Circle Letter 01/30/15

January 30, 2015

Dear Families,

         Well, hello to winter in New England!  There is nothing like a good blizzard to grab our attention and stop everything for a day or two.  Sure hope you stayed cozy and warm while the wintery winds howled!  And also maybe got some fort building or a sledding run in… J

          Our biography unit is coming to an end… as kids work on their Biography Poster that has now been brought home.  I imagine you have gotten a first hand glimpse of the poster and learned a bit about whomever your child is reading. We have a nice variety of famous people… King Tut, Helen Keller, Daniel Boone, Elisabeth Stanton Jackie Robinson Dr. Seuss and even Tom Brady… just to name a few.  We will make a Wall of Fame in the hallway outside our classroom.  Feel free to come and check it out! Please encourage your child to finish the poster for next week.  The “due date” will be Friday February 6^th for those who need a deadline.

         Perhaps the school highlight for our very shortened week together was the kick off of our first grade reading buddies.  We are pairing up with Mrs. Fitzgerald’s class.  Once a week we will get to cozy up with our new reading buddies and enjoy a few good books together.  Please inquire with your kiddo…!  Lastly, The 2nd Annual Great Kindness Challenge will continue into next week!   And go Patriots!

Circle Letter 01/23/15

January 23, 2015

Dear Families,

         What a great and super fast week together with the kids!  Our days have been filled up with many varied and rich activities.  Our new writing unit is Information Writing.  Students will share their knowledge and expertise on a self-selected topic.  Right now we are busy crafting the structure of the Information Books. Kids have been thinking about the organization for each chapter.  It is exciting work.

            In Math, Unit 6 has us exploring geometry… lines and rays, angles and polygons.  Lots of new vocabulary that goes along with this unit…       b-e-w-a-r-e!  Sometimes it feels like we are learning a whole new language. 

            Our biography unit has picked up momentum as well.  Kids are working on finishing their books and doing some on-line research of their famous person as well.  Thursday during computer time we worked on searching for biography pictures…  for the Biography Poster Home/School project.  You’ll get a first hand glimpse of the posters next week.

            Yesterday we finished our read aloud book, Because of Winn Dixie.  Ask your kiddo what they thought of it.  If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading it, I have plenty of copies and would be happy to lend them out.  It is a beautiful read.

            The 2nd Annual Great Kindness Challenge is next week.  And although we have such a kind and caring class all the time… next week we will spend time each day emphasizing how acts of kindness maters.  Book Orders are coming home today.  If you are interested in ordering, one check made out to Scholastic is preferred.  If you could hand orders in Monday, that would be great.

            Thanks for all the home support each day.  Enjoy the weekend!

Circle Letter 01/16/15

January 16, 2015

Dear Families,

    We have been looking forward to our Writer’s Share on Friday morning and have been practicing presenting to an audience and reading with good expression. All week we have taken time to hear our fellow writers and we have had good practice speaking into a microphone.  We are excited to have so many of you come in and want to thank you for making the time! Also thank you for all the wholesome goodies…, which makes it a real celebration J

    Our study of the Digestive System this week has really offered great inquiry and observation, as well as a few things to munch on.  Always fun to eat in the name of science! We have focused on mouth and esophagus… get the scoop from your kiddo.

    And we have officially begun our biography study with our non- fiction narrative genre study.  At this point most students have selected one. Please consider stopping by our Rice Public Library this weekend and check out the kids’ biography section.  It’s a good one!  Our focus will move beyond dates and basic facts as we read.  Rather we will try to understand the person’s character traits and what helped him/her prevail; also teasing out obstacles and difficulties that the person faced perhaps due to the time period that person grew up in; and lastly who was influential in this person’s life to help him/her succeed.

     Our cursive practice continues, slow but steady.  You might consider writing a sentence in cursive for your kiddo to practice reading in the Family Letter! Our read aloud book, Because of Winn Dixie, is a highlight after lunch.  Each chapter is like a beautifully crafted personal narrative with endearing characters and connections. Find out more from your child.                Have a great MLK three-day weekend…

Circle Letter 01/09/15

January 9, 2015

Dear Families,

    Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday time and enjoyed the long break from school!  And how about the poetry book that your kiddo made for you and the family?  We sure hope you loved it! Great to see all the kids after our time away!   

    Thank you for all the wonderful holiday cards, sweet sentiments, and the lovely gifts! I felt very spoiled by so many of you. J Also, we love our new classroom supplies!  New pencils, erasers, art items, dry erase markers, glue sticks, soft tissues, hand soap and great books just to name a few! We are in good shape as we head into winter! Also, thanks to our awesome volunteers who helped at the Winter Celebration event, rolling pinecone after pinecone in birdseed… and for the contributions of various items for our holiday event.  We had great food and treats for our afternoon party!  Truly without you and your help we couldn’t make these types of  things happen for the kids.   Thanks Parents!

        We have officially started our cursive practice with several letters under our belt. Kids seem to love learning it and have good focus and attention to detail.  Also we are in a new read aloud book (ask your child about the title and details) …  and we have just ended our exploration of small numbers (decimals) in Unit 5 math.  Unit 6 is a geometry unit of study.  And a big round of applause for our persuasive essay writers!! They are all either finished or on the home stretch.  Well done kids!

    Lots of new things to start off the New Year… including our two new students!  How exciting for us.  We happily welcome Keegan and Cheyene to our class.                      Have a great weekend… and stay warm!