First Grade Adventures

August 12th, 7 small children walked into a classroom with desks six feet apart, face shields and hand sanitizer (hanitizer) on their desks, and a first year teacher anxiously awaiting their arrival. 6 of these children went to Kindergarten together and were very excited to see each other once again. There were 3 boys and 4 girls . Once they all found their desks, took of their masks, and put on their face shields, they looks expectantly at their teacher, wondering what this school year would hold in this weird time. A nervous teacher said to the students, "Hello! My name is Ms. Short and I am going to be your teacher this year." 

Since that day, two more little boys have been added to the class. The students range from 5-7 years old, but are all about academically at the same spot. I teach them the pledges, how to read a calendar, bible, phonics, handwriting, math, reading comprehension, and social studies. Every quarter we will switch from social studies (or as the students say it, "shosheal shtudies") to science. Due to COVID, we are in a temporary classroom, also known as the 8th grade social studies room. Hopefully after Labor day, we will be entering our permanent classroom for the rest of the year. Although I am definitely happy to have a little more time to work in my permanent classroom before the students will be in there. 

Having restrictions makes teaching a different kind of challenge this year. The students cannot touch their faces without washing their hands, which with mainly six year olds, they are going through hanitizer like water. Face coverings are required inside and the students are not allowed to be within six feet of each other. Thankfully, we have reached two weeks together, so the students are considered a cohort and can be within six feet of each other, as long as there are face coverings. They can also share toys now without me having to clean them. Since their favourite thing to play with is the hundred of tangrams we have, this is a great pleasure to me to not have to wipe them all down every time a student touches them, just every night. The student's favourite subjects are math and art. Some of them like reading best, but most of them will agree that math and art are their favourites. All 9 of them are extremely athletic, which means that sitting at desks all day is not possible. They get to stand up and do actions for something every subject. We also tend to have "wiggle breaks" every half hour. We typically do class bathroom breaks too, which gets them out of the classroom, though they have to stand quietly in the hallway. Recess is my favourite part of the day, because it gets them running, no one has to wear a mask, and we are not in the classroom, sitting six feet apart. At recess, I get to interact with the students like children should be interacted with and there are not so many rules that I have to tell them to stop doing something every few seconds. They just get to run and be kids for a while. 

Overall, everyday I am still a little nervous when the students enter the room, but there is an excitement now to see my kids that I have started to bond with. There is a routine now, mostly, which makes the days run smoother. Everyone knows this room and schedule are temporary, so everyone is a bit hesitant about getting too comfortable with what we are doing now. 

Upcoming excitement in the first grade classroom: 

 Moving to our permanent classroom!!! (Also, air conditioning) 

 Standardized testing 

 Our first class store for Class Dojo points

 FALL (No more 100 degree days!)