Addition Strategies

We've been studying several different strategies with our addition. This will help us when we do double-digit addition... we'll be able to add the ones and tens quickly! 

Meet our "Doubles Dudes"!

Each D is full of all of the doubles facts we know.

Giraffes Can't Dance

We read the book Giraffes Can't Dance. It's about a giraffe that was told by the other animals that he can't dance. It turned out that he just needed to listen to his own music. Not every animal dances the same, or has the same music. Kind of like us!

After reading the book, we made our own *dancing* giraffes. I am so happy with how they turned out... they all have such unique personalities and styles.

One of the things we talked about in the first few weeks of school was the elements of design in art.  We practiced using all different kinds of lines, dots, and circles to create many drawings and illustrations.

Then we took our drawing skills "to the streets". We used those lines, dots and circles to create masterpieces with chalk on the sidewalk next to our room.

It was a beautiful day.  Perfect for chalk art!! =)

The Moon & The Sun

Our science unit on the moon and sun is wrapping up. We've become quite the experts!

Chicken Little

We've been talking a lot about story characters as we work on our target of "I can describe the character and setting in a story". After reading Chicken Little (a version by Steven Kellogg), we wrote letters to the chicken about how he/she could've handled the situation differently. It was a good lesson... sometimes we need to stop and think before we react.

Of course, we needed an art project to go with it. :) These chickens seemed fitting with Easter right around the corner.

Spring

The weather has been pretty unpredictable lately... we're really hoping for some spring weather. Maybe these will help! :) I love all of the bright colors and the words that describe spring. Here's to some sun!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss Pt. 2

We read a lot of Dr. Seuss' books during the week of Dr. Seuss' birthday. Horton Hears a Who, The Cat in the Hat, and If I Ran the Zoo just to name a few. We also watched the original cartoon, The Cat in the Hat. Such a good movie! :) Our "craftivity" went along with the movie.

Freedom Quilt

After reading several picture books about the Freedom Quilts that the slaves used to make, we learned that each quilt pattern was a secret message for the slaves that were planning to escape.

The quilt patterns, used in a certain order, told the slaves when to leave, where to go, and which paths to take. The quilts were hung over fences and out of windows. Because they looked like an "ordinary" quilt, the slave owners didn't know what the patterns really meant.

We each created our own quilt square following one of the patterns we learned about. Our class quilt turned out beautiful!

Heart Art

We used paper hearts - and our imaginations - to make our own Heart creations. I love how creative the kiddos were... their pictures turned out great! :)

This picture is actually titled "Self-Portrait". :)

Valentines

We've been collecting empty milk jugs the last few weeks to make our Valentine holders, The kids got to choose from a bear, dinosaur, or cat template in which to create their containers. After decorating the animals and gluing them to the milk jugs, we set them out to wait for our Friendship Party.

They all turned out so cute!