Art Day is always one of my favorite days because I've always had a passion for painting and art.  

When we paint for Art Day, we work like real artists do.  We start by very carefully sketching with pencil.  After our sketches are perfect, we paint with watercolor.  We pay close attention to the amount of water and the tint of the colors.  After the paint has dried, we trace the pencil lines with black marker to make them look professional.  I love to see how hard the students work on their art!  Well done, artists!  :-)

I love to see that so many of you have been writing me messages about your summer already!  Please continue to write to me!  I will respond as quickly as I can!

Over the last two weeks of school we were very lucky to see plays that were written and performed by our own MES 4th and 5th Graders!  Thank you so much to Mr. Urbanik, Ms. Popovici, and Mrs. Baratto for allowing us into your classrooms! 

Join me tomorrow night at Sunset Stories!  Come to Oakbrook Point apartments to hear Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar?  We'll make a fun craft and you can take a book home with you! 

Visit the Sunset Stories website for more information. 

See you there!!

We are in the final 10 days of school... which means it's time for THEME DAYS!  I choose 10 themes that the students have shown an interest in throughout the year and we spend one day on each theme!  It's a fantastic way to finish first grade!  

5/16 - Poetry Day
5/17 - Movie & Popcorn Day
5/18 - Art Day
5/19 - Dog Day
5/20 - Reading Day
5/23 - Math Day
5/24 - Science Day 1 - Oobleck Day
5/25 - Science Day 2 - Volcano Day/Spring Party
5/26 - Memory Day
5/27 - Last Day of School

We've been learning about habitats and endangered/extinct animal species during Social Science.  This was an extension of our Earth Day unit.  Each student chose a species to create an art project about and wrote why they are endangered/extinct what we can do to help.  

Monday was field day and we had a blast!  Here are some photos of the fun!  

Last week was book week in our school!  We celebrated by having a door decorating contest!  Every classroom had an opportunity to decorate their door to represent their favorite book.  There are some really fantastic doors out there:  Ms. Wood's class chose James and the Giant Peach, Ms. Turnipseed's class chose The BFG, and Ms. Fenchak's class made an incredible Rainbow Fish door!  

The students in our class wrote persuasive letters to convince each other which book we should choose.  A large majority chose Mr. Popper's Penguins, and with the movie coming out this summer (learn more) I thought that was a fantastic idea!  We created a plan, drew a picture, and then got to work gathering supplies and executing our plan.  It was so much fun!

Click the images to enlarge:

I wanted to take a post to let you know about some upcoming special dates...

Friday, May 6 - Door Decorating Contest - We chose to decorate our door like Mr. Popper's Penguins!  Stay tuned!

Monday, May 9 - FIELD DAY!!! Wear comfortable shorts, your Fishy Friends Shirt, and bring a water bottle!  It will be a fun day!


UPDATE:  The Pavilion Picnic for Sat., May 14 has been cancelled.  We will hold the event in the fall!  Stay tuned for more details! :-)
May 16-27 - THEME DAYS!  For the last ten days of school, we celebrate something different each day!  It is a fun way to end the year!  Stay tuned for more information!

Wednesday, May 17 - author Chris Rumble visits! (Bring your Gwinnett County Public Library cards!!!)

Friday, May 27 - Last Day of School!  Leave your bookbags at home! 

I can hardly believe it's already May!  We only have 20 days of school left in first grade!  Time sure is flying by!

The past few weeks we've been very busy.  We're working on persuasive writing, letter writing, number sense, measurement, poetry, and many other things.  

Here is a slideshow of the Earth Day activities we worked on! Enjoy!