The investigation of maps and globes continues. There is a collection of very large to small maps of the world, also a large and small globe in our classroom. We’ve had discussions about the cardinal directions, north, south, east, and west and their importance. Why do we need to know where north is on...
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Mrs. Pechette
Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
Art Night was a fabulous opportunity for family fun and it was good to see so many of you attend. It is an event your children plan and prepare for with excitement. Our docents did an exceptional job of representing themselves, their classmates and the art. Introductions, handshakes, and speaking to unknown adults may...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
Recalling something previously learned and using it in a real way indicates what has been learned is embedded. Throughout the year the components of art have been studied. Our ideas about color have grown from the three primary colors to secondary colors, and tints and shades. Lines can be identified and are used both...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
What do a grapefruit and the earth have in common? Did you think they are both spheres? We did. When beginning our thinking about the earth, geometry, language, geography, and social sciences were all part of our learning. Each April we celebrate Earth Day. Here are some of your child’s ideas about the earth. ...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
Learning about Sand, Silt, and Rocks leads us to ask questions about the earth, so we’ll direct our learning into geography. We’ll enter the 3D world and investigate the sphere model of our earth, a globe. As the globe is used, oceans and continents will be identified. We’ll also look at maps and determine...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
How are first graders scientist? What is a scientist? A scientist is a person who asks questions and tries different ways to answer them. After dipping a rock in water Claire asked herself, “I wonder what this rock looks like inside?” You don’t always have answers right away. A scientist learns from his senses. ...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
We’ve been together one hundred twenty-four days of first grade. That is a huge amount of learning! As your child’s teacher I focus not only on their educational growth, but also nurturing their social and emotional growth. Report Cards went home last Friday, which is a relatively new experience at age six or seven. ...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
Spring is a sign of new beginnings. Soon the blossoms will be followed by bright green tree leaves. Our Sugar Maple tree stands quietly as we watch for it’s signs of spring. For many weeks we’ve been anxious to change the season from winter to spring on our calendar, and it happened while we...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. When asked what makes a rainbow, Noah explained, “The rain is water and the light from the sun reflects off the rain to make the colors. Colors come from reflections.” Everywhere you look you see the colors of light. Through the colors of the rainbow we...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
On Monday and Tuesday I was away from our first grade to attend literacy professional development. As you must know, punctuation is becoming more important in our writing. An upper case letter is expected at the beginning of each sentence. The children should also routinely know how to use these letters for their names,...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
The purple Tooth Fairy Chair has moved from place to place frequently this year. We’ve had many wiggly teeth, missing teeth, and new teeth coming in. This week we had a visitor from the Multnomah County Health Department, to help us learn the practice of good dental care. Brushing twice a day for 3...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
In honor of Black History Month we will be hearing stories about prominent Americans who grew up to do remarkable things with their lives. Our first story was about the little boy named Barry, born in Honolulu, Hawaii, who grew up to become our forty-fourth president. We will hear about a poet, a musician,...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
Valentine’s Day is one of the most precious days in first grade. In anticipation we read many stories with good friends together. The puppets in Theatre have shared friendships and in the Family House a new family has moved in with two children who are becoming friends with the others. The messages made the...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
Tuesday was a beautiful day for the Lewis School Community to be proud of. The children were honored to be a part of planting a tree and wishing it the best of luck for a happy and healthy life. They each put several shovels of dirt in the hole to secure the roots and...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
Our family studies have led us to learn about the differences and similarities of families, and to be accepting of all families whether simple or complicated. We love family members with a special kind of love just for families. It has become clear that we also love our pets and they hold an important...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
The excitement of Henri Matisse came to us via Dana , Simon’s mom, an art history expert. We learned about Fauvism, “THE WILD BEAST!” and how Matisse painted boldly putting contrasting colors next to each other. After viewing many examples of his work, groups of five children worked together to select a piece for...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade Classsroom
We are welcoming a new addition to our science table. It’s a boy, a blue Beta fish. We’ll practice our science skills of observation and factual recording. One of our first activities will be giving him a name. What will he need for a happy life in first grade? Multiple versions...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
Through our discussions about family, many of the children included their pets. Using this love for animals we are learning about the different kinds of line: dot, straight, curved, and zigzag. What kind of lines are needed to draw your pet, and if you don’t have a pet what kind of pet would you...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
Welcome to the year of 2011, the month of January, and the season of winter. We will explore all of this working through our calendar. Winter Break was time spent with our families and now we are being asked questions about family. What is a family? How does a family begin and how does...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
Our gingerbread characters have come to life and are running through the most amazing adventures. Bett’s gingerbread girl innocently drank a sleeping potion from the Fox and slept for one hundred years waiting for a gingerbread prince to awaken her with a kiss. During Winter Break please remember to read daily with your child,...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
December brings celebrations to many families. Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights began on the first and continues for eight days. St. Nicholas’s arrival on the sixth was celebrated by Liam’s family. In Sweden, St. Lucia will wear a wreath of greenery and candles to brighten the dark days of winter. Many of us are...
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Mrs. Pechette’s First Grade
Remembering family and friends at Thanksgiving time helped us to reflect on what we are truly thankful for. Lesly is thankful for her family who, “Make me feel better when I feel sad.” Liam said, “I’m thankful for hugs and kisses!” Claire is happy to be an American and to have a school where...
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