Hello and welcome to FMLCS's first blog post of the 2015-2016 school year! It's been a long time coming, but after wrestling technical difficulties and combatting glitches, we're up and kicking once again. The year has started off spectacularly, and we've gotten up to a lot since day one. Ah, day one. I remember it like it was yesterday...
[cue dramatic flashback music]
It was the morning of August 31. The sun was rising, birds were singing (or, well, Sunday Funnies the Classroom Parakeet was screeching - that counts, right?), the classroom was waiting all clean and new for very likely the last time until next year (RIP kidney table space), when suddenly...
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| Special shout-out to my sister, who came all the way from Ohio to conceive and construct the backend of the jeep and help build the tree! |
They were here!
Every year, my class has a new theme that we use throughout the program. This year, our theme is Kingdom Safari. We're following the Bible verse Job 12:7-10, which says,
"But ask the animals, and they will teach you. Or ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you. Speak to the earth and it will teach you. Or let the fish of the sea tell you. Every one of these knows that the hand of the Lord has done this. The life of every creature and the breath of all people are in God's hand."
Two years ago, our students were Secret Agents at the F.M.L.C.S. Central Intelligence Agency, on a mission for the greatest Commander in Chief. Last year, our students were Astronauts at LASA (Lombard Aerodynamics and Space Administration) discovering the universe under the ultimate Mission Control. This year, they're fearless explorers at the FMLCS Wildlife Reserve out to classify and care for all God's creatures - big and small. From our wildlife reserve we'll go on a virtual safari across North America, deep into the sea, and into lands beyond our own in order to study the skeletal and muscular systems of animals, what weather patterns have to do with animal behavior, and what effect thermal energy has on living creatures.
Together we have embarked on our journey, always being guided by the most fearless Safari Leader of all time: Jesus Christ. We're working hard to share His love and become keepers of His kingdom, because it's up to us to look out for our animal neighbors and the earth we share!
In keeping with our theme, and with our North America-centered social studies focus, each student has an official Explorer Identity. We figured if Indiana Jones, one of the best (fictional) explorers in the world, was named after a state, we should be too! I'll be referring to these Explorer Identities throughout the year in blog posts and on Facebook, so pay attention as I introduce you to the FMLCS Fearless Explorers of 2015:
Team One (Kindergarten)
Team Two (1st Grade)
Team Three (2nd Grade)
Team Four (3rd Grade)
Aren't they a fantastic looking bunch? Each of them chose their state out of a bag, and it took them no time at all to memorize which was theirs. We've been learning the song Fifty States that Rhyme, and whenever their states come up they raise their hands or jump up like their state names are the best thing they've ever heard in their whole lives. A lot of out-of-state pride has been cultivated in the past few weeks, which will definitely prove useful when each student gives a report on their state by the end of the year.
So, now that you know the theme and our cast of characters, we can move back to our regularly scheduled program! Where were...ah yes, week one.
The first weeks of school were filled with a lot of, well, firsts! We had our first Morning Worship...
Our first recess (which they hated, as you can see)...
Our first big project...
Our first lunch...
Our first Quiet Reading Time...
Our first Rule Compilation & Sorting...
Our first workboxes...
Our first Bible unit (on Creation Week, and doesn't that just fit our theme perfectly?)
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| I have no idea why this is moving so fast, but it is hysterical. |
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| We tried to create people out of clay like God did, but it didn't quite work out. This is Minnesota M's great attempt! |
Our first birthdays...
(This will be a placeholder for Minnesota M and Mississippi A's balloon photo, as I forgot to take one. Luckily the explorers are pretty used to staged redos, haha. They, along with Oklahoma R., had the first birthdays of the year. Three down, four to go!)
Our first photoshoots...
Our first nurturing a fallen hero back to health...
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| My dog was attacked during the third week of school, and he's been coming to school with me while recuperating. |
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| He's so well behaved and the explorers like having him so much, we decided he should stick around. |
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| He hates all the extra attention almost as much as the explorers hate recess, clearly. |
And our first cooking class, which has been followed by many cooking classes since.
So far we've made black bean burgers, zucchini "crab" cakes, pumpkin spice cookies, and blueberry muffins!
Our cooking classes correspond with our social studies, with each food being associated with a specific state - although we don't always get to the state before we get to the food. So far we've covered Delaware ("crab" cakes) and Maine (blueberry muffins). Usually what we cook is a hit and miss scenario, as we have some pretty picky eaters. However, so far almost everything has been picky eater approved!
It has been a spectacular month so far, full of fun adventures, exciting books, wonderful songs, and meaningful lessons. I am so lucky to call myself the teacher of this rag tag bunch of explorers, and they find new ways every day of showing me just how lucky I am. At least five times a day, one of them will come up to me out of nowhere, throw themselves at me in a hug, and make wild declarations such as: "I like you, Miss P.!" or "You're the best teacher ever, Miss P.!" and I laugh and make some wild declarations of my own ("I like you too; now stop avoiding your reading journal." or "I'm glad you still think so in the midst of persecution, as I'm afraid the point has already been taken."), but each time means more to me than I could ever say (no matter what pickle they're trying to get themselves out of at the time).
This year has started off at a gallop, and I don't expect we'll slow down any time soon! Tomorrow is our first field trip, and I look forward to sharing all our new adventures with you in the next blog post. With any luck, you can check back here on October 11 to see what crazy shenanigans we've been up to. You can also check our Facebook page next Sunday (October 4) for our Month in Review video. Until next time, friends!
God bless,
Mia (Miss P.)
Safari Project purchased from:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Safari-Guide-or-Explorer-Craft-Template-588469
