Dear Families,
Here is our week in review:
Social-Emotional Learning:
This week, we continued to learn about the differences between “rude silly” and “fun silly”. If you recall, the students are learning the times during our day when they can be silly and loud, and the times when they cannot (because that behavior interferes with other peoples’ learning). Ms. Nicole visited our class for some role playing to show this. We had so much fun and we learned so much. Thank you, Ms. Nicole for helping us!
We also learned about the importance of having good and safe manners during snack and lunch time. We talked about the importance of sitting still during meal times, not talking with food in our mouths and not playing with the food. We read a book about a penguin and his animal friends who helped us visualize this.
We are also learning about the “Zones of Regulation” in our class. The zones help us understand our own needs and feelings, but also that of others. They help us show empathy and compassion towards others when we see/hear unexpected behaviors or choices. Throughout the day, people move through different feelings. There are multiple strategies we can use to help us regulate our feelings as we move away from “the green”, when we feel calm and ready to learn. At Allen Brook, we use the following language (in case your child uses it at home to help explain situations):
If you are “on the green”, you are ready to learn. You are calm and happy/content.
If you are “on the yellow”, you are starting to get frustrated/angry/annoyed, but you are still in control of your open feelings. You are encouraged to try some of the mindfulness strategies we have learned, such as deep breathing, calm coloring, yoga, a quick break, etc.
If you are “on the red”, you are very angry. You are not in control of your feelings now and need help.
If you are “on the blue”, you are feeling tired or sad.
Ms. Clark also taught us some yoga this week. We learned the Tree Pose, the Rainbow Breathing and the Eagle Pose. Thank you Ms. Clark!
The students filled the classroom buzzy jar again for being safe, kind and responsible. This time we celebrated with extra play time outside in the snow. It was fun!.
Reading:
The students worked on building their reading stamina in class this week. They received multiple new “just right” books for their book bins and were encouraged to show perseverance and a growth mindset when reading independently or with a teacher. What a fantastic group of readers we have!
We also focused on the different reading strategies we can use during independent times. Here is a visual of some of the ones we use in class.
The students all received a new reading bookmark. It has a little highlighted window in its center to help the students stay on track and pay close attention to the text/letters.
Writing:
We continued writing our opinion pieces this week. This week, the students shared their opinions about their favorite food. They also continued to practice more independence applying age-appropriate grammar, such as finger-spacing between words, proper letter formation, and ending punctuation.
The students learned about bonus letters this week. They learned to write these words as well as how to mark them up and tap them out.
The students reviewed digraphs and trick words too.
First Grade Math:
We filled our math classroom buzzy jar for being safe, kind and responsible in math class! The students chose to play familiar math games with each other. We also played a new game called “Number Sparkle”. This game was invented by a student in our class! It was so fun. Ask your child to explain (Hint: It helped us pay close attention to each symbol in an equation).
We revisited the importance of having a “Growth Mindset” in math (as in all classes!). We discussed what it looks like and sounds like to persevere in math, have a positive mindset and not give up, even when the math problems get harder.
First grade mathematicians continued working on solving problems with missing addends and subtrahends this week. They were encouraged to use a variety of strategies to solve their calculations to make sure they had arrived at the correct answer. They used rekenreks, magnetic 20-frames and a strategy called “counting on”. The equations we worked on this week were written is different ways to, inviting the students to carefully pay attention to the symbols and their respective order in the sequence. For example, we worked on equations that looked like this:
8=5+___
9-____=6
____-2=4
First grade mathematicians also played several games practicing skills and strategies for adding 10 to a number.
First grade mathematicians also started exploring “Off-Decade Counting”. They are learning how to add 10 to any number, starting at a more unfamiliar number such as 3, or 4 (3, 13, 23, 33, etc)
Science:
This week, the students participated in a series of lessons learning how light, sound and colors can be used to communicate. We will continue these concepts in the next few weeks too.
The students also worked on our new science mural in our classroom. Together, we chart what we think we know, what we learn, what our scientific evidence is, any questions or wonderings we have and lastly how we can use scientific explanations for this new knowledge. Some students have already added new pictures to this wall to add more details. Thank you!
News and Reminders:
Our school is changing the dismissal protocols starting next week. Our school now asks that parents pick up their children by 2:50. We understand that traffic can sometimes back up and parents arrive late for a variety of different reasons. If that is the case, your child will wait inside the building for your arrival. Buses and Part 2 students will have the same dismissal procedures and nothing will change for them.
Here is a reminder for birthday celebrations: On Harmony, we do not celebrate your child’s birthday with food/candy due to covid and dietary restrictions. Instead, we do our best to make your child’s birthday special by singing to him/her, hand out a birthday balloon and a special birthday covering on your child’s chair. The birthday child also gets to choose a small birthday surprise from the classroom Treasure Box and go down to see Ms. Filion for a special birthday surprise. If your child wants to bring in a special book for a read aloud, or show/share something special on that day, he/she can do that too. Thank you for understanding.
We will celebrate Valentine’s Day on Harmony on 2/14. If your child wishes to share Valentine’s Day cards with his/her friends, please make sure all children in our class is included. No food or candy, please. Please bring in these cards on Monday. The students will hand them out to each other on Monday. They will also create a special Valentine’s Day envelope/bag for all of these cards for storage. Your child has a class-list inside his/her Home Folder today. Thank you.
On Friday, February 4th we will be celebrating the 100th Day of School! Students are invited to bring in a collection of 100 to share at our Math Museum that day. Counting collections gives mathematicians opportunities to practice counting forward and backward fluently, and to organize large quantities into efficient groups. Collections should fit in a large Ziploc bag (examples: cheerios, raw pasta/beans, beads, paperclips, etc.). Students are welcome to organize a collection with items from the classroom if they choose not to bring something from home!
Have a great weekend,
Maria
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