Another fun week was had by all in Room 6!

Language Arts: We listened and read many different books this week. With each book, we listened for the short vowel sounds in words. We went on short vowel hunts several times this week and it is getting easier each time to hear the short vowel sounds. We  learned about Bossy E and how he makes the vowel say their names. Next week we will do a story extension with Jasper's Beanstalk!

Word Wall Words: also, been, has, little, make

Math: We will continue working in Chapter 5 next week and start on Chapter 26 taking a look at shapes, sides and corners. Continue daily work with flash cards at home as I see a big difference when that is part of the daily homework.

Science: We will continue our study of seasons focusing on Autumn. Look for your child's Science Journal to come home for one night. You can enjoy hearing all about what your child has learned in science. Please write on the Readers' Comment Page and help your child remember to return it to school the following day.

Health: We will continue our study of the different food groups focusing on the grain group. Help your child at home by talking about the difference food groups represented on his/her plate each night at dinner.

Library: Remember that we go to the Rio del Mar Library each Friday so help your child bring back his/her book by Friday of the next week.

What a fun week we had! Did you hear all about our ants? They have been just as busy as we were working and playing together! Fluffy arrived this week too! We are happy to have him as our class pet. If you would like your child to take Fluffy home for the weekend, please send in a signed note telling me so. We loved our special music assembly that was provided by the Cox Family and we enjoyed writing a thank you letter telling them how much we appreciated it.

Here is a peek at the coming week:

Language Arts: All of our stories this week will be focused on summarizing so after each story we will work on this. Enjoy doing this at home too. Our stories will also have many action words so we will work on noticing all the them in our stories.

Word Wall Words: most, where, him, go, friend,

Handwriting: We finished learning how to write all of our lower and upper case alphabet letters and it would be very helpful if you had your child practice at home too. They love to show you how well they are writing and they think it is fun too!

Science: We will finish our study of insects this week. We will put all of our insect work into our Science Journal. You child will bring home his/her Science Journal for one night for you to enjoy. Please writing on the comments page in the back of the journal and help your child remember to bring it back to school the next day.
We will also start of study of the four seasons as we move from summer to fall.

Math: We will continue our study of addition. It has been very helpful to see how many of you are helping your child at home with the use of flashcards and extra math worksheets. Remember to follow along in your At Home Math Book as we work through Chapter 5.

PE: We are so thankful that you are helping your child remember to wear the appropriate attire on Mondays and Tuesday so he/she can participate fully in all of our physical activities. Thank you!

Health: We will continue our study of nutrition with a focus on the fruit group. Good health and good food choices are so important for children to understand. Enjoy many different fruits this week to help your child learn more about our food group focus this week. 

Library: Remember that we go to the Rio del Mar Library each Friday so help your child bring back his/her book by Friday of the next week.

Thank you so much for coming to Back to School Night! I loved seeing all of you and I only wish we had more time and I could have talked with each of you. The kids will be so surprised when they take out their white boards and see the notes that you left for them.

Here is a peek at next week:

Science: We will continue our study of insects as we watch our ants work in their ant farm. We are realizing how much the ant community and our classroom community are the same as we see them work and play together just like we do. We are learning that each ant has a job and when everyone does his/her job well, it helps the whole group! Hey we are a lot like ants!

Reading: All of our Houghton Mifflin stories this week focus on fantasy and reality so as we read, we will be discussing what parts of each story is based on reality and which is based on fantasy.  Many of our stories this week also deal with opposites so we will have fun playing opposite activities.

Word Wall Words: said, me, we, your, favorite

Handwriting: We will finish learning how to write all the capital letters the first grade way. Your child has the alphabet on his/her desk name tag along with one that goes across the front white board. Now would be a good time to put the one I gave you in your packet last night up near your child's favorite home writing spot so he/she can refer to it often.

Math: This week we will continue learning about adding objects and numbers. Using flashcards and playing games are great ways to reinforce this skill at home. The kids love playing Around the World with flashcards so ask them to teach you how to play.

Health: We will continue our study of nutrition with a focus on the vegetable group. Good health and good food choices are so important for children to understand. The Dairy Council has developed a great program and as parents you can help reinforce your child's learning by encouraging them to become a bigger part in your family's food choices and  meal planning

We enjoyed a great short week and boy, did it go by fast! 

I wanted to let you know that each Friday is our library day so please help your child remember to bring back his/her book by the following Friday. 

PE: Starting next week we will be having PE every Monday and Tuesday. Please make sure your child has shoes appropriate for running, exercising and playing games.

Homework: On Monday, I will be sending home your child's first Reading Log along with a note explaining our first grade homework policy. Please record your child's nightly reading and help your child remember to return the Reading Log to school every Friday. If your child forgets, he/she can bring it in on the following Monday.

Handwriting: We have completed all of our circle (2 o’clock) letters and all of our straight line letters. We will now start to learn how to write capital letters the first grade way!  Please find some time each day to help your child with his/her handwriting skills.

Next week:

Language Arts: All of our Houghton Mifflin stories will focus on noting details. Details add so much to a story and we will be working on adding as much detail as possible when we do our shared writing and illustrating next week. We will also focus on capitalizing proper names next week  as we do our shared writing. Please help with these skills at home as you read and write with your child.

Word Wall Words: do, after, by, what, can 

Math: We will start our chapter on addition. The children love adding and many understand the concept of putting groups of things together and then seeing how many you have in all. So it is time to get out those addition flashcards and fun math games to help your child at home. There are many fun computer games that help with the concept of addition too!

Science: We will start our study of insects next week and I expect our shipment of "friends" to arrive on Monday or Tuesday so ask your child all about it then! It is also a fun way that we learn about the concept of community and working together too!

Thank you so much for all the generous donations of your time, talent and gifts! I appreciate it so much and cannot thank you enough. 

Have a fabulous weekend,