Welcome Back 2016

Welcome back boys and girls!  We made it through Unpack Your Backpack Night and out very first day of school!  We have 22 student in our class this year!  I am so excited to watch you grow and learn.  We are going to have so much fun!  Here is a little sneak peak at our first day=)

Our school and classroom theme this year is TEAMWORK!!!

Here are my kiddos!  All 22 of them=)

Of course we had to take a silly one!!!!!

We made Jitter Juice to help get rid of those first day nerves.

We also discussed our feeling on the first day.

We will use our MARSHMALLOW TOES when walking in the hallways!

Back To School

It's that time again!  I love the start of a new school year.  I hope everyone had a fantastic summer break.  I have been busy working in our classroom and I can't wait for you to see it.  We are going to have so much fun growing and learning together as a TEAM this year!!!!

Don't forget.......Unpack Your Backpack night is on Wednesday, August 10th from 5 to 7.

We made it!

We made it!  Boy, this year has flown by!  My students are officially 174 days smarter!!!! It has been a fun and busy last week of school.  My first graders had a blast writing about what they think I will be doing this summer.  Their illustrations crack me up!

Mrs. Holland will take naps and buy new shoes.

Mrs. Holland will go camping!

Mrs. Holland will go to a waterpark.

Mrs. Holland will go to the beach!

They also wrote to their future 2nd grade teachers and told them something special about themselves.  Well, I guess it's time to say goodbye and CRUISE down the hallway to second grade!!  I will sure miss these smiley smart kiddos.

Congrats to Hailie B!!!!  She was the only student in my class that had ZERO no name paper in the 4th quarter!  She earned a special ice cream treat at PJ's!  Way to go girl!

Fun and Wet Field Trip

What a great day!!!!!  First grade headed to Rock Island to the the QC Botanical Center.  Students rotated through 3 stations and also explored the children's garden.  In station 1, we listened to the Lorax in the sun garden and learned about the different plants growing there.  In station 2, students learned about 4 different types of carnivorous plants and made their very own venus fly trap craft.  In station 3, students visited the green house and everyone got to plant their own palm.  We ate lunch in the beautiful sun garden and then headed outside to the children's garden.  Students had a wonderful time playing in the river feature and exploring around the garden.  It was a WET afternoon but we all had a great time.

Reading Buddies

It was an exciting morning in first grade today.  The 7th graders in Mrs. Wolf's class came to visit and share the books that they had written and illustrated.  They did a fantastic job reading to my students. We all enjoyed hearing their creative and original stories. A big thank you to Mrs. Wolf and all of her students.

Let's Build Words

One of our vocabulary words this week is INTERESTING.  Students worked in small groups and used the letters in the word interesting to brainstorm and build new words.  I was really impressed with their teamwork and all of the words that they came up with.

Counting Syllabels

These volunteers were troopers.  As a class, we clapped syllables and stuck picture cards onto Holden, Nathan, and Hailey as they held up the correct number of syllables in each word.

Earth Day with Hen and Friends

My first graders have been working hard all week practicing their lines for our reader's theater.  We performed Earth Day Hen and Friends by Carol Montgomery on Friday, April 22nd for teachers, staff, and students.  I am beyond proud of how well they all did.  Video will be posted soon!

The Animals

The Bugs

The Greeters and Narrators