Shout out to our class--I am so proud of the kiddos in our classroom.  We had a wacky week this past week and the kiddos were on their best behavior and we were able to have lots of fun!  Behavior-wise I think it was our best week yet!  Our wacky week consisted of lots of indoor recess (fingers crossed we get to go outside this week) and a few schedule changes.  Our class has come so far since the beginning of the year and I  certainly saw their maturity this past week.

Second quarter comes to an end on Friday.  That means we are half way through first grade!  WOW!

Monday, January 16 is a no school day for students.  Teachers will be in meetings-UGH!  January 16 is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  We will be spending the week learning about MLK and diversity.

You received a letter about Fun Friday last week.  We practiced expectations last week and this week is the real deal.  The first grade teachers will be tracking students' behaviors throughout the week. Students who need some extra practice meeting expectations will get some extra help with them on Friday afternoon.  The students who have met the expectations for the week will participate in a Fun Friday activity.

Our class attendance is SCARY!  After being in school for almost half a year we are still only in the 30 day club.  That means we have only had 30-some days of perfect attendance and no tardies.  When your kiddo misses school they miss out on learning.  First grade is very hands on and many things we do I cannot send home.  I can send home worksheets that cover the material, but it is not the same. Research shows first graders need the concrete, hands-on experiences to gain an understanding of the concepts and make learning meaningful.

Speaking of attendance and tardies...we begin our winter benchmark testing on Monday.  We will be testing in the mornings next week.  A majority of the assessments are one on one, so the rest of the students will be doing literacy centers.  We will not have reading groups this week.  My hope is to be able to get all of the testing done this week, so we do not have to take anymore instructional time the following week.

In writing, I will be assessing informational, opinion, and narrative samples.  This will guide the writing instruction for next quarter.

I am astonished at how quickly the students were able to understand place value. This week will will start comparing numbers by looking at how many tens and ones are in a number and work with the terms greater than, less than, and equal to.

Here's to another great week and hoping we can go outside for recess!