The Season of Lent

In the center of our classroom stands a special table. It is our prayer table. As the liturgical year changes, the table changes. 

This was our prayer table earlier this week:

This is our prayer table now:

Why the change? Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season. Lent is a time when we look at ourselves and try and see what can change and improve so that we can be more like Jesus. We take more time to pray, to ask forgiveness of our sins, and to share with others. For forty days we prepare for the new life of Easter. 

Our Lenten wreath is brown and bare, symbolizing the desert where Jesus prayed for 40 days and also the crown of thorns. Can your child explain the symbols pictured on our wreath (purple ribbon, burlap cloth with a cross)? As we journey through Lent, we will add more symbols to help us better understand this liturgical season. 

Today we participated in Ash Wednesday mass, along with several other schools, at OLPH Church with Father Sathia. We all received ashed on our foreheads to remind us that we are sinners.

Lent is a time of change; a change of mind and heart. May the 40 days of Lent help us prepare for the joy of Easter. 

Fun & Feasting on Shrove Tuesday

Today is Shrove Tuesday. It is the last day before Lent. It is a day of feasting and fun!

Boy, did we feast today! Our energetic and generous Parent Council served a hot, delicious pancake & sausage lunch for everyone in the school. 

Sometimes Shrove Tuesday is called Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday. On this day, people would traditionally use up the rich foods in their fridge that was often not allowed to be eaten during Lent, such as milk, eggs and butter. Add a little flour, and you have pancakes!

Can you tell we loved it?

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. It marks the first day of Lent. We will gather as a school community at OLPH Church for mass at 1:00 pm. We will all receive ashes on our foreheads. If your schedule allows, please consider joining us! 

100 Days Smarter!

It's time to party!

We're 100 school day smarties!

100 days of school is a big deal in Grade 1. Huge! EPIC! 

A big part of our Math curriculum focuses on working with numbers to 100, so celebrating 100 is an opportunity to tie in several Math activities, as well as many Language Arts tasks and even the perfect Religion lesson.

So we began preparing for the 100th day on ... day 96?!?!? Yup, it's possible we had 100+ activities planned for our celebration, and we needed a jump start! So here is a peek at day 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, and even day 101!

We worked over several days to write 100 words! Be proud of that amazing long list, kiddos!

We made fabulous runway-worthy party hats! There were 10 strips of paper, and we counted 10 polka dots on each. Boom, 100 dots!

The boys and girls practiced and read a 100 word poem to several classes:

We brought in collections of one hundred items. Isn't it interesting how different 100 can look?

Counting by 10's, the students assembled trail mix. 10 of each snack item made 100 tasty treats!

The children got creative in Miss Wilson's art class and created a self portrait ... when they turn 100 years old! Aren't they wrinkly?

Mr. Marshall showed up in our room with a very, very LOCKED box, as well as a few clues! What could be inside? Our Breakout Box challenge was about to begin! The goal? Break into the box!

A Breakout Box is similar to a breakout room, but students use curricular skills to break into a box instead of breaking out of a room! Using teamwork and our knowledge of the 100-chart, we were able to open a number lock, word lock, and directional lock to open the box! Ask your child what was inside!

To bring our special event to a close, we settled ourselves and heard the story from the bible about the lost sheep. We looked at 100 cotton balls, thinking of them as 100 little sheep, and wondered Would God worry if one little sheep went missing? Wouldn't having 99 sheep be enough? No! If we stray from God, He worries and looks for us. He always welcomes the lost little sheep back. 

Happy 100th Day, kiddos! Be proud of all your learning and hard work!

Party hat labels from Cara Carroll at First Grade Parade. Door decor inspired by Sara Ann Culberson. 100's snack placemat from Kristen Smith. 

Valentine's Day: Love and Laughter

Valentine's Day is a wonderful time to celebrate friendships! We had an action packed week! Check it out!

Earlier this week, we spent time with our Grade 3 buddies making Love Monster Mail Bags! Aren't they creative and unique?

We revisited a comprehension strategy where we connect the story to our own experiences, called "text to self connections". We read Will You Be My Valenswine?, where a piggy feels as though nobody loves him ... until he realizes his mama adores him! We recalled a time we felt loved and added a few piggy details!

Not only did Valentine's Day give us the chance to sneak in some writing, but it was also a chance to sharpen our math skills, too! We played a BINGO game that gave us practice identifying and naming numbers to 100!

We had a blast delivering our cards to each other!

We finished the day enjoying the friendships we've made by playing Valentine's Minute To Win It! 

The first challenge was Heart Stack! How many candy conversation hearts can you stack in a minute?

The next challenge? Lava Heart! Using only two hearts to stand on, can you make it across the room? Don't fall in the lava!

The final challenge was Broken Hearts. Students passed a tissue paper heart using clothespins! Careful, don't tear it!

Our Valentine's week was filled with learning, friendship and fun! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love Monster Mailbags are from The Teacher Wife.

Our Valentine's Minute To Win It was inspired by Mrs. Schmelzer's First Grade. 

Will You Be My Valenswine? craftivity from Cara Carroll.

Make 10 Math Challenge!

We are having a blast working on addition and subtraction to 20, and our favourite game lately is Make 10!

Mrs. Beliveau modified the rules from the original game posted here. 

A game board will go home with each student, but more can be printed here. Have a deck of cards? Then you can play at home!

Take out the face cards. This game uses Ace through 10. We treat the Ace as a 1. Using the game board, put out four cards on the spaces 1, 2, 3, and 4. Turn the rest of the deck over on the space marked "deck". 

Here is the challenge! Can you make ten using up to 4 cards?

Look, he made 10! Set the group of 10 aside, and put out more cards from the deck. 

Replenish the empty spaces with cards from the deck. 

There are lots of ways they made 10!

Can't make 10?

Choose one card to put back on the bottom of the deck, and take the top card. 

The kids have played several times and should be able to explain the rules and play independently at home. Happy counting!