/agree.html.

Happy Birthday, Colter!

Colter, Ms. Bennett's Shiloh Shepherd, came to school for his birthday.  He is now two years old.  Before the party, the class read a story together to Colter called, "A Bed Full of Cats."  They thought Colt would like that story because he likes cats. Then the kids got out their reading folders and showed Colter how to become good readers by practicing their books.  (Colter wants to learn how to read!)  Colter walked around and looked at their books as they were reading. 

After some work, it was time for the party.  The kids gave Colt a book of stories that they wrote for him for his gift.  Ms. Bennett read the book to Colter.  Colt loved all the stories about him in that book!  Some of the kids made Colter some cards and gave him some extra gifts as well.  After presents, it was time for the birthday cake.  Lucy, Cole, Landon, and Taya helped blow out the candles for Colter.  Then all the kids got to eat some cake - but not Colter.  No people food for him!  He just got to lick a little frosting from Ms. Bennett's finger. Everyone had a great time at Colter's birthday party!