We welcomed back OUTSIDE recess on Thursday!  What a treat!  We will have sledding times once again this year like they did in kindergarten.  We have four classroom sleds (that roll up) that we can use during those times.  If your child would like to bring a sled (only ones that roll up, please), it is welcome!  Please make sure your child's first and last name are on the sled.  Our sledding days are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.  Roll-up sleds look like this:

Our first of two swim lessons is this Thursday!  Students need to bring their swimsuit, a towel and a brush (if needed).  Please bring everything in a plastic grocery bag or separate bag so we can put the wet swimsuit and towel in something separate from their backpacks.  We will be swimming from 2:15-3:15 on Thursday.
******PARENTS NEEDED!  I am in need of at least two parent helpers next THURSDAY afternoon from 2:10 until the end of school.  We will be having a class swimming lesson and are in desperate need chaperones for the locker rooms and out on deck (there will be a lifeguard and an instructor as well).  We need at least ONE father for this adventure to monitor and help the boys get into their swim gear and get out onto deck.  Please email me ASAP if you can come!  Thank you!

Family Night is tomorrow night at 6:30pm!  Despicable Me 2 will be playing in the gym, with plenty of popcorn to go around.

Our Valentine's Day party is coming up on February 14th from 2:30-3:15.  You are welcome to attend!  We will have a shorten version of our class party so that they can open Valentine cards at the end of the class. We have 23 students in our class.  Please have your child bring in their Valentine cards earlier in the Valentine week, from Monday-Thursday (10th-13th).  I attached a class list of names in the email sent today.  If you need a paper copy, please let me know and I will send one home with your child.  I would suggest writing out about 5 Valentines at a time so that it is not a tedious job (so begin soon!).  If it is a slow process for your child, take turns with your child writing them.

In academic news... :)
We have entered the scientific world of magnets and sorting by different properties (texture, shape, size, flexibility).  This will morph into our study of the properties of water (as a solid, liquid and gas) coming up in a few weeks.

First grade math has a solid focus on addition and subtraction strategies and number sense this year.  We return to this study of number sense many times during the year.  Counting on (start with the bigger number when adding and then add the small number), skip counting (by 2s, 5s and 10s up to 120) and 100s chart studies have all been part of our study these last few weeks.  Next week, we will take a different turn and dive into geometry and explore 2-D and 3-D shapes!

In our word study, we've been looking closely and identifying silent e words, distinguishing between short vowel words (plan) and long vowel words that are similar (plane).  Many of our first graders read these words very well, with my goal to help them identify these words and write them correctly in their writing. We've also been working on spelling big fancy words by clapping out syllables to hear the parts of the words.  We continue to write informational teaching books during writing time.  They know a lot of facts about a lot of things!  It is exciting to see them working so hard and feeling so accomplished as they are writing their books.

Read a good book to your kiddo this weekend and have fun in the snow!