Teddy Bear Round-Up Slide Show

Teddy Bear Round-Up

Washington 1st Graders enjoyed a special day of fascinating learning activities on Friday, Sept. 18, as they combined their classroom literature thematic unit on bears with the schoolwide "Western" theme to create a "Teddy Bear Round-Up!" After a month of reading classic children's literature centered on bears, (including Blueberries for Sal, Jamberry, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, as well as several books in the Little Bear and Berenstain Bears series), the students brought their teddy bears (or other favorite stuffed critter) to school. The students practiced their listening and public speaking skills as they individually shared information about their stuffed friends with their classmates. Their stuffed friends then joined them in a musical game designed to reinforce recognition of basic sight words. Next, the students worked on a variety of teddy bear & western-themed activities, including beginning and ending consonant sounds, sequencing activities, and writing activities. The students created teddy bear cowboys out of construction paper and wrote about them, and the students created their own paper cowboy hats to wear throughout the day!

In the afternoon, the students used their stuffed animals to make "real" graphs at the Learning Carpet. They graphed their stuffed animals according to several criteria: teddy bears & non-teddy bears; by size; and by color. The students then completed math activities centered on number sense, telling time, greater than/less than, and addition.

Finally, the students created teddy bear cookies using sugar cookies, frosting, vanilla wafers, and M & M's. They took their stuffed teddy bears, cookies, and fruit juice outside on the playground to enjoy a teddy bear picnic. It was a terrific day for the 1st graders and their stuffed "pardners!"

Welcome to Our New School Year!

Hello, 1st Graders! Welcome to our new school year. I am excited to be your teacher this year, and I can't wait to meet you on our first day of school!