FIRST GRADE FUN

First grade has been a busy place the past couple of weeks! We’ve experienced everything from a lamb in class, to family projects, to a fun filled field trip, to an amazing experience with our middle school scientists and engineers. We are so fortunate to have a flexible schedule that allows for unexpected opportunities to learn to pop up without issue.  A student and her family have adopted a “bum” goat and wanted to share Tink with the class one afternoon. The class was able to see Tink, who is only a couple of weeks old, being bottle-fed and learned that goats are domesticated animals and are classified as precocials, which means they can be very mobile from birth on. The class loved seeing the lamb, especially when she nibbled their shoelaces!

To reinforce what the class has learned about our community, I assigned a family project. The children, with their parents, built a building from our community that was meaningful to them. I love these projects for several reasons. Firstly, the children get to make lasting memories with their parents. Secondly, when children build/use their hands the lesson sinks into a deeper layer of memory. Lastly, these buildings look so neat – I love seeing what gets created. It also shows the parents what amazing students they have and how dedicated they are to their projects and planning for the projects.

Mrs. Burkes’ third grade class entered a recycled art competition at the Shreveport Aquarium and one student won first place! Thanks to the third grade, all of lower school was able to go on a free field trip to the Shreveport Aquarium. Each class was separated and given a tour guide who thoroughly explained each exhibit. The class learned about fish from every ocean, the local river and lake species, got to feed a stingray, and so much more. We capped off the great morning with a picnic in the park. Such a memorable trip for all of lower school.

The 5-7th grade middle students replaced the annual Science Fair with a Science and Engineering Festival completely put together and orchestrated by the students. It was amazing what the children presented and the interactive learning stations for the younger students were fantastic. My class did not want to leave! Luckily, the middle school students are giving small group lessons and I have already signed us up for several!

Have a blessed day!

Claire Gordon