The End of 2010

Here are a few pictures to sum up some of the activities thus far in first grade...

We LOVE to play games during reading groups!

Fly Swat and Memory are two of our favorite games!

Preston and Cesilia enjoyed scarecrow ice cream cones for our Compliment Party!

Sydney posed with the class scarecrow after he lost ANOTHER tooth!

Karalaina entered the Junior Achievement Christmas Card Contest. She won at Cravens Elementary School! She is pictured with her gift basket :)

Fall in the First Grade!

Fall is a busy time of year in first grade! There are so many fun activities for the students :) To start the season, we visited Trunnell Farms Pumpkin Patch! The students learned the process of growing pumpkins and picked there own pumpkin! We learned how to decorate a jack-o-lantern once we returned to school!

The children trying to find the perfect pumpkin!

Clayton found the perfect pumpkin!

Crystiana and Kourtnee drove the bus?!?!?

Javar and Preston climb to the top of the hay bales!

Sydney's Lost Tooth

Sydney lost his front tooth the other night!

Check him out with our friendly scarecrow!!!

I'm Back!

Welcome to our adventures in first grade! I hope you will find our blog both informational and entertaining! Each week, I will update the blog with information to help you help your child inside and outside the classroom! I will also showcase events, projects, and pictures from our week in first grade!

This week I want to remind you about http://www.tumblebooklibrary.com/. The username is cravensteacher and the password is books. It is an amazing website full of stories for all reading levels and interests! As long as you have speakers, a narrarator will read the story to your child! Often times there is an online quiz and games to play! You can access it through Learning Links on the right column of the blog...check it out :)

Time flies the last few weeks of school!

It seems like just yesterday we returned for the final six weeks! And now we are in the final countdown until the last day of school! Let's recap the past week..

On Friday, we headed to the BBQ Festival Carnival as a reward for hard work on the CATS test! The kids rode and rode and rode rides until, well, they were sick to their stomach! Check out the pictures below...

The whole gang!

On Wednesday, WE DID NOT TAKE A SINGLE TEST...at least not a state assessment! However, the students did take multiplication quiz 11. It is truly amazing to see how well everyone is doing on the multiplication quizzes! Now I have to hope they continue to remember their facts for the rest of their lives!!! Desmond continues his reign as King and Tayonna continues her reign as Queen this week!!!

We spent Thursday at the Botanical Garden and the Science Museum. The kids learned about plants and birds in the great outdoors! Then they learned how to use a microscope and studied different slides. Check out the pictures below...

Bling and Things...

As we created our May calendar this morning, we realized we only have 16 school days left this year. I cannot quite tell you where time has gone, but it has been a good year! Here are a few updates and upcomings...

On Monday, we completed the CATS portion of testing. BIG CHEER!!! I am very pleased with the overall effort of the students. For their hard work, Mr. Gaddis is treating us to a couple hours at the BBQ Festival Carnival...here we come Superman, Gravitron, and Swings!

However, we are preparing for the Iowa Norm Referenced Comprehension test next Monday and Tuesday. It is formatted as a timed multiple choice test in the areas of reading, math, and language arts. It is new this year, so we are not really sure what to expect. But you can guarantee that we will rock it!!!

Additionally, we will take the MAP test on Thursday, Friday, and May 17th in the areas of math, reading, and language arts. It is a computer based and levelized test.

Why so many tests?!?!?! Kentucky is phasing out the CATS test, and replacing it with a norm referenced test (Iowa test). The MAP data shows a great picture of the growth each individual student gains throughout a given school year.

Otherwise, we have several routines we will continue through the remainder of the school year! One of the routines is our weekly multiplication quizzes. We continued reviewing our multiplication facts last week. We played Internet games, card war, and survivor! On Monday, we took quiz 10, and I am proud of the continued improvement!

We even have a NEW Queen of Bling!!! Tayonna and Hannah earned Queen of Bling, and Melvin earned King of Bling! Kolton, Jordan, Brooklyn, Desmond, Ashlee, Z'Naja, and Brandon continue to do well on the quizzes!!!

King and Queen of Bling

Only the strong will survive...

Although we continue to practice our multiplication facts daily, quiz #10 was a toughie! We added 7x7 and 8x5 last week. We continue to add to our flash cards, and many kids practice them throughout the day! However, only two students ROCKED multiplication test 10...King Kolton and Queen Tayonna! Congratulations! Keep up the good work!

The KY Weiner Dogs

Earlier this year we read Dog Gone Wild, an adventure about Woody and Chloe the Kentucky Weiner Dogs! The story was featured in the Messenger Inquirer for ten weeks. The author, Leigh Anne Florence, resides in Shepardsville, KY with the famous Kentucky Weiner Dogs!

On April 21, Leigh Anne, Ron, Woody, Chloe, Frannie, and Wally made a visit to Cravens Elementary School! Leigh Anne read to us, told stories, presented Woody's Five Ways to Be Successful, and answered questions. It was an awesome visit! Check out a few pictures from their visit!

A BIG thanks to Mr. Gaddis for allowing them to visit our class! You can check out more pictures in the KY Weiner Dogs video in the Lil Devil Animoto Links!

King and Queens of Bling

We are on the downhill slide for learning multiplication facts. Today we tested unit 9 of 12 :) I am happy to report THREE King and Queens of Bling...Ashlee, Kolton, and Tayonna! They rocked the multiplication quiz! For continuing to do so well on their quizzes, all three students will be released from multiplication homework :) CONGRATULATIONS!!!

I foresee a few more Kings and Queens of Bling in the upcoming weeks! Desmond, Jordan, Melvin, and Z'Naja only missed 1 on their week 9 quiz...awesome job!

If you are still struggling, continue quizzing yourself with the flashcards we make! Take them home and work on them with parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, etc. If you are checking the blog from home, then you have access to the multiplication links as well!

This week we will focus on 7x7 and 8x5 :)

Welcome Back!

As much as I love spring break, I am happy to be back in the classroom. Don't tell the kids, but I missed them...a little! We have been busy since our return as we are reviewing EVERYTHING from 3rd grade in two weeks...wish us luck! Can you say nounverbadjectivepunctuationcapitalizationaddition
subtractionmultiplicationtimemoneyfractionsplace
valuestoryelementssummarypredictinferenceantonym
synonymprefixrootsuffix?

Even through the reviewing, we will manage to have a little fun! We started reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...my all time favorite book! We will focus on the great state of Kentucky in social studies! Of course we will continue learning our multiplication facts!

Ashlee, Desmond, and Tayonna ROCKED our first multiplication quiz, and they earned King and Queens of Bling for the week! We will being adding new facts next week, but be sure to review all the previous facts!!!

Spring break...

Happy Spring Break to all my followers! If you are at a loss for what to do with your children this week, here are a few suggestions, academic and non-academic!!!

The Edge - ice skaing is only $2.50 per individual this week

Public Library - nice, quiet place to work on those AR pointsLocal Parks - Moreland, Legion, Yellow Creek, etc. - get some exerciseBotanical Garden - check out nature's finestMalco Theater - Diary of a Wimpy Kid is playing

You can also check out the Learning Links to practice math and reading skills :) See you April 12th!

Bye Bye National Board Box...

Most of you know I devoted this year to improving my teaching through the adventure of National Board Certification. To say the least, it has been interesting! It has consumed the last six months of of my life. In fact, I have missed more school in the last month than I have in my previous seven years of teaching. However, I packed the box on Saturday and will mail it on Monday!!! I have a LONG list of people to thank for helping me through the journey...

Jason - Thanks for dealing with everything...my high stress level, burning my DVDs, and picking up my slack so I can focus on my work. You are amazing!!!

Mom - Thanks for editing my work, laughing at my oopsies (I needed those laughs), and cooking home cooked meals!

Mom and Dad - Thanks for ALWAYS encouraging me!

Ryan - Thanks for working with me and stressing me out with your LACK of organization!

Bonnie - Thanks for being a super great mentor!

Mentor Group - Thanks for being supportive! Rhonda...ssshhhh!

Students - Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for being the perfect class to take this adventure because without you, I would not have been able to complete it. I have learned more this year than you will ever imagine. I cannot wait to celebrate with you in November when my scores come back...we're gonna do it up BIG!!!

Others - Thanks to everyone else who, in one way or another, helped me through this journey!

The National Board box...

The happy National Board box sender...

Week 8 Queens of Bling!

You read that right...Queens of Bling! Week 8 introduced us to the facts 4x5 and 8x3. The students created more flash cards for independent practice, and they were quizzed with flash cards! I am SO proud of all the students for working hard to memorize their multiplication facts. Although memorizing information is not always the best method to learn things, it is the best method to learn multiplication. Hopefully they are memorizing them for the rest of their lives!!! Oh, I guess you want to know who those Queens are this week? Well, I am most proud to announce Tayonna, Tiyana, and Z'Naja as Queens of Bling this week!!! Congratulations Queens!

Kolton's Week

Hello, my name is Kolton and I am the CHAMP of the week. This week in math, we have been talking about fractions. We used a pie chart to talk about the different ways to split pies and cookies. I learned two big words that go along with fractions, the numerator (top number) and the denominator (bottom number).

Yesterday, Mrs. Carter, a WKU student, taught a lesson about the Earth layers. I learned the Earth has three layers, crust, mantle and core. She had us make a layer cake using gram crackers, crushed Oreo cookies and Cool Whip. I really enjoyed eating the Earth layered cake.
Today, we went to the RiverPark Center to watch a play called the High School Musicale by the Owensboro Dance Theatre. I liked the part of the play when they used a disco ball because when the ball started turning it was reflecting the light through out the whole auditorium. I enjoyed my week as the CHAMP!!!

How to Eat Fried...Errr Gummy Worms

We just finished reading the book How to Eat Fried Worms, and the students watched the movie as well. In comparing the movie to the book, we found almost no similarities...kind of crazy, right! To reward the students for excellent behavior while I was absent, I made a little dirt cake concoction. I tried to convince the students Mia and I dug dirt and worms from the backyard, but these kids are TOO smart! I could not resist putting this video of Kolton being dared to eat the worms (gummy might I add) in 10 seconds. His consequence for losing...worms in his pants! ENJOY :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Green, shamrocks, leprechauns, oh my! We celebrated St. Patrick's Day in style at Cravens...however no pinching was involved! Hannah and Brooklyn took their fashion to a whole new level all decked out in green...too bad I did not take any pictures. We watched a St. Patrick's Day video on KET Encyclomedia...a great teaching resource! The students learned many interesting facts about the holiday. We learned Chicago dyes a river green in celebration, and many other cities host parades and parties with singing and dancing. Traditional Irish food includes corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and scones...yummy! We read the book Lucky O'Leprechaun, and a leprechaun visited the classroom and left hidden treasures! Tomorrow we are creating leprechaun puppets and writing how to pieces! The learning never ends :)

Real Science with Brad Reynolds

On Thursday, Brad Reynolds brought his Real Science Creepy, Crawly, Slimy, Scaly Program to Cravens Elementary School! The students saw living creatures from a tarantula to a frog to a turtle to a snake...a really BIG snake! The students learned many new and interesting facts. I even think some teachers became learners too! From my understanding, the most memorable moment for the kindergarten and 1st graders was the peeing bull frog! The most memorable moment for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders was the pooping toad! Below are a few pictures from the program...

You knew I would post a picture of the pooping toad! Here is the boa constricter who became a little agitated!

I still don't understand why Mr. Reynolds

did not bring a living alligator...

Of course Bennett had to get his hands on the snake!

Some 4th graders got a closer look at all the creatures!

Week 7 King of Bling!

During week 7, we focused on learning 8x8 and 7x6. Although the weekly multiplication test continues to grow and get harder, I am proud to announce that Kolton continues to earn King of Bling on a weekly basis! Kolton will not only be the lone student wearing bling on Monday, but he will also be excused from the remainder of multiplication packet homework! Keep up the good work Kolton :)

Z'Naja's Week

This week in Mrs. Harrison's room, I was the CHAMP of the Week! My favorite part of the week was on Thursday when the Real Science Guy came. He brought many different kind of animals to show us. He brought a snake, turtle, lizard, cockroach and a scary tarantula. I had no idea how to spell tarantula, so I googled it to spell it correctly! He talked about their different habitats, and if they were a reptile or an amphibian. I learned so much listening to the Real Science Guy. We also finished a book Mrs. Harrison has been reading to us for a couple of weeks called How to Eat Fried Worms. I like the book, but I thought it was gross. Today we are watching the movie that goes along with the book. When I was watching the movie I figured out the book was a lot different than the movie. Both were still very good to watch and listen to. Today we had a multiplication test, and I only missed 1 of 25! Check out the snake crawling over my shoulder!

Who said I was a chicken!!!

Brandon's Week

Hello, My name is Brandon and I am in Mrs. Harrison's 3rd grade class. Last week, I was the Champ of the Week. Last week Mrs. Conkright brought our class a fruit tray. In the fruit tray we had strawberries, grapes, apples and starfruit. My favorite fruit from the tray was the apples and my least favorite was the starfruit because it tasted like water. During spelling we played a game about compound words. I learned when you take two simple words and put them together, you have a compound word. My favorite part of the week was celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday. We read a book called Cat in the Hat, and we watched a movie called Horton Hears a Who. I thought the movie was really funny. Mrs. Harrison also make cookies and a cake to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday. I think she is a really good cook. The cake and cookies were really good.

Brandon loves reading in the igloo :)

Cures for a Boring Day Poems

So I finally figured out how easy it is to add a video to the blog...sorry for the delay!

The students wrote silly poems about a boring place. Each student had to come up with seven lines and each line had to begin with an action verb. Check out Ashlee in her poetry debut!

Just to Make Tayonna Jealous...

Check us out! Jason and I attended the UK-Florida game on Sunday, March 7th. It was also Senior Day, so we witnessed the celebration of Patterson, Harris, Kriebs, and Stevenson! Seeing Wall and Cousins in person was pretty spectacular! It was a great win for UK! Below are a few pictures of the day!

The view from our seats was not too bad. We were up, but not way up!

The UK Cheerleaders are always an amazing sight to see!

Here is a little clip from the game! Check out #11 and #15!

Week 6 Kings and Queens of Bling

Week six was so busy we were unable to fit our multiplication quiz in on Friday! After a few more days of practice over the weekend, the kids arrived on Monday ready for the quiz...ha! ha! I am proud to announce that 4 students made a 100%. They are Brooklyn, Desmond, Kolton, and Tayonna! Congratulations Kings and Queens of Bling!

If you are not doing well on the multiplication quizzes...please check out the multiplication game website under learning links on the blog. You are also creating flash cards to study anytime so take them home and study with someone! You can also play multiplication war! I want to see more Kings and Queens of Bling this week!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Check out the pictures from our Dr. Seuss birthday party!!!

My mom, Joyce Ann Evans, read Oh the Places You'll Go to the kids! She also discussed all the different materials she reads daily. The kids received the KW Today magazine too!

Mmmm...cookies and cake, oh my! We enjoyed Cat in the Hat shaped cookies and cake!

This is what happens to kids after an exciting day at school!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!