Recently, the Amigotes (Big Buddies) visited the first grade to instruct the class on twenty common classroom objects. Sitting with their buddies, the first graders observed a student drawing of the classroom and the various objects in the room. Then, each set of buddies was responsible for seeking out two objects in the classroom and labeling them correctly in the classroom. Once all twenty labels were up, we were able to practice the pronunciation and location of the objects altogether with a fun, interactive activity.

The first graders continued their series of workshops on the Elements of Art at the Aldrich Museum this past Friday.  This time the class discussed Shape.  They looked at geometric and organic shapes,  went on a shape hunt, and designed shape play grounds.  They also had a chance to create shapes based on feelings using body socks to create happy, sad, excited, and wild shapes! Many thanks to Suzanne Ryan of the Aldrich Museum.

Students have been listening to many different types of music in class and then discussing how that music makes them feel!  It has been a wonderful experience in showing how music can make us feel different emotions!

On November 4, 2011 the first grade class went on a field experience to the Ogden House in Fairfield, CT.  They learned about the life of children and adults in the 1700’s and explored the grounds around the Ogden house as well as all of the rooms inside of the house.  The class was able to compare the differences between our lives now and the lives of the Ogden family.  It was a beautiful fall morning!

While studying the letter “D”, one of the highlighted vocabulary words was los dados (the dice). As a special mini-project, first graders had to study the numbers on a set of dice and come up with their own math problem in Spanish based on their observations. For example: How much is three plus five? Three plus five is eight. Once they had their math problem in mind, they had to create a visual representation of it on paper and pose their math problem to the class. Job well done!

On Tuesday morning Mrs. Curran introduced the 1st grade class to Colonial Herb Gardens in preparation for our trip to the Ogden House on November 4th.  The class learned about uses for herbs in the 1700’s such as cooking, medicine, toothpaste, soap, and tea.  We talked about how herbs were used to cure various ailments such as stomach aches, sore throats, and muscle pains. The first graders made fragrant herb sachets with dried lavender, mint, and rose petals to hang in their closets at home.  Many thanks to Mrs. Curran for a great lesson on Colonial Herb Gardens!

On Friday, October 21, 2011, the 1st and 2nd grade classes visited Sport Hill Farm in Easton to check on our local fall crops.  Patty Popp talked to the classes about her crops and the work it takes to get everything ready for the fall harvest. The students toured the fields and looked at many different kinds of greens, squash, and a huge sweet potato crop curing in the green house.  Next they picked some lettuce to bring back to Unquowa and fed the hungry chickens. Upon returning from the farm, the 1st and 2nd graders joined Chef Peter in the kitchen for a cooking demo, using yellow butter squash from Sport Hill Farm.  Each student helped dice the squash and pull the spices for our yummy afternoon snack. Many thanks to Mrs. Curran, Patty Pop,and Chef Peter!

Today the first graders took part in the first of four workshops with the Aldrich Museum.  Today’s workshop with Suzanne Ryan of the Aldrich Museum focused on the element of Line.  The first graders looked at lines in architecture, nature, food, and paintings.  They discovered that there are lines all around us!  The class went on a line collection around our campus and talked about how lines can also show feelings and emotions.  Each of the first graders created line drawings that showed a busy school day and a slow, relaxed day.  Many thanks to Suzanne Ryan for a wonderful morning of Lines!

First grade students brainstormed to create sentences to describe their “B” vocabulary words. Afterward, they were charged with selecting one “B” word to highlight. Students wrote a sentence with their word of choice and drew a picture to match their description. Each student was excited and proud to share their work with the class!

The first grade scientists are off to a great start this year.  Recently they studied how hair grows from hair follicles in the dermis layer of skin.  By the time it grows long enough for it to come out of the epidermis, the hair cells are dead.  They discovered this is why it doesn’t hurt to get a hair cut!  Each scientist observed a piece of their own hair with a hand held magnifying glass and then with the microscope.  They recorded their observations and then created a “hair hat” that showed the details of each strand of hair on a person’s head.