Thursday check-in...

How is it Thursday already? We are off and rolling in first grade. Is your child coming home tired after school? They are working like crazy and learning all sorts of new things. We have been reading a story in whole group called The Van this week. Ask your child to re-tell the story to you. Some of our first graders worked on a sequencing activity today by putting events of the story in order. We made stick puppets and read the story to our partners while we acted out the events. Have your child tell you why the bus was so "crammed" and about the character who comes up with a "solution" to the problem in the story.

We have spent a lot of time of have-to-know first grade words. The words came home on Monday and are posted on our webpage. It is a great idea to help your child learn these words at home. Go for a hunt around the house for the words, make a list of all the spelling words they can find in their library book, write their words in rainbow colors, etc. Get creative! These are no-excuse words that are found in daily first grade text, so lots of exposure pays off for your child's success!

We continue to write like crazy! The kids are already doing better with writing in complete sentences and we just learned about it this week! WOW!

In math we continue to work on "Put Together Add" and the concept that 2 parts of something make a TOTAL. An extra challenge for your child at home is to give them a number (ie. 8) ask them to come up with as many math problems as they can whose answer is 8! This helps them formulate number relationship and recognize the parts can make a total.

We are focusing on the Ocean habitat this week. We learned that the ocean has 3 layers or zones. Check your child's memory by asking them to tell you the 3 zones.
(1. Sunlight Zone, 2. Twilight Zone 3. Midnight Zone)

Upcoming events for your calendar:
* No School September 5th
* Fundraiser Money due September 7th
* Picture Day September 14th

Don't forget Library day is tomorrow!

Have a safe and cool night!