January 30 Newsletter

We will be celebrating a very important day in the first grade on February 4th.  As of right now, that will be Day 100.  Since the first grade of school we have been counting the days school has been in session.  We will be doing all sorts of activities revolving around the number 100.  I would like you child to bring 100 of some object that we could count here at school on wednesday.  Some ideas might be Cheerios, M&M's, buttons, toothpicks, seeds, raisins, etc.  We will be doing several reading, writing, counting and drawing activities on this day.  Be sure and ask your child about this important day.  (If we would happen to have a snow day between now and then, the day would be postponed by however many snow days there were.

In reading the last two weeks we have been working on these reading skills:  Long O and Long U (CVCe) and final clusters ft, lk, and nt; story structure, naming words for people and animals and writing to persuade.

If you have anything specific you would like to discuss during Parent/Teacher conferences please be sure and jot a note in the Friday Folder this week.

One of my goals for my first graders is responsibility and thinking for themselves.  I am trying to stress to them that they can do many things for themselves and not need an adult to do it for them.  A great way to start at home would have them be responsible for packing their own book bag in the morning or the evening before.  If they forget something, it's not the end of the world--the stakes are low and that consequences are not that severe.  this is a good way to start them being more responsible for themselves and making good choices before the stakes are higher.

I was glad to see so many people at our first Chinese Club of the year Thursday night.  After a short presentation on the Chinese New Year by our Chinese teacher, Yemin Yu, students showed their parents what they have been learning in Chinese.  Crafts were made and a Chinese snack was enjoyed by all.

Chinese Club

The first Chinese Club at Washington Township was held Thursday, January 29th at 6:00 PM with 70 students and parents in attendance.  There were also 8 staff members in attendance.  Students demonstrated their Chinese language skills to parents, watched a video, had a snack, and did a craft project all related to the Chinese New Year.  I hope you can join us for our next Chinese Club night, February 26th at 6:30 PM.

Tens and Ones Trading Game

A very important skill that the first graders have been working on is counting tens and ones and exchanging ones for tens.  One game that the children really like to play is the Tens and Ones Trading Game.  Players take turns putting base 10 blocks on the Tens-and-Ones Mat according to the roll of a die.  Whenever possible, they exchange 10 cubes for 1 long.  The first player to get 10 longs wins.  

January 23 Newsletter

We will be celebrating a very important day in the first grade at the beginning of February.  As of right now, Day 100 falls in the first week of February.  I will let you know the exact date later.  Since the first day of school we have been counting the days that school has been in session.  We will be doing all sorts of activities revolving around the number 100.  I would like your child to bring 100 of some object that we could count here at school on Day 100.  Some ideas might be Cheerios, M&M's, buttons, toothpicks, seeds, raisins, etc.  We will be doing several reading, writing, counting, and drawing activities on this day.  be sure and ask your child about this important day.  (If we would happen to have a snow day between now and then, the day would be postponed by however many snow days there were.

Come and join our first Chinese Club meeting next Thursday night at 6:00 PM.  We will be celebrating the Chinese New Year.  Hope to see you there.

Your child received a "Bully Free at WT" t-shirt today as part of the Olweus Bully Prevention kickoff.  I would like to thank the Washington Township student council for providing the funds for these shirts.

Olweus Kickoff Assembly

Four officers from the Iowa City Police force came to help Washington Township with it's Olweus Anti-Bullying Kickoff Assembly today.  They stressed the importance of not being a bully and what to do if you saw someone bullying someone else.  The children looked around the gym during the assembly to see all of the people that would be willing to help them in a bullying situation.

Each child and staff member at Washington Township received a "Bully Free at WT" t-shirt as part of the kick-off.  The funding for these shirts was provided by the Washington Township student council.  Here we are in are new shirts.

Chinese New Year

In Chinese this week the children have been learning about the Chinese New Year.  Here you see the children working on a craft with Yemin Yu, the chinese teacher.  The symbol that they embellished in gold means plenty or a lot and is a homophone in Chinese for fish.

Fact Power

Fact Power is very important in first grade.  We have been using dice to practice our math facts. We roll the dice and add the numbers that show on the dice.  the kids get a lot of math practice and don't even realize they are practicing their math facts.  This would be a great way to practice math facts with your children at home.

January 9 Newsletter

In reading this week we worked with the following phonics skills:

1.  Long I words (CVCe)

2.  Contractions

comprehension skill of cause and effect, and the grammar skill of using I or Me in a sentence.

We took  our Integrated Theme Test over the fifth theme....Home Sweet Home.  These tests combine the skills they have been learning as well as writing skills.  Our target score is that each child will score 80%. Your child's score will be in the Friday Folder this week.

I want to thank all of you for the wonderful Christmas presents, but more importantly, I want to thank you for sharing your child with me this year.