Easter Egg Hunt

Today the entire first grade took to the Terraces to take part in our annual Easter Egg Hunt. The boys had a wonderful time finding the eggs (it took all of maybe 5 minutes!), and they did a nice job of sharing them with one another. Congratulations to Carson in Ms. Jones's class for finding the "special" egg. Many thanks to all the parents who helped to organize the event!

"I found a lot of eggs!" - Camden

"It was pretty fun because my mom was there." - Will

"It was fun because I got to find Easter eggs with candy and toys inside them." - Luke

"I found seven eggs. It was really fun." - Heaton

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

On a wet and rainy day, we headed to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden for a program entitled, "Small Sprouts to Garden." The boys toured the Children's Garden, looking at the sprouting vegetable and herb plants. They were allowed to touch and taste many of them and didn't hesitate to do so! The boys were able to touch and see all the different parts of a plant and to review the role each part plays in the plant's life. A sudden downpour of rain stopped them from being able to do their own planting, but they still had a good time:

"I liked the plant that grows in the winter." - Parker

"It was fun that we got to taste all the plants they had." - Brock

"I saw lots of flowers." - Ned

"We got to pull the mint plants." - Henry

"I liked doing the stuff with the plants."- Oliver

Grandparents Day

On Friday, April 1st the entire Lower School celebrated Grandparents Day. Our classroom was abuzz with excitement as the boys welcomed their grandparents and showed them around the room. The grandparents were invited to experience what we call "Morning Work," and they completed some fun activities with their grandsons. We concluded the classroom visit with a special video presentation created by the boys about why they enjoy going to their school. The boys would agree that the entire day was very special:

"I showed my Grandaddy my desk and where the books that I made are." - Alexander

"It was fun because you got to leave with your grandparent, and they took you to lunch." - Jamie

"I did math boxes with them." - Russell

"I liked helping my grandparents out with everything." - Joseph

"I liked it a lot because I barely get to see her (my grandmother)." - Walker

One Week in February

February is always a busy month at school, but in just one week we had 3 big events:

We had our Valentine's Day party. ..

celebrated the 100th Day of School....

and ended the week with our Mid Year Program, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."

What a week!

Poetry with 5th Grade

Last Friday the boys went to Mrs. Wilson's 5th Grade classroom to write some poetry. Each first grader was partnered with a fifth grader, and together they came up with a poem under the theme of "From 1st to 5th." In their poems they compared and contrasted the different grade levels (the amount of homework and recess time were hot topics). The fifth grader typed and printed the poem, and each first grader was recorded reading the poem on a website called "Voicethread." The boys were using individual netbooks, which have a built in camera, so most boys were actually videoed as they were reading. Unfortunately not all the video cameras were cooperating; however, those boys still have their voices recorded.

Here is the link to see this project: http://voicethread.com/share/1688160/

"I liked that we used netbooks." - Oliver

"I learned some things that fifth grade did. They have a lot of stuff like we do." - Will

"I liked my partner."- Parker

"It was cool because I liked how we did it." - Henry

"I learned that they didn't have a bathroom in their classroom." - Russell

Electricity

As part of our study of electricity, the boys went to the science lab for the first time to complete a lab on circuits. The boys had learned that electricity travels in a circuit and that a simple circuit consisted of a power source, conductors, and something needing to be powered. For this lab the boys had a battery, some aluminum foil, and a light bulb. They were tasked with getting the light bulb to light. After some trial and error and some group discussion, those light bulbs were aglow!

"I thought it was cool that we could do it." - Ned

"It was awesome! We got to partner up and we saw a light bulb light up with the foil and the battery." - Christopher

"It was fun because I've never done it before." - Walker

"We made it with foil and a battery and a light bulb and I think that's it." - Camden