Saturday, May 23, 2015

Celebrate this week ~ This is ONE A-MAZ-ing Class!

I wish you could see this the way my heart does.
This is my field day t-shirt complete
with the AUTOGRAPHS of my ENTIRE class!
The PERFECT embellishment! 

Ruth Ayers of Discover. Play. Build. invites  us to share weekly celebrations, big or small, on her blog. This week I am jumping in, celebrating my A-MAZ-ing class.   Thanks Ruth for hosting! 


Friday we had our annual field day. Field day at our school is full of good old fashioned outdoor games, the kind you might have played as a kid at a family reunion (and a few jumpy houses).  As soon as the kids see the school they know the day is going to be amazing! Flags, games, jumpy houses, and even snow cones machines are all you can see!  Kids come in with swimsuits under their clothes, water bottles in hand and the smell of freshly applied sunscreen overwhelms the building.  The whole entire school is outside ALL DAY!

The kids laughed, they ran, they ate snow cones and undoubtedly they made memories! As I watched my class play and struggle my heart filled with pride. The kids worked together to support their classmates, they played with healthy competition, and when someone (even me) was in need they came to help.

One stand out moment was watching Amy (not her real name) stop her race (and she was well ahead,
and she is competitive) to help each classmate make their way up a difficult climb. Of course they all passed her by to finish the race as she cheered them all on!  Such compassion....

As other teachers or parents joined our group they commented on the sense of community they saw and felt in our class. I am so proud of these first graders, they have empathy for others and a class bond that's strong and visible to outsiders.

As this warms my heart it also breaks my heart because soon our class will walkout of our classroom (as a class) for the final time.  I have witnessed struggle and growth in each and everyone and I could not be prouder of their determination, perseverance and who they are as people. They will all accomplish great things and I can't wait to see it all!





7 comments:

  1. I wish we could do something like this - kids need to celebrate the joy of coming together as a community at the end of a long school year, like yours did.

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  2. Field days can be such fun, especially when everyone is looking out for each other. It sounds like that is your class, Deb. Hope you have a wonderful final few days.

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  3. What a wonderful story Deb. You've done such a good job of creating and fostering that supportive environment in your classroom.

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  4. What a great day! I'm so glad that you all got to have a lovely time together.

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  5. Such a lovely celebration of your classroom community!

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  6. What a wonderful first grade teacher you are. You measure success not only by the old reading and writing but also by character. YEA for you.

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  7. These kinds of days can be disastrous if you haven't built a classroom community. Good luck in the last days. They can be so bittersweet.

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