Last Days

Learning continues during the last days of school. We are researching animals, building a zoo and making maps of our zoo.

Farewell Butterflies

We released our butterflies into our courtyard garden today.

A Way With Birds

Lauren, again.

Zoo Fun

Lauren's BFF (bird friend forever)

Our Town

Mapping, planning, designing, building, thinking in 3 dimensions. Loving this!

Audience

Our classmates give us feedback about our work. Aubrey shows a map of our classroom. Can you find where these students would be on the map?

Pollution is No Joke

Teams used a variety of plans and tools to remove pollution from a natural resource (water). Everyone agreed that it was messy and difficult. Everyone also agreed that they had fun, but could not get rid of all of the pollution. 

Getting Rid of Pollution

We worked together in small groups to remove oil and other pollution from water.

Welcome chicks!

Here is our first chick. Aubrey invented a new word today: cugly (pronounced cyoogly). It means cute and ugly at the same time.

Oil Boom

Fire Captain Huff showed us materials used to clean pollution from water and land.

Chicken Eggs

We are incubating chicken eggs. Today we "candled" the eggs and found life inside. 

Vegetable Garden

Planting vegetables with Mrs. Huff.

Flower Friends

We have a good time working with our flower friends.

Plant Parts

Spring is a perfect time to identify plant parts.

Fun Downtown

SOUND INventions

 

A maker opportunity for kids of all ages

Come out, make some noise and join in the fun!

at the

 

Charlottesville Tom Tom Festival

Genius Hour

 

on First Street adjacent to Lee Park

Saturday, April 12

Noon – 3 p.m.

Drop in at any time and play awhile

no admission fee

Inquiry Fair

Look at this cross-section of ages! Children learn so much from listening to each other. 

Ready for the show at The Paramount Theater!

Mornings in Room 13

It's 8 o'clock and time to start Morning Meeting.  

It sure is tough to interrupt when everyone is so content!

Open House at UVA School of Engineering

There is some pretty amazing work going on at UVA's School of Engineering and they want to show it off.

Families are welcome to attend an open house this Saturday.

Click here for details.

Pushes and Pulls

Invention Progress

Creating a robot that can tie shoes.

Everything Is Awesome

Students in The Butterfly Class worked together to change the lyrics of LEGO Movie's theme song.

Here's our version:

The Butterfly Class is awesome

Everything is cool when you're in The Butterfly Class

The Butterfly Class is awesome

Like you're in a dream

Everything is better when we work together

Side by side

You and I

Gonna learn forever

Let's learn forever

Inventors

We are learning about American inventors Benjamin Franklin and George Washington Carver.

The process of building/making/engineering (call it what you want) has begun in the Butterfly Class.

The design-build cycle.

Our problems.

Our raw materials.

Wintery Walk

We filled our lungs with the smell of wet cedar, crunched through the snow 

and marveled at the dense fog.

Valentine's Day Party

Interested in helping out?

sign up here

Friends and family are invited to join us.

Feb. 14, 1:45-2:20, Room 13

We have 22 children in our class.  Here is a list of names:

Brook Andrea Sarina Parker Caitlynne Kaleigh Bryce Miles Brody Phillip Natalie Sophia Addisen Layla Nicholas Dominick Lauren Charlie  Jackson Madeline Taylor  Kyndall

Comfortable Kids

Each of these children is writing about the same topic, at the same time ("If I was in space..." or "If my class was in space...").  However, look at the wide variety of places they have chosen to be successful.

Night and Day

z

Kids In Space!

We've been learning about space (mostly how the sun impacts earth).  We have spent some time watching videos taken on the International Space Station.  Astronaut Chris Hadfield provides a great inspiration.  Check out more of his videos on YouTube.

Reading with Friends

math Night

Interested in learning what goes on in the Butterfly Classroom for math instruction?

Want to know how you can help your child at home in math?

All parents and caregivers are invited:

Math Night

January 23 (Jan . 30, make up date)

5:30-6:00 

Room 13, BWES

Child care is not available.  

Other First Grades will host a Math Night at the same time.  Other grades will host Math Nights on other dates.  

Cold Weather Learning

We made mini-popsicles, using our outdoor stoop as a freezer.

Children made predictions and explored the meanings of the words "freeze, liquid and solid".

Parker:  The word "freeze" means that something doesn't move.

Sophia: A solid stays the same shape.

We also blew bubbles outside.  We wondered if the bubbles would freeze into a solid or stay a liquid.  

Now we are wondering, "Why did the small bubbles in the bowl freeze, but the bubbles we blew stay  as a liquid?"

Math Homework

This is the first week of math homework for the Butterfly Class. 

As with all other homework, math homework will be sent home on the fist day of the week and is due on Friday of each week.

One of our goals in math for first grade is for students to be able to quickly and accurately solve addition and subtraction equations to 18.