Every year the Texarkana Texas firefighters come to St. James and present a fire safety program. There is always a theme to help the children remember fire safety rules. This year has been one of my favorites. Some of the Texas High drama students acted skits out and wrote new lyrics to a catchy song that all of the students were familiar with, “Baby Shark”. My first graders loved getting to sing and do the motions for the revised version of the song. Being able to sing and dance out the motions helps the children store the information better and enables them to recall it when needed. 

Another annual tradition that is always enjoyable for teachers and students is Pink Out Day. This is a city-wide event where schools, businesses, and citizens all wear pink to bring awareness and show support for those who are fighting breast cancer or who have lost their battle with breast cancer. I love it when we can support our community. 

In social studies, the class has been learning about early American civilizations, such as the Maya, Inca, and Aztec. To reinforce their learning I assigned a family group project. The children and a member of their family were to build a Mayan or Aztec temple. I collaborate with our Spanish teacher to maximize the children’s learning experience. Mrs. Perri, the Spanish teacher, taught the children how to write and say, “This is my temple.”, “My temple is in Central America.”, and “This is my favorite thing about my temple.”  The children also colored a map to show where the Maya, Inca, and Aztec civilizations were located. It was a very fun and educational experience for first grade, the first of many!

Mrs. Gordon

The first grade was in awe during the rocket launch presented by the seventh and eighth-graders. Each student went through a launch with the rocket they had made.  It was very impressive. After the launch the first graders were able to ask the older students questions.

As the first graders ended their science study about matter, they did their own experiment making gas to blow up balloons. They definitely had fun!

And of course, everyone loves recess. Energy is burned off, fantasies are dreamed up, and lasting friendships are made.  What could be better?

We love our room and our core subjects, but there is a lot more to first grade.  Art is fun and lets us express our hidden talents. Computer lets us show off our technological expertise.  We love recess. We get to socialize, pretend and invent great fantasies, and build lasting friendships.  

First grade has been a busy place this past week. We've learned classroom rules and procedures, practiced fire and tornado drills, and even had a real fire drill on Friday. We responded like pros! Our highlights this week were breaking into pairs and playing "Shake Those Disks" in math and studying matter in science. We loved classifying solids, liquids, and gases. I think science might be our favorite subject!

Taken the first week of 1st Grade.

First grade is coming to a close, and it has been a remarkable year for all of us! As I think back over the school year and talk to students about what was most memorable this year, a entire list of events, activities, and experiences come to mind. The first graders have done BIG things this year. The fall semester was jammed packed with helping others, programs, and a lot of interactive science experiments. When I asked one student what his favorite part of the fall was, he replied, “The balance and motion unit in science!” The children loved this unit - they were able to find new ways to balance, use counterweights, and make zoomers. Using different techniques to test their theories on why and how things balance and move was so much fun. The weather unit and making kites was brought up often when I spoke to them about their favorite memories in science. The class dressed as their favorite book character, visited Cornerstone for a community outreach project, built Mayan temples, sang in their first Candlelight program, presented on Christmas tradition from around the world, sent letters to Veterans, had a precious Thanksgiving program, and so many other fabulous things.

The spring semester has been no different in regards to being full of adventure and learning. This semester the children have traveled to an aquarium in Shreveport and Historic Washington State Park, performed for their grandparents in front of the entire school, built community building with their family, supported our fellow St. James students when they presented their programs (Colonial, Science and Engineering, Roman Carnival) to name a few things. Soon they will participate in their first field day. When talking about social studies, one student spoke up about how she loved learning about the American flag and early American history; especially about Paul Revere and his warning about the Red Coats.  

Taken on the last Friday of school, Field Day!!

Day in and day out these amazing children have shown up and given it their all. First grade isn’t for the faint of heart. On top of all of these extraordinary events, activities, and experiences these children pushed themselves to learn how to read and advance in math, science, social studies, spelling, writing, and all of their specials (PE, music, technology, art, Spanish). It has been so special to experience all of their first with them this year as we have progressed through first grade; a new building, higher expectations on campus, Candlelight, Field Day, and so many more little things that have brought us together as a team. I am so excited for these children to move forward and grow, I am thankful that I get to watch them along their path.

Have an amazing summer!!
Claire