First Graders at BVE Explore Holidays via ‘Craftivities’

Nothing quite says activity like making a craft. And first graders at Bernice Vossbeck Elementary recently had a pair of “craftivities” that helped them focus their learning surrounding November holidays Veterans Day and Thanksgiving. 

Julie Goodman, first-grade teacher, says the three first-grade teachers at BVE paired a variety of reading activities with a craft around Veterans Day. By using a book created by Cara Carrol, the students all read the same material and then did short read-aloud sections and watched videos, all related to teaching them the importance of Veterans Day. The students then wrote their own projects on why veterans are significant and included it in part of an art project that was displayed in the school. 

The students also discussed veterans as parts of families and many of the first graders then discovered, after talking with parents, that they had veterans in their own families. 

“We wanted our first graders to know the importance of this holiday and why we should honor and celebrate veterans,” Goodman says. 

The teachers used the asynchronous learning time to have some fun with Thanksgiving. The first graders read Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano, a book where a turkey is trying to save himself from Thanksgiving by using disguises. The students then had to create their own paper bag turkey and disguise it to save it from the dinner table. 

“This was a fun Thanksgiving project for our first graders to complete,” Goodman says.