Street excavations, writing, and other first grade news.

This past week was an exciting one in room one. The big trucks and other equipment were very active right outside of our windows digging up the street. The whole building shook! The kids did a good job ignoring all this and staying on task, however. We finished the first unit in math, and are more than halfway through our first unit in Reading Streets. We also started science, and wrote our first real stories. We learned that stories need a beginning, a middle and an ending, so the kids were asked to be sure that their stories had all of these. I like to keep the children's writing for a semester, so I (and they) can see their progress. I will send these stories home so you can see them too, but please send them back. You may notice errors in spelling- at this stage in the writing we are focusing on content. As the children become more proficient spellers, this will be reflected in their writing.
This week September turns into October, which of course means fall and Halloween! Today I took out my fall decorations, including a mobile made by my daughter in first grade 26 years ago! I think I will borrow the concept for my students - so watch for a family heirloom coming home some time in October. I hope yours lasts as long as mine has.