Mrs. Surrette is Back

Greetings from Mrs. Surrette

Hello Everyone! It's great to be back with the class. As we finish our first week together I am reminded how wonderful these children really are. Although it's hard for me to leave my little girls, this class has made my transition back to school easy and smooth. As I get back into the swing of things I would love to have the chance to speak with you all regarding these last few months of first grade. Within the next few weeks I'll be contacting your family to chat about our goals as we move toward the end of the year.

Thank you to Mrs. Chodosh for taking such great care of this group of children. She will be missed!

Math with Mrs. Jones

This week when Mrs. Jones came into our class we worked on our 120 boards. The focus of our lesson is to move by 10s and 1s on the board. Children are solving addition and subtraction problems using this tool. We are able to show 56+32=88, 74- ?  =25 and so on.

We encourage students to count by 10s first, then 1s. Using the first example from above it would sound like 56, 66, 76, 86..87,88! Doing this with a visual is helpful, but you can also try this in the car or anywhere for quick mental math practice.

Choice Time

In first grade playing and learning are not separate. We have choice time where students are able to choose an activity and who they interact with. This is a great time to monitor conversations, model appropriate social skills and observe children's interests and curiosities. Last week I saw a group of students using the play-doh to create a "bakery". They served cinnamon hot cocoa with marshmallows, chocolate cakes with strawberry frosting, pizzas with extra cheese and pepperoni and so much more.

I could tell this was a "feel good" center for our class and we are going to run with it! We will create a bakery in our room as a new choice time area. The students are thrilled to welcome this to our curriculum. I will integrate writing, table manners, money and other subject areas into our play. If you have something that you would be willing to donate to our class please let us know. We are looking for pans, baking utensils, a cash register or anything else one might connect to a bakery. If you would like us to return the items, please mark your donation with your child's name so we are sure to return it to the correct place.

Have a great week and I look forward to speaking with you!

Sarah Surrette