Start of the Year

The school year has gotten off to a great start! My first grade classes have been working on gross motor skills. They are learning about personal space and how to move their bodies around a space using a variety of movements. The students got to act like animals during last weeks classes. As I read the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear the students got to move around the room moving and making the sounds that the animal mentioned would make. This week they are working on movements like skipping, hopping, galloping, etc. through a variety of tag games. The second through fourth graders have begun the year with a cooperative games unit. During this unit, I give each of the classes a challenge. The classes need to work together in order to complete the challenge. These activities are designed to build a stronger sense of community and help improve the classes ability to communicate with each other. These games really stress the importance of staying positive, staying focused, and having good communication (verbalizing your thoughts, and listening to each other). The students are doing a great job with these. Near the first week in October, all of the classes will begin a soccer unit.