Recently in math class the students have been learning about measuring in centimeters. When we begin a new lesson, we begin with the foundational knowledge and build from there. After discussing and learning with centimeter cubes we then moved to rulers, a standard unit of measurement. While studying about the standard units of measurement the class also learned about non-standard units of measurement, because who always has a ruler with them when they need to measure an item? The class learned that you can use almost anything to measure, but you have to make sure your tool is the same. For example, when we measured with paper clips the children had to make sure they had all of the same size paper clips to get a precise measurement.They enjoyed using the paperclips to measure different items. Using a pipe cleaner to determine the size of a bracelet that was needed caught their attention, too!  Math can be so fun if you are constrained to a desk with only paper and pencil.

Every year we have a visit from the tooth fairy, which has been lovely. The younger students especially love this tradition, but this year was slightly different. To help educate the older children and give them new material, the tooth visit included how to take care of your teeth and why it is so important. She also taught the children about how much sugar is in products they consume daily. Reinforcing how important it is to get the “sugar bugs” off of your teeth!

Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate love and those you care about. To help the students focus on the sharing love and kindness part of Valentine’s Day I had each student decorate each other's goodie bags. The only requirement was that the children could only write compliments on the bags. This is a great activity for several reasons. This helps teach the children how to genuinely compliment someone else. I told them they had to make the compliments specific to the individual. To prove my point, I asked them how meaningful it would be if I wrote the same compliment on every one of their bags. They all agreed that wouldn’t mean very much to the person receiving the compliment because I said it to everyone. It took them a while, which was wonderful because that meant they were really thinking about what they were writing on all of the bags, but each child wrote a personal compliment to all of the children in the class. The bags were covered in kind words from each classmate, it is one of my favorite activities. Another positive from the activity is that it lifts up all of the children. Students who may not receive much attention from their peers now have a bag full of positive notes. It shows how powerful words are. It is a tradition I will continue to do for as long as I teach. 

Have a blessed day!

Claire Gordon

We have jumped right into the new year in first grade. December was filled with Christmas Around the world, Candlelight, and fun Christmas activities, but we are ready to get back to the routine and keep learning. In science we have started a new unit, Seasons and Day and Night. The children will explore what causes the seasons to change and day/night cycle. To begin our new unit we discussed things we do during the daytime,at night, and during the different seasons. We took a closer look at an apple tree and how it looks like during the four seasons. I put the children into groups and instructed them to become the tree they were assigned - an apple tree in winter, spring, summer, or fall. At first they thought I wanted them to become trees while standing and looked at me very puzzled. Once I explained they were going to lay down to show the season it was clearer to them. They had fun pretending to be trees! To wrap up our discuss and review our learning the children used their science journals to draw pictures of apple trees during the four seasons. It was a fun way to get back into our science lessons!

Mrs. Gordon

This week the first graders began an adventure around the world. We have visited China, Italy, England, Brazil, and many places in between. The Christmas Around the World presentations are one of my favorite activities in first grade. The class and I learn new things about different cultures every year. It is such a great experience for the students to see how cultures around the world observe a beloved Christian holiday. They get to work with their parents and research their country and bring a treat, craft, or game to show the class. Not only is this an educational activity, it gives the students the opportunity to present their findings in front of the class to work on their public speaking skills. We extend our learning into the classroom too. We take an in depth look into how several countries celebrate Christmas and we make a booklet. This too has a multipurpose learning goal. Not only do they learn more about other cultures, they have to be responsible and keep up with all of the pages in their book and finish their work in a timely manner. Executive functioning skills are important and need practice along with reading, math, and writing. We have a few more stops to make on our adventure and then it is Christmas break! Have a blessed Christmas and holiday season!

Mrs. Claire

In science we are learning about living and nonliving. One afternoon we took a stroll around the playground to answer questions about living and nonliving things we see on a daily basis. I put the children in pairs and with their work on clipboards they roamed around to classify the items. I love having the flexibility to have science class outside. Being able to see and feel what is being discussed commits the information memory and it makes learning fun. As a teacher you want to instill a love for learning that stays with your students forever. Being able to have class outside, and in different environments, helps the children to see that learning can be fun and doesn’t have to occur while sitting in a chair at a desk.

Every year Lower School holds Book Character Day on Halloween. It is our way of incorporating the love of reading with a fun day to dress up. It is a great way to learn about new book titles and be reminded of the classics. Book character day is something the students look forward to doing every year. On top of seeing the books come to life, the students get to practice speaking in front of an audience. This is something we do often at St. James to help promote the children’s ability to speak confidently in public. The more opportunities given to speak to a crowd, the more comfortable one becomes with that task. it was a really fun way to kick off Halloween!

Have a great day!

Mrs. Gordon

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