“I’m so excited for the fresh start the new school year brings,” said East Hampton teacher Erin Basile as she welcomed her incoming first graders and their families to her classroom at Memorial School. School starts this coming Monday in East Hampton, but this week students and families had a chance to check out their classrooms and learn which other students will be in their class.
During the first week of school, Basile says she does many different activities with her students including read alouds, social stories, and crafts to go with them.
[Pictured at right are Memorial School first grade teachers Erin Basile and Heather Vigue.]
“The different activities help to get them moving, like Meet a New Friend Bingo or we’ll practice building towers together to practice teamwork. We’ll go outside to practice lining up for recess and we’ll practice all the routines just to get them used to the new structures. Coming off summer there’s always a lot of movement at the beginning of the year, and they’re all so excited so we like to keep them engaged and moving around as much as possible to get to know each other, the school, and the routines.”
Fellow first grade teacher Heather Vigue greeted many new students as well as a number of former students who couldn’t resist the opportunity to stop in and share what they’ve been up to this summer. Vigue says she’s most looking forward to connecting with families this year and establishing relationships with her students.
Vigue also prioritizes movement with her young students and has flexible seating in her classroom so that students can try out different options including scoop rockers, wiggle seats, wiggle stools, and therapy balls.
“I don’t think kids have to leave the room to have a movement break,” Vigue says. “I’ve learned over the years, even if we’re transitioning from one activity to another, we can do it by hopping, walking backwards—they can’t sit for the whole day and they shouldn’t be expected to.”
“I think the most amazing part about first grade is how much they change over the course of the year,” Basile says. “They come in and they’re beginning readers and starting to recognize some words, they can sound out some words, and it’s almost a daily change. All of a sudden they start to recognize more sounds and they can decode more words and then, before you know it, they’re reading. By the end of the year in first grade they can read, and they’re so excited about it, so proud of themselves. And the same with math too. They come with some basic skills but then we can really watch them develop. They’re discovering new things every day—it’s really exciting.”
One of Vigue’s incoming students, Arlo, is already a big fan of reading and said his favorite special subject in kindergarten was library. His mom Jessie Tully said he thoroughly enjoyed kindergarten at Memorial School. “He loved it, he was so happy here.”
As he heads off to first grade, Tully said she’s happy to see how excited he is to learn. “And I’m excited to watch him learn.”
Vigue has been teaching first grade for twelve years and said her favorite thing about the age group is the unexpected moments that arise. “One little boy came in one day. I’d worked so hard to do my hair, but he took one look at me and asked, ‘Is it crazy hair day today?’ It’s those kinds of moments, they’re so honest—no filters and I love it.”
