Harvesting the Garden

Last week, Ms. Martha and a group of kids from Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade harvested some beans and carrots from our school garden during recess. The 2nd graders planted the garden when they were in 1st grade. It was fun for all who chose to join in. It is really nice having several grade levels out at recess together. They all play very nicely together and don't stay in grade level groups. They blend together well and it gives the teachers time to meet and spend time with kids in other grades.

Math

One day I asked the crew what the biggest difference between kindergarten and first grade was and after we talked about having fewer recesses in first grade, they said that we do more math in first grade. I thought I would share with you some of the things that we have been working on in math so far this year:

• writing the numbers correctly and neatly
• counting by 2s
• counting by 5s
• making tally marks
• what comes before and after a number
• one more, one less
• counting on a number line
• getting information from a data chart (like a tally mark chart)
• what are calendars and timelines
• grouping items to make them easier to count
• solving number stories (word problems)
• counting on a number grid
• counting on from a number (start at 6 and count up 4 ~ 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
• complements of 10 (5 and 5, 6 and 4, 7 and 3, and so on)
• how to use a calculator
• explaining our thinking to others and listening to their ideas
• subitizing (earlier post about that here)

The next two weeks we will be learning about:

• telling time to the hour
• comparing lengths of objects
• pennies - how do you know it is a penny and how much is it worth
• nickels - how do you know it is a nickel and how much is it worth
• counting the value groups of pennies and nickels (counting by 5s, counting on from a number and using tally marks will help us with this)
• writing number models using +, -, =  (5+6=11, 6-4=2, etc.)
• more on reading a data chart and graphs

Feel free to talk with your child about any or all of these topics as they come up in your daily life. That is the best way to learn about many of them.

Also, some of the crew really needs to practice writing numbers (and numbers) so any extra practice they can do at home is great. Ask them to write their numbers and see if your child needs more practice. Fun ways to do this include:

• write them in chalk on the driveway
• use a clean paintbrush and paint them with water on the driveway or sidewalk
• use special/fancy pens, markers, crayons and paper
• write them on a whiteboard, chalkboard or magnetic board (MagnaDoodle)
• have them write a number on your back with their finger and you guess what they are writing, then change places and you write on their back or you can write on each others' palms, too
• have them write them in the air with their finger

It is normal for students to be writing some numbers and letters backwards at this point in the year. We are starting to work on that and point out to them that they have some numbers and letters that they need to "fix". The earlier they correct this the easier it is to correct.

Important Dates
9/23 No School - Professional Development Day for Teachers
9/30 Renaissance Challenge Day (formerly called Boot Camp)
10/3 - 10/17 Fall Break
10/19 Crew Pictures and Individual Re-Takes
11/8 No School - Professional Development for Teachers
11/14 - 11/18 Book Fair
11/23 - 11/25 Thanksgiving Break
12/19 - 1/3 Winter Break  

New Exploration Stations

We rotate our stations in and out of use so that we get to explore many more things. Recently we had Keva Planks and Magnets out in our stations and now we have Seashells and Recycled Building Materials. More will be coming soon. Play and exploration are among the best ways to learn.

Arts and PE
Our Arts and PE class next week will be Art.

Books, Books, Books

I brought in some new collections of books from the Douglas County Public Library for the kids to read and explore. These are books that are just right for very beginning readers. We recently fell in love with books by David Shannon (the No, David series), Jan Thomas and Jeremy Tankard. These were extremely funny books that were just right for almost all of us but they had to be returned. (Even those students who can read much more challenging books enjoyed the humor in those books.) Now we have lots of new books that are just right or just a little bit challenging for us and most of them are very, very funny, too. So if you are needing suggestions for great books at your next library trip, check out some of these books. These books will help you make reading fun and enjoyable for your child. (While these books are mostly easy to read, we will never say that - just like we don't want to label children, we don't want to label books. We will just say that they are fun to read or that they are great stories!)

For lots more great book suggestions, visit my Pinterest Boards that have lots and lots of ideas - you don't have to have a Pinterest account to access these boards. Once on a board at Pinterest, if you click on a book twice (the first click will just make it appear larger) you will be taken directly to the Douglas County Public Library site for that book and can put it on hold to pick up later. What a fast and easy way to gather great books for you to read with your child!

Author Visit ~ Carmela Coyle

We had published author, Carmela Coyle, come and visit us today to talk about writing and reading. We all really enjoyed it. Ask your child to tell you all about it. Thanks to Ms. Diana for arranging this special event for us!

Website for Carmela Coyle

Homework?

No, we won't have any official homework in first grade. Years ago, when I was completing my Master's Degree in Educating Diverse Learners, I wrote my thesis on the value of homework. The research all agrees that there is no real benefit to homework in elementary school and some value in middle school and high school. (For more on this topic check out articles/books by Alfie Kohn or Harris Cooper.) The research does say that children still should do lots and lots of learning at home but in a more natural way as they go through their life - reading with family members, counting out silverware, measuring ingredients for a recipe, learning what time they should leave for school and on and on.

So I am only going to recommend that you do three things with your child on a regular (but not necessarily daily - just almost daily) basis:

1. Talk, talk, talk about anything and everything. Not only does this help them learn about the world and how things work in it, it will also help them develop their vocabulary. Need help with topics? Check out Wonderopolis or The Kid Should See This for cool stories and videos on a wide variety of topics.
2. Read, read, read. Read to them, have them read to you and read together. Find great books that you will love and enjoy. We don't want this to be a chore - ever!
3. Check out Bedtime Math - in a variety of forms: website, app and books. This site gives you an interesting story to read to your child and then gives you problems to solve at 3 different levels - wee ones, little kids and big kids. There is a new story each night and lots of research that shows that this site really helps.

For those of you who want more ideas, check out the Resources page of our crew blog for lots of online ways to practice academic skills. We use these sites in class during our Exploration Station time and they can all be accessed from home, too. Your children love some of these sites and would enjoy having more time on them. A few sites are subscription services that the district has purchased for us but you can still access them from home using your library card number from the Douglas County Public Library but most do not require this.

You can also visit the Parent Resources page for even more ideas. There you will find links to articles, books and videos that will help you teach your child at home. If you are looking for more structured activities, check out the Sunshine Math and Math Home Links for EDM for printable math problems that you can give your child. These are in the Math section of the Parent Resources page.

Again, none of this is required at all. The items in my top three list above are highly recommended but still not required. These sites are also great for sick days, breaks from school, rainy, snowy or hot days when your child is looking for something fun to do. We never want any of this to take away too much from time spent playing - indoors or out. Play is the best way for kids this age to learn. Enjoy exploring all of the resources and let me know which ones you and your child like the best.

Important Dates
9/7 Love and Logic Class for Parents begins 6:00 pm
9/23 No School - Professional Development Day for Teachers
9/30 Renaissance Challenge Day (formerly called Boot Camp)
10/3 - 10/17 Fall Break
10/19 Crew Pictures and Individual Re-Takes
11/8 No School - Professional Development for Teachers
11/14 - 11/18 Book Fair
11/23 - 11/25 Thanksgiving Break
12/19 - 1/3 Winter Break 

Learning is Messy

Learning is messy! I don't necessarily mean a physical mess although it can be that. I mean that everything your child learns is connected to every other thing that he or she learns. Learning really can't be completely compartmentalized into math, reading, writing, etc. It is easy to see how reading and writing are related and how learning something about writing can improve your reading and vice versa. Other contents seem to separate more easily but are actually all connected, too. That is one of the basic tenets of Expeditionary Learning - we embrace the fact that learning is messy and all tangled up and not neatly segmented into discrete areas. Below are a just a couple of examples of messy learning in first grade.

We recently created graphs using name cards during a word work lesson. One day we created a graph by the number of letters in our names and one day we created a graph based on the number of syllables in our name. How is this messy? Well, while we were thinking about letters within words and length of names, we were also learning to physically create a graphical way to organize information to understand it better. When we created the graph of syllables in our names we began to think deeply about why this graph looked different from the previous graph. We thought a lot about how names might have lots of letters but not as many syllables. We wondered what a name with 10 syllables would sound like. We related this to our morning drum circles and thought about the beats in each name and how you would drum them. In first grade we casually introduce new learning mixed in with other/older learning and after a while we begin to notice that we know about a lot of things like: graphs, letters, words, syllables, music, naming conventions and more.

Number of Letters in Our Names Graph

Number of Syllables in Our Names Graph

We are also slipping in more graph/chart making while practicing making tally marks. We have created two charts using tally marks - one about pets we own and one about our favorite season. While creating these charts, we are practicing making tally marks, counting by 5s, counting by 5s and switching to counting by 1s, organizing data in a way that makes it easier to understand, preparing to count the value of a collection of nickels and pennies and preparing to tell time on an analog (with hands) clock in 5 minute and 1 minute increments. What looks like a simple way to practice making and counting tally marks actually has many more purposes. Yes, learning is messy but learning this way of learning works so well.

Arts and PE
Our Arts and PE class next week is PE. Please help your child remember to wear appropriate footwear.