First Grade News 9-4-20

Hello!

    We made it through our first week successfully! The kids did such an amazing job at learning all of their new safety protocols. We were so impressed with their attitudes and perseverance. They did really well with their masks...even today when it got SO HOT!! We washed our faces a few times with cold, wet paper towels and drank lots of water! They also did great with social distancing by using airplane arms to judge distancing. If we ever see someone that is too close, we just remind them by saying, "Airplane." It's a quick and friendly reminder. :)

    We did lots of writing this week. We wrote about things we like. We also wrote two thank you notes. One to Willow and her mom for making us all really cool masks and one to Pat Kimball for making us ribbon lanyards to hold our masks if they happen to fall down.

    We started using our chrome books. We learned how to find the beachball to get us to Google. We learned how to find and use bookmarks to get to Portaportal and our First Grade Blog. We practiced using our mouse to go up and down as we looked at pictures on the blog. We used Portaportal to get us to Prodigy. We LOVED playing Prodigy! It's a great way to practice math skills. Each student set up his/her own avatar on it and even won a few battles. :)

    Next week we will continue with our safety protocols and routines. We will also start adding to our computer skills and continue reading assessments. We do reading assessments to find out where we need to start our reading instruction...no worries! :)

    Reminder - our rooms may start cold but they end HOT. Don't forget to dress your child in comfortable layers. Also, keep those water bottles coming. They are definitely using them. They also enjoy filling them up in our cool bottle filler! We have been doing well with our masks so we haven't had to use the extra at all. Some didn't want to change at lunch because we had been outside enough and/or washed our faces enough. They will be able to tell you which one(s) need to be washed each night. :)

    Thank you for your positive support as we navigate these uncharted waters. Mrs. Logan and I spend 100% of the day with your children. We are working hard to keep them safe and happy! Have a great, long weekend!