January 10, 2015

Wow!  What a great break we had.  It was a much needed time of refreshment for all of us. We hope it was the same for your entire family.  

There has been a lot of ground covered academically since the beginning of the year and a lot to go in order to finish our year strong, as usual.  

Most of the students have been enjoying the cursive handwriting they have been learning and practicing.  It has been fun to watch them improve and start to use it in their daily work. 

We are seeing a developmental growth spurt in the First Grade students – one that we always see around the 1st of the year. They are all moving through the math materials and some are even beyond the stamp game in their math.  They all started Rocket Math upon returning from Winter Break (as I am sure you’ve heard) and Monday and Tuesday we heard the excitement of their accomplishments in the words, “Ms. Carol, I rocketed! I rocketed!”  YES!!  The tried and true, well-loved Rocket Math! Second and Thirds are making so much progress in Rocket Math too. Keep practicing every day for 5 minutes!

In upcoming curriculum, geometry will involve more angle work, we work more on measurement in the future, start learning more about time, and I’m excited about the upcoming presentations on the human body (skeletal and organs) because there is some really fun follow up work. Students are also about the begin mini Continent Projects, so that they practice their independent research skills before we come to Passion Projects in April. In other geography work, we are going to be learning about watersheds and going on a field trip to Cedar River Watershed on January 23 (we need drivers on this fun outdoor adventure!).

Talk About and Mindfulness has proven to be productive for the students, and the entire community, as well.  The goals of mindfulness work involve the strengthening of compassion for others, cultivating peace and learning loving-kindness.  We are working with the book Talkabout for Children, Developing Self-Awareness and Self-Esteem by Alex Kelly. Our Talkabout work is fun for the kids; this enables them to learn more and feel motivated for the sessions.

Progress reports are soon to be ready; you'll receive your child's report in email on Jan. 30. 

We look forward to seeing you at the Continental Breakfast on the 30th. This is an event we host twice a year. Parents are invited to come into the classroom from 9:00-10:00 on Friday morning. You will have the opportunity to see your child's work, drink a cup of coffee, eat a light breakfast snack, chat with other parents and enjoy the hour in the classroom.

Thank you for all you do to support the MCH staff in the education of your child. 

Have a great January and we hope to see you at the Continental Breakfast.
Ms. Carol​