Once in the SHADOW of the moon...

WOW! What a great 1st day! I can't imagine a better thing to teach about on a 1st day than the rare Solar Eclipse that we got to watch on the live stream from Nasa. Today we had a real Solar Eclipse Party, we learned why is was special and then all created party hats to represent 1 of the 3 parts that made today special (Earth, Moon, and Sun). After making our hats, we acted it out by rotating and revolving and stopping in just the right order to make the Moon block the sun's light on the Earth! After acting it our, we had a viewing party and watched the Nasa Live feed from Missouri. We saw the city come out of complete darkness live! We talked about why we couldn't look at the light directly.

It was a great start to our Science unit on safety, we will continue to talk more about how scientist can be safe!

Good night, sweet 1st Graders

Dear Sweet 1st Graders, I can't wait to start school tomorrow. I have my first day outfit ready to go and am going to get in bed for a good night's rest. Click on the video to have me read you a bed time story! See you in the morning! Love, Mrs. Johnson

And That's a WRAP!

Wow, how did the year go so fast. I decided that this year we would make a memory video, instead of a memory book. I love to hear these little voices and see what made a difference to them! In the end, we all made goals for the next year. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do! As I type this post, I reflect on the growth that every student has made. A few of my favorite memories... watching kids look at the anchor charts in our room and check their work, seeing each other help friends, loving that they loved to go to math tubs (and were disappointed when we ran out of time), seeing their writing grow, and the confidence they have to share their writing. That is just a few of the highlights of my year. I have said it before, but I honor the time that I have with each student. I want them to know the thrill of hard work, and that success can come after lots of mistakes. Because you shared them with me, I am a better person!

More from the Egyptians

Here is a little more from these cute Egyptians...

Creating is the Best Form of Understanding...

To go along with our learning about Ancient Egypt, we created plays based on a topic about Ancient Egypt. Students were put in groups of 3 and given a topic. They did a little research and then wrote a play about their topic. Today we made backdrops and costumes. It was great seeing the groups present their plays. I was so impressed with the information that each group "taught" in their play. Here are the first of them, more to come tomorrow.

more books!

Digital Book Writing

Here are a few more examples of our digital books!