I have to admit, when I found out that the day I would be shadowing first-grader Myles Twyman just happened to be the 100th Day of School, I was nervous. You see, the students typically dress as 100-year-olds to celebrate this special day. Would I be able to come up with a costume creative enough to garner the respect of my new "classmates?!"
I frantically combed through my closet the night before, and much to my dismay I realized I owned nothing that would suffice. (Why don't I have anything floral?) I felt a little better when I found out my new teacher, Mrs. Harrison, was having a hard time coming up with an outfit as well. As a last-ditch effort, I drove to Fred's Super Dollar and was thrilled to discover a rack of floral lounger robes (aka moo moos), so I picked up one for myself and one for Mrs. Harrison. I was officially ready for my big day as a firstie.
Now, the 100th Day of School is a big deal at Darlington. The students look forward to it every year. But I learned firsthand that the 100th Day is NOT a party day. Everything we did in class related to learning and reinforced concepts the students had been studying. It was an incredible day and here are just a few of my observations:
Physical movement plays a huge role in learning. This is one of the things that actually surprised me. When I was in elementary school, we spent a lot of time sitting at our desks listening to the teacher and doing our work. But in Mrs. Harrison's class, there is a great deal of movement within the classroom itself. We would complete an activity at our desks and then move over to the rug area for the next activity. I noticed that this really helped the children stay focused and engaged throughout the day. In the afternoon, we did centers with all of the other ELA-2 classes, and we moved between Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Deaton, Mrs. Ray, Mrs. Watkins and Mrs. Harrison's classrooms. The children embraced this change in their normal routine with ease and remained focused on exactly what we were doing at all times.
Learning and fun go hand in hand. Everything we did in class to celebrate the 100th Day of School was both educational and FUN. We covered grammar, spelling, writing, fractions, place value, balance and coordination (in P.E.), mixing colors (in art), and so much more. We worked both individually and as members of a team throughout the day. Often when we were working on something alone, the teachers would play relaxing or fun music. The students loved this and remained completely focused on the task at hand. By the end of the day, I had a huge appreciation for the safe and enjoyable learning environment our teachers create for our students each day.
Children crave challenge. I saw this immediately! The first thing we did was gather on the rug to do our calendar activities. This involved identifying the date, day of the week, month of the year, etc. But it was also a time to review numbers, words and other topics. One of the things Mrs. Harrison reviewed with us was reading place value in numbers. Would you believe that our first-graders can read numbers into the quintillions?! Well, it's true! I saw it with my own eyes and I was blown away. The best part was that when Mrs. Harrison started with a three-digit number the students groaned and asked for something harder. By the end of our session, they were reading numbers like 456,789,423,578,908,175,753!
Children appreciate every step in the learning process. I noticed this most in art where we were mixing paint colors to create 100 new colors. While I was focused on finishing my worksheet, the students around me were enjoying the creative process. I heard lots of, "Wow, what a pretty color!" "Look, I made a color that looks like the ocean!" and "How did you make that color? I want to try!" It made me slow down and enjoy what I was doing instead of being so focused on getting done before class was over.
Our students are kind. I have always been proud of the general behavior and manners of the students we have here at Darlington, and my day in first grade only made me more proud. The Harrison Heroes truly love, care for and support one another. I saw examples of this throughout the day. When we were doing place value, they would get so excited and clap for one another when they read a number correctly. And when a student missed a question, they were supportive and said things like, "It's ok! You'll get it next time." Another thing I noticed was that there was absolutely no bickering about who wanted to sit by who and who was in what group with who. This actually surprised me a little! Students were surrounded by and engaged with different peers and friends throughout the day, including students in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and second grade. It was a very welcoming environment and I was proud of the kindness they showed one another.
Our students know they are loved. I cannot count how many times I heard a teacher tell a student that she loved them. What an amazing environment to learn in every day. I couldn't help but think back to the founding of our school and the fact that Darlington is named for a teacher. The Coopers chose to name the school after Joseph James Darlington, a teacher that had inspired and impacted Mr. Cooper greatly. This focus on the teacher-student relationship is clearly still a huge reason why Darlington is the place that it is. The kind of vocal support our teachers show our students inspires a great deal of trust and creates a very healthy environment in which to learn and make mistakes.
Being a first-grader is exhausting. I was SO tired by the end of the day. My mind is spinning as I think back to all the learning and activity we were able to pack into one day. However, I think my classmates could have kept going! The energy and thirst for learning possessed by our young Tigers is refreshing. At the end of the day when it was time for car line, four students actually asked if they could stay in the classroom and help clean up! ELA-8 Director Hope Jones was in the room and she and I did a double take. Are they really asking to CLEAN?! And they did! I have a feeling that this desire was clearly more about having the opportunity to stay in the classroom just a little bit longer!
I want to thank Myles, Mrs. Harrison, and all my new friends for allowing me this opportunity to shadow for a day and get an insider's look at what it's like to be a first-grader at Darlington. They welcomed me with open arms and even inducted me as an Honorary Harrison Hero. (This made me feel very special because there are only three other Honorary Heroes!) They also invited me to come back again on a "regular" school day, and I can't wait to take them up on their offer!
Note: Tannika Wester is one of 18 administrators, teachers and staff members participating in Darlington's shadowing exercise to get a firsthand look at what the Darlington experience is really like for students of all ages.
We each made a Fruit Loop necklace with 100 Fruit Loops. Then, we counted how many of each color and translated that into fractions.
We each made a list of 100 words.
I finished first but I think I have a bit of a leg up!
Myles finished his list of 100 words first in his class. All words had to be legible and spelled correctly. As a prize, he got 100 Captain Rodney Dollars!
We made a list of 100 things we love about first grade! A couple of students even wrote down "Miss Tannika!"
In art, we each mixed paint to create 100 different colors.
Before lunch, we said a prayer together.
In the afternoon, we did 100 Day centers with pre-K, kindergarten and second grade. In Mrs. Watkins' room, we used toothpicks and mini marshmallows to construct something. I made a swingset!
Mrs. Harrison had my desk ready right next to my friend Myles.
I was so proud that my new friends in first grade inducted as an Honorary Harrison Hero!
