First Week Frenzy!

Welcome to our newly private class blog! I apologize for just now sending out blog invitations, but wow, was it a crazier first week than I ever anticipated! Going home sick was the last thing I ever expected, but I learned an important lesson my first day: if I don't take care of myself (by doing basic things for my physical and mental health, like sleeping and eating), I cannot take care of your precious children... Which is an important job I take very seriously!

Thankfully, Mrs. Swigunski, our school math specialist (and firstie friend Ray's mom!), stepped in and stepped up to the challenge, like the pro she is! Not only did she come in and cover for the day, but she also came in and snapped pictures of your cuties and their pearly whites to commemorate their first day of first grade! Next week, you'll each receive an email with their first day pictures in case you'd like to print more copies for yourself! (Your child will bring one home on Monday!)

Besides the mishap on day one, our first week of school was fabulous! We got acquainted with school and classroom procedures and expectations. Together, the students and I came up with gestures to go with our class rules. For first graders, movement is crucial (it isn't developmentally appropriate to assume a 6 year old can sit still in a desk all day!), so the students responded well to incorporating motion into our rules!

Speaking of movement, I think my favorite part of the school day (and the students' favorite!) has been our "brain breaks." While the academic piece of school is obviously crucial, right now the students need incentive to get back into the swing of things! Our mornings are academically heavy, with math and writing taking up our first two hours of the day. While the students move around a good bit during these two hours, they are still itching for more after we wrap up our Writer's Workshop. That's when we turn to GoNoodle, a site created to get kids moving! Some GoNoodle videos give children explicit instructions on what to do and how to move, but so far, the class's favorites seem to be the "Kidz Bop" music videos, where they just freestyle dance (to wholesome pop songs) for two or three minutes! They LOVE it, and it brings me so much joy to see them all giggling together, dancing with no inhibitions!

"If you're a girl.... Go swimming!" This video, directing boys to do one thing and girls to do another will be a go-to for brain breaks!

"If you're a kid, dance around! Dance, dance, around!" 

Kids showing how they "Pop See Koo!" (Mrs. Whitten still has this song stuck in her head...) 

We also did an "Alphabet I Spy," where the detectives moved around the room, hunting for capital letters "hidden" around the room, and marking the matching lowercase letters off on a corresponding sheet on clipboards with highlighters (which the kids loved using!).  The catch? Tricky Mrs. Whitten didn't put up one of the letters, and the kids raced to see who could figure out which letter was missing first! It was so sweet to see the kids help each other out and work together, even though there was somewhat of a competitive "edge" to the activity.

Detectives hard at work! 

This week, we learned....

How to use our math journals, and I was so impressed with how many students were eager to share their problem-solving methods!
Tricks writers use to write small-moment stories. We completed three days of Writer's Workshop, which was huge!
What it looks like to be a professional first grader. (Listening to our teacher; following directions quickly; raising our hands for permission to speak; being safe, being honest, being kind; respecting ourselves, others, and our environment!) Ask your children to show you their class rules; by the end of next week, I think we'll have them down pat!
How to read to ourselves in our Reader's Workshop.
How to walk in a 4S line.  Silent, still, straight, and (my favorite) SMILING!
More about each other. Students started sharing their brown bag biographies- the bag with 5 items about themselves- on Friday, and it was such a delight hearing students present their favorite people, places, and things.  We'll continue sharing on Monday!

On Friday, Mrs. Whitten attempted to get most of our class gathered for a group picture! 

I'm looking forward to another wonderful week next week! In the meantime, enjoy your weekend with your adorable children!