Dear First Grade Families,
Your children have wrapped up their first Math Block and are excited to share their Qualities of Numbers Main Lesson Books with you. The books will be available for viewing at our Curriculum Night in January for your collective “oohs” and “ahs,” and at the end of the school year, you will be able to take the entire year’s worth of Main Lesson Books to treasure at home. The drawings in this block have engaged students on both a thinking and a feeling level. Would you believe that feelings of love actually grow and become palpable in the classroom when the children are deeply touched by the art that they produce within the group? It is incredible and a true privilege to share in the experience. Also, in that vein, the children have literally stepped and jumped for joy when counting 100 steps out loud with logs numbered in 10s along the way, with the number 100 naturally resulting in the biggest jump and the heartiest cry!
The class is now diving back into the world of consonants. In addition to looking forward to many more fairy tales rich in imagery from which to draw a deep appreciation of letter forms, students are excited to learn all 21 consonants! After the Winter Break, we will start a new semester with vowels, which will breathe life into the consonants and provide a springboard for our beginnings in writing and reading words. It will be a whole new world!
Announcements and Reminders for First Grade:
The temperature drop upon entering the forest (as compared with students’ driveways and the drop-off area at school, for example) is almost immediately appreciable. Therefore, a coat that blocks the wind (in addition to fleeces and sweaters) is needed, even if only for an hour, despite the weather being more temperate than the cold snap we recently experienced.
11/01: No School (Teacher In-service Day)
We look forward to seeing you at the Lantern Walk! On November 6th at 6:00 p.m., we will meet indoors to enjoy a story before heading outside for our forest Lantern Walk and gingerbread.
Warmly,
Ki Michelle
