We all had a wonderful time on our field trip to Burnham Orchard. Thank you to all of the families who attended.

This week the students have been learning about wants and needs. First, we brainstormed what want and need means. The students came up with examples; you want tools to build a shelter which you need to keep you warm. We then came up with a chart of wants and needs. The students then cut out and created their own charts of what wants and needs using magazines.

The students have also been learning more about China. We wrote our own letters to Grace in China and mailed them to her. We can’t wait to for Grace to receive her letters and write back to us. The students have also learned about Chinese Zodiacs. We read a folklore about how the animals were chosen for each year. In art, we created Chinese lanterns to hang in our classroom. And the students learned how to write their name in Chinese characters. Two of the students wanted to see what the buildings looked like in China. Using Google Earth we searched for the capital of China, Beijing. The students were then able to explore China to see what the landscape looked like compared to Ohio.

In math we finished learning about different strategies to add. We are now beginning to learn more about shapes. The first graders began to fill in figures using the geometric shapes. They found that there is more than one way to fill in a figure. Some used multiple different kinds of shapes such as triangles, diamonds, or rhombuses. Some used just one or two kinds of shapes. Last week, the first graders began taking timed addition tests. The goal is for the children to complete 100 addition problems in 5 minutes. Every Wednesday the students will take the timed test. They started with adding 1 and 0 to numbers 1-9. After they successfully complete a sheet they will move on to more challenging addition problems. The students did very well their first time. The goal is for each student to best their own time; they are racing against themselves.

Looking ahead:
• Friday October 12th there will be no school.

Have a great weekend!