Saturday, June 7, 2008

First Grade Friends

Well, the school year is over, and summer vacation has begun. The kids were all excited for the last day of school, but I think most left on Thursday with mixed emotions. One student said, "I wish I didn't get such good grades so I could be in first grade again next year."
They have all worked hard and made amazing progress! Watching and helping kids learn to read is so rewarding, and it's what makes first grade the best grade to teach. Parents, please continue the process at home this summer - your kids have all the skills they need to be fluent readers, and now they just need lots of practice. I have probably told them at least 100 times: "The more you read, the better you read!" So.... read, read, read!
Preview of The Class of 2019:

Braden, Jeremy, Trentin, and Isaac

Luke, Heather, and Nathan

Olivia, Lacey, and Riley

Ben, Dylan, Jordan, and Logan


Brooke, Jenna, and Catie

Riley, Noah, and Cole


Will, Molly, and Dillon

Have a great summer, everyone, and be sure to stop and visit me next fall!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

The Little Red Hen

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


"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!"

The Cows

The Sheep


The Pigs

The Rabbits


"Who will help me cut the wheat?"

" Who will help me carry the wheat to the mill?"

"Meow, meow. I'm tired from resting all day."

"Quack, quack. I'm ready for a nice swim, so off to the millpond I go."


"I have to chase my tail now."


"Who will help me make the flour into bread?"


"They all refused to help, they all refused to help, she ate it by herself, she did it with no help."

"Next time, maybe you'll learn, that the things we want we have to work for and earn!"

Good job, kids! You were awesome!




Sunday, June 1, 2008

Phy. Ed. Fun Day

Our First Grade Phy. Ed. Fun Day was held on Friday morning. When it was pouring rain at midnight, I was sure we were going to be rained out, but it was actually quite pleasant, although very cloudy and cool. The grass was dry by 9:00, and there wasn't even any mud. No sunburn, either!

Here we are lined up to listen to instructions from Miss Bremer. We had eight stations to go to, and everyone could participate in every activity.
We started at Station Number 1, the hurdles. Ready???

Go!


Number 2 was the sack race.

It's hard to jump in that sack!


Wow! Look at her jump!

Number 3 was the obstacle course. First we went through the hoops,

then over the bars,


and under the pole.

Number 4 was the hippity hops. Jump!


Higher!

Number 5 was the 50 yard dash. On your mark, get set, run!


The favorite activity was Number 6, the marble grab. It's tough picking up wet marbles with your toes!
The water was kind of cold, too.
Isaac actually picked up 15 marbles, the class record!


Number 7 was the jump rope contest. Who would last the longest?


Keep jumping!

Don't quit!


Number 8 was the shoe kick.


Sometimes that shoe just doesn't go in the right direction!


After we completed the 8 stations, we had several class activities. The first one was the ice cream cone relay. Each child had to run down to a marker and back while balancing a ball on a cone, and then pass the ball off to the next person in line.

Catch it!

The last activity was a water relay. We had to transfer water in a cup or a sponge from one bucket to another.


It's getting full!


Squeeze that sponge! We had a total of 5 1/2 inches of water in our bucket.


After all that fun, we were ready to sit down and take a break.

Yum!

What a great way to spend the morning! Thanks to all the parents who came and watched, the 5th grade students who helped supervise each station, and to the Phy. Ed. teachers who organized the whole event. Most of all, thanks to all the students who were such good sports!