First Week Back in Grade 1

I just realized that I hadn't posted much about school or my classroom lately, and the first week back happened to be a pretty fun one! 

The main project we worked on was Box Friends! I saved all of our boxes over Christmas break so the kids could start right away on Monday designing their own personal Box Friend. The point of the activity is to encourage creative thinking and writing. We spent one day painting all of the boxes black, and then the next day was devoted to decoration. 

There weren't many rules because I wanted to see their imaginations. They just had to have a name, a face, and be a character. For example, if they made an airplane, it still had to have a character. . . think Thomas the Tank Engine - if only I could have used that example to explain it to them. I am now old enough to "date myself" by referring to things in my childhood. . . sad day.

my example is the one on the right with the blue hair and green skirt :]

Here are several close-ups

This next week, they will be writing character bios and imaginative stories. At the end, they'll get a chance to stand up and share their stories and box friends with the class. I'm excited to see what they come up with!

And here was our art project of the week:

Fireworks drawn with oil pastels, then covered with black watercolor paint 

These were so fun, and I think they turned out awesome! Probably my favorite art piece we've done so far this year!

Close-ups:

Ta-Dah! 

They are now displayed proudly on our class bulletin board!