Farm Fun

This week in first was a lot of fun! We saw first hand that students learn best when it is hands-on and through authentic real-world experiences! Our trip to the farm was a lot of fun! Thank you to Jai's mom and Sejal and Iris's mom, who were both wonderful chaperons! Students arrived at McCray's farm and fed the geese and ducks at the pond as they ate their snacks. Then Room 4 students fed animals and went on a hayride. Students all got to choose a pumpkin from a giant patch and had to problem solve to find a way to get their pumpkins off of the prickly vines; we found the twisting method to be a good one. Students then ate lunch and had some one.


In Superkids we continue to review our letters and letter sounds. Students are reviewing initial, medial and final sounds and word families. We have looked at vowels and consonants and identified them. Students should know short vowel sounds but we have not covered long vowel sounds yet. I am pulling students (2-3 per day) to read with them to determine their current reading level. If your child has not yet been read with, I will get to him/her in the next week. Please keep reading with your child at home and if you think a book your child brings home in his/her book bag is too easy or challenging, please send a note. Your feedback is very helpful! After BAS assessments are done, I will be putting students into differentiated reading groups and guided reading will happen daily as well as group, partner and independent reading.

In math we will be wrapping up our first unit on counting and number sense. Students have been working with number lines, addition and subtraction, skip counting, sequencing and solving story problems using a rekenrek, drawing and number line. We are starting to share our ideas and understand that people can find the correct answer by using different strategies. Next week we will take the assessment mid week and then start our unit on numbers within 10 (10 friends), number reversals and build fluency. 

Following our daily math centers and writing, students have also started their social emotional curriculum work, with Second Step. Students have been learning about how to be the best learner in the classroom. Students will start mindfulness next week and our counselors and psychologists will help support our class with this. The curriculum will teach students how to regulate their bodies and increase self awareness. Students will keep a journal and may have some at-home activities they can do for extra practice, as we dive further into the curriculum. I hope to share more ways to bring mindfulness into the home as we move through the year!