1MC WEEKLY NEWS ~ OCTOBER 6TH, 2011

IMPORTANT DATES
Monday, October 10th: No School, Columbus Day
Wednesday, October 12th: Field trip to Tougas Farm for apple picking.

Thank you so much for your attendance at the Open House. I hope you found it informative and enjoyed spending some time in the classroom. Your children LOVED getting mail during the day! If there are any lingering questions or concerns about first grade, our routines and policies or my philosophies, please let me know. I am happy to clarify or discuss further.

COMMUNICATION I check email regularly (Katrina_McNamara@brookline.k12.ma.us) and will reply as quickly as possible. You may also leave a message on the classroom phone (617.879.4430) or with the Devotion School office (617.879.4400). 

If you would like to be “invited” to the blog please let me know. If you prefer the paper copy, I will put it in your family mailbox each Thursday.

FIELD TRIP
On Wednesday, please arrive to school promptly at 8am. We will need to prepare for the trip and be ready to enter the bus by 8:15 am.  We will spend the entire time outside during this trip. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather and for a farm / playground : sneakers, and a sweatshirt or rain gear if necessary.

LIBRARY
Our visits to the library continue to be exciting and successful. It really works out to check out books before we have Third Grade Reading Buddies. This way, everyone has a new book that they are excited to read.

MATH
We began Think Math Chapter 2 this week. This chapter focuses on the number line as a tool for adding and subtracting. We are building this understanding, first by constructing the number line and then using stories to understand the concepts of addition and subtraction.

We have also added more math to our morning calendar routine. We were already adding one dot sticker to a ten frame each day and writing the respective number of the day. We are now also adding a penny for each day and counting the cents for each day. Thursday will be our 22nd day of school. That’s 2 ten frames and 2 single dots, or 20¢.

LITERACY CENTERS   
We are continuing to practice choosing centers and moving among the centers. We learned a few new centers this week: Lists, Word Wall Words (writing words with stamps or play dough).

WRITING
We began our writing program this week. We will write in our Writer’s notebook 4 days a week. Much of our writing will practice focusing in on one moment and using sensory details (taste, touch, smell, sight, sound) to describe that moment or experience. We will think together about our topic for the day and write independently for a short period of time. During this time, students are expected to try their best with spelling and writing. Children may draw and write, or just write. Eventually, we will build up to the opportunity for children to read their writing aloud to the class, but for now, the focus in on getting our ideas down on to paper. It has been a success so far and students have been excited for writing time.

WORD WALL WORDS: is, like, you
We will be including Word Wall words in the newsletter every week. Word Wall Words are high frequency sight words. They usually cannot be sounded out like some of the other words we will study in first grade. Please help your child to learn these sight words. Some ideas for practicing and learning these words are:
1.    Make flash cards.
2.    Post the words on your refrigerator or other location for daily practice.
3.    Ask your child to find these words in books, magazines, or newspapers.

We added 3 more words to our Word Wall this week.  We will try to commit these words to memory, but the Word Wall will serve as a permanent place to look for spelling clues.

COMMUNITY
To continue our study of community and to begin to explore maps, we will read and refer often to My Map Book, by Sarah Fanelli. We have been observing and discussing things we have in common with classmates. We are thinking about the similarities and differences of and within our families. And we are thinking about the things in our lives that are very important to us (as illustrated in the maps of our hearts). In the coming weeks, we will expand this thinking into our school and community.

SCIENCE
We continue to observe like scientists this week. We chose gourds to look closely at with a magnifying glass. We noticed and tried to illustrate the textures, shapes, and colors of the gourds. We recorded questions we had about our gourds. Next week, to connect with our field trip, we will focus on apples and the yearly cycle of the apple tree. The following week, we will begin our Liquids unit.

SNACK
We will have a morning snack every day. Please pack a nutritious, filling, low-sugar snack for your child each day. We eat lunch at 12:40pm everyday, so our snack is very important to keep us energized during our long morning. Please encourage your child to eat his or her entire snack so they do not get too hungry before lunch.

FIRST GRADE WISH LIST
    We welcome donations of the following items for our classroom:
•    Thick Markers
•    Old Legos that your family is no longer using~ we’d like to create a Lego Center for choice time.

ASK YOUR CHILD…
These questions can be conversation starters to discuss the week in school.
•    What did you notice about the gourd you observed and drew in your science notebook during project time?
•    What books did Ms. McDonnell read to us at Library this week?
•    How do we play “Find the Treasure” in math?
•    What languages have we said “Good Morning” this week?