A Farewell to our Ladybug Friends!

Our first grade class has loved watching our ladybug larvas change into pupas and then into adult ladybugs over these last couple of weeks. No one in our class had ever experienced the lifecycle of a ladybug, so everyone was in awe of each change that our little insects went through. Once the ladybugs hatched from their pupa stage, it was time to feed them as they prepared to be released into nature. This was another neat part, we were able to observe the color changes that they went through. When they first came out, they were pale with not much color and by the time we released them they had a rich color on their back with their signature spots. The day we released them was bittersweet, we were so proud to see our little ladybugs take flight into nature, but we were also sad to see them go. Of course, we did have to pray for them before they took off! 

Joy Sandefur
Ladybugs!

One of my favorite parts of spring, is getting to see all of the new life. There is something so exciting about flowers blooming, trees getting their leaves, and new incests coming out. So, we decided to study and learn about the complete life cycle of a ladybug. Last year, we were able to do this with butterflies, so we are excited to compare these ladybugs with our butterflies from last year. We ordered our ladybug land and larva and we just go them in, so we are excited to begin observing their behaviors and physical changes that will occur. We were all so surprised by what the larva looked like and can't wait to watch them change into their different stages. Everyone is loving to watch the ladybug larva crawl around in their habitat!

Joy Sandefur
Spring has Sprung!

We began my favorite unit of the year, plant life cycles! I always love this unit and it always lands perfectly at the start of spring. The kids also always love learning about new growth, there is something so mesmerizing about it. We got to start out our unit my placing a bean in a clear ziplock bag with a wet paper towel and each day watch the beans sprout roots, a stem, and some even have leaves now. It is so exciting to see new growth with each passing day, and to be able to watch these plants sprout and grow from our window. We have also taken time each day to journal about the changes that we have observed. This has just been the start of an exciting unit, we can't wait to get back from spring break and learn some more! 

Joy Sandefur
Valentine's Day Science Experiements

To help us celebrate Valentine's Day, we went over to our science lab and preformed an experiment on a popular Valentine's candy, Conversation Hearts. We broke up into groups and each group had 3 cups of liquids, water, vinegar, and soda and a bowl of candy hearts. Before we began, we talked about predications and predicated what we thought would happen whenever we drop the candies into each liquid. One student even pointed out that he thought that the candy would be less dense in the soda because of the bubbles in the liquid. We had a lot of good thoughts going on during our discussion, prior to the experiment. Then, it was time to try it out,  each member in the groups took turns dropping the candies, while the other group members observed what happened when they were dropped in. The kids loved getting to do this experiment! We even left the candies in each liquid for the remainder of the day and we went back at the end of the day and observed what happened to the candies in each liquid. 

Joy Sandefur
February

We have already had a busy start to the month of February.

We have been preparing for our Grandparents' Day program at school. Our class has worked on learning all 50 states in the United States of America. Not only do we know them all, but we can say them in alphabetical order! We will preform the song "Fifty Nifty United Sates" for all of the grandparents and special friends who attend  our program. Also for our Grandparents' Day, our class made outdoor decorative tree stumps as an item to be auctioned off to help raise money for our school. Each child in the class signed the bottom of a stump and we all worked together to place mosaic tiles on the top. We  were able to discuss the different shapes we used on each stump. 

February is National Children's Dental Health Month, so the tooth fairy, Twinkle paid our class a visit to share the importance of taking care of our teeth. She was so much fun and the children LOVED asking her questions and giving her hugs! She also had a goodie bag with a new tooth brush and other items for each child.

Finally, in chapel this week, my first graders were able to have chapel papers for the first time. Their reading has progressed so much already this year, so they were ready to read along during our chapel service. It was a proud moment for me to look over and see each of them reading along! 

Joy Sandefur