Mrs. Kuglin's Buckaroos

The 1st graders at Jackson Heights are off to a rip-roarin' good start!  We kicked off the 2012-13 school year with a fun all-school assembly to introduce our Western theme.  (The teachers even did a Western dance!)  The following week we traveled to Red Rock Ranch for an interesting (but wet) field trip.  We learned about the wild west of the past, how cowboys survived on the cattle drive, and how to care for  horses.  We even were served warm biscuits, a staple of old west days.  A few days later, Mrs. Bottom and Mrs. Hewitt brought their horses to school and the kids got to take a short ride.  What fun!
The other critters we have been excited about in 1st grade are butterflies!  We received 5 caterpillars from the Extension Office.  After about a week they became chrysalides and hung from the top of the jar.  We then moved them to the large hanging net and a week later we were happy to see beautiful Painted Lady butterflies!  When their wings were strong enough we let them be free outside.  It was interesting to watch them get used to the outside world, and then take off!

My class is also "settling in" as we review writing our letters and numbers and read stories.  I think it is going to be a rootin' tootin' good year!

Our Historical Adventure

Our latest learning adventure was a Field Trip to the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka. We excitedly boarded the big yellow "taxi" for our 35 minute ride, enjoying the sites along the way.  Once we arrived, we met our docent who taught us all about American Indian tribes and homes in Kansas in the past.  We were shown and compared the homes of the Wichita, Pawnee, Kansa, and Cheyenne tribes.  We also learned about the natural resources the tribes used to build their homes.  We even got to work together to build our own life-size teepee, and we got to take turns going inside!  When our Indian Homes lesson was finished, we were able to tour the rest of the museum.  We loved seeing the old weapons, the authentically furnished log cabin, and the real steam train!  We had a blast in the Kid Zone Play Place trying on old clothing and playing with old-time toys!  After lunch, we played outside on the museum's playground and equipment.  It was fun but it was also a very hot day (97 degrees), so we were happy to get back on the bus and head home when it was time.  Special thanks to Michelle Hines for joining us on our adventure, and the staff at the museum for a wonderful day!  

What a Great Adventure It's Been!

With the 2011-2012 school year quickly coming to a close, I'd like to reflect on the many happenings and accomplishments of our 1st grade year.

*We have gone from Picture Lookers to Book Readers!
*We enjoyed learning about animals on Baldridge's Farm.
*We shared our musical talents at the Christmas and Spring Concerts.
*Aiden and Devin J. joined our class in January.
*We've worked hard to learn our Addition facts.
*We have passed 375 Accelerated Reader tests, so far.
*We had a great time at our Halloween and Valentine parties.
*We are presently learning our Subtraction facts and telling time to the half hour.
*Everyone brought wonderful train cars for our Polar Express Day and parade.
*We enjoyed fun activities during our 100th Day of School celebration.
*We learned to count money and count by 2's, 5's, and 10's.
*We received Christmas cards from all over the world, and loved our visit from Santa.
*We lost lots of teeth!

These are just a few of the highlights of this year.  Learning is fun!
  

Winter Fun

My 1st graders have had many fun and memorable times this Winter.  During Spirit Week, students had an opportunity to dress up as Nerds, Twins, or wear hats for Hat Day.  The week ended with Green and Gold Day and a Pep Rally at the high school. 

The students look forward to our class parties all year, and we all had a blast at our Valentine's Day party!  Under the direction of Lisa Browning, Mona McKinney, and Misty Hutfles, the class played games, had delicious refreshments, and shared Valentines. 

We were excited to add a member to our class family when Mrs. Mandala delivered a baby boy on Feb. 1st.  Little Marcus and his Mom visited our room with big sister Heather proudly looking on.  We don't often get to see such new little ones!

100th Day Safari Adventure

January 27th, 2012 was our 100th Day of School.  We learned a 100th Day song and wrote 100 words that we know.  We had fun seeing how many things we could do in 100 seconds, like how many jumps, hops, jumping jacks, etc.  We did many Math activities dealing with 100.  We also enjoyed hearing the story 100 Hungry Ants and doing Math activities with it.  We summarized our day by completing the "It's All About 100" papers which are now hanging in the hall.   We had so much fun that we didn't even know we were learning!

Winter Learning Adventures

More Fun and Learning in 1B

November and December has brought more memorable times for our class.  We recently celebrated Aries' birthday with cookies (and a birthday hug)!  We had the opportunity to help others in need have a happy Christmas through giving during the week of the Change Wars.  We experienced an awesome adventure when Ricky from Wildlife Encounters brought some animals to our school.  We learned about snakes, lizards, and many other reptiles.  We even got to touch some of them!  During Social Studies recently we discussed the Thanksgiving story and made Pilgrim or Indian hats to wear to our school's Thanksgiving dinner.  Thanks, Cooks, for a delicious meal!  Our most recent "safari" happened when the entire grade school followed the high school drum line to the high school in a Snake Line to celebrate the Johnsonville award.  That was an experience we will not forget!