Happy almost winter vacation!

I want to thank all the families for donating to the Gift for Kids program.  We got Olivia so many presents that she wanted like Lego Friends, art supplies, books and games.  The children really seemed to enjoy this project and most of all they learned that the holidays are about family, friends, and giving so thank you!!

We have been busy in Room 24!  Ask your child about...

* basewords and suffixes in Fundations
* the books we have read in reading group this week
* how to use the sequence of events words (First, Next, Then, In the end) to retell a story
* the Jan Brett books we read and how there are many characteristics that are the same in her books
* the different versions of the gingerbread man and what was the same and different in each book
* the Jazz band concert
* working in the library on the Hour of Code project

We have also been talking about different math strategies that we can use to add and subtract.

We have used a part, part whole mat

We have used a tens frame to Make 10

We have used the number line too!

Other strategies we have talked about are using doubles, doubles plus 1 and doubles plus 2

I hope all of your families have a wonderful vacation and enjoy time to relax and spend time with your family!  Thank you for all your support this year!

If you have any questions or concerns feel free to email me at herring@email.medfield.net

Heather Herring

Dear Families,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and got to enjoy some time with family and friends. Thank you to all the families for meeting during our conferences.  It was so nice to sit down with you and tell you what a great job your child is doing in first grade!

I also wanted to thank any families who have donated to the Gifts for Kids program.  We are sponsoring a 7 year old little girl named Olivia.  Olivia has asked for a few toys and we have also brainstormed some other things we think she may like (hat, gloves, etc.).  Once all the shopping has been done, I will be looking for a parent to drop off the presents in Walpole.  More to come on this...

Here are some of the things we are working on in the classroom....

This week, we will be reading books by Jan Brett and doing some center activities that will involve the theme of mittens.

We have also started a new unit in Fundations.  We have started learning about basewords and suffixes (example: cat/cats).  We have learned that adding s to a word makes the word plural.  We have also learned that s can have the sound of /s/ or /z/ such as in pens or bugs.

In math, we continue to practice adding to 10 and 20 using strategies such as a number line, doubles (6+6), near doubles (6+7) and making ten using a tens frame. In the next unit, we will begin to focus on subtraction facts to 20 and the different strategies that can be used.

In reading groups, we have and will continue to talk about comprehension and how to retell a story.  We will begin using a new friend called Braidy after the break:)  We also continue to write small moment stories in Writer's Workshop.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email me at hherring@email.medfield.net

Heather