Happy Halloween!

I big 'Thank you" to both Dominick and Aubree and families!  They sent in two very special and spooky treats for the class today!  The kids really enjoyed them and wanted to let everyone know how cute and tasty they were!  Thank you Trisha Valentine and Jayme Hamstra!

Yummy cupcakes with green 'grass', and a 'tombstone' made of Oreo cookies!

Spiders made out of Oreo cookies, pretzels and white chocolate chips.

Thank you for the yummy treats to celebrate Halloween!

Dominick

 

Our Student of the Week this week is Dominick.  His favorite color is BLUE.   Dominick would love to visit Crazy Bounce again someday soon.  He loves to watch Iron Man vs. Hulk on television.  When he grows up, Dominick would like to be a mechanic just like his daddy.  He has two dogs named Almond and Chevy.  Dominick likes to read the book "Blazes" at home.  His very favorite sport is wrestling.  Dominick loves to eat ramen noodles.  He is special because his family loves him, but the VERY BEST THING about Dominick is the fact that he is nice and loving!

Billie

Say hello to Billie!  She is our new Student of the Week!  Billie loves the color BLUE.  She would love to visit Hungary someday to see where her parents used to teach English.  Billie likes to watch Wilson and Ditch on television because the characters (gophers) travel to different locations and she likes to learn about different places.  When she grows up, Billie would like to be a vet.  She has one pet - a gerbil named Oreo.  Her favorite book is called Terrible Tudors.  She likes to swim, and wants to join the swim team someday.  Billie's favorite food to eat is burgers from any restaurant.  Billie is special because she is named after her Grand dad, but the VERY BEST THING about her is the fact that she is friendly!

Fire Safefy Activity

This week is National Fire Prevention Week!  In our classroom, I do a review of safety and prevention rules to remind children of what they should do to prevent fires or what to do if they ever hear a smoke detector go off at home.  I always knew it was an important concept to spend a short amount of time on yearly, but last year this really hit home!

You see, shortly after we learned about fire safety and prevention last year, one of my very own students experienced the smoke detector going off in his home in the middle of the night!  He knew just what to do!  He rolled out of bed, got his sister out of bed (and even put a jacket on her), then together they went to wake up his parents.  They were sleepy and told him to go back to bed, but he was persistent and the family got out safely thanks to him!  He saved his family! 

So PLEASE discuss what to do at home with your family!  Plan an escape route with two ways out of every room in the house.  Practice home fire drills.  Plan where your family will meet when you get outside!  There will be a checklist coming home with your child in tomorrow's Friday Folder to help you with this at home.  Please don't skip this important, potentially life saving 'homework'.

Now... on to some fun!  Today we wrapped up our little unit by making cute little fire dogs!  They turned out so cute, I thought you'd enjoy seeing them as well!  We read a book called "Dot the Fire Dog" by Lisa Desimini.  I've included 'Dot's Fire Safety Tips' as well in the photos below.  Then they had fun making their very own dogs!

Enjoy!

 

 

Carson

 

Here is Carson!  He is this week's Student of the Week!  Carson's favorite color is TEAL.  He would love to visit California to see dolphins.  Carson likes to watch "I Am Frankie" on television.  When he grows up, Carson would like to be a doctor.  He has two dogs, Ziggy and Ruby.  Carson loves Dr. Seuss books - especially Green Eggs and Ham and Do You Know My Mother?  Carson likes to watch his favorite sports - both football and soccer - on television.  He LOVES to eat stuffed shells.  Carson is special because he has a creative personality, but the VERY BEST THING about Carson is that he is kind to others!

Zariah

 

This is Zariah!  She is our Student of the Week!  Zariah's favorite food to eat is spaghetti.  Her favorite sport is soccer.  Zariah also loves to read Pete the Cat books.  She has no pets, but if she could choose a pet, she would like a dog.  When Zariah grows up, she would like to be a baby doctor.  Her favorite television program is called Out-daughtered.  Zariah has been to Las Vegas before, and would love to visit again someday.  Her favorite color is BLUE.   Zariah is special because she loves everyone, but the VERY BEST THING about her is that she helps her friends!

Fall at the Outdoor Discovery Center

We had our first trip to the Outdoor Discovery Center last week!  It was a beautiful day for our trip, and we learned so much in a short amount of time!  Our guide, Ms. Jennifer, was a wealth of knowledge and we appreciated all that she taught us!

We began inside.  The kids were given some time to look at some live animals like turtles, snakes, and an owl in tanks or cages.  In addition, there were multiple taxidermy animals to look at as well.

 

Seth, Nolan and Avari in front of the taxidermy bear.

Zariah, Lucy and Kayla try to scare you!

Kayla, Lucy, Zariah, BreAnna, Carson, Karis and Nick

Checking out the snakes and turtles.

More animals to check out along with a table of objects to touch.

In the cage is an owl.

The children were invited to learn about the fall seasonal changes, and how nature and animals adapt and change.  The first animal she taught us about was a painted turtle.  Ms. Jennifer told us that turtles stay in Michigan and do not migrate.  You can tell if it is a male or female by looking at the toenails.  Males have longer nails than females.  She even told us that the males will stroke a female's face with his nails if he wants to 'make friends' with her.  :)   The painted turtle's habitat is the pond. They are reptiles, and warm their bodies by taking in sun. In the fall, they are still active, but not quite as much because there is not as much sun for them to warm themselves in.

The next animal Ms. Jennifer showed us was a box turtle. This animal is also a reptile, but it's habitat is on dry land, mostly in wooded areas.  The box turtle has a special flap that can close up when the head is pulled in, making a 'box' to protect itself.  Ms. Jennifer also reminded us that if you find a turtle in the wild, to enjoy looking at it, but to put it back where it was found.  Box turtles are becoming scarce due to so many people taking them home for pets.  She also told us that if we find a turtle trying to cross a road, to help it get where it is going rather than take it back where it came from, because otherwise it will just try to go to the same destination it was headed toward.

We then moved outside.  Ms. Jennifer first asked the children about what changes they would soon be seeing in nature.  Of course, they mentioned leaves changing colors, birds flying south, and more.  Ms. Jennifer mentioned that there would still be a few flowers in bloom on our hike to and through the meadow, our first of three habitats we would view today.

These flowers not only look pretty, the center has a chocolate smell!

Volunteers wanting to add to the discussion!

Checking out the meadow.

Milkweed bugs on the milkweed plant.

Ms. Jennifer points out details in the meadow and asks what animals might live there and what plants might grow there.

Ms. Jennifer takes us for a hike right through the meadow. The grasses were taller than the kids!

Our next stop was the pond.  The kids were invited to lay on their bellies on the dock to look for animals in the pond.  Ms. Jennifer talked to them about 'being still' when viewing nature, because they would see more and animals would not be scared away.

We saw this green frog hiding in the seaweed.

A tadpole

Leopard frog

A large snapping turtle came close to the dock, was scared off, but came back to look at the kids briefly.

On our way to our next habitat, Dominic found a grasshopper.

Our next habitat to view was the woods.

Pretty leaf, Dominick!

Of course, there were many trees in the forest!  The kids knew all about leaves turning colors, but Ms. Jennifer also taught them about evergreen trees, which do not turn color or drop their leaves.  She showed us three different types of evergreen trees on our hike.

Cedar tree

White Pine

Blue Spruce

The kids were invited to feel the 'leaves' of the evergreen trees.

Pine cones at the top of the Blue Spruce

This plant is in the tomato family, but don't eat it!  Poisonous!

We stopped briefly at the bird feeding station.  No birds dared to come around with so many active kids and parents watching

We enjoyed our day at the ODC.  We will return again to view the same habitats and discuss changes in the winter and again in the spring!  When we returned to school, we recorded our favorite things we learned in a booklet.  When we complete the booklet after the third visit, it will come home as a fun memory of first grade.  Thank you to Ms. Jennifer for all that you taught us and a special thank you to the adults who joined us as well!

Before we left, I took a couple of class group photos!  I always ask the kids to smile nicely first, and then give them a chance to make a funny face!  So, here are our 'normal' pictures...

And... drum roll please... here are the 'funny ones'!  Enjoy!