First Grade September 8-12, 2025

First Grade

Sep 9

Dear First Grade Families,

Thank you for joining together at school for Curriculum Night last week. It was wonderful to see the room full of enthusiastic parents who brought questions, warmth, and refreshments to share. The teachers all enjoyed connecting with the parent community and look forward to a year of fun and growth with your children. We look forward to seeing you at the next Curriculum Meeting on the morning of Saturday, February 7th.

Last week, the class continued on their journey through the alphabet, building their phonemic awareness and learning how to form the letter “B.” Having previously giggled their way through their “D” tongue twister, “Ducks dive for doughnuts daily,” students reveled in the silliness of a poem about Betty Botter whose bitter butter spoils her batter. What choice does she have but to buy a better butter? This playful repetition of target sounds helps build learners’ awareness of how their mouths move when producing the sounds in addition to examples of words with the target sound as the onset (a term referring to the beginning consonant or blend). Students have demonstrated increased maturity through their ability to indulge in some laughs while maintaining focus! Another activity that has blended hilarity with skill work is a variation on a song students learned in Golden Knights, “A Sailor Went to Sea.” First Grade has learned additional lyrics and accompanying partner hand clapping that is of greater complexity than it was in Kindergarten. Students improved their coordination while crossing the midline by criss-crossing their hands with a partner, which strengthens the connection between their brain hemispheres, in turn helping with the development of reading skills. Students have no idea that games such as these actually play an important role in their learning!

Next week, students will conclude their first block on Language Arts before beginning their first Math block the week before Fall Break. Once students have begun learning mathematics, the extra main lessons (XMLs) will largely be devoted to Language Arts. In the same way, when Language Arts is the focus during the Main Lesson, the XMLs will focus on math skills.

Announcements & Reminders:

Gear/clothing: It is very cool in the mornings during Circle and Main Lesson. Please pack a jacket and lightweight gloves for your child. If you would like to send a blanket for your child to keep at school, please include a zippered bag or plastic lidded box (to keep out pests).

Parent/Teacher Conferences are October 9 and 10th. Please sign up here: First Grade