Playdough Recipe

I hope everyone is enjoying a great summer! With August around the corner, I am of course prepping for another great year of first grade. My three year old and I were busy this morning making playdough for the classroom and I found this great recipe- no stove required. It literally takes minutes and results in smooth, easy to use dough.

Try having your child "write" in playdough using a dull pencil or a chopstick.  You can also use letter stamps and have your child stamp letters and words into flattened playdough.  For a different challenge, have your child create something from dough and then tell or write a story about it.

Check the blog for more information, ideas, and school supply list soon!

http://theimaginationtree.com/2012/04/best-ever-no-cook-play-dough-recipe.html

Spring is Here!

Here's a picture of what I've been up to while the kids are hard at work at school! Baby Eleanor is doing great and keeping me busy.  She is 6 weeks old now and loves her big sister, milk, and ceiling fans! I am planning to come visit the kids very soon- I can't wait to see how they've grown these past few weeks!

Science Fair is Coming!

 Here we are taking care of our plants. Miss Holly helped us plant veggies in our Root-Vue Farm and they've already sprouted! This year, our science fair project is to compare the growth of dried, store-bought tomato seeds and seeds that we got out of a fresh tomato. We each made a hypothesis about which would yield the better plant. So far, the dried seeds have sprouted more quickly and are growing taller! Our data collection continues...

Our Prize-Winning Door!

Our class took first place in the Reading Month Door Decorating Contest! We chose a tree to represent our college mascot, Aquinas College. Did you know that the campus is home to at least one of every species of tree in Michigan? The students wrote on the leaves about why they love to read and where they want to go to college.

Guest Readers

 We are lucky to have so many great guest readers coming in this month! Even Dr. Sid Faucette, President of Choice Schools came in to read Dr. Seuss. Here's a photo of Mrs. Otterbein, Math Specialist, reading a math-themed book about a trip to the apple orchard. Below is Lana Henrickson, our Public Relations Specialist at Choice Schools, reading Curious George Plants a Tree.

Reading Month Celebration!

 We kicked off Reading Month today with a pajama day, special breakfast treat, and a cozy read-in!

 The kids loved reading to their stuffed animals.

 Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

 Ms. Baxter came to read one of her favorite Dr. Seuss stories, "Oh the Places You'll Go". After that, we set our reading goals for the month!

 Here's a shot of our door decorating contest entry. Each class has chosen a college or university as their "mascot" for the month. Our college is Aquinas. We chose a tree because there is at least one of each type of tree in Michigan growing on the AQ campus. The kids wrote about their college aspirations on the leaves of the tree.

 Read-in time!

 

Happy Valentine's Day from the First Graders!

 We used conversation heart candies to graph and measure during math.

 Miss Kim visited to read us a Valentine's story.

 Party time! Snacks, crafts, and passing out Valentines- what fun!