Best of First Day School
2002-2003!
Teachers:
Heidi Hannapel, Kathleen March and Lory Mills
The 3-4-5's have had a busy year!
We learned about coming to Meeting for
Worship and how we listen. We talked about the silence and practiced
listening for God in the wind. We took nature walks and looked for
God. We shared how to be kind to the Earth and watched the 1-3rd
graders' wonderful puppet show – The Kapok Tree.
Some mornings we were particularly wiggly so
we learned some important stretching songs. We played Bunny Bunny
Chicken at Easter and the Jumping Bean Game for Cinco de
Mayo. On special days we learned how children around the world live
and celebrate their special holidays.
We talked about what it means to be a Quaker
and practiced being peacekeepers and good listeners. There were many
times when the 3-4-5's had a thing or two to teach us
grown-ups. Sometimes we even had practical peacekeeping experiences
on the playground where there was always lots of catching and running
energy. Particular thanks go out to John for all his loving chasing.
We shared Bible stories that were often
complemented by our own retellings. And lots of wonderful story
books from the March / Mills /
Hannapel libraries. Best of all, we welcomed several new kids just before the end of the year!
First through Third Grade Class
We began this year
with a continuation of the theme of taking care of the planet. Together with the 4th-5th-grade
class we put on a play and reading from the book The Great Kapok Tree. They worked together on the puppets, the set
and the choreography, and really bonded as a group.
The remaining of
the winter was devoted to Quakerism. We
used a storybook of Quaker History in the United States called Quakers on
the Move. We began with George Fox
and ended with Levi Coffin and the "Underground Railroad". Graduating 4th-graders were given
this book at the graduation ceremony on May 25th. The 4th-5th-grade
class will be using this text in the fall and look at more recent history.
The period between
Christmas and Easter was devoted to a study of the Bible. We tried to put Jesus and Christianity in a
historical context using the marvelous book, A Street through Time. We focused our Bible Study this year on the
life of Jesus and made heavy use of the Usborne Children’s Bible. The 4th – 5th grade
class will begin the fall with a look at the Old Testament, with a focus on
Abraham as the father of three major world religions.
Spring has been
devoted to a study of the conditions of children worldwide. We have focused on the similarities between
all children: families, friendships, play and basic needs. We have looked at the ways basic needs are
met (or not met) in communities around the world. I have used a series of
picture books put out by UNICEF. These
will be on display at the open house.
The purpose of this study is the idea of peace through
understanding. There is much room for a
continuation of this curriculum next year.
In the 4th-5th-grade class we will be
investigating world religions and inviting guest speakers. I know the younger class would be interested
in sharing friends, items and foods from different cultures.
The class has
enjoyed playing games in small groups such as pick-up sticks, building puzzles,
tanograms, and Go Fish! They are an
especially artistic bunch and have enjoyed drawing, sculpture with pipe
cleaners, wax, clay and beads, and making mosaics. Their puppets were especially beautiful. We were lucky to have
Candace Midgett spend a couple First Days with us to teach paper quilling. We have also been lucky to have Hunt
McKinnon assist in the class this year.
The kids have adored him!
I hope your
children had as much fun as I did this year!
Teacher: Betsy Blair
The school year was divided into thirds: 1) getting to know each other and experiencing Quaker concepts of being “in community”, 2) studying selections from the Bible, and 3) learning about other religious/ philosophical traditions.
Our large group (usually 8-12 students) got
to know each other well through class art activities, discussions, doing
service projects at the Ronald McDonald House, and having several “Games Days”
throughout the year. We also got to
know most of the 1st-3rd graders when we joined their
class to put on the play The Great Kapok Tree. While they were studying the animals within this play, we were
reading about Monarch butterflies, their metamorphosis and migrations. We read the book The Prince of
Butterflies, by Bruce Coville, a book that tells an imagination story, part
fact and part fantasy about the life of environmentalist, John Farrington.
In November, we made about 200 corn muffins
for the Meeting’s Stone Soup Potluck.
We also provided some for the parents at the R. McD. House. We cleaned
at the House three times over the year.
We enjoyed having hot chocolate each Sunday
during the cold winter months, and sharing cups of hot chocolate and art
projects with many different families staying at R. McD. Sometimes these families did not speak
English, but we could still enjoy these things together. During the winter, we studies the various
parts of the Christmas story and created a story board showing which parts of
the Christmas story come from which of the four gospels.
Around March, we thought about the concept
of Joy, making art, listening to music, and writing about our own ideas of
Joy. Then we started learning about the
ancient Toltec philosophy from Mexico, discussing the ideas from the book The
Four Agreements by surgeon/shaman Don Miguel Ruiz. In late April and May we polayed with
“creativity puzzles”, thinking about creativity, problem definitions, and
finding solutions. In the last three
weeks of the school year, we learned prayers for peace from John Calvi and from
St. Francis of Assisi.
Sixth through Eighth Grade Class
We focused on learning about the Bible and
biblical history. We read snippets of scripture, starting with the story
of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, then some Moses, then some King David,
then some Daniel, then some Isaiah, then various New Testament stories
including Sermons on the Mount and Plain, Legion, cleansing the Temple, and the
passion. Along the way we looked at maps of the holy land, learned about
the various major political movements and powers that have played out along the
way.