My Memories of the Fall Voyage

As I have been reflecting on this year's Fall Voyage, I have thought of several stories about the trip that you might enjoy hearing, too. While I am sure that there are many great stories that I missed, below are a few stories that I thought I would share with you.

• On the bus on the way to Camp Elim, both first grade crews spontaneously burst into one of the chants we have learned in math. It is: "2, 4, 6, 8, first graders are really great". They were so exuberant while they were chanting that you couldn't help but smile. It seems like math has bonded the entire first grade.
• The look of surprise or shock when we told the kids that we were going to eat lunch on the bus on the way up was priceless. The littlest things mean the most to them. One boy even shared that as his favorite part of the whole Voyage during our closing circle.
• Just as all of the girls were beginning to settle in at night, one girl popped up and said, "I don't want a top bunk anymore." Within a minute, another girl popped up and said, "But I do." So began the bed shuffle and starting the settling down process again.
• One boy was having trouble sleeping and another boy came over to comfort him and help him fall asleep. He kept glancing at the chaperone to see if it was okay. The chaperone thought it was very sweet.
• During the obstacle course, one boy began to cry as he tried to climb up and over the "A-frame" so he came down and finished the rest of the course. He came back later and triumphantly climbed  the "A-frame" and immediately ran around to do it one more time. Perseverance paid off him. He was so proud.
• I saw so many of the crew practicing good stewardship while we were hiking. They would see a piece of trash and pick it up and carry it until we reached a trash can. (Yes, we did wash hands before every meal.)
• As we were packing up on Thursday morning, one girl became the sleeping bag stuffing expert and helped almost all of the girls in her cabin stuff their sleeping bags into the sacks.
• While hiking two girls were constantly on the prowl for "perfume" (sage).
• After our campfire and closing circle on Wednesday night, I read a Henry and Mudge book to the crew. I love how calm they get when they listen to a story. It felt like a little bit of school while we were away.
• During our closing circle on Wednesday night I felt like the crew was not "right" so I had them do a count around the circle. It turned out that one crew member was missing and then I remembered that he was with his dad so all was good. However, this prompted one crew member to bring up Harry so we talked about my FaceTime chat with Harry from the night before and how he had a chance to do some painting with one of the nurses. It felt nice that Harry was part of that closing circle.
• On the bus on the way home, it was so relaxing to just sit amongst the crew and watch them be children. There was lots of pretend play with stuffed animals and animal crackers, storytelling and writing numbers on paper. Nothing big but they were all very content and having a great time.
• As we got closer to the school, one boy asked if the bus could just drop him off at home since it was on the way and he was sure that his parents would appreciate it since they might be busy.
• The crew was totally flexible and went with the flow for the entire Voyage. They really didn't know what day it was or what time it was. Even after eating dinner on the bus, one boy was surprised to learn that school was already out for the day when we got home. He was wondering if we would do another closing circle when we got there.
• Finally, I would like to say a special thanks to Wendy for helping to keep things running smoothly. It was great to have her to lean on.

Be sure to check out the information and slideshow on the previous blog post for more details about our Voyage.

Homework
Reading ~ Read a good book or two.
Math ~ Home Link 2.6 Telling Time to the Hour
Expedition ~ Interviews with Grandparents are due tomorrow.

Fall Voyage

Our Fall Voyage was a big success and lots of fun for all. Below is a slideshow of photos from our trip. You can either just hit play and watch this slide show or you can use the arrows at the bottom of the pictures to move more quickly or to go backward and forwards. Have your child watch it with you so they can tell you all about each picture. Below the slideshow are some facts, stories, etc. about our trip.


 


Why do we have a Fall Voyage?

We have a Fall Voyage for many reasons.

• We take voyages to push students just a little bit out of their comfort zone. Real learning occurs when you are pushed out of your comfort zone and are challenged to try things you have not done before. For some first graders the biggest challenge is simply being away from home for a night and learning that they can trust other adults and themselves. For others the challenge is being responsible for themselves and their gear instead of counting on mom or dad to keep track of everything. Most are challenged in some way by the activities of the voyage. They must learn to work together, show perseverance when trying to find solutions to challenging problems, push themselves physically, and start to show independence in an age-appropriate manner.
• I love the voyages because I get to see the students in a completely different environment and see other strengths that they have that might not show up in a classroom.
• The voyages are also a great place for the students to practice the character traits that we have been working so hard to learn in class. Students also bring back some of the confidence and new skills that they learned on the trip and are able to apply them to academic learning.
• We also all form tight bonds as a crew and are able to work very well together for the rest of the school year.

What did we do at Camp Elim?

In addition to eating, sleeping, packing, unpacking and taking care of ourselves, we also had time for some learning and some fun. Listed below are the activities we did along with a very short description.


Initiatives (Problem Solving Challenges)
Bag It – This activity had us feeling objects in bags to try to figure out what they were or finding the object we put in the bag without looking. We learned to use other senses rather than simply rely on sight to gather clues and make decisions.

Camouflage Hide and Seek - A unique version of hide and seek that can be played in a wooded area.

Nature Hunt at the Lake - This was a beautiful walk around a lake. We were challenged to really look at, listen to and smell what was around us. We had a list of things to look for and check off as we found them.

Web of Life - During this activity, we learned about how plants and animals depend on each other. We all chose an animal and then made a web (with string) to show how they are all related and what happens to the whole web when one animal is removed.

Recreational Activities

Alphabet Hike - At the beginning of this hike, we were all given a card with a letter of the alphabet on it. During the hike we had to look for things that started with that letter of the alphabet.

Obstacle Course – There were several physical challenges at this station.

Solo Hike – This was a short walk with a stop for a little solo time to reflect on the voyage. The kids chose spots within a set boundary and they sat by themselves just thinking and reflecting about the Voyage.

Chapel Games - There were several fun running and very active games that were played in the large chapel.

Other Items

We had a big campfire with skits and lots of laughter. This was a big hit for most of the crew. I am sure that they will tell you all about the spitting contest between two of the counselors to put out the fire.

The meals were very good. For dinner we had spaghetti, green beans, salad and garlic bread with a cupcake for dessert. For breakfast we had pancakes and sausage. There was also a breakfast bar with fruit, granola, oatmeal and hard boiled eggs. Then for lunch we had pizza, salad and grapes with ice cream bars for dessert.

It really was a wonderful trip. Thanks again to all of the chaperones who gave so generously of their time. Chaperoning is just like parenting or teaching – the toughest job you will ever love.

Crew News September 9, 2013

We Are All Experts
One of my goals as a teacher is to help each child find the things that they are passionate about and to know their own strengths. To get us started thinking about this we talked about the words “passionate” and “expert” during a recent morning meeting. Then we thought for a couple of days about what our passions and strengths might be. Finally, we created the charts shown here. We use these charts to help us remember that we are all good at something. This helps on those days when something might seem particularly challenging. We also use them to get to know our crew members better. We know who to ask if we need help or have a question about something. We can also use the charts to help us recommend good books that we find to others. They are also great conversation starters and have led to some wonderful sharing. We are all really starting to appreciate our differences and similarities and how these change over time. It is so exciting to me to see the crew really show a deeper understanding of each other and our strengths. Click on the picture to see a larger version of it.

Homework
Reading ~ Read a good book or two.
Math ~ Home Link 2.5 Clocks and Watches

Bring in your gear for the Voyage.

Important Dates
September 11 and 12 - Fall Voyage for 1st Grade
September 13 - Day of Rest for 1st Grade
October 4 - Boot Camp

Reminder
Be sure to stop by and check out our Kidblog page from time to time. We have begun to add ShowMes to our blogs. You will enjoy them. The link can always be found on the sidebar of this blog.

Birthday Treats

Wow! We have had so much fun with birthday treats this year. We started off with a great treat from Gabriel of two mechanical pencils - a big deal with first graders. Then today we had two birthday treats in one afternoon. Allison brought in goody bags with dry erase crayons, a notebook and a pencil. She has also invited the entire crew to her pool party at the Rec Center. Joseph ended our day with his birthday treat of a science experiment. We "blew" up balloons using the chemical reaction of vinegar and baking soda. The crew absolutely loved it! Each child brought home a balloon and instructions to do the experiment again at home.

I truly love how these treats are healthy and include all of the members of our crew (regardless of allergies and food intolerances). Thanks to those parents who have started us off so well with our birthday celebrations.

Crew News September 5, 2013

Character Trait ~ Integrity
Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching. It includes other components such as telling the truth, doing what you say you will do and not blaming others for our mistakes. We read the books, It Was You, Blue Kangaroo and A Special Thank You. Ask your child about integrity and how they can show it at home and at school.

Homework
No homework for the long weekend. Enjoy some good books with your child.

IA (Integrated Arts)
Our IA next week is Art.

Crew News September 4, 2013

Sight Words
We have begun to work on learning to spell some of our sight words correctly. We will be learning 5 words every two weeks (we will take two weeks because we won't be able to fit in our practice time every day due to Library visits and shortened days). We will begin by noticing any unusual things about how each word is spelled and then we will write them using the Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check method. By the end of next week, your child should be able to explain this method to you. We will also create and write sentences using these words. The five words we are currently learning will be placed on our word wall and all students will be expected to learn these words and spell them correctly in their writing. As we get better at learning words, we may pick up our pace and work on more words at a time. So soon you can expect to see words like wuz, hav, lik, wint, litl, uv, git  and more disappear from your child's writing.

Homework
Reading ~ Read a good book or two.
Math ~ Home Link 2.4 Numbers Before and After

Library
We have library tomorrow. Please help your child remember to return his or her library books.

Crew News September 3, 2013

Writing
During our Writer's Workshop, we have started a genre study. The genre that we are currently studying is Pattern books. Pattern books are books that have a phrase or story element that repeats in a regular pattern. We have read many pattern books and noticed the patterns in them. We have really enjoyed exploring this genre. Now we have begun to try to write our own pattern books. Ask your child about his or her pattern book. (My plan was to take some photos of students writing but I got so involved in working with the crew on their books that I forgot. I think that this is a good thing.)

Homework
Reading ~ Read a good book or two.
Math ~ Home Link 2.3 Two-Fisted Penny Addition

Important Dates
September 6 - No school for students - Teacher Professional Development Day
September 11 and 12 - Fall Voyage for 1st Grade
September 13 - Day of Rest for 1st Grade
October 4 - Boot Camp