First Week

This has been a magical week getting to know each other. We have practiced saying each others names in Morning Meeting.  One of our chants has been,

Say your name and when you do.

We will say it back to you.

Hi_________!

We talked about the school and classroom rules. All the rules can be under the umbrella of BE KIND. The students already know: walk in halls, wait their turn, share, raise hands, not interrupt, and listen. 

They have demonstrated these skills even before the lesson on rules. Way to go parents!

Reading: We read several books together. The students love to hear a story. Many commented that they also love when their parents read to them! The students are already reading books at their tables every day. Students will "shop"(choose) books that are at the just-right level for each reader. Each child has a book basket with 10 books. About two or three times a week, the students will be able to trade the books and get new ones so they are never bored with their books. Engagement is key is learning to read. We have lots of books in our classroom library at the just-right level to help your child be excited about reading and grow as a reader.  In addition, students will go to the library every E day. Starting in October, students will be able to get two books at a time and go to the library almost every day!

Math: This week students explored with math manipulatives. They demonstrated they could count one-to-one and make patterns. We played ten frame flash as a class and many were very successful with identifying numbers up to 10 just by looking at the ten frame.
LINK:     Ten Frame Flash




We compared numbers using the words: greater then, fewer then, more, less and same. One game we played with cards is "Top-It".  Players take a deck of cards mix them up and put them face down in a pile. One player goes first and turns over a card. The next player turns over a card. Whoever has the greater number on the card wins.  We also played whoever has the  number that is fewer on the card wins. Jack, King Queen are considered a ten and the ace is considered a one. If both cards are the same number, then each player flips over another card.

Winner is on left because 10 is greater then the ace (one).

Social Studies: Each day we have had a get-along recess. We are working on including everyone in play and building a class community. Children build community by playing! After recess the students gather to reflect as a class on how well they played together and how much fun they had with each other. This week we taught/encouraged the children to be assertive and ask for a play partner and learn their partner's name. Next week, we will learn about how to talk through a disagreement using I statements.