October 8, 2009

Dear Families,

          It was great seeing so many of you at Parent Night.  The children loved getting their notes in the morning, thank you for taking the time to write them.  The classroom routine is going smoothly and the children are enthusiastically working each and every day.  It has been fun watching them build confidence in their abilities as first graders. 

          In science, we have continued to study about air.  The children have loved the experiments and I hope you will let them show you some of them at home.  The directions to make a parachute are in their white envelopes today.  The completed parachutes should be returned by next Wednesday.  We will try them all out during class and  begin studying the human skeleton shortly thereafter.

          The children have been enjoying learning the names of fruits and reviewing numbers and colors in French class.  Mme. Verdier speaks to them almost entirely in French and it is always amazing to me how they can understand her directions. 

We are beginning to develop their math skills and the children should begin to work on basic facts at home.  We encourage you to play some of the games that are on the family letters at the beginning of each unit and also in the reference book sent home on Parent Night.  The children should also be able to tell you about the games we are playing in class, which can usually be easily made at home.

          In music, they have been working on songs and activities that focus on keeping a steady beat.  The children have been playing many unpitched instruments (triangles, wood blocks, hand drums, tambourines, claves, maracas and vibra slap).  They have also participated in activities to aid them in becoming more discerning listeners.

          At the end of the month we will be having a “pumpkin math” activity.  It is scheduled for Tuesday, October 27th at 9:00.  This requires the help of parents who don’t mind getting messy.  We will be measuring and counting pumpkin seeds from real pumpkins.  If you can help out, please email us, as we will need at least six parents. 

          Please look in your child’s backpack each night for a reading book that is to be read to someone at home.  This should be a part of the twenty minutes of reading.  The children look forward to sharing the books we have read in class with their families at home.  They will not have a book every night, but often the students ask for books to take home.  We also have a class book that is making the rounds through the class.  Please read the book as soon as possible and send it back so that another child can take it home.

          Parent/Teacher Conferences are coming up in November.  We will be scheduling conferences all day on Friday, November 20^th and on Monday, November 23^rd from 12:30 – 3:00.  Please call Cynthia Schneider at the front desk to schedule your appointment.

We are truly enjoying getting to know your children.  As always, if you have any questions, please email or call. 

                                                                   Nancy Pelletier

                                                                            and

                                                                   Kristen DiFiore