Our second week of first grade is coming to a close very quickly! This week has flown by as we have had 3 early dismissals due to the heat.  With such short days we have been working even harder each morning and the kiddos have done a great job.  

PLEASE CHECK YOUR CHILD'S FRIDAY FOLDER EVERY FRIDAY! THERE ARE ALWAYS IMPORTANT PAPERS INSIDE! :-)

Highlights of our week:

Math: We have been practicing counting each day. We count by 1's, 10's, 5's, 2's and backwards.  We try to make this a fun activity by using loud voices, soft voices and of course silly voices.  We have also started working with comparing numbers. Looking at the value of a number and discussing what it means for a number to be bigger or smaller. In Math we are also making word comparisons such as more and bigger meaning the same thing and less and smaller being the same. These words will be used in Math all year long.  Students have been learning that when they hear the word more their number gets bigger and they have to jump higher on the number line.  

Reading/Jolly Phonics: So far we have learned a new letter SOUND everyday. We are up to 9 sounds: s, a, t, i, p, n, c/k, e and h.  I read a story each day to introduce the sound and reinforce that sound by singing a song about the sound. There is a song for each sound. The songs are very short and "catchy" which makes is easy for the kiddos to memorize and associate it with the formation of the letter.  In class each morning we review sounds and words from the previous lessons, read an introductory story, sing a new song and learn new words to go with our sound.  Once we have done that students cut out and glue their new sound into their sound books.  To finish our lesson each student has a two sided paper to practice making the letter and coloring pictures that coordinate with that sound.  The unfinished paper that comes home each night is additional practice/homework but does not need to be turned back into school.  At this point I want to take the time to thank all of you for the support you have given this program and your child already. It is evident that you are all doing your part at home with your child. I check each student daily to see if they remember and can say that sound and action of the previous days lesson.  So far EVERYONE is doing awesome!

Science: Our science kit right now is Weather. This correlates wonderfully with our upcoming Math lessons. So far we have discussed our favorite type of weather: warm, cold or hot and have discussed how we decide what to wear outside. (coats, shorts, boots, etc.).  In the coming weeks we will be learning how to read a thermometer, make a daily weather journal, talk about wind and wind speed and measure what temperatures.  Science is always a fun part of our day!

Community Circle: Each morning we start our day with Community Circle. This is a time to share with our classmates something about ourselves or family.  It has been fun listening to and getting to know each other. I strongly encourage all friends to share something each morning!