MISS CLAUDIA’S “COOL CATS”

JANUARY 2009, NEWS FLASH

It is hard to believe that we are almost halfway through our first grade year! It always amazes me how much the children change over our two week Christmas vacation. They seem to grow up and their confidence really blossoms.

We continue to move at a rapid pace in our Open Court reading program. We will continue with the long vowels and their associated spellings this month. Our spelling lists will continue to reflect the sounds and spellings we are learning. By the end of this month we will have introduced all of the sound cards and their related spellings. Please continue to read with your child the decodable books that come home in “homework”. This will help to reinforce what we are doing in the classroom.

We will be finishing our Big Book unit on weather and will begin the Big Book unit called Captain Bill Pinkney’s Journey. Captain Pinkney covered 32,000 miles in his sailboat. On his voyage, he displayed courage, perseverance, knowledge, skill, and the commitment needed to realize his boyhood dream of sailing around the world in his own boat. As the boys follow Captain Pinkney’s journey, they will learn more about our world and the people and animals that inhabit it. They will also begin to understand that they, too, can realize their own dreams, if they are willing to pursue those dreams with determination and commitment. Encourage your son to tell you about the adventures of Captain Bill.

“Super Bowl of Reading” will be kicking off in January! Watch for important information on this event. Your child should be reading at least 20-30 minutes every night. This is part of their homework. Any extra reading time will be greatly appreciated by their fellow teammates. GO RED! GO BLUE!

We have begun our math unit on geometry. The children will be identifying and sorting plane and solid figures, recognizing different geometric transformations, and solving problems by finding and using a pattern. Beginning Monday, January 5th, we will be working with our addition facts from 10-18 on our timed one-minute drills. These may be difficult at first for your child. Please take some extra time to practice these new facts at home.

We have begun our study of rocks and minerals. We will culminate this unit with a visit to a rock quarry during one of our Peachtree City field trips. Later this month we will begin our study of the Solar System. We will look at each individual planet, as well as studying about the Sun, and our Moon. The children really enjoy studying about the Solar System as we will be doing a lot of fun activities during this unit.

We will soon start working in our Map Skills workbook and discussing communities. This is the beginning of our Box City unit. January and February are devoted to learning about Peachtree City and how a planned community is developed. Later this month we will make our first field trip to Peachtree City.

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

January 16 – NOON DISMISSAL

January 19 – NO SCHOOL – Martin Luther King Holiday

January 20 – 30 – Individual Conferences (Scheduled Time)

January 24 – Filmfest – 6:45 p.m.

January 30 - Lower School Assembly – SLC – 8:40 a.m.

January 30 – Lower School Super Bowl of Reading ends