Friday, December 25, 2015

Merry Christmas!

Good Evening!  I hope this post doesn't find you for days as you are spending time with your loved ones; however, my little ones are nestled in bed and I am feeling the urge to post some adorable photos from this past week!

We began our week learning about a few other countries around the world.  We learned that during the celebrations in Mexico, children often hit a Pinata filled with treats!  We did just that.  I was very nervous about it breaking after only a few swings (not allowing all students a turn) so only allowed one hit per student.  On the fourth hit, the head flew off!  Thankfully, one of our school cooks came to the rescue with duct tape.  Soon the head was reattached and after 18 hits, the Pinata was still holding strong!  We tried to pull the ribbons to break it open and nothing happened.  By now, I was just chuckling as things weren't going as planned (this happens often in 1st grade) so I just gave it an extra "tug" and out poured the candy!  The kiddos grabbed as much as they could.



By now you have seen the adorable gifts your child made for you.  I hope you think the painting was as adorable as I did!  The students did such a great job following directions and painting carefully on the canvas.  Even the wrapping paper and cards allowed them to get creative!

 We celebrated our first 1/2 Birthday of the year!  We try to celebrate our summer birthdays during the year so that these kiddos don't miss out.  Isaac treated the class to Birthday Ice Cream!  Happy 1/2 Birthday Isaac!

Even though it was short week, it was jam packed with events!  On Tuesday, we attended this month's Character Assembly.  This month's Character Champion was Aiden.  Aiden works very hard to follow school and classroom rules each day.  He is also eager to extend his learning through investigating his own questions through research and questioning.  Way to go, Aiden!

Finally the students had another successful classroom party!  I am so spoiled this year as the Room Parents did all of the planning and prep work, again!  Thank you to Melodie, Sarah, Rachel and Kris! Below are a few photos from the great party!





Merry Christmas from Mrs. Sterling's 1st Graders!

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Holiday Globe Trot

Have you heard the news?  Has your 1st grader told you about the packages that have arrived in our classroom this week?  I told the 1st graders that on my trip to Orlando I met a boy named Scott.  Scott and I got to visiting about Christmas and I told him I wondered about what other children around the world did to celebrate the holidays.  It just so happened, that Scott was on his way around the world to learn about other countries and cultures, what a coincidence!  During the week, two packages have arrived to our classroom each day from Scott.  Each package is carefully postmarked from a country (I even did my research in formatting the return address correctly) around the world.


Adrien and Sonja make their "Sandman" from Australia.
So far we have received packages from France, Uganda, Italy, Germany, Israel, Sweden, Australia, Russia, China, and England.  We have read stories, sampled treats, made crafts, played games, and even found special treats in our shoes.  After learning about each country, we fill out a page in our travel journal and label the country on our map.  The students are so excited to see if a package has arrived in the office each day.  They also can't wait to see what is inside!
This is our Tomten from Sweden.
Aiden found a special treat in his shoe left by Pere Noel from France. 
Tinah decorates her gingerbread man and samples some cookies.
Aubrey's Drum from Uganda.
Carter's drum from Uganda.
Will more packages arrive next week?  Perhaps!  

This week our class was also responsible for ringing the bell for the Salvation Army.  Check out these great bell ringers!  Mrs. Baarstad even got in on the action and joined us (with her coffee, of course)!




Finally, the class snapped a photo with Cydney, our Jet Student from North High, who only has a couple more weeks with us.  Cydney has been such a help in the classroom when she visits each morning.  She helps me with projects, prep work, and works with the students.  We have appreciated Cydney this year!

Upcoming Reminders:

Tuesday, December 22: Classroom Holiday Party/Pajama Day
Tuesday, December 22: Character Champion Assembly
Wednesday, December 23-Sunday, January 3: No School/Winter Vacation