An Awesome First Day!

This morning, as the classroom filled up with shiny, happy, eager faces, I knew it was going to be a great day!

We began the day with a lesson on gifts.  I explained the our new class that we all have gifts.  We have strengths and weaknesses.  Each student talked about the things that they are great at... and we learned that everyone is different!  To illustrate this, we took our fingerprints, comparing them to our neighbor.  This lead to a great discussion on how unique we all are... and how the world needs different people with different skills.

In our class, we embrace these differences.  I explained to the children that we are working on different levels, we are made up of two different grades.  Today's lesson on individuality and gifts, and the reminder that we are one class made up of different individuals, will help us to develop a supportive peer atmosphere!

Spelling-  Today, we discussed our first spelling/vocabulary list.  I explained to the students that this list is like watching a preview of a movie that we have not yet seen.  They are not supposed to know what these mean yet!

Handwriting- We are going to get nit-picky this year with handwriting!  At home, each child will be doing copywork- some in cursive and some in manuscript. In class, however, each group will be working on individual cursive letter formation- one letter at a time. Today, we dissected the cursive "a". 

Math- Ms. Jennifer used rubberbands of different sizes to review place value.  The children had some small rubber bands, representing ones, medium ones representing tens, and large ones, representing  hundreds.  They linked smaller rubberbands together and traded them in for the corresponding larger band.  The class also reviewed standard form and expanded form. 

Literature- Ms. Caroline introduced the book, "A Bridge To Terabithia".  They learned about the author, Katherine Patterson, and her life in Japan, as a missionary, and as a writer.  To kick off the book, the class took turns reading chapter 1, aloud.  We will be reading the book during at-home days, and discussing it in detail on Tuesdays with Ms. Caroline!

Spanish-  Ms. Rose started out the year in Spanish by giving the students their Spanish names.  The kids loved getting renamed!  We have a Mariana, a Feliz, a Marisol, and more.  She also had the kids on their feet today as they learned Spanish greetings, and the days of the week (in song).  Ms. Rose's enthusiasm is contagious, and I know these kids are going to soak it up!

Social Studies-  Today, Mr. Dennis introduced the class to the material they would be studying this year.  They began with an activity that helped them get to know their textbooks.  They used the book to write down answers to various questions on headings, subheadings, review questions, and vocabulary words.  As the kids read through the text at home, they will be working on an index card vocabulary packet.  They will be adding vocabulary words one one side of each card, with a definition on the back.  This will help them to have an easy to access study guide!

Art-  Ms. Nancy began art class by discussing the importance of art in the world all around us.  The clothing that we wear was designed by someone.  The chair that we sit in was designed with art in mind.  Ms. Nancy also encouraged them to think about the phrase, "A picture is worth a thousand words".  What did that mean?  What can art tell us?  Children love art.  They crave it, in one form or another.  Today, they were able to express themselves as they created self portraits.  This was a great lesson for today, as we discussed our unique differences as a recurrent theme.

 Ms. Fanette is back with Suzuki piano class!  This year, there are two music classes.  In the 2nd year class, the students reviewed that their treble clef hand is the right hand and their bass clef hand is their left.  She then worked on a new piece with them, right off the bat!  The 1st year class had an introduction to piano.  Ms. Fanette was completely impressed with both groups!  It is going to be an awesome year!

This is the first year with a core class of this size.  I knew that we had an awesome group of teachers and a schedule that worked.  I knew that we were able to split the group into two alternating math classes.  All of the planning was in place, but we can only try our best for a good classroom dynamic.  It all falls down to setting the ball into motion... and letting the kids loose in a positive learning environment.  I have been blessed.  These children are a phenomenal group of kids.  Caring.  Smart.  Helpful.  Eager.  As a teacher, I am thrilled to have this group of students who will allow for so much learning to take place.  As a mom, I could not ask for a better group of classmates and friends for my own boys!