First, I would like to say a big THANK YOU to Mrs. Brucks, Mrs. Hinckley, Mrs. Mason, and Ms. Michaelis for all their help with the 100th day!! The class had a great time all day rotating between Ms. Bawden's and Mrs. Baxter's rooms and doing different activities with 100 and the parent helpers. I felt exhausted just watching it all! Thank you to everyone for your help at home make the day a success as well. The first graders looked adorable dressed up as 100-year-olds. Their 100 collections made a very interesting museum too. I hope to have many pictures from the day posted on the website soon.
This week we are learning about insects. Today we read about what makes an insect an insect and how they are different from the other animals we have read about. We will learn more about insects this week so that we can compare, label, and write about what we know by the end of the week. The comparisons will continue in math this week. We will start by learning what makes a number greater, then what makes a number less. After we have plenty of practice comparing the tens and ones in a number, we will add the < and > symbols. I'm excited to play some new games with the class to trick them into practicing this skill!
I have a few reminders for this week and beyond. The district has restructured the Friday dismissal time to make up for instructional minutes that were lost in the shuffle of one thing or another. The dismissal bell will ring at 1:40 on Fridays from now on. Please enjoy the additional ten minutes of solace on my behalf. Conferences are coming up February 13 and 14. The online scheduler will open soon. I happened to spend some time in the lunch room last week and noticed several first graders throwing away items from their lunch without eating any part. A few students I talked to said that they were tired of having the same item every day or that they decided they did not like what was packed at all. Regardless of their reasons, I was troubled by how much food was being thrown out. I totally understand how picky a first grader's palate may be. I also understand that families spend plenty of time and money on packing lunches that will keep children going for several hours during the day. Although I don't have a solution, I would hate to have this pattern continue for the rest of the year without mentioning it here. I cannot stay in the lunchroom to monitor every lunch, but I am happy to talk to the class about eating lunch and communicating with you about what may be more appetizing during the week.
Have a wonderful week!
This week we are learning about insects. Today we read about what makes an insect an insect and how they are different from the other animals we have read about. We will learn more about insects this week so that we can compare, label, and write about what we know by the end of the week. The comparisons will continue in math this week. We will start by learning what makes a number greater, then what makes a number less. After we have plenty of practice comparing the tens and ones in a number, we will add the < and > symbols. I'm excited to play some new games with the class to trick them into practicing this skill!
I have a few reminders for this week and beyond. The district has restructured the Friday dismissal time to make up for instructional minutes that were lost in the shuffle of one thing or another. The dismissal bell will ring at 1:40 on Fridays from now on. Please enjoy the additional ten minutes of solace on my behalf. Conferences are coming up February 13 and 14. The online scheduler will open soon. I happened to spend some time in the lunch room last week and noticed several first graders throwing away items from their lunch without eating any part. A few students I talked to said that they were tired of having the same item every day or that they decided they did not like what was packed at all. Regardless of their reasons, I was troubled by how much food was being thrown out. I totally understand how picky a first grader's palate may be. I also understand that families spend plenty of time and money on packing lunches that will keep children going for several hours during the day. Although I don't have a solution, I would hate to have this pattern continue for the rest of the year without mentioning it here. I cannot stay in the lunchroom to monitor every lunch, but I am happy to talk to the class about eating lunch and communicating with you about what may be more appetizing during the week.
Have a wonderful week!