I can feel it in the air and I'm sure you can too. Fall is right around the corner and that means a few things for me; I get to start wearing sweats around my apartment, the leaves have begun turning color and baseball pennant races start heating up! The major league season started all the way back in April and so much has happened to bring all the teams to their current standings. I'm sure if you think all the way back to April about where your child was, it may seem like so much has happened to bring them to the point they're at now. I know I am seeing progress in Room 108 every day and it is still so very early in our academic "season!" Here we go...
Unit 1 is wrapping up this week in both math and reading with numbers and letters looking evermore familiar by the minute. What once was an 'a' is now the first letter in 'and' or 'apple'. What looked like an 'E' is now a backwards '3' and 9 is thought of as one less than 10. Soon students will see more than letters and words and sentences will become commonplace. As numbers grow larger and place value is recognized, addition will become more clearer as well. Unit 1 laid the foundation for instruction, lessons and purpose with Unit 2 going deeper into the discovery and introduction of new skills with better understanding and recognition for both subjects. Open-Court Reading's second unit title is "Animals." Everyday Math begins investigations with time and clocks, dominoes, rulers and the number grid (aka the hundreds chart).
A few reminders...
Students will soon be utilizing Time For Kids as a compliment to the Social Studies curriculum. Please turn in your check for your child's subscription if you have not already. TFK offers great issues in current events, themes, and trends along with excellent teacher and student resources, all age appropriate. Check out the website here for more information or to see more closely some of the topics we will be discussing.
There is a site I found recently that is definitely worth checking out with your child and it's called The Fact Monster. It offers a buffet of various resources for that insatiable academic appetite some of your children possess. Even if your child has one area he/she loves investigating, The Fact Monster will feed you information from a multitude of angles. Plus, its a great way to encourage reading!
Speaking of reading, Scholastic Book Orders are due next week (9/27/08). New books are always an exciting way to encourage enthusiasm for reading. Scholastic offers titles from all content areas and authors. You might be surprised at some of the incredible deals on some very familiar authors. I have been reading poetry from Shel Silverstein to the students during snack time and poems were a big part of the first unit in Open-Court Reading. May I suggest a book or two of his? Or maybe check out author/illustrator Eric Carle. He really has a talent that kids catch on to and love!
All in all the year is rolling and each day brings better attention, behavior and more effort. The more enthusiasm and participation each child offers to the class, the stronger our learning community will be. Thank you for reading and I will see you on the black top!
