March goes out like a lamb . . .

I can't believe that we just finished our last full week in March. This last half of the year is flying by. Your children have grown so much over the last few months - they are readers, mathematicians, authors and illustrators. They are tying their shoes and losing their teeth. First grade is such an amazing year for growth. It is a pleasure to be along on this ride with you! Monday will be our Celebration of Reading and Tuesday we will get to visit the book fair for a preview day. Wednesday and Thursday there will be 12:20 dismissals for conferences. I have touched base with most of you and will see some next week. Please let me know if you or a family member would like to come in for Mystery Reader. Most of the students have had someone from their family visit our classroom and it has been exciting for the children. In Math the children are adding 2 digit numbers. I know that this looks very different from the way we did it in school but the children have to be fluent at decomposing numbers and this will help. They will be much better prepared for second grade math by having seen this strategy. I know that most of them cannot do this independently but we just began it this week and we will continue practicing it. We are working with words that have ir, er and ur in them. Ask your children about the game, I Have Who Has. The children are so busy writing their non-fiction chapter books. They are loving the process and are very engaged during Writer's Workshop. We will start new WYNN groups next week to address math fact computation and fluency. Most of the students are very accurate in their math facts but need to increase their speed. For those children that need enrichment, they will be put in a group to fit their needs. Enjoy the warmer weather. Get outside and play! READ, READ, READ!

Oh the Places We'll Go!

We had a wonderful week celebrating all things Dr. Seuss! All of our stations centered around Dr. Seuss' books this week. The children had fun writing poems, making different endings to The Cat in the Hat and playing Dr. Seuss Chutes and Ladders with subtraction facts. We have been busy learning about all the components of an All About Book. The children cheer when it is Writer's Workshop time. They feel in control of this writing because they are the teachers. I hope to have an Author's Tea in the late spring where you can come in and see their writing. Our new unit in measurement in Science has been fun as well. The children are learning to measure accurately and compare lengths of objects. In Math, we have been studying place value and comparing numbers. This has been a breath of fresh air for the students because they are very successful with this topic. Next week you will receive a log in for a new computer program called Moby Max. The children have already taken a placement test for math during our computer time this week. Students can work on all subjects on this web-site and can focus on math facts as well. Please continue to work on addition and subtraction facts at home for accuracy as well as speed. We will have a Math Night in the Spring where you can come in with your child and experience a math lesson in our class! It will be their time to show off a bit and shine and you will get a peek at the program. Report cards will go home on Friday, March 21st. Conferences will be on a needed basis on April 2nd (evening) and April 3rd (afternoon) I will not be available for the afternoon date but will have time during that week to see parents. Phone conferences are always an option as well. Enjoy the weekend and keep reading! I have been seeing such growth with the children in reading - keep up the great work at home. Thanks - Jaime Crenwick