We’re back! You can feel and even see the energy — the kids are so excited to be back at school. There are new rules and procedures, but that’s not keeping us from learning and having fun! One of my favorite things to do is to take pictures on the first and last day of school, the comparisons are unbelievable. First grade is such a magical time where so much learning and growing takes place not just academically, but physically too. 

One new change to our routine is that choir will be held outside, weather permitting. This is wonderful because we get to utilize our beautiful amphitheater, the children get to be outside, and their beautiful voices can be easily heard. Whenever possible, the children will have class outside. This isn’t limited to the homeroom teacher. Already this school year the children have had art, PE, and music classes outside. 

In science, the class has been studying how to classify matter according to its properties. One lesson was mystery bags. I put items in a bag that had distinctive physical properties. The children were put into pairs/small groups and took turns describing what was in their bag and discussing how the items could be grouped together. It was a great way to have hands-on experience determining the properties of the items.

In math, to better understand the concept of adding to equal ten the children used their rekenrek bracelets to have a visual representation. Each student had their own bracelet to aid in the completion of math. It is important to have visual cues and aids because it enables the children to make a stronger connection with the concepts.

We are off to a great start in first grade and I can’t wait to see what this year has in store for us!!

Claire

Monday was the last day of school. It looked very different from previous years. I was so thankful to get to see my students and tell them to have a happy summer. Even though the end of this year has been completely different and new to us all, I like to reminisce and think about the year as a whole. Not just the past 2 1/2 minutes. The first graders had a terrific first semester. We were able to enjoy book character day, fall festival, Thanksgiving program, Christmas festivities, and candlelight. The beginning of the spring semester was full of getting ready for grandparents’ day and preparing for the busyness of spring. While we anticipated a busy spring, clearly our plans were changed for us. I can definitely see the blessing in slowing down and taking time to be with your family and those you love. We will look back on this time and grieve the loss of loved ones, but we will also remember with joy this special time we were able to spend with our families. I look forward to having my classroom full of happy excited first graders again. I’m thrilled that this precious bunch of students will get to enjoy second grade in the fall and I will still get to see them every day!

Happy summer!

Claire

To say these are times are different is an understatement. Navigating through this new territory has been challenging and rewarding. There are many challenges: too much work, not enough work, are the children gaining the targeted skill, how are the children feeling, how are the parents, and the list goes on. The rewarding part of this experience has been seeing my students rise to the occasion and take on responsibilities that typically they would not have to consider. To say I am proud of my students is such an understatement. I can not find words to describe how impressed and proud of them I am of them through these atypical times. We have all been doing our best to continue on with teaching/learning the best we can. There have been paper packets and digital packets and the children and their parents have been amazing through it all.

Something I already had planned was the community building project. It is something first grade does every year. Each child picks a building in our community that is meaningful to them and they construct it. Usually this project is completed at school. The parents come up and the children work with their parent to build the chosen building. It is always fun and something the children look forward to doing. I didn’t want to take that away from them, so I adapted the assignment. The children built their buildings at home and uploaded the finished project to a shared folder so everyone could enjoy all of the buildings. I loved being able to watch the children present their projects. They all have done a fabulous job!

The thing I have enjoyed the most is being able to digitally meet with my class. So far, we have only met one time, but it will be a weekly meeting until the school year is over. The first meeting was great and it was wonderful to see and hear my sweet students. I know they loved seeing one another. This week we will have a digital show and tell and I know that will be a hit!

We are all trying our best and putting the children first. I pray that this will pass and be a memory we can look back on and learn from. I will never forget this experience of teaching my first graders from a distance.

Stay safe!

Claire

As promised in the previous blog, I have information and pictures from the cereal box presentations! These fun boxes took the children all the way to the top of Bloom’s Taxonomy pyramid. The class presented their cereal box presentations over an animal from our language arts program. I wish there were pictures from the entire process, because the children worked very hard. Each student completely designed and decorated their box in class. At home they collected information with their parents and returned it to class. The cereal boxes had the children’s five facts about the animal on the back and additional information about the animal on both sides. The front is where each child’s personality shined. Everyone had a picture of their animal and created a cereal brand name and cover that applied to the animal. It was so fun to watch their higher order of thinking when creating, designing, and presenting their projects.

The St. James first graders participated in one of the best community service events I’ve been a part of to date. The class traveled to Cowhorn Creek Estates to read to some of the residents. For the residents it was apart of Read Across America, I believe Dr. Seuss would have been very proud, even if we were several days late. Each child brought a book from home to read to the residents. I paired up the children and they took turns reading to as many residents as they could. The residents were so kind and patient with the children. The children were so sweet and did a phenomenal job reading. I could not have been more proud of my students, not just for their reading, but their understanding and compassion for others who are different from them.

Next up...Spring Musical, Historic Washington field trip, and so much more fun in first grade!

Mrs. Gordon

This week we were fortunate to have Scott Kirby, a pianist, and visual artist, visit our campus. Scott performed “Main Street Souvenirs” for the students. This was a multimedia show that included a live performance, storytelling, and images on the screen. Scott is a very talented pianist who played Ragtime music on his piano while his art and photos were shown on the screen. This included music from Scott Joplin who lived in Texarkana in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The children really enjoyed seeing the old photos and Scott’s art on the screen while he played the piano. Mr. Kirby had interesting stories to tell about local places and people to go with the pictures from the past. It was such a treat!

Stay tuned for the next blog. It will be all about the animal cereal box presentations the class is working on!

Mrs. Gordon