Winter Recess

Winter recess begins Wednesday, December 24th and school resumes Monday, January 5th.

We wish you all a joyous and wonderful break and happy and healthy new year!

One more page please!

"One more page please!" the first graders exclaimed when we had to pause reading any of the books from the Mercy Watson by Kate DiCamillo! We still have to read books 4 & 5!

Here are some more books we've been enjoying these last few weeks…
Ezra Jack Keats books (Goggles, Apt 3C)
Punctuation Takes A Vacation
Subway

The Stories Julian Tells

Dr. Seuss' Yertle the Turtle 

Soda Pop Head

Tentative Family Share Schedule *Update*

January TBA - Math Games
Friday, February 13th - Post Office Opening
Friday, March 6th - Poetry Slam
Wednesday, April 1st - Farmers Market Share
Friday, May 15th - Opinion Writing Share
June TBA - Community Activist Drama Share (with Kevin)
June TBA - End of Year Celebration

Sneak peak...

We hope to see you all at our Neighborhood Study Share this Friday, 12/19, around 8:45 in the morning!  Here's a sneak peak of some of the work the first graders have been up to...

Tenement Museum Trip

The first graders had an amazing time at the Tenement Museum today.  We learned about immigration and New York City long ago.  Be sure to ask your child all about the trip!

Spelling Practice

For extra spelling practice at home, you can dictate one or two sentences a week to encourage correct spelling, punctuation, and using an uppercase letter only at the beginning of a sentence or for someone's name. Read the sentence twice, and have your child write the sentence down. When your child is finished writing, go through the sentence and make corrections together. Here are some sentences we recommend this month.

The fish is hot.
Rick is not back yet.
Tim sat on that big rock.
Beth had a wig and a hat.
Dad met Bev at the shop.
A big moth is in the pot.
Did Rick hop on that bus?
He had a nap on the rug.
Did Tom nab the fish?
Did Jack rush to the bus?
Beth had to get the pup.
Mom sat on the deck.
Did Chet wish for a pup?
The fish is for the cat.

Practice Math Facts at Home!

Mindset

Mindset by Carol S. Dweck

"Everyone is born with an intense drive to learn. Infants stretch their skills daily. Not just ordinary skills, but the most difficult tasks of a lifetime, like learning to walk and talk. They never decide it's too hard or not worth the effort. Babies don't worry about making mistakes or humiliating themselves. They walk, they fall, they get up. They just barge forward." ~ Carol S. Dweck (Mindset)

We recently read the book Mindset:The New Psychology of Success - How We Can Learn to Fulfil Our Potential" by Carol S. Dweck and love it. It's a highly recommended book for educators and parents on how to foster self-esteem, motivate our kids, and help them improve in school - and life.

Let us know if you pick it up! If you have any other recommended books (for parents/teachers --- or just for fun and pleasure), post here!

How to Draw Books

The first graders in room 401 LOVE to draw! Ed Emberley has some fantastic "how-to draw" books and most of our students love using the books during quiet time or choice time. Here are some of his popular titles....

Make a World
Little Drawing Book of the Farm
Animals
Fingerprint Drawing Book
Book of Faces

Strategies for Solving Tricky Words

The first graders have been busy learning strategies for solving tricky words.  Here's a chart that shows some of the strategies we've learned so far.