Friday Flyer

Dear Families,

 Happy spring!  We all had a wonderful time today at the Dairy Discovery Farm and Meijer Gardens.  The amount of learning that was absorbed today far surpasses a regular day at schoolJ! We hope you hear all about it from your first grader.  Thank you SO much to the parent volunteers that took time away from their busy schedules to help with our kids.  You are all very much appreciated!

         During writer’s workshop, we just completed our unit on opinion and persuasive writing.  This week we started our final writing unit of the year titled “Realistic Fiction”.  This showcases great imaginations!

        When reading with your child at home, be sure to give them the cues such as, “that has a vowel team” (ex. “ea” like in (seat) the e says its own name and the “a” is silent) or “that is a silent e word” (like in bike) when they are stuck. 

        In math we just finished learning about fractions, we worked on using patterns and rules to subtract multiples of 10 from a 2-digit number, and this week we are working on odd/even.  We are also using lots of math strategies to solve more difficult word problems and we will be reviewing and extending our math learning for the rest of the year.

In science we wrapped up our unit of study on weather.  We discussed spring and reviewed what to do in case of severe weather.  We also started our last science unit of the year, “An Animal’s Life!”  We are currently studying painted lady butterflies and their life cycle.  Studying these animals up close at Meijer Gardens has been a highlight already!

In social studies we are completing our Junior Achievement program.  A volunteer from the community comes in each week for 5 weeks to teach us how things work in a community.  The students are loving learning from “Mr. L!”

It is hard to believe that we only have 7 weeks of school left.  Our students are really starting to look like second graders!

Have a great week!

Jennifer Mason and Kelly Putnam