Observing, Comparing and Sorting

Last week we read a book called, The Button Box and took a close look at the buttons in our button box. We looked closely at some of them to notice the special things about them, we compared them to other buttons and we sorted them into different groups. The buttons in our box are fascinating and all of the crew enjoys observing, comparing and sorting them. We also use them in our Wonder and Explore station. We use muffin tins to sort and hold the different groups we make. We learned lots of things about buttons that day. Ask your child to tell you all about the buttons in our button box.

Important Dates
8/28 Fieldwork to Ms. Zina's garden ~ permission slips due today
9/7 Labor Day ~ No School
9/22-9/23 ~ Fall Voyage
9/24 Day of Rest for 1st grade
9/25 No School ~ Professional Development Day for Teachers
10/2 Boot Camp
10/3-10/18 Fall Break
10/19 No School ~ Teacher Work Day

PE

We had PE this week and had a lot of fun cup stacking. Ask your child to tell you all about it.

IA (Integrated Arts Class)
Our IA next week is Library. We will be learning how to check out our own books just like we do at the public library.

Monster Squeeze

This week we reviewed a game that the crew learned in Kindergarten called Monster Squeeze. The object of the game is to guess the leader's number. After each guess the leader tells whether his or her number is higher or lower than the guess until the range is narrowed down and the number can be guessed. This game gave us a chance to review old skills, learn new skills (as we increased the difficulty level of the game this year) and practice leadership skills. We will continue to play this game over the next few weeks until more students have a leadership opportunity.

Guidelines for Behavior

Our school only has 3 rules or guidelines for behavior that cover most any situation. They are:

• You may do anything that does not create a problem for you or anyone else in the world.
• If you find yourself with a problem, you may solve it by any means that does not cause a problem for anyone else in the world.
• You may do anything that does not jeopardize the safety or learning of yourself or others. Unkind words and actions will not be tolerated.

We discussed these as a crew and then signed our names to show that we all agreed to live by these rules. (You will notice that we shortened the written rule for first grade but we did discuss all three rules.)

Exploration Stations

One of our favorite times of day is Exploration Stations. During this time students work with a partner at different stations around the room while I work on reading or writing with small groups or individuals. Stations change throughout the year. A few of the stations we have include Build and Create, computers, iPads, classroom library, math activities, listening station, reading big books, handwriting, Wonder and Explore, word work, pocket chart activities and more. You will see some of these stations below.