What have you done so far?

Well the first week of school is almost over. My new class is wonderful. Thought I'd share some of the fun and engaging activities we completed this week!

Our Class Puzzle Project - In our class we are all like pieces of a puzzle. Each piece is important. Each piece is special. Each piece is unique. Each piece is needed to create a beautiful picture! The kids loved it! I printed pictures of just their heads and shoulders. The each got a precut piece and glued their picture on. They decorated the piece around the words too. Then they set out to find their matches. Next, they all met together to glue it to chart paper. They had to work together as a team and help each other to figure it out. They had to take turns and encourage others to participate. Afterward they completed a writing response to tell how they could contribute to the class to be a good piece of the classroom puzzle. I was so proud! Check it out!


Birthday Pictograph! Instead of buying a pre-made birthday board set that the students don't really use for any type of data collection, we created our own birthday pictograph and started data collection using the students right at the start! It goes along with Common Core Mathematics as well. The kids get a birthday cake with their name and birthday on it. We glue the cakes to the large tile printed poster that's been trimmed and glued together. The noticings and identifications began immediately. It prompted a hearty mathematical discussion right from the first day. It's not too late to do this great activity. First graders know more than we give them credit for!

Stay tuned for more first week activities! Not too late to do them! They were all great!