What's up in First Grade?
Reminders and Upcoming events
Hello again! It has been a busy week full of holy days and preparations for both masses this week. We apologize for the homework being sent out late due to a copier malfunction! The ho-ho-holidays are upon us and these next three weeks will be busy with preparations as we journey through the season of Advent and then jump to all of our children's most joyous holiday- Christmas! We have a few projects and parties upcoming on the horizon that we want to let everyone know about.
*Mass on Thursday is a special Mass in celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe. For this mass, we would ask that each child brings *one* live flower to class which will be brought up as a part of a procession. Since we know that fresh flowers are hard to find outside right now, a great idea could be to come together with some other parents a split a small bouquet a few ways. Any type of flower is great, and please make sure your child comes to Mass on Thursday with their sweater and looking their best!
*Updates on Posadas, the Christmas party and gift exchange.
We are going to have a school-wide posadas celebration as so many classrooms and families are eager to help out and participate. Therefore, what we will need is each family to donate one food dish. We will need main dishes, vegetables, fruits and of course sweets! All of the food will be taken upstairs and Lizbeth and the lovely kitchen staff will help set it up to make the process run smoother for everyone. This will be the hot lunch option available for all the students for the day (you can also still pack a lunch for your child if you would prefer in addition to the party).
For the gift exchange we are going to give out tags tomorrow to each child that has the name of the student they are giving the gift too. I have read the students some stories about giving of ourselves and kindness at christmas, and how they can make the gifts themselves or find something special for the friend they get. Again, i don't want it to be stressful and hopefully the students can take some of the lead with your assistance :). We ask that the presents are delivered to class by next Wednesday the 16th so we can make sure they are all set up to hand out on Friday. Thank you so much for all of your help and support!
Lastly, with the holiday season we also think about those in need. For the weeks in Advent we would like to do a canned food drive with any non-perishable packaged food not past its expiration date (soup, beans, canned vegetables, pasta, ect.) that we will donate to a nearby food bank. We will also be collecting baby clothes and other baby items that we will give to help new moms during this busy time. Any donations are welcomed, but feel no pressure as we know that this is a busy time for all.
*The Christmas Program is Thursday, December 17th at 6:00. Please come to see some lovely Christmas carols and a nativity play!
*Also please remember that each child needs to have an angel costume and wings for the Christmas play. We have sent out a school smore with some easy no sew ideas- white towels, tablecloths, can make a simple robe. The wings can look however you want to design them. We will make halos in class as a project. Please try to have your child bring the costume to school by Tuesday at the LATEST so that we can have them practice in their costumes.
Free choice fun!
Precious moments!
Christmas door! We all worked so hard.
Curriculum Corner
Math- we are continuing to work on subtraction within 10 fluently. We are currently working on subtraction both with pictures where the students cross out objects and write the equation and equations with only numbers. It is helpful to have your child read the equation to you so that they are making sure they understand the difference between a plus sign and a minus sign as well as part, total and equals.
Reading- In english we are introducing silent e and long vowel sounds with words such as cane, vine, mule and hope. Practicing recognizing these words in your child's reading will help a lot. We also continue to practice sight words and syllables in both spanish and english. We are also introducing the concept of verbs and nouns in both spanish and English.
Religion- We are focusing on Advent and preparing Jesus in homes and hearts as we get ready for Christmas. We have an advent calendar and advent wreath which you should ask your child about and possibly get for your home. Here is an online version http://adventcountdown.org/northwest-catholic/
Advent/Adviento Christmas/Navidad Nativity/Natividad Posadas/A Christmas party traditional to Mexico Noche Buena/Poinsettias pine trees/arbol de pino ornaments/ esferas y adornos estrella/star presents/regalos decorate/decorar stocking/medias nieve/snow