Scientists at work!

Good afternoon first grade families!

We have been busy here at CFI in the past week. We’ve illustrated the school’s rights and responsibilities, explored the role of scientists and started our first unit of study, and we’ve analyzed different versions of fairy tales.

In math we have learned new math games that we can pull out to do when we first enter the classroom. These range from practicing addition, to counting, and number fluency. We are working with partners and in groups to practice working together and community within the classroom.

For our first science inquiry we are applying our understanding of the role of scientists to investigate insects. We are finding them everywhere! The kids are noticing them out on the playground and at carpool and are gathering around to look up close at the specimens that are all around us. Today we explored pictures of insects using magnifying glasses and discussed what we noticed and if it matched up with what we read in a big book about insects. This investigation and some notes taken from these observations are depicted below.

In reading, we are studying fairy tales and different versions of the classic tales we think of. The kids have even told me about versions they have seen in movies and books. Today we read two versions of Little Red Riding Hood and the kids were quick to notice the differences. In the second version there was a happy ending, the wolf just wanted the Granny’s muffin recipe and ended up working in her bakery. Needless to say there are some fun and creative versions out there which help inspire our own writing and allow us to analyze the choices authors make in their writing.

As we continue through the end of this week and into the next we will continue our exploration into insects, fairy tales, and addition strategies. I look forward to where this journey will take us and stay tuned for more updates.

School Information:

Birthdays: We have already celebrated one birthday since our school year began (Grace) and we have so many more to celebrate. If your child has a summer birthday we will pick a day throughout the year to celebrate with them just as we do with the other students in the class. In terms of bringing things in, the policy is that it must be healthy for us to distribute it during the day. If you bring something such as cupcakes I am not allowed to pass it out during the school day. The procedure is that I will hand it out when children leave for carpool and they are not allowed to eat it until they get in their own car. This is the school-wide policy that was discussed before the year began. I understand that you want to celebrate your child’s birthday, as do I and so I would suggest just bringing a healthy snack for the class and/or eating with them at lunch sometime around the birthday. You can also come and read to the class or come and sing with us. We would love to help celebrate your child’s special day.

Scholastic Book Order: The due date for our class is September 16th

Opening Picnic: This is will be September 15th here at CFI

Active Gamecocks: A form went home today about active Gamecocks. Here is some information about it from our new Coach Hunter

Starting on Monday (9/5) if students do 30min of physical activity each day, for 11 days in a row (until 9/16), and complete the sheet, they will get 2 free tickets to either a USC Volleyball game, Men's Soccer game, or Women's soccer game (dates of games are on the sheet). Any physical activity counts, even team practices.

Home to School Connections:

Since we are starting our inquiry into insects, I encourage families to bring in facts they find, books they have, or illustrations they create as we will begin sketching and observing insects in the next few days.

We are also exploring Fairy Tales and contrasting different versions of stories so if you have a different version of a commonly known fairy tale (such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Three Little Pigs, etc.) please bring it in for us to read and analyze.

One last thing, try to read every night with your child. It makes all the difference and we will soon begin a log of what we read. One area we have been working on in class is paying attention to the pictures for context clues. Many stories have key details in their illustrations, or at least expand the depth of the story. Highlighting these helps early readers comprehend stories better and figure out unknown words. Practicing this skill at home builds off of the daily learning and helps extend their understanding of what they read. As always, the home and school connections infuse our classroom culture and I am always excited to hear what your child wants to share about their life outside of the classroom. Have a great night!

Pictures: Some exploration time- science, puzzles, reading, and two of our rights and responsibilities illustrated