Cool Cats

One of first-grade teacher Ms. Hannah Hocutt's main goals in these early weeks of school is to help students get acquainted with classroom expectations and procedures that will set them up for success all year long. This week, they practiced correct center rotation procedures, learned basics like color words, and discussed emotional regulation using the example of Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes.

 

 

Center rotations provide a dynamic, hands-on learning experience, allowing students to move, collaborate, and explore concepts in focused bursts. With fun transition cues and teacher support, these sessions promote independence, teamwork, and a fun atmosphere of exploration. Each box in our young learner's center rotation contained a new surprise – an activity reinforcing what they’d been learning, such as color words. The students were eager to discover the adventures inside each box and excitedly moved through the rotations, putting the procedures they’d been working on into practice.

 

 

Perhaps most importantly, Ms. Hocutt brought some of Pete the Cat's famous wisdom into this week's first-grade classroom. Not only did they learn their color words after listening to Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, but they also learned about emotional regulation - an essential skill for all ages. When Pete the Cat steps into piles of different colors that turn his new white shoes various colors, instead of losing his cool, Pete adjusts to the situation and carries on with a good attitude. In the words of the author Eric Litwin 

Did Pete cry? Goodness, no! He kept walking along and singing his song.

This valuable lesson is another example of ICSB teachers' holistic approach to educating their students. At ICSB, our young beginners in academia not only learn color words but also about handling things when they don’t go quite as planned – a lesson Ms. Hocutt and her first graders often discuss in class! One of ICSB's core values is growth, and that includes not only academic and physical but also mental and emotional maturity.

 

 

Whether navigating new challenges in the classroom or handling life's little mishaps, first graders are learning to embrace each moment with a positive attitude. Perhaps we all, big and small, can use this reminder from Pete, to be a cool cat like him and keep our cool when we step into a large puddle of....whatever life's storms may bring and whatever color it might turn our shoes.

As Pete reminds us,

No matter what you step in, keep walking along and singing your song....because it's all good.