New Year, New You!

We have continued our focus on academic development with goal setting. To start our lesson this week, first and third graders watched a fun video clip by the Kid President. Here is the video:

The kids found this video to be hilarious! The kid president reviews all of the things he was able to accomplish in 2014 while looking ahead to the New Year. This got our students thinking about what they would like to accomplish this year. However, the students needed to think about the steps they have to take in order to accomplish their goal. We reviewed that a goal needs to be realistic if they want to reach it. The first graders did a great job thinking about what they would like to accomplish in 2015. Here are two examples:

The third graders created their very own soccer ball books. In these books, the third graders had to prioritize their goals and select one that they wish to achieve by May. They were excited about decorating their books and did a fantastic job with them! Below are a few examples:

In order to hold the students accountable for their goals, we discussed that it is important to review their goals on occasion and change them, if necessary. Goals may change throughout the year, which is okay! I am just so proud of our first and third graders for taking these assignments seriously and applying them to their lives. They have some awesome aspirations! Together, we can make a difference!

-Mrs. Bagby :) 

Setting Goals

Welcome back and Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a nice and relaxing break. Since it is the start of a new year, I thought it would be a good idea to focus on goal setting. In first grade, we read the book, Beverly Cleary: She Makes Reading Fun by Patricia Stone Martin. This book is from the Reaching Your Goal series. This is an inspiring book that illustrates the power of perseverance. Beverly was not very good at reading but, with strong determination, she was able to improve her reading and eventually became a famous author! She was able to reach her goal!

Instead of reading Beverly Cleary: She Makes Reading Fun in third grade, we watched a video clip about Ormie the pig instead. This video shows a pig whose goal is to reach cookies on the top of a fridge. With hard work, creativity, and determination, Ormie is finally able to get his cookies! Here is the link for you to watch:

After we read this book, the class brainstormed desired academic goals. Some examples of academic goals from first and third grade were to move up a reading level, to read more books each day, to improve handwriting, to learn how to write in cursive, and to be more respectful on the bus. It was important that we went over realistic and non-realistic goals. For example, we decided that reading 1,000 books per day was probably not realistic. However, reading 3 books per day might be. I was very impressed by the goals that these students created. Our first and third graders came up with excellent, realistic, and attainable goals!

This first grader's goals are to reach reading level Z and to help others. 

Below is the worksheet that third graders worked on:

This worksheet can be found on teacherspayteachers.com. It is by Elementary School Garden.

Have a wonderful rest of your week! 

-Mrs. Bagby J

Safe Touch

In kindergarten this week, our emphasis was on safe touches. Students learned that a “good touch” is one that makes you feel good (like a hug from a family member). A “bad touch,” on the other hand, is one that makes you feel uncomfortable, confused or makes your “uh, oh” voice go off in your head.  Students learned to do the following three things if someone touches them in a bad way:

1.  Say, “NO, STOP!”

2.  Get away.

3. Tell a trusted adult.

After I felt like the students understood this concept, the class named trusted adults. Many answers the classes came up with were parents, teachers, grandparents, aunts/uncles, the principal, counselor, and the nurse. I handed out a worksheet that students could illustrate the trusted adults in their lives. Below is an example:

After the students were finished with this page, they each got a coloring page that read, "Your body belongs to YOU." This page reinforced the idea that no one can touch them without their permission.

This is such an important topic to understand. We encourage parents to have a follow-up conversation with their children about safety. Have a wonderful weekend J

-Mrs. Bagby