We have made it through our first week of full-time instruction! I am amazed at the resiliency and flexibility of this lovely group of students. They smiled and learned and generally rocked every day this week!  It definitely makes me think "We've got this!"

Here's a quick run-down on academics this week:

Math: We finished up our first multiplication unit and are moving directly into a second one. In this unit, things get a little more complicated as we begin multiplying double digit numbers and learning more about division. We will take it slowly and make sure we don't leave anyone confused!

Reading: We are still reading our fiction books and learning various strategies for comprehension. These include noticing the behaviors and habits our characters exhibit, paying attention to setting, and thinking about character traits. The students all wrote me letters today, and I was impressed at how much they are noticing as they read their books.

Writing: We are working slowly on gathering ideas for our narrative stories. The students are anxious to begin actually drafting their stories, but I am making them hold off until they have done a lot of planning. The more they plan, the easier it will be for them to write an organized and understandable story later!  It's like holding horses back at the races, but I will prevail!

Science: We did 2 more fun labs this week, starting with bubbles and finishing up with mixing yeast with hydrogen peroxide to create heat. We learned how to use a thermometer accurately and wrote down all of our observations. Next week we will begin a science unit on plant structures and their functions. I am hoping to have each student make a terrarium, so I am looking for 2-liter plastic bottles (like the kind soda or seltzer come in.) If you ever have bottles like that at your house, please rinse them and send them in!

In other news, we lost our first fish yesterday... It was hard for the students to see one of their pets die, but we talked a lot about the fragility of fish and how short their lives tend to be. We have 2 new fish in the tank, and I will try to get a few more once I know there is no lingering disease in the tank.  I guess even the sad events teach us something!

We have started a video class dictionary! Be sure to ask your children about this. Our first words are savory, perspective, and obscure. Please try to use those words around your dinner table or as you run errands. The more they hear them being used in normal conversation, the more likely they are to learn them well enough to use them in their own speech or writing!

I will not be sending any homework home for the foreseeable future unless there is important work that doesn't get completed during the school day. This may change in January, but for now I hope the students can enjoy their after-school and weekend time playing outdoors and connecting with family. Of course I highly encourage reading every single night so that it becomes a habit!

As always, contact me with any questions or concerns. I am loving being with your children every day!