This week, our class got a surprise that turned an everyday lunch period into something much more meaningful. A former classmate—now living in a different town, walking new hallways and making new friends—came back to visit. Not just a quick wave in the doorway, but a full-circle moment: sitting at the same tables, laughing with familiar faces, and sharing stories over lunch like no time had passed at all.

Questions bubbled up faster than they could be answered. “What’s your new school like?” “Do you miss it here?” “What’s your favorite subject now?” And in return, our visitor reminded everyone of something powerful: once you’re part of a classroom family, you always belong to it.

As if that wasn’t enough heart for one week, our students have also been busy stepping into the spotlight—literally. The spring musical was a fantastic performance and the kid’s hard work paid off.

Lines were practiced. Songs and dances were memorized. Bravery grew right before our eyes as students transformed into performers—learning cues, finding their voices, and discovering just how much courage it takes to stand on a stage.

First graders are looking forward to next year’s musical already.

This week our classroom was filled with sound words and silver sculptures as we explored onomatopoeia — words that sound like the noise they make. First graders quickly discovered that reading and writing can go BOOM, CLICK, VROOM, and ZZZZZ!

We started by listening for sounds in our favorite books and brainstorming our own. The room buzzed with ideas as students shared action-packed words for riding bikes, crashing to the ground, sleeping in cozy beds, and even playing Roblox at Grandma’s house. Every sound word added extra sparkle to our sentences and helped bring our stories to life.

Then came the art adventure! Using foil, we shaped tiny people into action poses. Those wiggly arms and stretched-out legs turned our flat paper into 3D masterpieces. Students carefully placed their figures onto colorful backgrounds and illustrated the setting for their sound story.

Suddenly our artwork wasn’t just a picture — it was a moment frozen in time:

• a bike going VROOM!

• a seatbelt going CLICK!

• a crash going KABOOM!

• a nap going ZZZZZ!

As students wrote their sentences, they practiced stretching out words, using capitals and punctuation, and making sure their writing matched their art. The smiles on their faces said more than words ever could. Be on the lookout… you might hear some BOOMS and VROOMS coming home in backpacks! 💛📚

Grandparent’s Day was a blast at St. James Day School! Students invited their grandparents and special friends to a fun morning of Chapel, sweet treats in the cafeteria and a trip around the Book Fair.

First grade students invited grandparents to the classroom and gave them special cards made in art class and a refrigerator magnet bouquet we worked on in our class. Students painted canvases, made paper flowers and used Mod Podge to glue them on. This was a messy but fun art project!

Our Chapel service included a sneak peek of the Spring Musical: Beauty and the Beast. Students performed “Be Our Guest” and did a fantastic job!

Who loves a game of Memory Match?! First graders do! Each week students write their “irregular” words on index cards and practice reading and spelling in fun ways all week. One of their favorite ways to learn is a memory competition with classmates! This activity only takes a few minutes to complete and gets the students moving about the room. We love this activity on cold winter days.

First graders started a new math module covering all aspects of place value to 100 and have really enjoyed building numbers using units of 10 and more with uni-fix cubes. Before each lesson’s new concept, students work through a “carpet math” warm up building different numbers using “10s” and “1s”, decomposing numbers into number bonds, and creating coordinating math sentences.

The SJDS Gala is right around the corner and students in first grade have been busy creating their Gala Auction Item. This year’s art is one of my favorites and you will definitely see me placing my bid to keep this special project for myself. Stay tuned for a picture of the final, one of a kind, framed art piece. You will LOVE IT! The class has taken a special interest in making it beautiful and are so proud for you to see it!

This week in first grade, we had so much fun learning and sharing together!

Our students loved Show & Tell! Each child brought in a special item from home and practiced speaking in front of the class. We worked on using strong voices, looking at our audience, and listening respectfully while our friends shared. We heard about favorite toys, books, and meaningful treasures. Everyone did a wonderful job being brave speakers and kind listeners!

Math time was extra exciting with Lucky Charms and M&Ms! First, students sorted their candies by color. Next, we created graphs to show how many of each color we had. We talked about: Which color had the most, which color had the least, and how many more or fewer one color had than another. Students even made up their own math questions to ask their peers.

After all our hard work graphing and discussing our results… the best part was enjoying a sweet treat!

I are so proud of the first graders for their great thinking, sharing, and teamwork. Learning is always more fun when we do it together!