1st Grade Preparatory Camp 2020 AUGUST
Welcome in our 1st Grade! What happened this week? For the 1st week of camp, the students were introduced to a variety of activities, from storytelling, to vocabulary games, to interactive smartboard games. These activities were introduced to have the children use their comprehension skills, a bit of literacy skills,
Ă gnes Forro ' 1st grade teacher
Joseph Williams 1st grade teacher and an introduction to digital learning. These activities were chosen to give the students an equal balance of usage in literacy skills. Storytelling was an excellent way for the students to stay focused for an extended period, and their interaction of opinion and feedback gave them an opportunity to demonstrate comprehension.
The vocabulary game was an excellent way for the students to do some decoding, and the smart board activities were a way for them to recognize words and objects, matching them to demonstrate their comprehension of both. With a changing world of technology, smartboards will become a dominating piece of equipment as the students progress during the school year.
Language skills
Szonja's language skills Szonja was quiet and reserved at the beginning of the week. As the week progressed, however, she began to respond, demonstrating her comprehension skills.
Art & music skills
From an outside point of view, during a music activity seems just having fun, dancing, singing, playing. Well, that is true, but I should mention the „hidden" parts as well, since when children participate in music and movement activities in a group, they also develop and refine they social skills, they learn to work as a team, they learn to share and they learn how to be creative in a group environment. In Art and craft, the task was to make a fish from clay. They work as a really good group!
Szonja's art skills Szonja loves to participate in every kind of creative activity. Music was not an exception! Szonja takes great care in her work. She used her preschool knowledge. Her fish is uniquely developed. She made a real picture of a fish. She has a unique sense of art.
Fine motor skills
Fine motor skills are essential in aquiring first grade's most important task that is in reading and writing. In the camp we had so much fun through activities where we trained the muscles in our hands and fingers just like creating wonderful shapes and forms out of plasticine or learned some rhymes and games for training our fingers. In our games we traveled through forests and jungles, imitating rain and thunder and wind, all of these complex activities in order to get us ready for the most exciting challenge in first grade that is learning to read and write.
Szonja's motor skills Szonja loves spending her time on detailed and colorful drawings. Her fine motor skills are good and she is motivated and well-behaved.
Social skills
Strong social skills are as important to success in school as academic ones. Sharing, being polite, resilience, the ability of being patient are key elements of a successful start at school. Students in first grade need to learn how to communicate their needs appropriately and how to interact with their teachers and classmates. The activities, role plays, drama games we involved in the camp’s schedule have been designed to help them achieve these goals.
Szonja's social skills Szonja is a nice, reserved, and polite girl. She made friends in the camp and was polite and helpful with both teachers and her peers.
Mindfulness skills
Mindfulness is a mode of mind with a conscious awareness of ourselves and our environment. By practising mindfulness students can improve their emotion regulation, emotional flexibility, empathy, self-awareness and self-acceptance on the long term. With mindfulness approach the students can learn how to decrease their stress and anxiety and prepare themselves for challenging situations. In the preparation camp the idea of mindfulness was introduced to the students starting with the initial steps: observation and participation. Students tried fun relaxing, calming, energizing and selfesteem boosting techniques as well as observational pair work.
Szonja's mindfulness skills Szonja seemed like a girl whose trust must yet to be earned by me as a teacher-figure and by mindfulness activities as well. She maintained an observer position collecting impressions from her active peers. She felt most confident when sitting next to her friend, otherwise it took more time for her to get comfortable with mindfulness tasks. I suppose that once Szonja feels secure in her class, she will be more willing to experience with mindfulness activities. I am sure she will be doing fine as in specific tasks she proved to be determined and daring, e.g. presenting for the whole group.
Wieder Szonja My favourite moments
I liked... ... ... ... ... ...
playing with clay the treasure hunt drawing and painting playing with Moka, the therapy dog ' the team-building games
Thank you for joining us!