Schedule the Week of 5/23 - 5/27

Monday (C) - PE & Music

Tuesday (D) - Art

Wednesday (A) - Music

Thursday (B) - Media Center

Friday (C) - PE & Music

Please remember to return library books on days we visit the media center and bring gym shoes on days we have PE.

Pink Eye

A case of pink eye has been reported in our grade level. Please be on the lookout for symptoms. 

If you have any questions, please let me know. 

Butterflies!

As part of our science life cycle unit, we have been caring for different types of insects in our classroom!  We raised and released milkweed bugs from tiny eggs as we watched them go through an incomplete metamorphosis (they only change in size after hatching), as well as care for 7 hungry caterpillars!  We were able to watch these go through a complete metamorphosis when they changed  shapes as they moved their egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis) and adult (butterfly) stages.  After caring for them as adults, we released them this week so that they could find their own food, lay eggs and start the life cycle over again.

Here are some of our friends as we released our butterflies.  It seems they had become attached to us as much as we became attached to them - they kept flying back to the 1st graders!

I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing...

...In Perfect Harmony!

Thank you to all the families for joining us at our 1st Grade concert this afternoon!  The children did a wonderful job and were so proud of themselves!  Here is the whole grade level, with our class on the right, in all their musical glory!

Also, here is the link to Mrs. Cooper's Harlan Music website were you can listen to all of the songs that the first graders created this year.  Anyone notice that all of our class' songs are about animals?  I wonder where that comes from?  :)

http://harlanmusicroom.weebly.com/1st-grade-creations.html

1st Grade Concert Reminder

This is a gentle reminder that tomorrow, Wednesday, May 18 will be the 1st Grade  music concert. The performance will begin at 3pm in the multipurpose room. 

A sign out list will be available for families who wish to take their children home following the concert. 

Please let me know if you have any questions. I am really looking forward to hearing all the hard work the children and Mrs. Cooper have put into their first concert!

Good luck, First Graders!

Chick Watch - Day 6

On Monday, the first graders were able to complete a few more egg related activities.  The most eggs-citing one was when the children were able to candle our eggs for the first time!  Using a high-intensity LED light, we looked inside all 12 of our eggs (4 per class) to see how their development was going.  Here is what we found out!

Meringue turned out to be unfertilized.  We knew this because there was no embryo inside, nor was there a blood ring - a sign an embryo has stopped developing.  The students found it interesting that it was the only egg that glowed green!  We loved moving the egg around to see the yolk float back and forth!

All 11 of the other eggs turned out to be fertilized with embryos developing inside!  Here are a few of them.  The small darkened circle with the black dot is the embryo.  You can also see veins coming from it.

We are so excited to see so many embryos - way more than we expected!  I have explained to all of the 1st graders, however, that we need to continue to monitor the temperature, humidity and rotation to ensure the embryos continue to develop into healthy chicks.  We will candle the eggs again on Friday to see the changes over this week.  Stay tuned for more Chick Watch 2016 soon!

  

Popcorn Day - Tuesday, May 17

This is a gentle reminder that Tuesday, May 17 will be Popcorn Day. Each bag costs $.50.

Schedule for the Week of 5/16 - 5/20

Monday (B) - Media Center

Tuesday (C) - PE & Music

Wednesday (D) - Art

Thursday (A) - Music

Friday (B) - Media Center

Please remember to return library books on days we visit the media center and bring gym shoes on days we have PE.

Twinning!

We had a blast on Twin Day!  We had every kind of crazy hat you can imagine!  Here we are in all
our hat glory!

We also were able to get a picture with our Class Twins - Mrs. Danforth's 4th Graders!  We looked great!

All of the classrooms were able to show off their "twinness" at our Town Hall Meeting.  The topic of the meeting was on friendship, with the announcement that we will be purchasing an official Buddy Bench for the playground next school year!  To help explain what a Buddy Bench was, 3 friends from our class were selected to speak in front of the whole school about their experience with the 1st Grade temporary bench.  Our class was so proud of out dalmatian, hockey player and winter lady!

What a great spirit day!  Go Huskies!

We are Becoming Egg-Heads!

As you may have heard, the Harlan 1st Graders are hatching chicks!  As part of our life cycle science unit, we are currently learning about eggs and chickens, including using an incubator to hatch real chicks!  The chicks are due to hatch on June 1 - exactly 21 days after being placed in the incubator!  The children(and school!) are so excited about this project as we monitor, care for and learn about eggs!

Today the children completed 3 egg science lessons - one in each classroom as we rotated through the rooms.  In our classroom we learned about the parts of the incubator (dome/heater, humidifier, automatic turner) and what chicks need to in order to develop successfully.

Our incubator:

We learned that chicken eggs need heat (100 degrees), humidity (86 degrees) and have to be turned several times a day.  The classes have been calling the automatic turner "Mama" (the small black box) since it is gently turning the eggs every hour just like a mother hen rocking her chicks to sleep!

Introducing our newest first graders:

Benedict, Poachy, Scrambles, Omelette, Shelly, Huevo (Spanish for "egg"), Yoko, Meringue, Rolly (as in eggroll), Sunny SU (as in side-up), and our twins Foo Yung and Les Oeufs (French for "egg" and pronouced Laz Ooof)...we have been calling them "Fooy and Zooy).

The children also read the book Chickens Aren't the Only Ones by Ruth Heller.  This is a beautiful informational book about egg-laying animals.  The children then sorted pictures of animals between oviparous (egg-laying) or not.

Finally, the first graders learned just how strong an egg really is!  They found out that the dome shape of an egg helps to protect the developing embryo, and that is can hold a lot of weight if is distributed evenly over the eggs.  They even saw a video of a person walking on raw eggs that didn't break! Here is their experiment which demonstrated how many books and binders can be placed on top of eggs.

We can't wait until Monday when we get to candle the eggs to see how many are fertilized and developing!  Stay tuned to hear more on Chick Watch 2016!  In the mean time, we have a growing bulletin board display at the start of our hallway as we document all of or experiments!

Twin Day!

This Friday, May 13, Harlan will be having a Twin Day!  Each class has been paired up with another class and is being asked to come dressed in a similar way for our Town Hall meeting on Friday.

Our class has been partnered with Mrs. Danforth's 4th graders.  We will be wearing crazy hats!  This can include cowboy hats, hockey helmets, tiaras, silly winter hats, baseball caps...even silly wigs!  The more creative you and your child are, the better!  :)

Also, the Harlan Student Leadership Team is collecting donations for an official Buddy Bench for our playground.  A Buddy Bench is a place where you can sit if you are in need of someone to play with. This year, the first graders had a designated bench to use.  As we say in first grade, "If you need a friend, take a seat.  The Buddy Bencj ios where friends meet!"  We are excited to have an actual buddy Bench installed soon!

Donations are voluntary and can be in any amount.

Please remember to send your child to school with their donation and/or crazy hat on Friday, May 11.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

Literacy Night

This is a gentle reminder that tonight, May 11 is Literacy Night at Harlan!

Most of the 1st floor rooms will be hosting a literacy themed activity.  These range from making your own gummy worm/dirt pudding cup and diary for Diary of a Worm, learning the steps to performing a magic trick and making edible wands in the Harry Potter room, creating Eric Carle inspired colleges, enjoying a tea party with your American Girls Dolls (or any dolls) or making your own funny musical mad libs!

This family event will take place tonight from 6-8pm.  If your family is able to come, stop by our classroom and experience Ollivander's Wand Shop and learn a magic trick!

See you there!

May Pride Posts

This week, flower cards came home as our May Pride Post.  If you have not returned your card, please complete the sentence starter and send it back in your child's yellow folder.  If you have not received one (we sometimes find them on the floor in the cubbies), please let me know and I will send home another copy.

Thank you in advance!

Plant Sale Reminder

This is a gentle reminder that our class will be visiting the annual plant sale tomorrow, Thursday, May 5. All of the children are welcome to bring money with them to spend at the sale. 

$0.50  flowers

$0.75 veggies

$3 Speciality plants (Strawberry and butterfly plants)

$20 hanging baskets

Please let me know if you have any questions.