Klipfel & Kids by the Numbers

Math has been all about numbers. Number bonds, writing numbers, number words, comparing numbers, counting numbers, creating number patterns and number balances have been worked on so far in 1st grade...and it's not even October.  Here is a little Klipfel & Kids by the numbers...

One magnificent m loving monkey, Mango

Two groups of desks

Three student computers

Four students can write on the Smartboard at once!

Five delicious lunch choices

Eight giggly girls

Nine handsome boys

Twelve brownies to fill a pan

Seventeen smiling students

And...

Too many monkeys to count!

We'd love for you to leave a comment with some numbers that represent you.

Open House

Normally, Klipfel & Kids looks like this...

Last night, Klipfel &Kids looked like this...

It was a pleasure meeting all of you at Open House. The boys and girls loved seeing your picture, names on the Smartboard and reading your notes. Oh and of course they loved that you helped earn them some Klipfel Kash.  Thank you for your continual support from home during this school year.  I look forward to seeing you again soon!

New Smartboard

Out with the old and in the with the new.  There is a new member in room 116...a bright shiny new Smartboard!!  We hope we didn't disturb you with our over the moon cheers of joy yesterday when we were surprised with our new board.  Today, we finally worked out some kinks and are looking forward to exploring the new possibilities our board has to offer.  We're pretty excited that our shadow is gone!  I'd say we've already fallen in love. 

Heart Maps

Writer's Workshop has launched in room 116. Students filled in heart maps with topics that they love. These ideas will serve as "seeds" for future writing pieces.

Our heart maps show what is close to our hearts: people, places, events, and memories.

After finishing our heart maps we chose one "seed" to draw a detailed picture of. We labeled our picture to give the reader more information. Next, we used these pictures to add a caption and practice going through the writing process. Check out how this caption was revised and edited.  Only step left is to publish.  Twelve days down and we are already becoming excellent writers.

Pete the Cat

Pete the Cat has been helping us learn all week with his positive attitude and catchy songs. We read all the Pete the Cat books by Eric Litwin and found out just how cool Pete is. Pete helped us in writing when we labeled his parts. When we write, labels give the reader more information. Then we used sticky notes to brainstorm describing words about Pete.

Click here to listen to Pete's song

Pete visited in math and helped us graph our favorite color. We then analyzed our graph and found that the number of students who like green and blue is the same. The number of students who like purple and pink is less than the number who like red.

We can't learn about Pete the Cat without practicing our color words. During reading and center time we practiced writing, spelling and reading all the color words.  Pete's attitude was with us all week: no matter what happened, we kept working and singing our song! 

Friendship

The theme throughout Room 116 and Fuller Meadow for the month of September is friendship.  As a class we read Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. This popular tale of a mouse whose name just doesn't fit in, allowed our classroom to discuss character's feelings, author's message and ways to be a good friend. Each time Chrysanthemum was teased, we crumpled up a giant heart. Every time someone did something nice to her, we smoothed the heart out. By the end of the story, the heart was a wrinkled mess that couldn't be completely smoothed out.

The students made the connection that our own hearts can feel wrinkled and crumpled when someone says unkind words to us. After completing the story, students paired up to give each other compliments.  We discussed how giving compliments and using kind words are ways to be show friendship.1st graders then signed their names to a band-aid as a way to show that we will all think before we speak because wrinkled hearts are hard to heal.

Before you speak, think and be smart. It's hard to fix a wrinkled heart!

Friend Request Accepted

I am happy to report that all of us in first grade have made many new friends. Here's a quick glimpse into our first few days...

1st graders are becoming experts with the creative pen on the Smartboard, popping balloons to get to know each other, and practicing with ten frames. Three days down and many more learning adventures ahead. Thanks for following us at Klipfel & Kids.

Klipfel & Kids
September 2014

1st Day

Today marks the first of many happy days in 1st grade.  Time sure does fly when you're having fun. I guess the smiling faces, excitement and adorable new outfits of all the first graders only helped. I loved hearing about your summer adventures and look forward to many more shared stories this school year. Klipfel & Kids is your one stop spot into virtual room 116.  Take our hand and let us take you for a tour...

My favorite spot in the class is our library area. Browse the shelves, pick out a favorite story and snuggle up with a monkey or two.

Make sure to enter your email on the right sidebar to receive email updates about our adventures. We also love to receive comments on our blog throughout the school year!