The first grade class has been busy mixing learning with fun! Sand boxes have been added into reading groups. Students use a wand to write heart and spelling words in the sand. The students were very engaged and in the zone while in the sand box station. This is a great way to have students holding a tool and practice forming letters and words. The wands are similarly shaped to a pencil and gives them add support in handwriting. Such a win win — fun and beneficial! 

Rhyming is a difficult skill to master. Listening for the same ending sound can be hard to differentiate. To practice rhyming we played Rhyming Bingo and it was hard! The student had a board with pictures. They had to listen to the words I said to see if one of their pictures rhymed with my word. That’s a lot of steps and close listening! We didn’t have very many winners but we got a lot of great practice at repeating and creating rhyming words.

Science is one of first grade’s favorite subjects. Who can blame them? We’ve been discussing matter as solids, liquids, and gases since school started. A perfect science experiment that encompasses all three forms of matter is making root beer floats. It’s a great visual, hands-on, experience. They see the liquid root beer being poured on the solid ice cream and the creation of the gassy bubbles. It definitely wasn’t their favorite snack, however, seeing what we had been discussing come to life was fun, even if you’re not a fan of root beer floats. 

Is math more fun when you can work with a pal and create your own stories? Sure!! Not only is working with a partner fun, it’s excellent for building communication skills and learning the give-and-take that you have to do in a partnership. It’s hard to take turns. It’s hard when somebody doesn’t want do something the way you want to. Giving the students the opportunity to practice working through those problems in a safe environment is more beneficial than I can explain. I was blown away but how well each group work together. There were zero meltdowns and all of them worked through any difference that arose. 

We are off to a great start. First grade is a huge jump from kindergarten. These students are handling it with grit and positive attitudes! 

A new year with some new and old games.  The first few weeks of school are all about getting back into routines and learning new procedures. What does it mean you can have some fun! In language arts the class is reviewing sounds and spelling. To reinforce these skills, in reading groups, there was a station where the children wrote their heart words in shaving cream. This isn’t a new activity, but it’s tried and true. Not just any shaving cream, but some that smelled like bananas! It was bright yellow too. Anytime you can incorporate a hands on way on learning it benefits the students. Being able to see, feel, smell, and hear the sound/spelling simultaneously better solidifies that skill in there brain. I’m so excited to add more kinesthetic activities for the children to use while learning. The sand boxes will be coming out soon!

A new game that the kids and I played in reading groups was See It - Sound It. I gathered 10 objects from around class and I hid them in a box. One at a time the students pulled an item from the box and sounded out the word then told the initial and final sound of the word. Being able to break words down to the phoenomes enables the student to decode with more ease and improve spelling skills. They had so much fun playing this game. The anticipation of pulling their item out had everyone giggling.

We are off to a fantastic start! I am so excited to teach this group of children this year! Here are some more pictures of the kids work while in various small groups.

The first graders take a field trip every spring to Historic Washington State Park in Washington, Arkansas. It is always such a fun field trip because the children are outside and walking from site to site. We get to see how the pioneers lived. It’s so fascinating to go into the old homes, the weapons museum, the printing press, and checking out the blacksmith shop. Making their own wax candle is always engaging and a neat memento. The kids are captivated by how different life looked back then. The weather was beautiful and it could not have been a better field trip.

This time of year everyone’s always looking forward. There’s always a discussion of class next year and all the exciting things the children are going to do with her new teacher. To help get the kindergartners excited about moving up to first grade they came to visit. This was such an excellent opportunity for my students to be leaders. I told the class that the kindergartners were coming to get a glimpse of what first grade is like. We chose math groups for the opportune time to get a glimpse of what a day in first grade is like. My current first grade class is very well-versed in our stations and how rotations work. So, when kindergarten came the first graders got into their groups and then partnered with the kindergartners. They worked through math groups. The groups went through three stations: counting collections, math games, and a place value write the room. The pride I felt watching my students teach and guide the kindergartners through our routines is immeasurable. The first graders did an outstanding job and made memories with the soon to be new students in our building.

The St. James Day School Science Olympiad team earned spots in the state competition at College Station, TX. To show our pride and support, the entire school met in the cafeteria and sent the team away with some cheers, posters of encouragement, cards of support, and yummy donuts. It is part of the St. James culture to be supportive of one another and lift each other up, in the good and tough times. We are a mighty community who shows up for one another. It’s one of my favorite things about the campus. My first graders look up to the middle school students very much. Anytime we can make things to show how proud we are of them, the class is all about it! This was no different. Go Spartans!

Math is such a fun subject. There are many ways the students can use their hands to dive deeper into a topic. The most recent module we have covered discusses 3D shapes and their attributes. For one lesson the students worked in pairs or small groups to build a 3D structure. Then working together they had to answer questions about their structure. They had to collect data, sort the shapes, and defend why they chose specific shapes for the base. They also had to explain why they didn’t use a certain shape, like a sphere. It definitely was a fun hands on lesson. 

Every spring, first grade has two new experiences: Spring Musical and cereal box presentations. Spring Musical is a tradition at St. James that all 1st through 8th graders participate in. Some of the students audition for parts in the main cast, the remaining 1st-4th graders are included in the support of cast. Middle school students, whose talents are off the main stage, have the option of being a part of the set design or technical team. Each year a different production is chosen. This year, Spring Musical was Seussical Jr. The students did a phenomenal job preparing and presenting this production. Each year I’m blown away by the talent that fills the walls of St. James.

Another annual springtime event for the first grade is cereal box presentation. The students draw animal names from a box. Once the student has their animal, they complete a fact sheet while researching at home with their parents. This is the only part of the project that is completed at home. The week of presentations, the students take those fact sheets home to help them prepare, but all assembling and creating happens at school. Students are responsible for wrapping their cereal box, copying the research information onto presentation paper, and illustrating all sides of the box. After all of the students had finished their cereal boxes, The final stage was to present their projects. Each student had to carry their cereal box on stage, speak into a microphone, and present their project to the audience. This is one of the first times these students have presented, on their own, to a large audience. Having students present and the use of project-based learning are two major components of St. James Day School. We know the importance of having students learn and practice public speaking skills from an early age on. This year‘s cereal box presentations could not have gone any better! The students were confident, they knew the material, and they poured their all into creating their cereal boxes. Saying “I’m proud” is such an understatement. I am continually impressed with these students’ tenacity and creativity.