IMC Change

The first graders will be going to the IMC just for check out tomorrow.  If your child would like to check out new books to read over spring break, please make sure they return their books!

March 21st Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Due to the short week, we will not have new spelling words or a spelling test this week.  We will be using this week as a review week and we will also be finishing up our Frog and Toad study.  The students will be revisiting reading skills that they have already learned this school year.  Additionally, we will be learning about synonyms and antonyms and completing a few fun activities.

In math, we will be focusing on story problems.  We will be doing a variety of addition, subtraction, and missing addend story problems.  Additionally, we will be having a Math Game Day on Wednesday, March 23rd.  Your child may bring in any math game they are able to teach to a friend.  The kids are already looking forward to our math game day!  We will not have any math homework this week.

In science, we will be learning about the four seasons.  We will be writing about the four different seasons in our science journals and what type of weather we typically see during each of the seasons.

Our class will be having a Pajama Day tomorrow!  Our friend Leela was the Positive Jaguar for the month of February, so we earned a Pajama Day.  Thank you, Leela, for your hard work being respectful, responsible, and ready to learn!

Special Points of Interest

• End of third quarter - Wednesday, March 23rd
• Spring Break begins Thursday, March 24th
• I hope you have a fun and safe spring break with your family and friends!

March 14th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week we will continue working on our author study of Arnold Lobel.  We will continue to listen to, partner read, and read Frog and Toad stories by ourselves.  At the end of the week, we will be playing a Frog and Toad comprehension game.  To go along with our author study, we will be learning about amphibians and comparing and contrasting frogs and toads.

The students will not have spelling homework this week, but we will have ten spelling words.  Some of the words are new and go along with our Frog and Toad stories and a few of them are review.  The students will NOT be tested in sentence form, they will just be tested on the ten words.

In math this week, we will be reviewing money and place value.  We will be learning place value concepts.  We will also be revisiting money.  The students will be introduced to the dollar bill.  They will get to work on making combinations using the dollar bill, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies.  Look for Home Links 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4 to come home this week.

Special Points of Interest

• Thorson Variety Show - Tomorrow, March 15th
• End of third quarter - March 23rd
• Spring Break - March 24th - April 1st

CEF Grant for Take-Home Books

The Kindergarten and First Grade teachers are applying for a CEF grant to purchase new take-home books for our students.  Along with our application, we need a few quotes from parents about the benefits of the take-home book program and the benefits you see from your child due to reading a new take home book each night.  It would also be great to have a video of a parent reading with their child to send along with our application.  If you are able to do either of those things, we would greatly appreciate it.  Please just email me your quotes and/or videos by March 23rd.

Thank you in advance for your time!

March 7th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week The Kite by Arnold Lobel.  We will be focusing on the problem and solution as well as main idea and details in the stories that we read.  We are also going to focus on the long i spelled i, y, and igh.  Next week, we will continue working on our author study of Arnold Lobel.  We will be reading Frog and Toad are Friends.

This week in math we will continue learning about 3-dimensional shapes and sorting them by their attributes.  We will also be revisiting symmetry.  We will be assessing addition and subtraction facts to 16 often, so please continue practicing these math facts at home.  Look for Home Link 7.6, a story problem sheet, and the Unit 8 Family Letter to come home this week.

This week we will begin a new social studies unit on Canada.  The students will learn the location of Canada and important facts related to Canada.  We will also be exploring the wildlife found there and taking a look at the Canadian flag.

THANK YOU to all of the families that donated facial tissues to our classroom.  I really appreciate your generosity!

Special Points of Interest

• Scholastic Book Orders are due this Friday, March 11th. Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Activation Code: JBVLX
• Thorson Variety Show is on March 15th

March 1st Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week in reading we will be focusing on the beginning, middle, and end of the stories that we read.  We will be incorporating this into our writing by writing stories that have a beginning, middle, and end.  Additionally, we are going to focus on the long o sound spelled -ow and -oa as in the words grow and goal.

This week we will continue learning about different shapes, including polygons, spheres, cylinders, rectangular prisms, pyramids, cones, and cubes.  We are going to investigate the characteristics that these shapes display.  The children are going to complete many hands on activities using manipulatives.  Remember to keep practicing addition and subtraction facts to 16 at home, so your child can develop fact power.  Look for Home Links 7.3, 7.4, and a subtraction practice sheet to come home this week.

We will be finishing our social studies unit Our Country this week.  The kids have been very interested in the geography of the United States and the symbols that represent the USA.

We are getting close to running out of facial tissue.  If you would be willing to donate a box of facial tissue to our classroom, we would greatly appreciate it!  Thank you in advance!

Special Points of Interest

• Scholastic Book Orders are due on Friday, March 11th. Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Activation  Code: JBVLX
• Science Fair - March 3rd
• Thorson Variety Show - March 15th