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

First grade went on our first out of town field trip to Historic Washington State Park. The children toured homes that were built in the 1800s and witnessed how people lived in the frontier time period. Entering homes that old was fascinating. The children noticed how the homes were built in a way to benefit the residents; since there was no electricity the homes needed breezeways to stay cool and large windows for light. In one home we toured, the children saw what type of bathroom was easily accessible and also the type of toothbrush commonly used. Everyone agreed they did not want the chore of taking the chamber pot out! It was interesting to learn that toothbrush bristles were made from pig hair, they weren’t excited about using that type of toothbrush either. One part of the trip that was really intriguing to all the students was the weapons museum, they all had questions about the guns and knives. The weapons dated back to the revolutionary war! One thing they noticed was how intricate the artwork was on some of the weapons. Besides seeing the original dishes from one of the homes, what the homes frame were made from, and lifestyle items (clothes, bathtub, furniture), the class saw the oldest magnolia tree in the state. Much fun was had dipping candles into colors, I think we (adults and children) would say it was one of our favorite activities of the day. Although, the surrey carriage was very memorable, too. It was an amazing day full of memories and learning! The class has been looking forward to this trip for months and I know it did not disappoint!

Have a blessed day!

Claire Gordon

The weather has been beautiful this week! It has been the perfect time to plants seeds for our science unit. The students will get to nurture, observe, and enjoy the plant growing process. The class was so excited to get their hands in the soil and plant their seeds. I put the students into groups. They took turns putting soil in their cup, making room for the seed and watering the plants once we had finished. I cannot wait to see their faces in the plant start to sprout! This activity not only teaches about the plant life cycle, but it teaches the students to be responsible and how to take care of something.

It has been so gorgeous outside that we even ventured outside during language arts to do a little reading. The students read our assigned stories in pairs in the amphitheater. Everyone enjoyed the fresh air and the beauty of our campus. In fact, the students enjoyed it so much, we did it again after music! This time they chose a book from our class library to take with them outside.

Happy Spring!

Claire

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

This week, to take a break and review, the children worked in pairs to divide words into syllables. The children will work with syllables for the next several years and it really helps with decoding in reading and also helps with spelling. A syllable by definition is a unit of pronunciation that creates one part of a word or the whole word that has a vowel and may contain consonants. Making sure the children understand the definitions of words really helps them to not only have a better understanding, but it makes it easier to know what they’re doing and searching for. It was a nice change of pace, and the kids love working in pairs and small groups.