Winter Snowflakes

Today we ended our day by making our annual 3-D snowflake project.  This project requires that the students listen very carefully to each step.  The steps include specific folding, cutting, rolling, taping, and stapling.  This year we also added a little sparkly fake snow that was left over from our Christmas ornaments.  The result is a big fluffy snowflake that is perfect to decorate our classroom as we wait for actual snow to fall upon us!  Each year this project produces a mix of excitement and frustration.  The 2nd graders feel excited because they know what the final product looks like, and with their experience they feel confident they can do it.  In the beginning, the 1st graders may feel a little overwhelmed because the steps have to be followed very specifically or one of the snowflake pieces may have to be redone.  As the 1st graders catch on, they also begin to move through each step with ease.  I love to see the students come together to help each other with the steps once they have gained the confidence themselves.  Once students finish their own, they move on to help other students who have questions.  It is teamwork at its best!

Giving Thanks

We took some time on Friday to get our hands messy and reflect on what we are thankful for.  We started by making handprint turkeys.  The kids thought that painting their hands was super fun!  After the art portion, they had to write a list of what they are thankful for in their lives.  We brainstormed some ideas, and a few of their thoughts included: family, friends, shelter, teachers, siblings, pets, Thanksgiving, and food.  Although these students are only in first and second grade, they definitely show gratitude for what they have in their lives!

First Day Festivities

The first day of school is so exciting!  The kids are full of energy, ready to see their friends, and share lots of stories.  Of course the first day of school also brings with it a lot of listening of routines, procedures, and expectations.  I do my best to alternate all of the the listening with fun activities to get the kids using their new supplies and provide opportunities to visit and get to know new classmates.  Pictured below is an art activity to go along with the book "My Many Colored Days" by Dr. Seuss.  The book describes many different feelings that we can all relate to on different days.  The idea for this art project was found at: http://teachkidsart.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html.

Some of the other activities of the day included surveying our teachers about their eye colors and then making a bar graph of the results.  We found that 5 of our teachers surveyed have blue eyes!  We also started a social studies unit on maps by talking about the purpose of maps, what kinds of maps there are, and when we use maps.  We're off to a great start!