This Fall, the learning in our Elementary classroom has continued to expand in every direction. Many lessons are becoming more independent and child-led. Classification, ironing, and even using the sewing machine are all examples of work that has gradually become more independent, without the need for teacher direction. At the same time, our students are more familiar with their school community as a whole and growing as leaders themselves. Our connections to the rest of the school are being further defined daily as we write letters to previous teachers, communicate with Chef Kim, or drop off important papers to Ms. Eileen. Deeper still, our students have walked younger students to their classrooms during arrival and even prepared hot cocoa and cookies for Greene Towne’s staff on Pajama Day. Just as our reach has expanded into the larger community, our close-knit classroom relationships have become stronger as well. Children are collaborating on work, games, and problem-solving. Teacher-student relationships are solidifying through one-on-one and group lessons, and everyone is participating together in whole-class science experiments and trips around our neighborhood.
Below, please enjoy some great examples of our work this Fall with captions written by our first graders.
” I was doing compound words. Compound words are two words added together that makes one word.”“I was doing the large bead frame. It is pretty easy. You make numbers and write the numbers on the paper.”“I was helping primary and toddler friends go to their classrooms.”“We had a hot chocolate party and I was pouring oat and cow milk in two different bowls and the had frozen ice in them. I wrote name tags so they would know which one is which.” I was doing the snake game. I have a book that tells me which number bars (1 through 9) to lay out. You have to count them. When you count to ten, if it is in the middle of the bar you put out one of the black and white bars of the number that is left on the bar.”” It was my birthday celebration. In the picture I was blowing the candle out. The class sang happy birthday to me.”“I was doing different clock times. You write the different times it says below the time on the card.”“I was ironing fabric so I could sew a purse. ““We were catching snow on paper. It was really fun to look at the snow.”“We were doing ‘animal who am I’ cards. My friend was helping me read my card.”“I was sewing paper. I am learning to sew straight lines on the dotted lines.”“I was doing external parts of the bird. The bird was so cool and it had so many parts.”“We were testing out if our pumpkins floated or sunk. Then we carved the orange one. It was really fun.”“I was doing the timeline with my friend. We put things on the timeline like swimming things and creatures.”“I am doing command cards. You close your eyes and you pick a card. If it says something like ‘get a pen’ you do that.”“I was writing a message for the guests who were visiting to drink hot cocoa.”“I’m holding a tray of chocolate chip cookies that we made for our visitors on Pajama Day.” “We are all walking toward the river on our trip to Water Works.”
