(Written by first-grade teacher, Ellen Snyder)
First grade is a busy place! We begin the year with an imaginary trip to the zoo. We learn about all kind of animal as we study our numbers and letters. Then we make a stop at the Brown Family Farm to learn about money, time, temperature, shapes, fractions, and more! Right now we are swimming in the ocean as we learn more about these fascinating concepts. We are measuring with rules, writing sentences, and mastering our spelling words. Later we will spend time in the ____________(shh, it is a secret)
During Bible time we memorize Scriptures, sing songs, and listen to Bible stories. We have learned John 3:14-19, Psalm 34:8-14, and The Lord’s Prayer. We are working on Psalm 23 along with Psalm 34:8-19 right now.
Every morning we pray, say our pledges, talk about the calendar and the weather, and practice some Spanish. In Spanish we have worked on colors, days of the week, months of the year, body parts, and numbers so far. We have computers on Wednesday with Mrs. Pigg. We love computers! We all go to the library on Friday. We get to pick our own books to take home! We all have our favorite books. On Fridays we also have a Bible movie and Show and Tell. Fridays are fun!
We have three recesses. Sometimes we play games. We like the color game and “Cranes and Crows.” We like to play tag, basketball, and suffixes. We are really good at rhyming words, compound words, and suffixes. We are really good at rhyming words.
In writing class we have learned all of our letters. We are starting to write sentences. Soon we will be writing stories. We have a lot of good ideas for stories.
We have had several guest speakers. Today a girl from Australia came and told us about her culture. We had a parent tell us about life in China during our Christian Heritage Day celebration.
We took a field trip to the apple orchard early this year. We got to go on a hay ride and drink cider. We saw animals, played golf, and played in a “corn box.”
We had a Christmas musical. We practiced for a long time. We learned many songs. I had a special part too.
We have been reading lots of books, and I am a good reader now. If you don’t believe me just let me read to you from Animals in the Great Outdoors. I like that book!
We have done quite a few art projects. I made a penguin this week mine is the funny one.
We have enjoyed learning to read maps. Our world is an amazing place! We have studied about helpers in our community. Ask me what I want to be when I grow up.
First graders know how to party. We have had an award party, a Thanksgiving party, a Christmas party, and birthday parties. We will have others too!