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Academics » Kindergarten - Fourth » First Grade

First Grade

First grade takes a journey of learning and growth as we explore Old Appalachia, dances from Africa, learn about customs from around the world, and so much more.  We enjoy many wonderful activities such as field trips, writing our own fairytales, and performing a play with both classes together. We engage in many buddy projects through reading, writing, dancing, and songs. If you love to study about rocks, plants, and animals, you will love science in first grade!

Literacy and mathematics come to life through an exploration of World Cultures. Our “Trip Around the World” includes exciting projects such as making landforms, sculpting with clay, and writing Chinese characters. We write and perform original plays on habitats and cultures from around the globe. Math Investigations and the Fundations literacy program are integrated throughout the curriculum. Students engage in exploratory math curriculum through the use of manipulatives, visual arts, and real-world applications.

 

About Ms. Elise
Elise graduated from Appalachian State Cum Laude. She played varsity Field Hockey and taught snow skiing and snow boarding throughout her college career. After graduation she was the director of the children’s ski school. Elise completed prerequisite course work for veterinary school in Charleston, South Carolina. She joined the ArtSpace staff in 2014. Elise was a stay at home mom for several years. While at home she started a mini-farm where she raised rabbits, chickens, and pigs.
 
About Ms. M

Evangeline earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and an M.A.T in Special Education from Western Carolina. She had the privilege of teaching special education, grades K-5, for Henderson County public schools.  When not focused on teaching, she loves to get lost in a great book, take the unexpected adventure, attempts to conquer her garden and enjoys few things better than sitting around a firepit on a cool night with friends and family.

 

About Ms. Chainey 
Chainey has been working as a Teaching Assistant at ArtSpace since 2019.  She holds dual B.A. degrees in Psychology and French from King College in Bristol, TN.  Chainey is an Asheville native that returned to the mountains after briefly living abroad.  She has worked in educational research for 13 years, helping inform evidence based practices.  Being in the classroom has allowed her to put these practices to use.  She often says she is the ‘Oldest First Grader” because of how much she learns from the students.  Outside the classroom, Chainey and her family keep themselves busy with a multitude of projects, mostly relating to homesteading.  She enjoys fiber arts such as knitting, sewing, and fabric dyeing, but mostly reserves these for colder months since being outside gardening, hiking, and camping feed her soul.