Tuesday Update

Positive/Negative Cut Paper Designs

Our Class Blogger

Our June Calendar

Wednesday Update

Hi Parents,

It's been so much fun for me to spend 3 days with this sweet and hardworking group of first graders.

Yesterday we learned about Expressionism by studying The Scream by Edvard Munch.  Then students chose their own emotions to show in their paintings.  I think they are very expressive. 

 

Today we had an assembly to honor Dave, our custodian.  This Friday is his last day here at Sandburg before his retirement.   Our class wrote and performed a poem for him.

Dave gets the recess balls down

Art messes you clean up

Vacuums our classroom

Excellent custodian!

Field Day is Friday, June 10th.   Sandburg still needs about 10 more volunteers for this event, so any help you can give would be appreciated.  This is also the day of the volunteer latte cart!  We have so many wonderful parent volunteers in our class, I do hope you can all stop by for a free latte between 9 and 11 that day.

Lastly, here's our bicycle poem we wrote on Monday:

I like to pedal my bike

I can see

the tires

going

really

really

fast

Don't turn the gears too much

When I ride my bike I feel happy

I feel the wind

brushing against my face

I feel the sunshine

I feel breeze in my hair

I daydream

Riding a bike is fun!

Monday Update

Hi Parents,

Here are some sea star paintings from last Tuesday.  We were lucky to see so many in real life during our field trip (and also lucky to have such a gorgeous day!)

A group photo from the field trip compliments of Rebecca's dad. 

 He took lots more wonderful pictures that I will try to post separately.

Today we drew bicycles.  They are not that easy to draw and your first graders did an amazing job!  

We wrote a lovely bicycle poem today that I will post later this week (I'm writing this from home and the poem is at school)

I told the class I'd post the directions for drawing bikes on this blog so that they can draw more bikes at home if they'd like.  I placed them at the end of this post.

Students are working at getting fast and snappy with adding doubles and doubles plus one.   We also continue to work with money for our Morissey Market on Fridays.

We started reading a chapter book during Monday read aloud, Charlotte's Web.

Our class blogger is:

I will be here Tuesday and Wednesday this week (and will probably do one more post on Wednesday).  Mrs. Morissey will be here Thursday and Friday.

Here are the steps for drawing a simple bike:

 Circles for wheels and gears in between

 Triangle for back of bike frame.

 Front tubing, attached to front wheel.

 Top tube, and front down tubing attached to front tube.

 Seat post and handlebar post.

 Seat, shaped like a saddle.

 Handlebars, I encourage kids to make their handle bars facing up or down or straight out.

 Cranks and pedals attached to gears.

Spokes and tires.

Monday Update

Today we made some delicious 3-D layer cakes inspired by the artist Wayne Thiebaud who is famous for his paintings of cakes.

“It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.” Laura Ingalls Wilder

We then wrote poems about cake!

Here are a few lines your children came up with that I mixed up into a class poem:

My cake is delicious and yummy

It feels soft and smooth

It looks as if it were silk

I can hear it calling me to eat it

My cake smells like it is fresh!

Today we played Math Jeopardy and then took our end of unit math test for comparing and ordering numbers.  Our next unit is Addition Facts to 18.

This Thursday is our beach field trip, please be sure to bring in your permission slips.  Parent chaperones who are supervising groups of children need to be at Sandburg at 9AM to hear instructions and get their group.   All other parents can meet us at the beach.   Let's hope for sunny weather!

Our class blogger

I will be teaching Tuesday this week and next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

botanical gardens and Georgia O'Keeffe

Flowers in the style of Georgia O'Keefe

Thank you to all our moms who made our mother's day tea so much fun.   Your sweet first graders did such a wonderful job introducing each of you, reading a bit about you, and performing their line from our class poem.   I've put the entire poem at the bottom of this post.

We will be celebrating all our great dads on June 20th from 9-9:45.

During art,  we continue to be inspired by flowers as we learn new art techniques.

A flower at the Botanical Gardens

On Monday we learned all about Georgia O'Keefe and how she wanted everyone to see the beauty of flowers so she blew them up to giant sizes.   We did the same and used chalk to color them in.  (These did not go home in your art books...we will be sending one more set of artwork home at the end of June)



Here are a few more shots of our field trip to the Botanical Gardens at the UW.  

Our class is getting ready for our next science-related trip.... we are going to the Edmonds Beach to explore beach life on May 19th.    In preparation for this trip, a beach ranger came and talked to the class today.

Have a wonderful week.

Here's our poem:

Happiness is a Mom Who...

Helps me learn   (Ben)

Takes really good care of me    (Caroline)

Helps me read    (Jack)

Loves me    (Ruby)

Goes to the garden and plants with me      (Colin)

Helps me read     (Adam)

Helps me when I get sick    (Maya N.)

Reads the spelling list to me   (Neven)

Takes me to learn math   (Lucas)

Hugs me    (Sonya)

Takes me to fun places     (Eli)

Helps me learn how much things cost    (Liam)

Teaches me how to play games    (Nic)

Snuggles up with me    (Maya B.)

Teaches me how to roller skate   (Elizabeth)

Helps me do math   (Rebecca)

Looks fun and looks like a lamb    (Devyn)

Is very sweet to me   (Paris)

Who gives me hugs   (Parker)

Loves me   (Dylan)

Happy May

Happy Monday!  Today Mr. Blomquist stopped in for 30 minutes and led our good-morning circle and read our Scholastic News with us.   It was a fun way to start the day.

Then we learned all about Claude Monet and his beautiful garden.   We painted pictures just like his Japanese Bridge painting.   We think we might see similar beautiful scenes on our field trip to the UW Botanical Gardens this Thursday. 

We will be leaving on the bus from Sandburg at 9:15 am.  The program is from 10-11:30 and if weather permits, we will stay for lunch.

Reminders:  Students need a snack and a sack lunch and dress according to the weather.

Chaperones needing directions will find them at the end of this post.

Mother's Day Tea and Art Show:   Monday, May 9th from 2:45-3:30.  We are looking forward to celebrating our moms!

Our class blogger:

Look at how our plants are blooming!

A sample of our monthly calendar:

Directions to Graham Visitors Center:

 The Graham Visitors Center is located on the north end of the Arboretum.


1. Start out going SOUTH on 84TH AVE NE toward NE 128TH ST. 0.3 mi
 2. Turn SLIGHT RIGHT onto NE 123RD ST.NE 123RD ST is just past NE 125TH PL 0.3 mi
 3. NE 123RD ST becomes NE 122ND PL. 0.2 mi
 4. Turn LEFT onto JUANITA DR NE. 2.1 mi
5. JUANITA DR NE becomes NE 116TH ST. 1.4 mi
 6. Merge onto I-405 S toward RENTON. If you reach 124TH AVE NE you've gone about 0.2 miles too far 4.7 mi
7. Merge onto WA-520 W via EXIT 14 toward SEATTLE. 5.6 mi
8. Take the LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD exit. 0.5 mi
9. Turn LEFT onto LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD E. 0.08 mi
10. Turn LEFT onto E FOSTER ISLAND RD. 0.2 mi

 11. Turn SLIGHT RIGHT onto ARBORETUM DR E.ARBORETUM DR E is just past AZALEA WAY0.2 mi
12. 2300 ARBORETUM DR E is on the LEFT.

2300 Arboretum Dr E
 Seattle, WA 98112-2300