Every Day is Independence Day!
Every day is independence day in first grade! I love seeing students do things for themselves and noticing the look of pride on their face when they do it for the first time, coupled with their confidence level of knowing how to move about our classroom and school with with certainty. This week we spent a little bit of time talking about increasing personal responsibilities. Annika made a great video this week to teach her friends how to tie shoes in a unique way. This is not your traditional method that children often struggle with! Watch this video closely and see how Annika does it. If your child has not yet learned to tie their shoes, taking time over Thanksgiving and Christmas break would be a great time to focus on this skill! A little practice every day will help - and your child will be so pleased to be able to tie their shoes on their own and not have to ask their friends to help them with this self-help skill.
Annika also has a very encouraging message for her friends! Take a look!
Another way we increase independence in the classroom is through our classroom jobs. Everyone helps out! This week, Reed P. is the energy conservationist. We might be little in first grade, but Reed proves that we aren't too little to help out! He figured out a way to reach the light. There are no "I can't" phrases in our classroom. Sometimes we might need to say "I can't YET" (ahhh, the power of 'yet'!), but more often than not, our students find ways and utilize teamwork to make our classroom community work!
We do have a couple of wishes for parents to help students increase personal responsibilities. Can you help?
* Our class has not been so great about returning library books and have been going home with MANY reminders from Mrs. Loper, our librarian, about past due books. Each week, fewer students are able to check out 1 or 2 books. We discussed how returning things on time is an important life skill, and how the school library is similar to how a public library works. Except, at the public library, over due books come with a fine. We can start teaching our children at a young age the responsibility of borrowing items and returning them in a timely manner. Library books should be returned on or before Friday. We go to library every Friday. If you have lost a book from the school library, please pay the replacement cost for the book. Thank you!
* Ask your child to help out around the house! Does your child have a few age appropriate chores to do? Is your child expected to hang up their coat, snow pants, put shoes, boots, backpack, etc. in a designated place at home...neatly? Do they help wash tables and turn out lights? At school, most students do not know how to operate the light switches on the lamps or how to open the cloth and lay it flat to wipe down a table. Many housekeeping tasks at home apply to classroom jobs throughout the grade levels at school - and will carry on with them for a lifetime.
*PLEASE PACK AN EXTRA SET OF CLOTHES (shirt, pants, socks, underwear) for your child to keep in his/her backpack. Many students have been having accidents (bathroom and spills), and we are out of extra clothes at school! I am completely out of extra winter/fall clothes and underwear for students to borrow in the event of an accident. If you could put a complete change of clothes in a large ziplock or grocery bag for your child to keep in their backpack, it would be very helpful! THANK YOU!
This week, we started a really fun unit in reading on "Same Stories, Different Lands". We started with Cinderella and learned how this story originated in France and has since had many different versions around the world. We discussed how the 1950's Disney version was inspired by the Cinderella story from France. We are enjoying looking at world maps and finding the locations for these stories as well.
Once of the first things I noticed when we introduced the Cinderella story was that 11 of our 27 students were unfamiliar with the Disney tale of Cinderella and were unable to name her! We took some time to backtrack and read the Cinderella storybook, as well as watch the 1950's version of Cinderella so that students were able to have some knowledge and experience with it before we jumped into reading other versions of this classic tale from around the world.
I was a little surprised that so many students did not know the Cinderella story! This led to a conversation with some colleagues who noted similar situations in middle school and junior high/high school. One 5th grade teacher noted that her students were reading the novel Wonder, and there was a reference to Beauty and the Beast that students did not catch/understand because they were not familiar with that classic tale. Another middle school/junior high teacher noted that the more we expose children to the classics, the better. She says:
"The more kids are exposed to classics, the better - in my opinion. When they get in higher grades and perhaps on to college - that prior knowledge is very helpful when they read and study subjects where references are made to Pinocchio, Cinderella, Camelot, etc..."
My take away is this: this group of students were mainly born in 2011. The Cinderella story emerged with Disney in 1950. A 61 year time span! I know in my home, we have gotten rid of VHS tapes and even DVDs since everything can now be streamed on Netflix, HuLu, Amazon, etc. You might not have these movies in your home anymore either. With all of the great movies, books, and media trends/apps/devices, etc. that come out so frequently for our entertainment, the Classics are getting forgotten. However, the Classics are still very much a part of our literary world and inspiration for today's authors and film makers. Just look at how many versions (cartoon and otherwise) there are of Cinderella today. So many!
You might find it enjoyable this holiday season to cozy up with your child and introduce them to some of your favorite childhood classics - or maybe their grandparent's childhood classics! Not only is it fun, but it will help your child have connections to classic literature throughout all of their years at school. You may have a future author, screen writer, game maker, artist (who doesn't love a great Disney coloring book?, for instance), educator, etc. living in your house right now! Bring back the classics and foster the love of timeless children's literature. It is up to us to hang on to these things in a fast paced, ever changing world!
So far, we have read The Girl with the Red Slippers - the Egyptian Cinderella. Check it out!
Coming up, we will read Billy Beg - an Irish version with a male lead as the main character. We will compare these three versions and I very much look forward to the discussions! Stay tuned for more!
Have a great weekend!! ** Remember, the canned/boxed food drive is still going, and we only have 10 items or less. Monday is the last day!!
