Clara was our expert of the week this week, teaching us about ballet! She showed us her leotard, shoes, poster with many pictures and many different ballet positions. Thank you, Clara! Nice job :)!
What a fun Halloween party! Thank you to all the parents that helped participate in making the Halloween party such a success. Thank you to Sue Rosmarin, Tommy's mom, for organizing! All the kiddos had a fabulous time!
I look forward to meeting with many of you during conference time next Thursday, November 7th, or the following Tuesday, Nov. 12th. We have an extremely short time together (15 minutes), so please be on time! We will talk about your child's successes, goals for the year and any questions that you might have. If you are not sure when your time is, please email me anytime.
A summary of our October...
For math, we have finished up our units on addition and subtraction concepts and will be moving into addition and subtraction facts and strategies, such as counting on and using a number line.
For writing, we continue to write our small moment stories, adding more details to our text with BOLD words, quotation/punctuation marks and focusing on using the word wall to spell words correctly that we already know.
For reading, your child continues to meet with me in a small group most mornings during workshop time. This is a time to focus on reading strategies (how to figure out words we don't know), comprehension strategies (talking and writing about what the book was about, our connections to the text and to other texts) as well as spelling patterns (this month with short vowel sounds).
Your child has brought home their baggie book this week with a new form enclosed. Please return the book and bag the next day unless your child is reading a longer book that takes more than 10 minutes. Asking your child one of the questions on the form after she/he has read, focuses them to think about understanding while they are reading and will get them into the habit of reflecting about their reading--something good readers do naturally. Feel free to write down their answers unless they choose to want to write. This activity is more stimulating a conversation about the book rather than for homework. :)
Coming home today in the orange newly-dubbed Friday Folders:
Family Fall Fun Homework...please take a few moments this week to complete the Three Generations of Family Fall Fun sheet together. In first grade, we begin to talk about the past and present...and what better way to make connections than with our own families. You can attach photos (if you have them) or have your child draw pictures of what three generations of your family like to do in the fall. Some suggestions include: apple picking, pumpkin picking, hayrides, raking leaves and jumping in them, dressing up for Halloween, carving pumpkins...Please return this sheet by Friday, November 8th. We would like to post them on our "family" trees in our hallway :).
November IXL form to keep at home for the month. If you'd like to store this in their book bags, you are welcome to do so. IXL is a fun, independent way to review math concepts and problems at home. I have listed a few suggested math categories for your child to master on the calendar. By no means are they limited to these topics. Please return this calendar at the end of November!
I hope you have a relaxing first weekend in November. You get an extra hour of sleep this weekend! Don't forget to set those clocks back!
