Last week was a short week, but we got so much done! The biggest news of all was that we released our butterflies on Wednesday afternoon! Check out the pictures at the bottom of this post for photographs of our release. A couple of the butterflies flew off quite quickly, but the other three needed some coaxing to fly out of the cage. The students were VERY concerned any time they saw a bird fly overhead because they were worried the bird would eat one of the butterflies.

Last week, you should have received an email from the office about Visitation Day, which is this Thursday, October 2nd. Please make sure that you use the link in the email to sign up for a slot to visit our classroom. If you did not receive this email, please let me know.

Here's what we've been working on in the classroom:

Reading : Last week was a very exciting week in reading workshop. The students got their individual book bins and selected their own leveled books. These are the books that the students will be reading during independent and partner reading time. The students also chose their reading spots for independent reading. Rather than reading at the tables (like they did the for the first few weeks), the students are now spread around the classroom. Not only is this more comfortable for the students, but it also makes it much easier for them to focus on reading when there aren't four other people reading right next to them.

Writing : We, officially, launched writing workshop last week. Writing workshop follows the same basic structure as reading workshop. We start off by getting ready, which means the students get their writing out. Then, we go to the rug for a mini-lesson, during which we will focus on a strategy or skill. After that, the students go off and write, and hopefully put that strategy/skill into use. Finally, we meet back at the rug for a share, during which we highlight some things that went well, or didn't go well.

Math : The students learned all about tally marks last week. We did a few activities to practice using tally marks in 'real' life. One day, we gathered data about what clothing everyone was wearing. Another day, we played Rocks, Paper, Scissor, and tallied how many times each object won.

Science : As you saw at the top of this post, we released the butterflies on Wednesday. We also spent some time going over insects' body parts.

Social Studies : Last week, the students took some time familiarizing themselves with the atlases that we are going to use this year. We also started talking a little bit about communities.

Here are some recent pictures of 1-Bu:

It was so great to see so many of you at Back to School Night last week. I hope that you were able to get a grasp of what your child's first grade year will look like. I know that I sped through a lot of information, so please don't hesitate to email me if you have any lingering questions.

Please keep in mind that this week is a short week of school. There is no school on Thursday, September 25th or Friday, September 26th.

I feel like 1-Bu got into the groove last week. Beginning of the year stuff is over, and we're moving right along to the 'real' stuff. Here's what we've been working on:

Reading : Last week we talked about different kinds of readers. Some readers only read the pictures, some readers only read the words, and some readers read both the words and the pictures. We spoke about how the goal is to carefully read the words and the pictures, but that sometimes the words of a book may be too hard and, in that case, we can still carefully look at the pictures in a book to figure out the story.

We also spent some time talking about 'bumps in the road' during reading workshop. Sometimes readers have distractions and we spoke about possible solutions for problems they may face when trying to read in the classroom. For example, what should they do when someone close to them is reading out loud and is distracting them? What should they do if they need to go to the bathroom, but Ms. Buttery is busy reading with other students?

Writing : We're continuing to practice proper letter formation and handwriting skills. We've also been doing some interactive writing, writing the class letter you saw at Back to School Night and working on our Class Rules.

Math : The students worked on their first math open response this year, in which they investigated various ways to count a pile of counters. They did a great job working cooperatively and explaining their thinking! The students also learned how to play a new math game called Top It.

Science : We no longer have caterpillars in our classroom, we have chrysalises! Over the weekend, the caterpillars must have eaten enough and all changed into the next stage of the butterfly life cycle. Now the students are anxiously waiting for the butterflies to emerge! Hopefully they come out before the long weekend.

Computers : 1-Bu went back to the computer lab again last week to take a beginning of the year reading assessment. It took a little bit of getting used to, but the students did a great job sticking with it.

Here are some recent pictures of 1-Bu:

1-Bu is off to a great start this year! I am so impressed with how quickly the students have learned so many new expectations and routines. I am also impressed with how organized 1-Bu family members must be. Thank you so much for going through the notices in your child's backpack and supporting him/her in being prepared for school each day.

I'm looking forward to seeing many of you at Back to School Night on Tuesday, September 16th at 7pm. It gives you a great opportunity to see the classroom and learn about what we'll be doing in 1-Bu this year. Please email me if you have any questions.

Speaking of emails, on September 5th I sent an email to all of the email addresses that the school has on file for each child in 1-Bu. If you have not received this email, please let me know.

Even though we've only been in school for seven days, 1-Bu has gotten a lot accomplished. Here's what we've been working on in the classroom:

Reading : We've been going over the four main parts of reading workshop and practicing them each day. Ask your child what we do in reading workshop. First, we get ready by putting our book bins out. Then, we come to the rug for a mini-lesson. After that, the students go off and read. Finally, we come together again at the rug for a share.

During the reading portion of reading workshop, the students are working on reading quietly to themselves. We're working on building up the students' reading stamina so that they can read, independently, for longer and longer periods of time.

Writing : The students have done a few beginning of the year writing pieces. We're also reviewing proper handwriting techniques.

Math : So far, we've reviewed a lot of math that the students learned in kindergarten. We've been counting, skip counting, and using a number line. The students have also played two different math games - Monster Squeeze and Penny Dice. (You can see pictures of the students playing both games at the bottom of this post.)

Phonics : At the beginning of first grade, we will be reviewing all of the letter sounds. So far, we've gone over the sounds for m, s, and f. We've also been working on separating the sounds in words, paying particular attention to the beginning and ending sounds.

Science : Have you heard about 1-Bu's caterpillars? Our first science unit of the year is all about the butterfly life cycle. We'll be carefully observing the changes that our caterpillars go through as we learn about life cycles.

Computers : 1-Bu has already gone to the computer lab, successfully logged on to the computers, and navigated through the Cherry Hill School website!

Here are some recent pictures of 1-Bu: