We excitedly welcomed children to the inaugural Lower Elementary class a few short weeks ago! This past month has been filled with new lessons, practicing familiar ones and setting up our new home. We have been exploring the community surrounding the school with trips to the grocery store, the library and several outdoor play spaces. Our first graders dictated the following captions and will be taking an active role in our blog this year.

(left) “The stamp game is a little bit hard. It is a math game.” (middle)”I love the cantaloupe and the sandwich. ” (right) We have to fold the laundry. After when you fold the laundry you have to put each pile in the right place. When all of the laundry is dirty you have to wash it and the fold it and then use it.”

(left) “We were reading a book together. It was about two kids that liked to sing and the little boy’s friend was too loud. The boy asked the girl to stop and she sung lower and higher.” (middle) I was counting all of the tens and using the beads to make a ten. Then after I lined up all the tens and counted them into ten I put away the work.” (right) ” We made cookies for the grown ups (back to school night) and I was mixing the batter. “

(left)”I was holding Hoagie. And I liked holding Hoagie. That was the first time she ever crawled under my dress. I cant believe she was crawling to other people’s bodies when they were touching her. (middle) I didn’t know there was a stuffed raccoon hiding around the grocery store. The cart was so heavy because it had a lot of stuff in it. (right) That work was really hard when I first tried it, but then when I was all done I got to bring that paper home that I wrote and my family was so happy.”

(left) “We were all helping to finish up the thousand chain. We wanted to finish in time because the toddlers could trip on it. I like the thousand chain.” (middle) “I have no idea what I was writing. That picture is me writing in my journal. I like doing my journal.” (right) “That picture is when we were doing karate. We get stickers at the end. We do karate moves. It is definitely fun.”

(left)” I was being silly. We went to Von Colln park. The playground was so fun. I pushed someone up high on the swing. I like the playground materials. I liked the swings. (middle)”I was making a long chain mat. We used the sewing machine. I did it with my friends.” (right) “I was giving out apples to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. We ate them and dipped them in honey. It was really delicious. We all had a lot of pomegranate, apples and honey.”

Great Lessons, One and Two