Conference week is here! Thank you to our parents that came in today for a great beginning to our conference week. We are looking forward to meeting with the rest of our families this week to review student progress and handout report cards. We really appreciate your participation in your child's education and the support you provide at home daily.
This week we are not assigning homework in the math practice book. Please practice multiplication facts 0's, 1's, 2's, 3's, 4's, and 5's. Focus on the facts your child is having the most difficulty remembering. Try writing three or four multiplication facts on sticky notes and posting them around the house. Some ideal places are the bathroom mirror, the refrigerator, bedroom doors, and the door used most to leave the house. Traveling in the car is another great opportunity to review multiplication facts. The goal is to memorize the 0's-10's this nine weeks. When your child is doing well with facts 0's-5's move forward and work on the 6's-8's. We will be reviewing in class a fun trick for practicing the 9's with your hands in the weeks to ahead.
Reading fluency for this nine weeks has increased from 90 words per minute to 100 words per minute. Try adding one minute reading practice each night with your child. Ask them to read aloud, time them for one minute, and count the words they have read for a quick and easy fluency check.
Paul Revere galloped through the countryside one night in 1775 to warn people that British soldiers were coming. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem about that event called "Paul Revere's Midnight Ride." We will be reading this poem in class. Help build your child’s background knowledge about Paul Revere and this famous poem. Try doing a little research and send in a few facts about Paul Revere or the poem that your child can share with the class. This is a fun way you can get involved with what we are learning in the classroom.
Soil, soil, and more soil is the topic of discussion in science. We are learning about the different types of soil and how to describe the soils. Ask your child how sugar cubes and peppermint candy can be used to show how erosion and weathering happen in nature. Ask your child to explore the soil around your house and collect samples to share with you. Observation is an important skill in science. Discuss the observations your child made as they collected their sample. Ask them to describe the type of plants growing in the different soils and how the soils smell. Does your family have a magnifying glass? Dig it out, dust it off, and check out the soil samples up close.
This week is Red Ribbon Week and it goes along with our Health unit on making healthy choices. Students were given a red ribbon to wear on their wrist this morning. Ask your child about the ribbon and what is represents. Encourage them to wear it each day this week to school.
Have a terrific week!
