Reading Buddies

The first and third graders shared their published teaching books last Friday. Both classes worked on writing informational books over the past few weeks during Writer's Workshop. The children noticed that everyone used a table of contents to plan their chapters. They had a great time sharing information together about a topic they wrote a lot about. They also worked with their buddies today to make a holiday craft together. It is always fun to work with Mrs. Byers' friends! 

Winter Lights Concert

The children were amazing yesterday at the Winter Lights Concert! They did an awesome job singing, dancing and perorming. If you were not able to join us, please check out the link on the Underhill ID School website to see the performance. 

http://underhillid.k12.vt.us/

Hour of Code

The first graders learned about computer science this week. Mr. Coddington and Mr. Campbell shared how they use code at work. Mr. Wells explained how people use code and why it is important to learn. Thank you Mr. Wells, Mr. Coddington, and Mr. Campbell for helping the first graders learn all about code! You can check out the following link to learn more: https://code.org/learn

Trick Words

First graders are busy reading and spelling trick words during Fundations work. Trick words are words that cannot be sounded out because they do not follow the rules.  The children enjoy working with partners to practice these words. They also use the word wall to locate these words during Writer's Workshop so they use the correct spelling in their written work. 

Community Tech Project

Mr. Baron worked with us this morning to find important places in our community using Google Earth. The first graders pointed on the map where places were and added pins to create our own map. We still need photographs for this digital project. Please send a photo of one or more of these places over vacation if you can. Thank you!

Mt. High, Joe's Snack Bar, Jericho Cafe and Tavern, Deborah Rawson Memorial Library, Underhill or Jericho Town Hall, Clark's Truck Center, Underhill Town Pond, Village Gifts, Merchants Bank, Snowflake Chocolates, Casey's Hill, and/or Mt. Mansfield Animal Hospital

Snags and Rotting Logs

We had another Four Winds lesson this week. Patrick, Lauren, and Kelly shared how important trees are even when they are no longer living. The children learned about snags and how animals will make their homes in standing trees that are no longer living. They also learned what happens when the standing snag falls down and becomes a rotting log. They saw how the log will change over time and how it decomposes. They enjoyed looking at snags and rotting logs in the woods and finding evidence that other living things are using it as their habitat. 

Community Volunteers are Important

The first graders are learning how members of our community help others. This week we invited Mrs. Andrea Sandy to talk with us about her work in the community. Mrs. Sandy was our school secretary from 2011-2015. She explained how she helped in the school and town communities over the years. She shared how important it is to volunteer your time to help others. We were so excited to see her again!

First Graders Practice Typing!

The children used the Edutyping program to learn keyboarding skills today. Mr. Langevin (Mr. L) showed the first graders how to use the program. They learned how important it is to keep both hands on the middle row in the "home position".  First graders will practice keyboarding skills a few times per week. 

Explore Time

We usually end the day on Fridays with Explore Time. The children have different choices for what to do. Some children, draw, read, write, build, or play games. It is a fun way to end the week!