Class Play - "The Little Red Hen"

After lots of practice during the last few weeks, the kids did a GREAT job performing our play on Friday, and we had a wonderful audience of parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, sisters and brothers, and friends.

Some excerpts:

 The play opened with all of the barnyard animals singing a song: "Come now and see our farm for it is beautiful..."

Then: "Let us set the scene for you
By the pond there stands a mill,
And down the road a barnyard,
Where things are quiet and still.
The dog, the cat, and the duck

Are having a lovely day.
Now all three have stopped to listen -
Red Hen has something to say!"

 Red Hen: "Look! I have found a grain of wheat.

Just think of what I could do.

I'll dig a hole and plant it.

I just need some help from you!"

Dog: "Sorry, but I can't help you.Why don't you go ask the cat? I need to chase my stick now, So out of my way. Please scat!"

Cat: "MEOW! I'm over-due for my cat nap. Why don't you go ask the duck? I need my 9 a.m. rest, I say no, but I still wish you luck."

 Duck: "Help you dig a hole, you ask? This time I'll have to say no. I'm ready for a nice swim, So off to the mill pond I go."

 Barnyard Animals: "They all refused to help, They all refused to help. She did it by herself. She did it with no help."

 Red Hen: "Now it's time to make the bread. Just think of what I can do. I'll knead the dough and bake it, I just need some help from you."

Did anyone help?? No!

 Dog: "Oh, how I love homemade bread!"

Cat: "I'm hungry from resting all day."

Duck: "I want a piece from the end!"

 Red Hen: "Wait! I have something to say! You didn't help me plant the wheat, Cut or carry the grain. I did it all by myself.And now you expect to eat? I plan to eat this bread myself. Next time maybe you'll learn,The things we want, We have to work for and earn."

Barnyard Animals: "They all refused to help, They all refused to help, She ate it by herself, She ate it with no help!"

We then invited all of our guests to return to the classroom for some treats - breadsticks, of course! Good job, kids! You were awesome! And thanks to all of you who came - you were a great audience.

And...a special thanks to Gideon, who performed the part of the duck with just an hour's notice, due to Jonathan's illness.  We missed you, Jonathan, but Gideon filled in perfectly!

PTO Fun Day!

Our fantastic PTO organized and ran a Fun Day for our students today!  With the help of the Phy. Ed. Dept. for ideas and equipment, they planned class activities and group events that kept the first graders active for an hour and a half!  The morning started out sunny and clear, but ended up cloudy and windy.  However, that didn't stop the kids from having a great time!  

 The first event was a hula hoop game.  The kids had to get the hula hoop all the way around the circle without dropping hands.

 Some of the contortions were quite interesting!

 The next event was an obstacle course.

 Every student got to run it one time, and there was a LOT of cheering from the onlookers!

 The third activity was a sack relay race.

 Next, they ran a  sponge race.  The kids had to fill up a sponge with water from a full bucket, run to an empty bucket and squeeze it out, then run back and hand off the sponge to the next runner. 

 When time was up, the amount of water transferred from the full bucket to the empty bucket was measured and a winner was announced.

 The next activity was a new one to me - Germ Attack.  I didn't quite get the rules of this one, but the kids all seemed to know what to do.  It looked like mass chaos to me!  :-)

 Finally, we ended up with tug-of-war.

 Pull!!!

Yeah!   Our class won round one,

 and then had to pull against the other round one winner.

 Yeah!  We won that round, too!

 The morning ended with popsicles.

I would have preferred some hot chocolate, but the kids didn't seem to notice that it was a bit chilly.  Some of the parents were even wrapped in blankets!

Thanks, kids, for being good listeners and good sports even when we didn't always win the events, and thanks, PTO, for planning such a fun activity for our kids.  You are AWESOME!