First Grade is studying the life cycle of a frog. Right now our frogs are still in their tadpole phase. Soon, they will grow their back legs; beginning their transformation into frogs.

We have two different types of tadpoles. Most of our tadpoles are African Water Frogs. They will grow to be about 3" in length and live their whole life in the water. Even though they develop lungs and breathe air, they will always stay in the water.

However, we also have one tadpole that is darker than all of the others. I believe that this tadpole will become a Leopard Frog. Leopard frogs need to live on land once they develop all four legs and begin to lose their tail. This frog will have to be put in a different habitat.

As we watch our frogs grow, we will learn more about them!

First Grade planted Marigold Seeds in cups today. Everyone had the chance to scoop up some soil, make a little hole, put their seeds in, cover them up... and wait for them to grow!

We will be sending these plants home for Mother's Day! 

First Grade used iPads in partners to activate QR codes at 4 different stations that took them to various weather resources and videos. They then completed a scavenger hunt, answering questions using the information they learned from each station.

It was wonderful to see how well using iPads in a new way worked! The kids had a blast pointing the iPad camera at the QR codes and learning about weather, and I didn't have to worry about them trying to explore the internet on their own without a guide!

This week we continued with our weather unit. We are becoming expert "Weather Watchers"! We keep track of our daily weather on a chart and research the temperature and forecast.

In First Grade, we learned about the three most common kinds of clouds: Cirrus (high up, white and feathery), Cumulus (low, white and puffy), and Stratus (low, gray blanket with rain or snow) clouds. We completed a cloud project using cotton balls. Keep a look out for them in the hallway!

We played a fun game called "Fly Swatter" where the students competed to SWAT the word on the wall first. I would say a phrase like, "swat the season where the weather is hot" and the first person to swat the correct word would get a point for their team. 

**Next week's Class Spotlight is... Mrs. Quigley's class!

We also had an unexpected surprise this morning, Ronald McDonald came to visit our school and teach us the importance of staying active and healthy. 
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One of Mr. Painter's students was able to be his magician's assistant and we even learned a new dance!

"March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb"

With the wonderful weather that we've had to kick start the month of March, I thought that it was perfect time to begin our Seasons & Weather unit!

Throughout this unit we will...

• Keep track of our daily weather and temperature using our bulletin board
• Create Weather Books
• Learn how our seasons change throughout the year
• Understand how the water cycle and how it effects weather
• Discuss the changes in weather and nature that comes with that seasonal change. 

I have gotten off track with my class spotlight's recently, so let's start that back up! This week's Web Spotlight will be... Mrs. Vigna's class!

Our Seasons & Weather unit aligns with First Grade Science Standards...

SC.1:4-1 Identify different types of weather.
SC.1:4-2 Name the four seasons in order.
SC.1:4-3 Draw the water cycle.
SC.1:4-4 Identify patterns of weather and seasonal change.

Earth Day is April 22, so in celebration the Coal City Early Childhood Center is ordering Earth Day T-Shirts! 

This 100% cotton, pre-shrunk t-shirt is sapphire blue with cartoon frogs on the front, saying "Reduce- Reuse- Recycle, It's a Green Thing". 

We will be collecting orders up until March 1st, so please submit your order form and payment to your classroom teacher or in the office. 

Please leave a comment on this post if you have any questions!

**I sent home an order form with each student, but attached below is the Earth Day t-shirt order form.

This week we will be learning about President's Day, the celebration of George Washington's birthday. George Washington was our first president and a very special person in our history. We also can take this time to learn about Abraham Lincoln because his birthday falls so close to Washington's (February 12th). 

In addition to learning about these special Americans, we will also be doing a President's Day craft (Thanks to The First Grade Parade for this great idea!). 

Here is an example that I created on my iPad, but my students will be creating their own paper plate George Washington or Abraham Lincoln, complete with hat and wig or beard!

This week First Grade learned another way to describe properties of matter: if something is "magnetic". 

After reading the book "My Magnet", each table got a bucket filled with magnets and were able to free explore. They asked each other questions and developed predictions on whether something was going to be magnetic. 

It was really cool to see all the different ways that the First Graders were able to explore the magnets... even through the table!

This week First Grade will be learning about Magnets!

We will be reading the book "My Magnet" and discussing the different properties of magnets and ways that they can be used. 

I love when my students get a chance for free exploration, so I made a Magnet Exploration bin for each group in my room. They will be exploring "magnetic match rings", iron fillings, finding out what objects are magnetic, and observing the effect when the other pole of the magnet is used. 

**This week's Web Spotlight is... Ms. Alberico's class!