Last 9 weeks!

Can you believe it's already the last 9 weeks? This year flown by! As we head into the end of the school year I wanted to give you a few important dates to keep in mind. We have a lot of fun and exciting things happening!

1st Grade Field Trip to the Aquarium April 13th

Art Day on April 27^th (Largest event of the year)

MMA Parents Night out Spirit night on April 27^th

Chick Fil A Spirit Night on May 10^th

 Field day on May 18^th

Keep these dates in mind! I hope to see your faces there! :)

What We're Learning!

What are we learning in First Grade now?
Social Studies: We are starting to learn about Lewis and Clark. We are discussing the Louisiana Purchase, Sacagawea, and much more!
Writing: We are continuing our Opinion Writing, focusing on how to create convincing and true reasons to support our opinion, rather than just stating "I like it." We are also learning about how to create a captivating introduction and conclusion that state our opinion. 
Reading: We just finished learning about the central message of a story (also known as the lesson the author wants you to learn from the story). We are moving on to comparing and contrasting characters and their adventures in a story.
Math: We are still adding and subtracting! We have gone through adding and subtracting a double digit with a single digit with both no regrouping AND regrouping. In 1st grade, we refer to regrouping as "making a new group of 10." We learned how to add and subtract a double digit with a double digit WITHOUT regrouping before break, so over the next two weeks, we will be focusing on double digit +/- a double digit with regrouping. We will also be reviewing all of the strategies and concepts that have been taught over the last 4 weeks to review and make these ideas concrete to the students!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful break full of rest, relaxation, and fun! I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night at the 1st grade performance! You won't want to miss it! 

Please have your child come to the classroom no later than 6:15 so we can be ready to head to the cafeteria at 6:30! :) 

What we're learning!

Here's an update on what we've been learning! 

Social Studies/Science- We are finishing up our unit on Theodore Roosevelt and the important contributions he made to the United States. Once we wrap that up, we will switch gears and jump in to Light and Shadows for our science unit. We will tie the shadows in with Groundhog's Day, so that could be a fun topic to discuss with your children at home, as well!

Writing- Our 3rd quarter will be all about Opinion writing. We will focus on how state our opinion, provide a reason and evidence or examples to support that reason, and then we will learn how to restate our opinion to conclude our writing. A great way to support your writer with this unit at home is to talk about their thoughts- discuss their opinion when given two options. Ex: Would you rather eat chocolate ice cream or vanilla ice cream? Focus on their reason why, and delve deeper than just simply stating "I like it," or "it tastes good."
Reading- In reading, we have been learning about how to predict what will happen in the story before reading, retell the events of a story after reading, and then summarize what was read at the end. These are all great topics to ask your child questions about as you read each night. While doing this, don't forget to continue focusing on story elements, also! (i.e. characters, settings, beginning/middle/end)!
Math- We started the quarter learning about expanded form of a number (i.e. thinking of 53 as 5 groups of 10 and 3 extra ones, written as 50+3), moved into comparing numbers (understanding that the bigger number is "greater" and the smaller number is "less"), and are now going to move into adding and subtracting double digit numbers within 100. We will be focusing on this concept for the next 4 weeks, so if your child seems to be confused at first, we will be working for a long time to ensure they understand! Due to the new common core, if you have any questions about strategies or reasoning behind why we teach it the way we do, please do not hesitate to reach out and ask for help!

Bus Lane Safety!

Parents, please read the following note from the office! Thank you! :)

Happy New Year!

I cannot believe it is already 2018! It feels like this school year started yesterday! My how time flies!

As we begin the second half of the school year, I wanted to remind you all of how exciting a time this is in your child's life! They are constantly learning and growing and I feel so grateful to be spending this season of life with them! With that being said, I want to uphold the importance of being healthy!!! The flu and many other illnesses are running rampant at our school so it is crucial we work together to keep your children happy and healthy! 

The school work and concepts we are beginning to work on are more difficult and challenging than first semester. I want to remind you to encourage your student and help them reach their fullest potential. Everyone in our classroom is SO bright and I want to see each of them shine!

Homework for week 19 will be going home tonight! We are a tad behind in the week count but it is on level with what your child should be able to accomplish. 

Make sure to watch the weather and the Cobb website tonight in case of school delays or closings for tomorrow, Wednesday the 17th. 

I loved seeing a few of your faces at STEAM night! It was a fun filled night of learning and I hope to see you again next year! 

Last Week of School Before Break!

Holiday Happenings!

I hope everyone enjoyed the snow day on Monday! I know I did :) I wanted to fill you in on what's happening during our last week of school!

Monday: Monday will be a normal school day!

Tuesday: Tuesday is early release! We will start dismissal at 12:00. Tuesday is also First Grades Holiday Happenings! A paper went home in your child's folder on Wednesday. We start at 8:45 and go until 9:55. You are more than welcome to stay with your child for lunch! I hope you can all join us!

Wednesday: Wednesday is also early release! We will start dismissal at 12:00. Wednesday is also Pajama Day! Your child may wear their pajamas and we will be watching The Polar Express and enjoying some warm hot chocolate! 

Holiday Craziness!

Hello, hello everyone! I can't believe we only have 11 days of school left! The end of the year is quickly approaching which means report cards and mid year assessments are right around the corner! 

Please try your hardest to keep getting your child here on time and well fed by either you or the cafeteria :)

We have a few exciting things coming up in the next two weeks so be on the lookout for important papers in your child's folder. I hope that you enjoy this season with your families and that I get to see your smiling faces before the year is over!