September 16, 2019
By the end of our first week of school, students were tired but seemed excited about the week. They shared that some of their favorite things about the week had been brainstorming ways to be kind and things they can do to be a good reading friend. Some of their ideas were:
- Recommending books to each other.
- Reading to someone who can't read the words on their own.
- Taking turns reading.
- Showing friends where to find different types of books.
- Staying quiet during reading time so their friends can focus on their reading.
- Creating cozy spaces to read together.
- Set up a play date with time set aside for children to be reading buddies or help them to organize a book club.
- Ask your child to share or swap their favorite books with friends.
- Create friendship books in which your child collects short stories of favorite memories written by family members and friends.
- Look for examples of kindness in books and keep a list or use post-its to create a kindness hall of fame.
- Invite family members to write kind, anonymous messages to each other.
In math, first graders worked on different activities for counting by twos, fives and tens, as well as adding on to sets of five or ten. They built counting their own counting racks that will be used throughout the year. Second graders listened to math stories, familiarized themselves with math manipulatives, and completed beginning-of-the-year assessments.
On Thursday, we went on our second Out & About to The Backyard Garden. Students used observation skills to observe clouds, compare and contrast leaf rubbings, and examine insects. They helped Amy Staats with garden work by watering and pulling weeds.
Thank you to Jennifer and Nani for volunteering on the Out & About and to Elise for organizing the Scholastic Book Orders.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THIS WEEK:
- Wednesday is picture day. Please check your child's backpack for information about pictures.
- Thursday we will be going on an Out & About to Fernhill Wetlands. Please make sure your child comes to school dressed in layers with a rain jacket and rain boots and brings a water bottle. If your child has school lunch, the school will provide them with a sack lunch.
- On Friday we will be visiting the Forest Grove City Library. If your child has a library card, they can check out up to 3 books to take home. They will need to know their pin code. If they do not have a library card, I will check out a book for them that they will leave at school.
