Today we have a special post from Mrs. Colette Upton, our first grade teacher, on the occasion of the 100th day of school. Read below for a peek into the class festivities!
FIRST grade never has to look far to find a reason to celebrate and have fun while learning. Our latest celebration, however, was 99 days in the making!
Beginning the first day of school, we start counting the days of waiting to celebrate once we hit the 100th day mark. This finally happened on Monday, February 3rd. The first grade class arrived that morning to find pictures of themselves in the hallway showing what they could possibly look like when they were 100 years old, thanks to a photo aging app. There were many giggles and even some groans.
They entered the room through a silver curtain and took pictures holding the same frame they used on the first day of school. It is so fun to see their growth from day one. The students filled out a paper speculating where they would live when they are 100 years old, what they would be eating (disgusting peas was one answer!) and what they would be doing with their friends.
Some of our 100 day activities included filing out a 100 square grid to with their name to make a beautiful colored design and rolling dice and adding the numbers to race to 100. One of the favorite activities was racing Mrs. Upton to see who completed 100 math facts first. You will have to ask a first grader to see who won!
Since food is an important part of any celebration we ate a starburst candy, tracking how many chews it took. Could they reach 100? A few did, and a few were disappointed when they swallowed early in the game!
We also counted out 100 Fruit Loops and made a necklace, separating it out by 10’s. If anyone remembers the old commercials asking “How many licks does it take to get to the middle of a Tootsie Pop?” first grade is here to testify it is definitely more than 100!
The students each brought in 100 items and by just listening as they shook it in a paper bag, we all tried to guess what the items were. We had 100 hair ties, 100 beads, 100 Legos, and–the favorite of the day–100 pieces of Chex Puppy Chow!
It was definitely a day that the students looked forward to and are now looking back on with fond memories.
Mrs. Colette Upton has joyfully taught first grade at Providence since January 2018. Prior to teaching, she served Providence as a parent volunteer and part time receptionist. Colette and her husband, Bob, have three children, Noah, Hannah, and Haddie. They have lived in St. Louis for 14 years, making it home when Bob retired from the Navy. Their family worships at First Free Evangelical church in Ballwin.
