Science is so cool!

Everyone loves science because you can ask question after question and think of fun ways to experiment! First you have to know your lab equipment. Make sure to check out the Smilebox for the photos. We had a ball touching and playing around with the lab equipment. A few days later we experimented with Steve Spangler's fizzy colors. Today we played with eggs. I had the children gently shake 2 eggs (1 hard boiled and 1 raw) and ask how they felt different. Then I showed them, me squeezing the egg with all my might, and big muscles! They thought the egg was fake, frozen, dried up, hard boiled, and even empty. Then I told them to hold the whole egg and squeeze-to their surprise the egg did not crack! Believe me they tried to break the egg. We then talked about the hard boiled vs. raw egg. We experimented with the eggs to find any similarities and differences. Make sure to check out the Steve Spangler experiment. They loved every minute of it! I can't wait to plan another experiment.

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1st day of school

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Make sure to check out our 1st Smilebox of the year. Aren't they the cutest class ever!

School Year 2010-2011

Let me begin by saying-I am so excited for a FABULOUS year! This week has been so busy I didn't really find time to sit much less post on the blog! My new batch of friends are the cutest ever. We enjoyed learning about one and other and we chased Chester the raccoon from the Kissing Hand all over the school. Along the way we did get to meet a very special person, Dr. Holli Newnam, our new assistant principal. We just love meeting new friends and better yet she LOVES the FSU Seminoles! Chester did leave us a treat and it sure was yummy. We talked about scientists, science equipment, families, played war with cards to practice our numbers to 10, and read stories. We learned about expectations during literacy stations and practiced those stations. I think the class enjoyed the great word race and computers the best but stamping was pretty close.

Our daily journal is our morning starter and we decorated the covers this week. I want to thank Ms. Cindi and Mr. & Mrs. Creech for coming in to help the children cut, glue, and apply contact paper to seal it all up. They are BEAUTIFUL. At the end of the year it is priceless to see the progress each child has made as well as favorite memories from 1st grade. I have so much more in store for this class so I hope you visit and comment often.

Trying something new...

I learn from so many blogs from all over and I just love the sticky note wall. I found it from a wonderful Chet Creek teacher. I was just thinking what can I do next year to make the blog a little more interactive. I think it is great that kids and parents can respond to a question-and the responses look like they are really on sticky notes. I hope you give it a try. I can't wait to hear what you have to say. Let's give it a try. http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/USinEfzlUn

Am I daydreaming?

I was once asked, "What do you feel is the most important teaching tool you use?" Without hesitation I answered "My Promethean ActivBoard." Little did I know, that one statement would change and effect education in Volusia County. Ever since then the county as well as schools have purchased the boards and implemented the interactive technology in classrooms. We hold monthly user group meetings, hold staff development, and collaborate across the county to provide resources to teachers of all grade levels. My brother in law gave me a promo CD from Daydream Education and I fell in love. I couldn't wait to show my students the interactive lessons and let them try it out first hand. Last week while studying the Earth was the perfect introduction. The Daydream Education created a lesson on Earth complete with text, animation, teaching chart, quiz, and even a printable worksheet. The kids loved the animation of the Earth lesson where we could start and stop the Earth while it rotated. We could talk about the differences of day and night and what we would see in the sky. After teaching with the teaching chart I used the ActivExpressions to quiz the kids to find out how much they learned. The software worked flawless with my ActivExpressions and the kids enjoyed the ease of seeing their progress. I was so amazed to see the various topics within the Daydream software. Some topics included math, English, music, business studies, IT and science. After looking at the CD I could easily see how the teaching charts and lessons could be used in intermediate (grades 3-5), middle school, and high school classrooms. I loved it and so did my class! To learn more please visit http://www.daydreameducation.com

UPDATE...Reading Counts rocks!

Well, the points have been counted and the final results are in for the 2009-2010 school year Reading Counts program. Our class read over 1 million words and 8 of the 20 earned more than 100 points a piece to reach the goal of a green reading Counts t-shirt! I was so proud of each and every one of the kids. We celebrated this week with a school-wide wearing of the green shirts. It was quite a scene to gather all the students from 1st-5th grade that earned the green shirt. A HUGE thank you to Mrs. Stevenson and Mrs. Blankenship for their words of encouragement, book choices, and support throughout the year to achieve this goal. Mrs. Stevenson extends an even higher achievement for the children of the school by awarding and announcing the top 3 readers per grade level. I am overjoyed to announce our 1st grade class claimed 2 of the top 3! Congratulations to Yash for earning the top place with 437 points and Carson for earning 377 points for this school year. Together these boys read close to a half a million words. I can only imagine how much they will read this summer and can't wait to hear how they do in second grade.

More on it takes a village...Our fabulous Music Department

Another fabulous program at Cypress Creek Elementary is our Music Department. Our music teachers Mrs. Hood and Mrs. Kidd meet with various enrichment group both before and after school. Some of the groups include Rockin' Recorders, Chorus, Percussion, and even harps. Second semester they started Pup Choir (our mascot is an otter-get it-"pup", little otter, LOVE IT!) We have a few students in pup Choir and their debut performance was fabulous! Parents love the programs and we are convinced that it helps our kids/students in the classroom. You should hear them read with rhythm and prosody. We hear them making beats and they did a fabulous job playing the xylophones. Thank you for all your extra time and effort in helping our children succeed in music and life.