Fantastic Friday!

What a busy week! We had our field trip to the Flynn Theater yesterday to see the Vermont Symphony Orchestra along with Bill Shontz, from the children's musical duo Rosenshontz! Bill Shontz sang and the audience had a chance to participate and sing along with him...it was really fun!
Next week our school's Open House is scheduled for December 8th from 6-7:00! The kids are excited to show off their new room and show you all around their classroom and the rest of the school building! You have very excited tour guides!
December is a very exciting month for first graders! We began learning about December holidays celebrated by families in our country and around the world. Because December 2 was the first night of Hanukkah, we read a story explaining why Jews celebrate Hanukkah. Several hands shot up as children made the connection between the King of Syria and the King of England...both the Jews and the Pilgrims fought for religious freedom! We'll be learning about how Christmas is celebrated in several places around the world and have many projects and activities planned!
Math homework tonight is a math game...we've played a version of the game in class and your child will recognize it and want to "beat" you! Have fun!
I'm placing a link to an article that I enjoyed reading about "curiosity" in young children! It was written by Bruce Perry who is well known as an authority in brain development. It might help you understand why very young children ask, "What's that?" over and over and over...I hope you enjoy reading it! Click here to check out the article!
Have a great weekend!

Welcome December!

Just a quick reminder that our field trip to see the Vermont Symphony Orchestra is tomorrow. We leave at 10:30 and will return at 1:00. The cafeteria will be closed at that time and children need to bring lunches from home!
We've just begun a new writing unit about "small moments." The lessons are designed to help kids "slow down" their writing and include many rich details about one event. Now that they're able to write for extended periods of time and use spaces and approximate spelling, the writing content can become more complex. We read a book called A Chair For My Mother which has an example of a small moment. Ask your child to tell you about the book (the family has a house fire and needs to save money to buy a chair) and small moments!

Friday News!

Hello!

Every week seems to go faster than the last…formal reading groups are under way and the kids are REALLY excited to be reading! I don’t know if you remember learning to read, but I do remember! It’s like finding the decoder ring in the bottom of your cereal box! Short books will be coming home in the homework folders…please take the time (only 5 minutes, I promise!) to listen to your child read and celebrate the hard work and learning!

Our field trip Thursday was rained out and rescheduled for Tuesday morning. We’ll be leaving bright and early at 8:15! With the rain and winds, the phone company wasn’t sure if there’d be any technicians available to climb the pole and show the kids the “cherry picker” lift…the most exciting part of the field trip!

More math homework is coming home tonight. This game will stay at home after you and your child play it several times this week. You might find it fun to play again in a few weeks!

You’ll also find a book order in the homework bag. The orders are due on the 20^th.

I’ve updated the blog with photos from this year’s class! If you click on one of the pictures in the slide show it will bring you to the web site with the entire album. The photos will be larger and better quality! Enjoy!