Year 16 in a classroom is in the books!

 

    The 2023-2024 was a busy year to be a first grader at Samuel Morey Elementary School.  The pictures below (hopefully) showcase how busy the children were learning by experiencing.  The highlights for me include using Grace Lin's Chinese Menu which to a love of dumplings by so many, hosting Suzanne and Max Lang, the author and illustrator, of the Grumpy Monkey series, a variety of farm to school discoveries, convincing the children that we needed to practice a flood drill on April Fools, and witnessing a group of children build an incredible confidence level.  It has been a joy to spend my time with the group and all of them are going to big things in their future! 

Year 15 in the books! A photo recap of 2022-2023 in first grade

     New this school year, he had Farm to School each Friday afternoon.  We spent equal amounts of time inside as outside in all the seasons.  We explored many different local products and learned many facts about native animals and plants.  

    First grade is a time where many kids grow independently and learn to do more things on their own.  They also learn how to struggle through things on their own.  One of their largest struggles this year was learning how to wiggle out a loose tooth. 

On February 9th, we celebrated the 100th day of school by do a variety of activities.  One of the activities was to see how many times we could clap in 100 seconds as seen below. 

This year for me a defining moment was the birth of my son, Sawyer.  He arrived on Friday, October 7th and the kids left school on Thursday the 6th thinking I would be there when they got there.  Sawyer had other plans!  I had a lot of coffee this year and this group didn't realize how many school days I was running on 90 minutes of sleep, but they helped me through some exhausting times!  

This class was hard working no matter the subject, location, or time of year.  We had success all year long.  By having a newborn, I took far less pictures than I typically do, but I do think the remaining pictures shows how much growth, fun, and learning happened this year in first grade.  

    I am tremendously proud of how far this group has come.  It was been a pleasure to spend my fifteenth year as a teacher with them.  I feel confident that this group will continue to find success.