Thank you!

Thank you to all the families that donated so we could buy Sophia her gifts for the holidays.  Today was the drop off day, so here are all the wonderful things we were able to get her. As you can she, she loves the movie Frozen and will have a beautiful comforter, pillow, and blanket set in her bedroom.  This is one of the few items she asked for.  Happy holidays to all of your families and thank you again for your generous donations.  It feels good to know we helped a family during the holidays!!!!

Happy holidays!

Dear families,

Happy holidays to you!  This is a busy time of year with all the holidays and conferences!  I really enjoyed meeting with all the families to discuss your child's progress.  

I would like to thank all the families that donated to our Gifts for Kids program.  I'm so grateful to be working with such caring families.  We have raised over $175 for Sophia.  With this money we will be able to get her the Frozen comforter she wanted as well as, a Frozen pillow and blanket, books, arts and crafts, socks, pajamas, and a few other things. Thank you again!  It means so much to me!

Here are a few things going on in first grade...

Math- We have been working hard on making survey questions, collecting data, and making representations of the data.  The children really seem to be getting the hang of this.

Writing- we are taking a break from narrative writing (small moments) and have switched gears to informative writing.  The children are busy writing teaching books where they teach their reader about something the know a lot about (dogs, cape cod, riding a bike).

Reading- We continue to work hard at retelling stories that have a beginning,middle, and end.  We have also focused on nonfiction texts as well.

Science-We have started learning about organisms (plants and seeds).  We planted seeds last Friday and today some have started to grow roots!

Reminders...

Just a gentle reminder to please return book envelopes on Fridays.  This is the day we switch over our books for the next week.  Thank you!

Volunteers...hopefully everyone got the signupgenius invitation to come into the classroom and volunteer.  If you didn't get the invite or those times don't work for you, lemme know and we will figure out a different day/time for you to come in.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me at hherring@email.medfield.net 

Thank you,

Heather

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween to all families! We had such a great day on Friday.  A big thank you to Mrs. Careau, Mrs. Drummond, Mrs. Baker, and Mrs. Bergstrom for throwing a great party! The children had a blast!

Dear Families,

We had a short but productive week in first grade :) In reading group, we have been working hard at retelling a story from the beginning to the end.  We have learned to use character names and retelling the words not the pictures. In math, we continue to practice addition strategies such as counting all, counting on, and using known facts.  We focused on making combinations that equal 10 this week (5+5=10, 3+7=10, etc.) In writing, we have learned how to make our stories come alive by adding movement in our pictures and speech bubbles to make people talk.

Here are some things to ask your first grader...

* tell me about a book you read in reading group this week
* what are you writing about in Writers Workshop
* tell me how you can earn a star for extra recess by doing 2 things in the hallway (super straight, super quiet)
* show me a whole body listening look
* tell me 2 facts you learned about bats
* can you read me a book on raz-kids


Reminders....
Please send back book envelopes on Fridays.  This is the day we switch over our books for the next week.

Have a great weekend!
Heather

First Blog

Welcome to Herring's Highlights!  This is the first time I have ever wrote a blog so I may need your patience!!!! I'm excited to be able to communicate with parents about everything that is going on in first grade.  I think it's really important that parents know what their children are doing all day at school.  I also think that if I can provide you with information about what we are doing in the classroom, it can be a place to start a conversation with your child.  I know as a parent myself, when you ask "what did you do at school today?" The usual response is "nothing" or... "We had recess" and that is extremely frustrating:)

My plan is to update my blog weekly.  Once I get in the groove of writing this blog, I hope to add photos (cross your fingers that I can figure that out!)

Here are some things you can ask your first grader about this week:

* the sound of short a and i 

* tell me about a book you read in reading group

* what was a center you had today

* what are you writing about in writers workshop

* how long have you built up your stamina in independent reading

* how many ways can you show the number 9

* tell me about bus evacuation

Reminders...

No school Friday 10/10 and Monday 10/13