Today was the last school day of April. (WOW! That was a fast month!) So today was the last day for April journal. Journal writing is part of our morning routine. Empty bookbags. Sharpen pencils. Write in journal. The journal routine goes like this: Monday we use a spelling word in the entry. Tuesday we use a reading word in the entry. Wednesday is WOW word day and we use our WOW word of the week in the entry. Thursday is the day we make a list (which is really challenging some Thursdays.) and Friday is a religious writing. They have to write the date, the entry and make a picture. They only have about 10 minutes to complete the activity so they are busy journalists for sure. On Friday we have "Journal Catch Up" instead of handwriting and they can go back and finish any entry they want. (In case the 10 minutes wasn't long enough to finish it.) At the end of the month, they turn their journals in and I bring them home to write comments and love notes to go with their entries. If they have a date, entry and picture for each day of the month, they receive a JOURNAL AWARD. They have worked hard in their journals and I think they deserve an award. HOWEVER...if they have a date, entry, picture and have colored the picture, that effort deserves special recognition and those journalists receive a JOURNAL CHAMPION award. Today when they finished their journal and traded it in for a May Journal, one little girl said to me..."I will be a Journal Champion this time!". I asked her if she had a date, entry, picture and color on every page and proudly said "Yes, I can't wait to be a Journal Champion!" The journal serves many purposes from writing, to reinforcing reading and spelling words and expressing creativity. The most important lesson is focus, hard work and effort. One little journalists took those lessons to heart. One little journalist will be recognized as a JOURNAL CHAMPION on Monday. Congratulations on a well-earned championship! Congratulations on lessons learned!
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It happens every year around this time in first grade. Our math series is very challenging. Our math book is so big we call it "Big Red". We work our way through every chapter enriching with work sheets, computer games, flash cards, smart board worksheets and hands on activities...mostly done in small groups. We pre-teach, review and count on parents to work on math and math facts at home. We love the challenge of each new chapter and feel more confident as we go through the lessons in Big Red. Well Chapter 10 is where the hard work pays off and the magic hits. It's double digit addition. We have spent the year trying to master
2 + 4, then 4 + 7 and then 7 + 9. Math facts to 12 then math facts to 20. Those facts have quicker recall for us now and we are ready for the grown-up first grade stuff of double digits. We are now adding 16 + 41 and 74 + 14 and 58 + 31. Quite honestly, really it is just adding the ones column and the tens column but not to them. They are adding these big huge numbers and getting big huge answers. Some of the kids who struggled with adding 9 + 8 added 32 + 42 today. The magic comes in the feeling they have in this power over math. As they carefully add each BIG problem and come up with the correct BIG answer they amaze themselves. They each get a turn to teach on the board and feel so proud to teach their classmates such big numbers. When they do part of the worksheet on their own, they are even more proud how they came up with the answers. Doing double digits in math may not seem like much. It may not even seem like a blog-worthy topic. But if you could see their faces as they complete double-digit math, you would understand the magic of double digits. One student who has not been a big fan of math most of the year raised his hand at story time and said "I can't wait for math today...I LOVE THIS MATH!!" To this teacher, there was magic in those words. Not many things can rival the waiting for Santa Claus or even the Easter bunny...but discovering the wonder of science can be pretty exciting stuff too. In first grade we grow our own butterflies and take care of them from larva to release. Right during the Easter season we are studying the miracle of new life. We started our Butterfly Unit last week as a pre-teaching to this important science lesson. They have been anticipating the arrival of the tiny caterpillars. They each made a name sign for their own caterpillar and it has been in waiting above their cubbies. Thanks to technology, we have been tracking the "flight" of the caterpillars from Bakersfield, CA to Indianapolis to Grand Rapids to Lansing. We knew they were on the Fed Ex truck but we didn't know the exact arrival time. That is when the anticipation of the arrival mixed with the excitement of our new pets. Late in the school day a box came to our classroom and the shouts of "They're here! They're here!" could be heard all the way to the North Pole and wherever the Big Bunny is resting and recovering. We didn't have time to put them in their individual homes yet but they did get a chance to come and meet the new tiny pets. Tomorrow morning's religion class will be devoted to adopting a caterpillar as each one receives his/her special pet, special science project, special sign of new life. Prayer circle tomorrow will be filled with prayer intentions for each specially named caterpillar and my heart will be filled with thank you prayers for these amazing young scientists.
Alleluia Party in Care Corner! One of my favorite days of the school year. Each minute seems to be full of rejoicing! From the moment they come in the room and see all the bright colors and flowers the celebration begins. First thing in the morning, there is the resounding "ALLELUIA!!" at the end of our morning prayer. We buried the "alleluia" on the hearts where we wrote our Lenten promises. Today we turned our promises over and decorated the word Alleluia. Many put flowers, sunshine and bright colors but one little student traced the letters of A L L E L U I A and excitedly said to me "Look...I traced them in the order of the Liturgical colors of Lent...purple (Lent), red (Good Friday) and yellow (for Easter). He was so proud...and he should be. We hung the hearts from our cubbies for cubby decorations and one little boy lingered there and said "I just love how they how all look hanging up." From morning prayer to baking our resurrection rolls (that look like an empty tomb), to dancing with our Alleluia banners...the day is filled merriment! My favorite Allelulia Day memory is before we eat our Resurrection Rolls we sing Psalm 118. "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad." We have sung it every school day after we announce the schedule and the date. But today it has new meaning. Today many of them recognize it from Easter mass. Today they call it the Care Corner Psalm. Today they sang it as a prayer not just a song to welcome the new day. Today the words were more meaningful to the hearts that had journeyed through Lent and celebrated at an Alleluia Party. Let us rejoice and be glad indeed!
Every morning we gather in our prayer circle to pray together. Every morning we answer this call to prayer with a special song. Our religion series has songs that follow the liturgical year but not a particular one for Lent. So every year I teach them the song "The Summons". It's not their favorite at first but once it starts to sound familiar they fall in love with it too. We not only sing the song, we study each verse...we name each verse. The first verse we call "The Fr. Brian Verse" because it remind us of Fr. Brian's missionary work in China as we sing the question "Will you go where you don't know and never be the same?" The second verse we call "the caring verse" as we sing the question "Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?" The third verse asks "Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen?" and we call it the "Helping Those In Need Verse". The fourth verse is the most special because it is the verse where we get to answer "Yes" to Jesus' summons. About the 3rd or 4th week of Lent the Care Corner Choir has all the words down and its a beautiful way to gather each morning for Lenten prayer. As we gathered this week on Tuesday, I announced that since we go to church on Thursday, they would only sing it two more times. It made me sad to think that after all these weeks, I would only get to hear it two more times. Then it dawned on me that I had a meeting Wednesday morning and the substitute teacher would be praying with them. I instantly got weepy thinking this would be our last "Summons" together. They sang it extra beautifully that day and I told them it was a real gift to me to have them sing that song. Well...today at our Holy Thursday prayer service, they announced that as they come forward to receive their hand washing blessing, we will sing....you guessed it...The Summons! So many of them turned to look at me because they knew I was thrilled to know we could sing the song together one more time. Thinking on it later, I was so touched that they knew how much that meant to me. Thinking on it even further, I am more touched that I got to share this Lenten journey with them and that they are living the line in the last verse so faithfully...."Let me turn and follow you and never be the same." It's exactly what happen as we shared this special Lenten journey together. The Summons Will you come and follow me if I but call your name? Will you go where you don't know and never be the same? Will you let my love be shown? Will you let my name be known, will you let my life be grown in you and you in me? Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name? Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same? Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare? Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me? Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name? Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same? Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen, and admit to what I mean in you and you in me? Lord your summons echoes true when you but call my name. Let me turn and follow you and never be the same. In Your company I'll go where Your love and footsteps show. Thus I'll move and live and grow in you and you in me.. The first hint that something was amiss was late in the day just as we were finishing a chapter in Junie B. and getting ready to say our sending prayer. A 3rd grader came to me with a love note and she gave me a hug and said she was sorry that "Harry" had died. I said you mean Henry? (Our first hamster from a few years ago.) I thought the love note was one of the sweet ones I get from former Care Corner Kids but when I read it, it was a sympathy note. Somehow it had gotten out that Harry had died. There was some confusion between Henry and Harry. When I took the kids down to the car line at the end of the day, a few more kids told me they were sorry about Harry and I quickly explained that Harry was alive and well. In fact, the Critter Care kids had just fed him and he came out of hiding to nibble on food and the grape treats they left. When I got back to my room, there was another sympathy note on my desk from another 3rd grader who felt sad that Harry had died. The unfortunate part is that some kids are upset thinking the Care Corner pet has died. The fortunate part is all the out pouring of concern from former Care Corner Kids. One of the notes was even signed "Your Care Corner Kid". One time a mom told me "Once a Care Corner Kid...always a Care Corner Kid." Today's kind and caring acts about a Care Corner pet and a Care Corner teacher proved that important statement all over again. Harry is one lucky little hamster to have so many kids caring for him...then again, so am I. As a side note: Always looking for a teachable moment I was tempted to go with the death of Harry and let his "resurrection" be part of the Easter Story. God may have a sense of humor but I don't think He would appreciate that. It is Holy Week afterall. (But I was tempted.)
We had a very special writing assignment in Care Corner today. It made me appreciate this time of the school year in first grade. They have gone from guided writing to fill-in-the blank writing to brainstorming ideas to independent writing. There are very few guidelines for independent writing because it is...well...independent. The special assignment today was to make a book for a high school girl we have been praying for who is in the hospital. We wrote get well wishes that included a hope, a prayer and a wish for her. I put "I hope..." , "I pray...." and "I wish...." on the board. The rest of the writing was up to them. Besides the usual "I hope you feel better soon", there was hope for sunny days, hope for soccer and basketball games (the sports she plays) and hope that she knows angels are watching over her. Some of the prayers were for her strength, for St. Raphael (patron saint of medicine) to protect her and that she would be home soon. The wishes part were heart warming as they wished for her to be brave, have courage and wishes for a Happy Easter. We could have brainstormed ideas, or filled in some blanks but I love when they are ready for independent writing. That writing isn't sharing ideas or completing someone else's thought. That writing comes from the heart...where the best hopes, prayers and wishes are born.
We walked to church today to pray the Stations of the Cross. The walk over to church wasn't the special part. It was all the first graders sitting around the altar under the big crucifix and listening to the Stations of the Cross through the eyes of a child. The special walk was as they each imagined walking with Jesus on His journey to our salvation. Each station starts out with the word "imagine" and from there the child is with Jesus. They see His wounds, they see the weight of the cross, they see the sorrow in the eyes of Mary and the weakness in Jesus' steps. They hold His hand and whisper to Him. They thank Him for being brave, for being strong and they tell him He is their hero. When the walk with Jesus gets difficult for the child, they imagine Mary holding their hand to help them. When Jesus dies, they whisper the question "Did You do this for me?" They see Mary's tears when she holds Jesus after His death and this time, they hold Mary's hand to comfort her. They imagine the dirt in their sandals, the tough steps up the hill and the sadness in their hearts. The walk to and from church was special enough (especially with snow in the air) but it was the "walk" they took while at church that was the most meaningful. I told them this morning that with this prayer service they would feel closer to Jesus leaving the church than they did when they went into church. That is the essence of this Lenten journey...to have our hearts grow even closer to Jesus. After this very special walk today, I imagine their little Lenten hearts are inspired by "just a closer walk with Thee."
Teachers can have days that are crazy busy. I am not immune to them; in fact, I bring some of them on myself. For the record, I am not complaining. I used to sit in hospital rooms when my kids were so sick and I was bored out of my mind and worried out of my soul. I knew then, that any busy day I could have would be better than that mom sitting in a hospital room today. So today I enjoyed:
6:00 a.m. run to Meijers to get jelly beans for Pen Pal project and flowers for date with Andy. 6:30 a.m. at school separating jelly bean things and getting ready for the craziness ahead. 7:00 a.m. cutting the last few egg cartons for the afternoon art project 7:30 a.m. gather with staff to pray our daily lenten prayer together 7:40 a.m. fill up two water bottles (in case I don't get back to the drinking fountain) 7:45 a.m. greet Care Corner Kids and remind them to wear their mass crosses 7:50 a.m. Go thru notes, take attendance, and watch journalists hard at work 8:00 a.m. Journals are away and we are off to mass 8:50 a.m. Back from mass and a special announcement to thank them for their best mass behavior ever! 8:55 a.m. Bathroom breaks, hanging up mass crosses and passing out two sets of materials for bunny baskets with pen pals. 9:05 a.m. Pen pals come and we work on bunny project (I take the reading and spelling words off the board to prepare for tests and open certificates that parents sent in...see 10 a.m.). 9:30 a.m. Spelling tests 9:45 a.m. Reading tests 10:00 a.m. Celebrate Week of the Young Child and present surprise certificates their parents wrote for them to each child individually. Mrs. McKerr (super teacher aide) helped and it made the presentation extra special. We give them bunny marshmallows because they are "some bunny" special. 10:10 a.m. Show and tell. While they are showing and telling I hang their certificates from their cubbies to serve as a decoration for Week of the Young Child. 10:30 a.m. Lunch prayer and thank them for an amazing morning. Take them down to recess/lunch. 10:35 a.m. Talk with principal over next year's calendar and next week's meeting regarding one of my students. 10:50 a.m. Eat sandwich and applesauce (even on busy days I rarely miss a meal.) 11:10 a.m. Powder nose and go to cafeteria to sit with students for a few minutes. 11:15 a.m. Journal Catch Up time and I cut and prepare more egg cartons for art project this afternoon and put grass in the newly made bunny baskets. 11:30 a.m. Reader of the Day and Storytime. Our art project is Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper so I read the story of The Last Supper. 11:45 a.m. Storytime continues...Friday is Silly Story Day so we read "Do Not Open This Book!" Noon: Do Religion page about Palm Sunday 12:05 p.m. Do the Jelly Bean Prayer, read it together and color jelly beans appropriate colors. 12:10 p.m. Pass out small bag of jelly beans and pray the Jelly Bean Prayer together as we place the jelly beans in our baskets. (We do not eat any of the jelly beans in honor of those who gave up candy for Lent.) 12:20 p.m. Add final coloring touches to Stations of the Cross book. (Take bathroom breaks and sharpen colored pencils by team.) 12:30 p.m. Stations of the Cross book goes carefully in their cubby to take home and teach their family. 12:35 p.m. Special World of Art project - making egg cartons into the table for The Last Supper, color table cloths and Jesus and his "friends" to place in the egg carton....errr to place around "the table". 12:55 p.m. Still coloring (Jesus had a lot of friends) and I try to correct spelling and reading tests while the super World of Art parents help the kids. (I only got 4 - out of 48 tests - done) 1:00 p.m. Still coloring but parents and teachers begin to tape the table cloths on the egg cartons and help kids glue Jesus and disciples. (I am putting the bunny baskets and jelly bean prayers in big baggies to take home today.) 1:10 p.m. Searching for lost disciples as we glue them on we realize some have left the dinner...or gone to another desk for dinner. 13 pieces are a lot for a first grader to keep track of. 1:15 p.m. Finish up The Last Supper projects and the kids LOVE them. Who knew a foamy egg carton and a pretend table cloth and paper people could muster up so much pride in their work. Thanks, WOA moms!! 1:20 p.m. Pass out popsicles to celebrate Leonardo da Vinci's birthday today. A little birthday party. The popsicles have melted a bit so while they are going back to their seats red (yes...RED) popsicle drips on our gathering rug. My great friend Chris stopped in to check on the cute project and she becomes the carpet cleaner. 1:30 p.m. We are off to gym class and I just know there won't be time to dip into the jelly beans. 1:35 p.m. Correct those spelling and reading tests. Record both sets in gradebook. Highlight our picnic date in May's calendar. The one sent home from the office had the wrong date. Put all 3 things in cubbies. 2:05 p.m. Sneak a few of those jelly beans. 2:10 p.m. Head to gym to pick up kids. 2:15 p.m. Back in the classroom and several moms and some teachers have joined us to do "Footloose". We cranked that puppy up and rocked Care Corner. Everybody cut Footloose!! 2:20 p.m. Pack up to go home. Not easy with a bunny basket and an entire last supper. 2:25 p.m. Friendship circle...I wish them a Happy Palm Sunday, thank them for a great week and we do our sending prayer and sending song. 2:30 p.m. Bussers to the bus. Daycare kids to daycare. Car Riders make announcements (it's the kids' turn to share whatever stories or news they didn't get to share during the day.) 2:35 p.m. Take kids to the car line and hugs goodbye. 2:45 p.m. Back to classroom to straighten a bit (It will all be there tomorrow morning when I come in.) 3:00 p.m. Wish Harry (the hamster) a good night and grab the flowers and head to my weekly date with Andy. 3:05 p.m. Leaving early for me but it's been a long, busy day. Exhale. After the teachable question during the Stations of the Cross #11 (see yesterday's blog), came the question after station #12...when Jesus Dies on the Cross. As we learned about this solemn "chapter" of the Stations story, we talked about how reverent we are when we come to this station. Whenever we pray at this station, there is always a moment of silence as we reflect on the amazing fact that Jesus died for you...for me. I told them I use the silence to look at Jesus on the crucifix and say "Thank you for giving up your life for me.". So I told them to take a moment of silence to think what they would say to Jesus if the were at the foot of the cross that day. Twenty-four first graders fell silent as their little Lenten hearts reflected on this station and then all of a sudden the silence was broken with a little voice who said "Hey, Mrs. Iding...doesn't this make you miss Andy?". Andy was my 19 year old nephew who died 2 years ago. He was way more than a nephew. He was one of my best friends as we would talk online until all hours of the night. I miss him so. I talk about Andy as my special angel in heaven. So...after the question, I blinked back some tears and said...Guess what??? It is this very station, this very act of Jesus dying on the cross that helps me not miss Andy so much. Because Jesus died, we get to live forever in heaven. So I know that Andy is safe in heaven and I will get to see him again...because Jesus died on the cross for you...for me...for Andy.
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AuthorI am Sheila Sims Iding and I am a first grade teacher at St. Gerard School in Lansing, MI. I named my classroom Care Corner and so I get to spend my days with the Care Corner Kids. How blessed am I? I want to share the blessings of the wonder and discovery in first grade through my blogs. I hope you ENJOY! For my writer's blog click here:http://writingprojects.weebly.com/ Archives
January 2020
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