Dear Room 2 Families, November 19, 2019
Important Reminders
Wednesday, November 27th: Students will be dismissed early at 11:30 am for Thanksgiving break.
We hope you’re all enjoying the month of November so far! We’re excited to share our learning adventures from the past few weeks.
Language Arts
The children continue to blossom as readers and writers in Room 2. We are working on short vowels, digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh and ck) and will move into glued sounds (-an, -am, -all) next week during Word Work. Children are meeting with success as they encode and decode words, applying the rules they have learned in their reading and writing. We are so impressed with the increased stamina that is evident in their reading as children read leveled texts and old favorites in their book bags.
Room 2 Is Reading….
Here are our latest book recommendations!
A Peacock Among Pigeons by Tyler Curry and Clarione Gutierrez is a story about fitting in and loving yourself for who you are. The main character, Peter the Peacock, went out into the world because he never felt comfortable enough to be himself around the birds that were around him. He went in search of other birds who would appreciate him for his colorful ways, accept him, and celebrate all that he is. He met a diverse set of feathered friends who not only understood and accepted him, but celebrated all that makes him so special. Our favorite line is, “Embrace who you are from beak to bird feet and never let anyone break your stride!”
We also loved All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold. This wonderfully illustrated book shares the beautiful, diverse individuals and families that create a classroom and school community. The kids in Room 2 were so observant of the illustrator’s detailed drawings. They were able to “step into the story” to connect with characters. They said it felt like Happy Hollow where everyone is welcome, everyone is safe, everyone is honored, and everyone is celebrated. Please let us know if you would like to borrow either of these books from our classroom. They are also available to be checked out from the Happy Hollow Community Bookstop.
We also loved All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold. This wonderfully illustrated book shares the beautiful, diverse individuals and families that create a classroom and school community. The kids in Room 2 were so observant of the illustrator’s detailed drawings. They were able to “step into the story” to connect with characters. They said it felt like Happy Hollow where everyone is welcome, everyone is safe, everyone is honored, and everyone is celebrated. Please let us know if you would like to borrow either of these books from our classroom. They are also available to be checked out from the Happy Hollow Community Bookstop.
Math
Our math studies are centered on strategies to add and subtract.
In this unit of study we are focusing on the following skills:
- Relating counting forward and counting back to addition and subtraction situations
- Beginning to explore the combinations of 10 or 10’s partners
- Mastering doubles facts (3+3, 5+5, etc.), and introducing the doubles + or - 1 strategy (7+8, 5+6),
- Solving word problems with 3 addends
Children are focused not only on solving equations, but on explaining their thinking and proving how they got their answers.
Science
Our studies have included exploring weather instruments such as thermometers and anemometers. We’ve also learned about cirrus, cumulus, and stratus clouds, as well as wind. Our daily weather reports include observing the sky and reading and recording the temperature outside in degrees Fahrenheit.
Last Friday, classmates worked in STEAM teams (using concepts of science, technology, engineering, art and math) to create structures at least one foot high that could support a beach ball without it falling over! There was a great deal of teamwork, creativity, compromise, problem solving, turn-taking, and excitement in meeting this challenge. Hope you enjoy the attached pictures!
Winter Weather Ahead…
With snow flurries this past weekend and more on the way in the weeks and months ahead, please have your child prepared for the winter season. Please see the attached note regarding winter gear for first graders. In addition to the information in the letter, we suggest that kids have a spare set of clothes that can be left in your child’s backpack. Sometimes kids get wet from the snow and are interested in changing into dry clothes during the course of the day. Also, toileting accidents can happen with so many layers to undo when nature calls!
Volunteers
Please let us know if you would like to volunteer in class. We’d love to have you join us during math stations or to read a favorite story. Plus, it’s a great way to get a glimpse of your child in action in Room 2!
Take care and as always, please let us know if you have any questions about the information in the newsletter or in our adventures in Room 2!
Take care,
Lise Weig and Margie Cohen
