Today was a powerful first day of learning for first graders. They walked through the door with so much knowledge, experience and readiness to take on new learning.

Below students are engaged in guided discovery with their crayons. We reminded each other how to use crayons in safe and responsible ways. Children created bags labeled with their names so they have a safe place to store their masks when outside.

We explored our outdoor classroom today. Below students are working on showing 10 with things found in nature.

Welcome to a brand new year in first grade. I am beyond excited to be back in school with a new community of learners.

We are learning all about each other and how each one of us brings unique experiences, personalities and strengths to our community.

Today we worked on new routines for safely distancing from others and what that looks like and feels like when making different transitions throughout the day.

New snack routine.

This afternoon we visited our outdoor classroom. We learned about how we will use this space in a safe and responsible way. We even did some math thinking. Below students worked on showing the number 10 (an important number in first grade!) with items found in nature. We talked about taking away and how many more would be needed to make 10. We have a community of mathematicians!

Even though we are not physically together, we are still connected in so many ways. Here are some photos of our first grade community members continuing their learning.

Listening to Charlotte's Web.

Here are some of our first grade community members writing, doing math work and practicing SNAP words!

Our first ski and ride day- so much fun and growth in one day!

During Writing Workshop, first graders have been creating nonfiction books. We are using what we have learned about the genre during Reading Workshop in our writing. Below are first draft examples of text features. You will notice introductions, headers, a diagram, a helpful tip and keywords. We have a community full of experts!

Today we had the opportunity to listen to guest speaker Sam Drazin. He shared his life experiences with us at a K-4 assembly. Students learned that differences can be visible and invisible. We had several opportunities to engage in discussions about disability awareness, inclusive communities and kindness. Ask your child to tell you about our visit with Sam!

Today we read the narrative nonfiction story of Balto. We were surprised that this exciting story was actually true! We ended our week together by watching the movie. We noticed the bravery, perseverance and kindness that was present throughout the story.

We celebrated our work with the kindergarten community by hanging our own wishes on our wish tree. We shared mugs of cocoa and friendship.

Our paintings inspired by the book The Wish Tree.

During reading workshop, we have focused on the nonfiction genre. Below are habits we have been practicing to make our thinking strong when reading informational text. We have also noticed and studied features of nonfiction. When we return from break, we will use what we have learned to write our own nonfiction chapter books!

First grade scientists have been learning and making discoveries about light and sound. Kids investigated with rulers to make different sounds. They could observe the back and forth movements that were responsible for creating the sound they heard.

 Today we learned about how glass is made. We explored with different materials and observed how light passes through them and we noticed that sometimes it does not. We learned the words transparent, translucent and opaque. We created "stained glass" artwork and connected it to our learning about light.