What a Week!!!!

I knew that it was going to be a crazy week when I figured out that Valentine’s Day and the 100th Day of School fell on the same day!  So, what did I do?  I turned it into “Fun Week”, threw all the rules out the window and had one crazy week!!  It was fun, but wow am I ready to return to normal next week.  Then, with all the chaos, this was the week that my camera died and I can’t find the charger, and I’m sorry I didn’t capture the moments.  Here’s what my class did this week:
Monday – Valentine’s Day
Yes, I know that Tuesday was actually Valentine’s Day, but the 100th Day of School fell on Tuesday and my 1st graders thought it was way more important to celebrate the 100th day on the 100th day than Valentine’s on February 14th!
So, on Monday, the kids made Valentine’s for their parents and we worked through the Valentine’s Day Center packet.  (Grab it free for next year if you’d like.)  The favorite center was Happy Heart Patterns, and I was excited to see how many of them have finally mastered those patterns (I guess all that work is starting to pay off).  












At the end of the day we had our party, complete with cherry cheesecake, cookies and candies – wow was I sugar high!!!

Tuesday – 100th Day of School
For the 100th Day of School, I tried to get my kids to come dressed as if they were 100.  Only 2 participated, but they all loved my “grey” hair (made with gel and baby powder).
In the morning, we took their 100 things and made the number 100.  This took WAY longer than planned, as so many of them brought in really BIG things, like napkins and straws!
Then, we worked through our 100th Day center packets.  I totally expected the base ten blocks mosaic to be the favorite center, but they actually liked the hidden picture (heart hidden in a 100’s chart) better!
   
We have music at the end of the day on Tuesdays, so that saved me from another party.
Wednesday – Science Day on Solids, Liquids & Gasses
Our newest science topic is Solids, Liquids and Gasses, so we spent all day Wednesday exploring this topic.The students even brought in their own solids, liquids and gasses to add to our centers – and boy did they get creative!
We spent most of the day “observing” and making “hypothesis” on if each item was a solid, liquid or a gas.  We used our Science Discovery Journals to do this.  Then, we melted ice with a hair dryer and created gas by mixing vinegar and baking soda.  The kids loved this!!

After, we watched some YouTube videos on solids, liquids and gasses, we went outside to play with bubbles (after making hypothesises about if they were solids, liquids, or gasses of course!)
My favorite part of the day was watching my kids walk around at recess and lunch saying “Hey, this is a solid.” or “Ms. Raki is my yogurt a liquid or a solid?”
Thursday – Story Day

After all the excitement of the early week, I really needed a break, so on Thursday, we read all day!  Seriously we read for about 40 minutes in the morning, then we went to the library and talked about which books were the best ones to check out.
In the afternoon, we went to the computer lab and wrote our own stories using www.storybird.com – a website I just love!
Then, in the afternoon, I read two chapters of our latest read aloud, Magic Tree House #2 – the Knight at Dawn.
Great easy day!
Friday – Democratic Republic of Congo Day
In April, our school does an International Day, where each classroom takes a country and learns about them.  This year, my class is studying the Democratic Republic of Congo, because I have a student from there.  So, on Friday, we started doing our “research”.
For homework, I had the students find one fact about DRC, and we used those facts to start a KWL chart.  Then, the students came up with a list of questions.  (My favorite was if everyone in the Congo had their skin “burnt” by the sun – insert quick, simple lesson on race being genetic.) 
My student from DRC’s mom came in and did a fantastic interview with my kids, answering all of our questions, and giving us a lot of information.


   
Then, my kids started completing their Democratic Republic of Congo book.  (I uploaded it into Google Docs, just in case you might be doing a similar project.)  I was quite impressed with what they learned, and I’m excited about the rest of the project.