Starfish Gazette- September 22, 2013

Dear Starfish Families,

Happy Fall!


Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to visit the Starfish classroom on Thursday night.  It was very nice to meet many of you!  The Starfish had fun celebrating International Dot Day at SMS on Friday.  It was exciting for the first graders to have a whole school morning meeting with all the children at SMS.  

In your child's blue folder this week...

 I will be sending home a paper for you to fill out with your child.  This paper is titled, When my Head is Empty.  Please sit down with your child and write special activities, places, and events that your child has experienced. (More details the better!) We will put this paper in your child's writing folder.  This will be a tool that we can reference when your child needs support brainstorming new writing ideas.  I appreciate your help in building this resource! 

Some examples of ideas:
- Trip to Disney World 
-Going to see Annie at Prescott Park
-Going to Water Country
-Surf camp
-Playing on the purple soccer team
-My birthday party at Air Zone
-Trip to Boston Aquarium 
-Sleepovers

This week we will learn:

• about temperature and thermometers.  We will add a 'meteorologist' to our morning meeting jobs to record the temperature each day!
• reviewing number facts to 5 using ten frames and math games
• continue playing games to learn about one more one less on the hundred's grid and number lines
• learning how to shop for "just right" books from our classroom library during reader's workshop
•  Read Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? for shared reading. We will create a class book called, Starfish, Starfish What Do You See?
• how to set goals as readers during reader's workshop
• reading short "a" words.  The "an", "ap", and "ab" families will be our specific focus in phonics.
• Learn how to access IXL on our class set of IPAD Minis.  
• Learn how to Play 4 Corners: This is a movement game 
• Learn how to observe as scientists.  We will pick a class tree outside our school.  We will observe our classroom tree throughout the seasons in our scientist notebooks.
• Learn about our R.A.H folder.  What will learn about the Reading at Home Program (R.A.H)

Here are some helpful questions you can ask your starfish as a home-school connection:

1. What was your classroom job last week?  What is your job this week?
2. What is your poem and song journal?
3. Can you describe the IPAD app you used on DOT Day?  The App that allowed your DOT to transform into a 3-D dot.
4. Who sits at your table in your classroom?  Can you tell me something about them?
5. Who is Ms. Keefe?  (She's our Education 500 student from UNH- She comes into our classroom on Fridays to observe our classroom and learn to become a teacher)
6. What is 'A Social Detective'?
7. Can you tell me anything about the character Candance Brinkwater in your chapter book that you are reading in your classroom?

Important Dates:

1. October 4 First Grade Fall Field Day
2. October 9 Field Trip to Coppal House Farm

*More information coming about both of these exciting events soon!