Look How Lucky We Are!

We had to stop literacy centers last Tuesday so that we could see the shuttle go up! We may not have snow, but our kids have a great understanding of the space program!

Shapes are Everywhere

We had a great time creating shapes using cooperative groups. It can be a bit hard to work together to create triangles, circles, and squares!

Powerful Voices

It is such a joy to be in a classroom filled with powerful voices! (By powerful, I don't mean loud, although we can be sometimes!) The 18 children who grace our classroom door everyday have such wonderful things to say. Their comments can make you laugh: "We have to be careful using the pregnant markers because they won't come off!" Amanda describing Sharpie markers. Their voices can make you change your mind and think about what is important. It is simply amazing, the power a five year old voice can have!

We are off to a wonderful year! We are easing our way into all of our Kindergarten routines. This week we began Math Centers and met with our fifth grade Big Pals. Hopefully, by the end of the month we will be into full swing with Literacy Centers, Kid Cafe and the Computer Lab!

Welcome Summer!

It is hard to believe that we finished school on May 23rd! Time is flying by! As I read, travel, clean, organize, plan for next year, and much more, I find myself reflecting on last year's first grade family quite often.

Many times a child's name has come up in conversations with my family such as "Remember when Anna said [this]?" or "I was so proud of the children when they did [that]!" I miss the first grade class of 2007, but will treasure always the things they taught me and the memories we shared!

Thank you!

Wild About Animals

We enjoyed the Brevard Zoo today! The weather was nice and we had a great time seeing all of the wonderful animals. Upon our return, we read The Umbrella by Jan Brett and began a mural of the rainforest for our International Festival booth. What an exciting (and exhausting) day!

Josh, Anna, and John feed native Austrialian birds

Tortoise

Wild rabbit in Vulture exhibit

Capybara

Beautiful Macaw

Crocodiles

Gray Fox

Bald Eagles

Caring Community

What a beautiful day! We had a blast picking up trash! That's right...picking up trash! The children love help care for our community and even came up with this field trip idea! We spent our afternoon taking care of the beach just beyond our school. Everyone was amazed at how much garbage was there. Our large black bags were about 1/4 full and we had over 15 different groups! In my group, John spotted a large wooden board, seen carried below, by Alex. We all took turns dragging the large trash! Everything from rope, batteries, a ball, to even a shark's tooth was found. What a lovely way to spend the afternoon!

New Year's Resolution

Of many resolutions, one most popular is losing weight. Yes, this we can learn from our first graders! Have half as much energy as they do and we all win! But my resolution always finds a way to incorporate organization.

As we continue our study of change and just what matter is, the children have demonstrated, collectively, a great understanding of the importance of information organization. As we discussed what we knew about matter thus far and pursued some questions in the class, note taking occurred. As you can see, their minds did a wonderful job of synthesizing their previous knowledge with things they had learned during the unit. What you see is the result of that learning.

I take this precious learning experience and ride into the new year with the understanding that first graders can teach me so much! Not only are they clearly helping me with organization, but they are helping me to uncover truths I did not know. 7 year olds' innate curiosity, if allowed, can bring one in to a wonderful world.

I look forward to an exciting 2007! Welcome back!