October Newsletter
Dear Parents,

        It was so nice to meet all of you at the First Grade Focus.  Thank you for your kind words and support.  I  look forward to seeing you throughout the year.  We have all had a great start and anticipate a wonderful first grade year!  

        Our year long science theme for first grade is the Maine forest.  We will concentrate on  trees and their changes with the seasons.  We learn about the different classification of Maine animals and their adaptations over seasons.    We have adopted and will continue to study a tree and observe the changes over time. Also during this month we will be studying insects as our first classification of animals.   

The children are doing well with the classroom and school routines.  Centers are a time when we whisper while we work and after completing our center work children are given choices.  We can't wait for our parent helpers to begin!  Our parent volunteer program will begin on Tuesday, October 10, 2006.  Please remember to sign in at the office when arriving and sign out when leaving. 
          We had a wonderful trip to Harris Farm. We have measured the circumference of our pumpkins, estimated the number of lines on our pumpkins and written and read about harvests and Fall.  We have been talking  about the words consumer, products and goods. 

 We will be reading and doing lots of activities around the Caldecott award -winning book by Donald Hall and Barbara Cooney (a Maine artist) titled Ox - Cart Man.  This charming story tells the tale of farming long ago in New England.    We would be pleased to have any parents or their acquaintances share their skills and knowledge of what life was like in colonial times.   Let us know if you have an interest you would be willing to share.  On October 30 we will be going on a field trip to the Olde York Historical Society to participate in their program of the Ox Cart Man. A permission slip is forthcoming.

        The month of October is when we focus on National Fire Prevention .   Please talk with your child about what to do if there is a fire in your house.  Choose a meeting place outside your home where you would meet in the event of a fire and have a practice fire drill. 

       

        We will also be doing many literacy activities integrated with these topics as well as our normal literacy events.  Baggy books began a couple of weeks and the children have been doing a great job.  These bags should  go home each day Monday through Thursday.  It is very IMPORTANT to return them each day.  The home-school connection is a vital piece to the literacy process so we are really counting on you to make this a part of your evening or morning routine.  Please reread stories with your children as it encourages fluency and use terms like, "make it sound like talking"  Encourage your child to use the pictures, the letters that words begin and end with and think about what makes sense.  Have your child retell the story using as many details from the book as possible.  This helps build comprehension skills and your child will enjoy reading more as they understand better.  Thank you. 


          We are busy writing the numbers, estimating and making patterns.  If you want to have fun with your child at home and support their learning, try making numbers with clay or Play-doh.    Children are expected to be able to recognize a penny nickel and a dime.  They should know their values and how to trade them. We need to know how to read three digit numbers, understand the calendar and thermometer and how they work.    These skills are all introduced during the year.  Any help you can give with these concepts would be appreciated.  I do appreciate your work with the home links in our new math program.  It is critical to the program we are using and should help your child understand the concepts that are assessed this year.  Please try to send the homework in as soon as possible. 

        We are beginning to expect that the children write using lowercase letters.  Any reinforcement at home would be appreciated.  You can also make letters out of clay, bread dough, chocolate pudding, yarn, or shaving cream.  Each letter begins with a starter button.  Maybe you could creatively think of some others ideas and tell us!

        You will find this month's book order attached to this letter.  Please return it to school with the check made out to the book club by Oct.20th  if choosing to order.

REMINDERS:

 

Again, thank you so much for your support.  Together we will make a great team!

 

Sincerely,

Kathy Cmaylo