Catching Up

The first graders have had a very busy past couple of weeks.  This is just a quick update of some of our highlights.

Fire Prevention Week:
Two weeks ago was fire prevention week.  We talked a lot about being safe in the event of a fire.  This unit was culminated by a visit from the Grafton Fire Department.  They showed us their gear and trucks.  The children also practiced crawling out of a burning building.

The 5 Senses:
In science class, we have been learning about our 5 senses.  I also tied this into writing using descriptive words.  The unit was completed by finding a present in class.  The kids described the bag using descriptive words.  Later the same day, we opened up the present and found Pop Rocks!  What a wonderful experience this was for everyone to get to use all 5 senses with a special little treat.  Afterwards, the children made a project describing the experience eating Pop Rocks.

Math:
Telling time to the hour and counting nickels and pennies, have been the focus the past week in math class.  The children have become quite skilled at telling time to the hour.  Soon they will learn to tell time to the half hour.  Please reinforce this skill at home on both analog and digital clocks.  
Learning how to make exchanges with 5 pennies for a nickel has been the focus of many math games that have been taught this past week.  It's important for the children to be able to count by 5's and then count on by 1's. Other learning about coins includes this information from one of our bulletin boards:

Reading:
The children have been building lots of independent reading stamina.  The books in their book boxes are all at each individuals reading level.  As a class, we reach at least 15 minutes of independent reading time on a daily basis.  Then, the children have been partnered up with another child and they read together for about another 15 minutes.  During this time, I am meeting with individuals or small groups, teaching the first graders additional reading skills so they can grow as readers.

I hope you all get a chance to enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend!  I'm looking forward to meeting with all of you during parent-teacher conferences later this week.