Hello first grade families!

I hope you had a lovely weekend. I was in Petoskey for a soccer tournament.

Thank you for subscribing to my blog. This is the way I communicate special dates, important events, photos of the kids, and our academic goals for the week. As of right now, we have only 7 of the 20 families subscribed. Hopefully, more of my first grade families will subscribe soon.

Thank you!

Thank you for all of the classroom donations of paper, tissues, disinfecting wipes, soap, and hand sanitizer. The paper is always needed.

The other items will help keep us healthy by keeping our room clean.

Thank you for attending Open House

Thank you to all the families who attended Open House last Thursday. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet each other, for you to see our room, and for your child to show you around.

If you did not sign up for a parent-teacher conference, please email me and I will reserve a day and time for you.

Dates to Remember

Tuesday, September 13 – Wear gym shoes – your first grader has gym on Tuesdays. They will have to sit out if they are not wearing gym shoes.

Friday, September 16 – 12:05 dismissal (Half day of school) Teachers have professional development learning in the afternoon.

Photos of your First Grader Learning

I have some cute photos of the first graders playing Shake those Disks. I will publish them as soon as I know which kids can be published on the blog. If you signed a form indicating that you do not want photos published, I will place an emoji smiley face over your child’s face.

A Peek at What We are Learning

ELA

We are still in our 20 day review before starting spelling. I am reviewing letters and sounds. We are blending letters together to make consonant vowel consonant words. We call them CVC words. They have a short vowel sound. CVC words will be our initial spelling patterns.

We are learning to write in our journals without worrying about “how to spell” a word. We are saying it and writing the letters of the sounds we hear. We call that hearing and recording sounds in words.

We are also learning to be responsible at learning stations. We call them workstations. Right now, we have 3. They are Reading, Writing, and Game/Puzzle workstations. We will add the Word Work and Computer workstations soon. These are important because they allow your child to practice a taught skill while I assess and teach reading to small groups.

Math

We are learning about the commutative property in addition. For example, 2+3=5 and 3+2=5. The addends can be switched around, they will still add to the same sum.

We are also learning about all the ways to make an 8, 9, and 10.

We are working with ten frames, drawings with quick circles, and number bonds.

Science/Social Studies

We went on a hunt with partners looking for living and non-living things. We will share them this week. We will start learning about plants and animals.

Thank you for all of your support. As soon as I get a new computer, our blog will look a bit more creative with clip art headings and photos of us working. Have a wonderful week. Please email me if you have any questions.

Mrs. Korte

I hope you all had a lovely weekend with your first grader. We will continue to learn classroom routines.

Dates to Remember

• Tuesday – This is our day to go to the gym. Please make sure your first grader has on gym shoes. Thank you.
• Thursday – OPEN HOUSE – 6:00 to 7:30 The parents will begin in the gymnasium with Mrs. Faraj. Your first grader will come to me in our classroom. Room 117

Look at what we are learning this week

ELA

• We will be reviewing our letters and sounds over the next few weeks. Most of the review will be on consonants, but this week we will look at the vowels a and i.
• I will be reading books from my classroom library to pique interest in the different books available. Your child will get to pick 6 books every week. They will use these books to read to themself and sometimes to read to someone. Some of the authors I will highlight this week will be Christian Robinson, Leo Lioni, and Adam Rubin.
• We will practice printing letters. (Printing is our way to write our thoughts to another person. We must be fast, flexible, and accurate, so printing will be a focus this year.)
• We will write in our journal almost every day this week. The focus this week is telling me something about themselves and not being nervous to make a mistake.

Math

• We will be learning different ways to make 6, 7, 8, and 9.
• The main math tools we will use are drawing quick circles, using our counting sticks aka our fingers, and utilizing a number bond.
• A number bond is incredibly helpful this year. Your child will learn that it represents addition and subtraction.
• Please help your child to complete their math homework each night and return it to school in the blue Take Home Folder. Thank you.

Science/Social Studies

We will be swapping back and forth with Science and Social Studies from week to week. We are starting with science. This week we will be learning about living and nonliving things.

Vocabulary

living = An organism (plant or animal) that grows, takes in nutrients, and reproduces.

non-living = An object that does NOT grow, does NOT take in nutrients, and does NOT reproduce.

nutrients = A substance that provides nourishment for growth and making energy

reproduce = To make another organism (plant or animal) like the first organism.

dead = Something that was once living, but is no longer alive.

food = A substance a living thing can take in to get energy or to help it grow.

That is it for this week. Usually, my newsletters are more colorful and informative. I thank you for your support.

Mrs. Korte

Hello!

I know it will be a wonderful year in first grade. I am excited to get to know your child/children. We will grow together.

The welcome letter with specific details is in your child’s/children’s blue, take home folder. Please read through it. I know it is a lot.

Please sign up for this blog. It is very important for weekly newsletters and mid-week communication.

Again, I am excited to get started. Thank you for your support.

Mrs. Korte