Hello!

First of all, thank you for reading the blog each week! :)

We spent our learning time this week working on our fluent reading, detailed writing, and adding three single-digit numbers.  We discussed odd and even numbers, practiced counting by 2s, and played a bingo game to practice +1/-1 and +10/-10.  In Writing, we wrote narrative pieces about our family's Christmas tree traditions and learned strategies for writing tricky words.  On Wednesday, we got to do a fun yoga session!  Thursday morning was our usual STEM time-we applied what we learned about structures needing a base to create a structure that can support an eraser.

It was a busy week!!!

Here are some images from our STEM lessons and yoga time during the last couple of weeks!

We are looking forward to some special activities in the next few weeks!  Here are some highlights:

Thursday, December 14: Holiday Concert, Windham High School, 6:30 PM-please be there by 6:15 so that we can get into our places :)

Tuesday, December 19: Project Day!  1:30-2:15/2:30-please RSVP so I can plan which projects we will do :)  Thank you to everyone who has already volunteered to come and help us!

Thursday, December 21: Polar Express Day!  This will be a school-wide Pajama Day, but I would also like to plan some surprises for the kids, such as a viewing of the movie and some other activities.  Please send a bag or container of popped popcorn for your child to enjoy during the film!

Friday, December 22-Monday, January 1: No School-Vacation!
                                     We return to school on January 2nd.

Thanks for another great week!  I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend with our family-we got a new kitten last weekend, and our play opened as well, so it's been a very busy seven days! :)

Enjoy your weekend, too!  Rumor has it we may see some white precipitation over the next couple of days...

Becca

PS: Here are some activities your family might enjoy on the weekend or in the evenings over the next few weeks!

The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens' "Gardens Aglow" is fantastic!  Be sure to get tickets soon for this festive event-it sells out pretty quickly:

http://www.mainegardens.org/calendar-events/gardens-aglow/

I (and Mr. Cole) will be acting in a family-friendly production of "A Christmas Carol" at the Footlights in Falmouth this holiday season:

http://www.thefootlightsinfalmouth.com/

And, of course, the Magic of Christmas concert is always a favorite:

http://merrillauditorium.ticketoffices.com/Magic+Of+Christmas

The Polar Express at Maine's Narrow Gauge Railroad:

https://www.mainenarrowgauge.org/polar-express/

And in North Conway, NH:

http://www.journeytothenorthpole.org/

Or on the big screen in Saco:

http://cinemagicmovies.com/movie/42160/Polar-Express-The

Hello, everyone!

It sounds like holiday preparations are in full swing-many Elves have returned for their pre-Christmas antics, trees are being decorated, and I hear many, many wish list items being planned-Santa could learn a lot during our snacktime conversations  :) . 

In first grade this week, we continued learning about nouns and verbs and working on our editing skills to make sure we are writing complete, correct sentences.  We did some more work with making inferences about texts by looking for clues and using our schema.  Our math work included place value review, thinking about "ten more, ten less, one more, one less", and decomposing two-digit numbers. In STEM, we expanded on our Engineering skills from our last session by creating the tallest structure we could using straws and clay.  We looked at pictures of the Eiffel Tower, the Great Pyramid at Giza, and a free-standing basketball hoop to explore the idea of a structure needing a base that can support it. 

The next few weeks will fly by as we continue our learning and share some fun activities, too!  Check out some of these Upcoming Events for our class and our school:

Thursday, December 14: Holiday Concert, Windham High School, 6:30 PM-please be there by 6:15 so that we can get into our places :)

Tuesday, December 19: Project Day!  1:30-2:15/2:30-please RSVP so I can plan which projects we will do :)

Thursday, December 21: Polar Express Day!  This will be a school-wide Pajama Day, but I would also like to plan some surprises for the kids, such as a viewing of the movie and some other activities.  Please send a bag or container of popped popcorn for your child to enjoy during the film!

Friday, December 22-Monday, January 1: No School-Vacation! 
                                     We return to school on January 2nd.

When I can get my camera's SD card to talk to my laptop, I'll send this week's STEM photos! :)
Have a wonderful weekend!

Becca

PS: Here are some activities your family might enjoy on the weekend or in the evenings over the next few weeks!

The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens' "Gardens Aglow" is fantastic!  I already have our tickets for this festive event-it sells out pretty quickly:

http://www.mainegardens.org/calendar-events/gardens-aglow/

 

I (and Mr. Cole) will be acting in a family-friendly production of "A Christmas Carol" at the Footlights in Falmouth this holiday season:

http://www.thefootlightsinfalmouth.com/

 

And, of course, the Magic of Christmas concert is always a favorite:

http://merrillauditorium.ticketoffices.com/Magic+Of+Christmas

The Polar Express at Maine's Narrow Gauge Railroad:

https://www.mainenarrowgauge.org/polar-express/

 

And in North Conway, NH:

http://www.journeytothenorthpole.org/

 

Or on the big screen in Saco:

http://cinemagicmovies.com/movie/42160/Polar-Express-The