Good day everyone!

Thank you all for your participation with the Parent-Teacher Conferences. It was so great to sit down with each of you and talk about your child's progress and their attitudes towards school. It is very important to me that your child feels safe and welcomed at school, and that they have a positive outlook on learning. To reiterate, please know I am always available if you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns. I love hearing from parents!

In math, the children's minds are exploding with knowledge about coins. Boy, do they sure love money. They even love it more when they can count it! The children have specifically been focusing on exchanging pennies for nickels. I have found that when I expose the children to higher thinking throughout the day, they understand the concept so much easier when it is formally taught. In this instance, I have been incorporating dimes and quarters into our day in hopes that when I do introduce them to the exchange of the coins with higher value, they will understand better. There are some children who are already being challenged to exchange nickels for dimes. Here is a fun idea you can do at home: Have your child take off the seat cushions from your couch. Have them search for as many coins as they can can! No, stale Cheetos do not count! When they have found all the coins, help them count the nickels and pennies. Are there any exchanges they can do? If your child found dimes and quarters, don't be afraid to expand on the worth of the coins. During Daily 5 math, a favorite activity of the children was making designs out of coins. After their design is finished, they transfer their creation onto a piece of paper. They then have to count the value of their design. Here are a few pictures of the children in action: Jordan, Alexis, and Melania

Taking a look at the weeks ahead, the children will be learning about addition, subtraction, patterns, and higher level counting on the number line.

Regarding the children's reading, they have been working hard at using their schema (prior knowledge) to connect with the book they are reading. Good readers bring information from what they already know or what they have read before about a topic and connect it with what they are reading to increase their understanding of the text and to remember what they have read. I like to tell the children that it is like having a kind conversation with the book. They seem to really like that. The children have also been learning to identify the first and last part of a 1-2 syllable word, which helps them to both read and write the word. I like to cover up the last part of the word and have the children predict what the first part of the word is. The last part of a word is everything after the vowel. For instance, in the word "cat," the last part is -at. It keeps reading exciting, and almost a mystery!

The children have personal journals they write in everyday. Sometimes what they write is based from a specific prompt, and some journal entries are thought of entirely by them. They have been doing so well with the journals, I have to share what the authors have been up too:

The work above was written by Melania, Isabella M., and Kaydence

If you want to get more books based on your child's DRA level, go to:

1. scholastic.com

2. Click on the tab "Books and Authors"

3. Click on "Reading Level"

4. Choose the DRA option, choose 1st grade, and your child's DRA level

5. You now have a large list of well-known books connected to your child's DRA score. Pretty cool, I would say!

It looks like there is going to be spectacular fall weather this weekend--- go outside and wonder with your child!

Sincerely,

Miss Leslie