Last Pictures

I'm trying to clear out some of my pictures, and when I looked at these, I just couldn't get rid of them. These were the last pictures I made of my kids. I guess I've made 10,000 pictures of them over the last two years. I thought these shots were so sweet. We used them during our Mother's Day program. I also used some of Becky's shots from the program and some pictures of the kids with their moms. I want to have some memories saved from this group of kids I've grown to love so much.

Lauren's Going-Away Wedding Party

Whenever I have a student teacher, we have a going-away party to thank them for their hard work. Since Lauren is getting married at the end of May, we decided to give her a wedding shower for her going-away thank-you. We enjoyed wedding cupcakes and punch for our refreshements. Then Lauren opened her gifts from the children. We all hope that Lauren and Gavin enjoy a wonderful wedding day and have a long, happy marriage. Congratulations!

Field Day 2009

Field Day was rained out for its original date, and we were beginning to worry about whether we would even get to have it. Finally, the rain stopped for a while, and we were able to enjoy a fun day outside. The kids loved the games, playing on the playground, and the tug of war. We also enjoyed some time just playing with sidewalk chalk, bubbles, balls, and frisbees. The kids found a nest outside, and they were so excited about that. I even ran some of the relay races with the kids - fun, but I was so sore for days afterwards! We had a great day together which is what field day is all about!

Reading Continues with Mrs. Rosemary's Class

Cierra, John Nic, Alex, Kate, Tyler, Tyler, Dalton, and Starr enjoy their time with their new third grade friends.

We continue to meet every other Friday with Mrs. Rosemary's third graders. We take turns visiting one another's classrooms. I know my children love this activity. They spend a lot of time picking out the books they want to share with the older kids. We made them valentines for Valentine's Day, and we were thrilled that they brought us valentines, too. The next time we got together, the third graders performed two plays for us - one about Rosa Parks and one about Harriet Tubman. The children are forming relationships with one another. I love walking around the room and listening to their reading and the conversations they share. These pictures show my Alex, Evan, Shelby, and Tyler reading with their third grade friends.

Mooncakes

Recently my first graders read "The Lady in the Moon," a story set in China. Mrs. Sandy made mooncakes for the kids to try. They were very yummy, and the kids loved them!

American Landmarks Reports by my First Graders

My class has been learning about American landmarks. The children selected a landmark that they wanted to learn more about. They were to find five facts about the landmark and a picture to show us. Once again they did a fantastic job. Alex A. reported on the White House. Alex T. told us about Yellowstone National Park, and we learned all about Old Faithful. Eli reported on the Lincoln Memorial and brought everyone a penny to look at. Evan reported on the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, and he brought a video that showed him at the Arch when he was 18 months old. I'Tavia told us about the Capitol. John Nic gave his report on Mount Rushmore. Kate reported on the Grand Canyon. Kendyl told us about Plymouth Rock. Laura Beth was out with the flu, but she later told us about the World War II Memorial. (I'll post more on her report later.) Lillie told us about the Washington Monument. Shelby C. reported on the Golden Gate Bridge. Shelby T. told us about the Alamo. We listened to a song about Davy Crockett after she gave her report. Starr reported on Pearl Harbor. Tyler B. told us about the Tomb of the Unknowns. Tyler C. gave his report on the Liberty Bell. Tyler G. told us about the Jefferson Memorial. We learned so much about these important landmarks along with the Statue of Liberty, our flag, and the bald eagle.

Valentine Centers in First Grade

Once again my class enjoyed a wonderful holiday celebration. Eleven parents were able to come and help me and Sandy celebrate Valentine's Day with the children. We were able to eat, make conversation hearts necklaces, make love bugs, add with M&Ms, graph conversation hearts, do a sticker project, guess how many conversation hearts we could pick up, make cards for the nursing home, make a bear lollipop cover, and a bear art project. We all had a wonderful time, and the children went home with lots of valentines and candy along with projects to remember this special day.

Inauguration Day

I love history, so I've been very interested in the inauguration festivities that have been going on for the past few days. My first graders are also very interested in historical figures and events, so we discussed Martin Luther King, Jr. on Friday of last week in preparation for our day off on Monday. We studied a lot about him last year when the children were in kindergarten, so I wanted to encourage the children to treat people fairly and equally which is one of the messages MLK emphasized. Over the weekend I watched a lot of coverage on the Obamas. I knew that I wanted to share this history with my students at school on Tuesday. We watched the actual promise that Biden and Obama made to our country before lunch, colored a picture of Mr. Obama, ate Inauguration cupcakes (thanks LB and Becky!), and sang a song about our new president. The children had a few questions, but they seemed more interested in the DC landmarks we saw while watching the inauguration. I was satisfied with what we did, but the true learning came today.
Before we went to play this morning, I had an incident happen with my class. One little girl said that another little girl called her a name. I took the two girls into the hall and talked to them. The answers I received were "No, I didn't. Yes, you did. No, I didn't. Yes, you did." Over and over. Luckily I had playtime to think about what I was going to do about this. Since Christmas I have noticed that the children have been speaking to one another in tones I don't really like, I so moved some kids around (the two girls especially) and gave them one of my famous "sermonettes." They're used to it by now. I talked to them about how we have a new president and how we need to support even even if we didn't vote for him (we talked about the election, so they know I voted Republican). We should pray that he makes good decisions for our country and we should pray for his safety. Someone said something about him being the first black president, and I told them that when I thought about any person I didn't think of their color, I thought of their actions and their heart. President Obama seems to speak to people in a kind way from what I've seen. He would want everyone (even first graders) to speak to each other in kind ways and to treat people the way we would want to be treated. I also told them that if everyone treated others in a kind way, we wouldn't have wars going on. We wouldn't have fights. We wouldn't have a lot of the bad things that happen in the world. I had the children draw a happy face and to write "I will treat everyone in a kind way." Then each child stood, showed their picture, and said "I will treat everyone in a kind way." The afternoon was wonderful. I heard no squabbling, no tattling, no name-calling all afternoon. Hopefully, this will continue tomorrow. I'm anxious to hear what they think President Obama should do as president.
We've had some lively discussions at home with Katy and Daniel about Barack Obama. I just hope that he is able to help our economy and to help the troops finish their job and come home soon. I will be praying that he is successful and that he stays safe and represents our country in a good way.

Reading with Mrs. Rosemary's Third Graders

Over Christmas break Melinda Carroll was setting up a new AR system on one of my computers, and she mentioned that once a week her third grade class reads and spends time with a kindergarten class at her school at Jacks Creek. She said it was working wonderfully and that both groups were loving the interaction and reading together, so I mentioned this to Mrs. Rosemary and we began meeting Friday. Her class has guidance class every other Friday, so our two classes will meet on the Fridays she does not meet with guidance. This week her class came to our room "armed" with two books. We paired them up with my students and just stood back and watched. It was truly a joy to watch these students interact and form new friendships. Next time we're going to take a book and Mrs. Rosemary's children will choose a book. At lunch Mrs. Rosemary came over and told our children how impressed her third graders were with their reading. Every time we've seen Mrs. Rosemary's class in hall or cafeteria since then my kids have almost waved their hands off waving at them. I was thrilled to see Max, Bishop and Caelyn (I taught them in kindergarten. John Nic got to be paired with his sister Mikayla (even though he wanted to stay with Laura Beth). Activities like this is what makes teaching so fun for me. I can't wait until we get to meet together again week after next.

Pets

This group of children loves animals! Last year we spent about six weeks studying the zoo and all kinds of animals. The children did research reports on different animals. I was thrilled to find out that the first reading unit in first grade was about animals. We had several children who wanted to share their pets with the class. Alex T.'s dad Charles brought his hermit crabs for us to see. Unfortunately, both of them have since died. Shelby T.'s dad Bobby brought her two guinea pigs. Unfortunately, one of them has since died. Lillie's mom Suzanne brought her cat Fluffy. Fluffy is still doing well. I didn't get a picture of Kendyl's weinee dog when her mom Marla brought him. The children enjoyed seeing these special pets.

Snaggle Tooth!!

Moving to first grade with my kindergarten class has been fun in so many ways. They're growing up so fast right before my eyes. One thing that has been happening on a regular basis in our class has been "snaggle-tooth" kids. We're losing teeth right and left. I made pictures of a few kids with that special snaggle tooth look: Laura Beth, Shelby C., Stormie, and Shelby T. say "cheese".

Wildlife Assembly

Earlier this school year my first grade class was thrilled to attend an assembly about different kinds of animals. This group loves animals, so this assembly was just perfect for them. We were able to see a pot-bellied pig, an armadillo, a pheasant, and two Norwegian rats (ewww!!) At the end of the assembly the kids were so excited when our principal Mrs. Parker gave the pot-bellied pig a big kiss!

Community Helpers Reports

Last year when these children were in kindergarten, we received new standards to go by. One of the standards stated that the children should be able to research a topic and give a report on it. I'll post those report pictures later, but the standards continue with all grade levels, so this year, we've already done one research report. The children chose a job that they would like to have or a job that one of their parents does. They were able to invite someone to come and help them with their reports or use "visual aids" to help them. We heard about coaches, vets, activities organizers, scientists, principals, state troopers, teachers, doctors, carpenters, policemen, and soldiers. During our study of community helpers, we also talked about fire safety, so we enjoyed a visit from the fire department. I really appreciated all the parents who came and helped us learn about jobs (Mr. Charles, Mr. John, Mr. Troy, Mr. Kevin, Mrs. Becky, Dr. Brian, and Mr. Tim.) Other parents helped their children make powerpoint presentations, video shows, and posters. We also got to see lots of neat visuals - Eli showed us how vets give pets shots; Tyler showed us the different tools that carpenters use and what they use them for, John Nic helped do a scientific experiment for us to see and he also showed us the safety equipment that scientists use. Everyone did an outstanding job, and I was very proud of my students once again.

Christmas Centers in First Grade

Today we enjoyed nine fun Christmas centers in my class. I have a wonderful group of 19 children and parents that are so helpful and supportive. Today's centers were:

1. Eating - We enjoyed sausage & biscuits, fruit, cheese, and juice!

2. Making candy cane reindeer with Mrs. Marla.

3. Making a Christmas Countdown chain with Mrs. Brigit and Mrs. Suzanne.

4. Making a Christmas tree ornament and coloring a Christmas tree countdown with Mrs. Becky and Mr. Tony.

5. Making a snowflake pattern candy necklace with Mr. Charles and Mrs. Laurie.

6. Opening all our gifts with Mrs. Kelly and Mrs. Amanda.

7. Sticker art with Mrs. Sandy.

8. Making cards for the nursing home with Mrs. Carol and Mrs. Lena.

9. Making candy canes out of bells with Mr. Bobby.

I've been with this class for an entire year and now half of another year. These children and their parents will also be very special. I truly appreciate each and every one of them. Merry Christmas!