We explored contractions; words that are a combination of two words and shortened. An example would be "can't," it is a combination of "can" and "not". The children were really excited to use apostrophes in their writing, it made them feel very grown up!

In Fundations, we spelled words with consonant blends. Blends are a collection of two or three different consonant sounds that are each heard when the word is produced. An example of this would be the word: vest. The /s/ and /t/ sounds are both heard, but they blend together. This is different from a digraph because the two letters make an entirely new sound, for example, the /th/ sound "them". You cannot hear the /t/ sound or the /h./ sound separately. Are you confused yet?! This is very tricky for First Graders, but we are really using are listening skills!

Check out the video below!

We completed our unit on Fiction stories! We had a great time creating characters, problems, settings, and solutions. Now, we are moving on to Non-Fiction pieces. You cannot believe all of the things your children are experts about! To be an expert, each child needs to know five facts about their topic. Then they need to elaborate on the topic. We have some experts on slime, cats, Lego, Pugs, and Irish dancing! We will continue this unit into April.

We began our unit on Earth Cycles this month. We explored the ways in which the Earth, sun, and moon interact with each other and the impact it has on our lives. We answered the question, "Why do we have day and night?" We also explored our shadows and why they change throughout the day. We will continue this unit into April.