Hey, It's October!

This week, we had a lot of fun with Spirit Week days, and the homecoming parade! Our 3rd-4th graders did a great job representing Forest View at the parade, and we hope everyone that watched the parade had fun as well! Thank you for showing your Viking Pride and school spirit this week!

Mis-match day was fun! Lots of students opted for mis-matched shoes!

Hat day is always a big hit, and one of my personal favorites!

Hopefully your child told you all about bowling during math on Friday! Our little scholars had a TON of fun with this one! It has been especially fun capitalizing on this amazing October weather....if we can achieve our learning outside, you bet we will be there!

We have been working hard to compose numbers (using two numbers to make a larger number - we refer to this as finding number partners, you may know them as addends), and decomposing numbers (taking a number and breaking it down into the smaller parts/partners). We have also been working on adding an subtracting fluently. So, how does bowling fit the bill? Read on to see!

We used 10 pins, and bowled to decompose 10. Pins that fell down were one number partner, and the ones left standing were another number partner. The partners can be added together to make 10. Students recorded the many equations we bowled for on their recording forms. These were in their folders on Friday.

We also used the pins for subtraction! Starting with 10 pins, we bowled to see how many pins got knocked down and we subtracted that amount from ten. Many students started relating addition to subtraction by noticing we used the same numbers (partners) in our addition and subtraction equations. This is a good start in recognizing related math facts!

After bowling, students worked independently on math fact practice: +1, -1, subtracting 0, and subtracting all.

We also worked our fine motor muscles this week! We created Halloween art - working on cutting various types of lines, gluing, and folding paper. Strong muscles in our hands helps to build writing stamina when we are writing like authors! Students wrote about their Halloween costumes to accompany their Halloween art. As first grade writers and authors, we are working on writing in complete sentences, using capital letters where they belong, ending marks, finger spaces, penmanship, and writing 3+ sentences on one topic. These will be on display for conferences. Come check them out and have your child tell you all about it!

Please know that first grade scholars are invited to come to conferences with you! it is their conference and they will have an opportunity to share information about their learning and school life with you. We will also go over initial assessments and information from Mrs. Powell, as well as have time for Q&A from you! Since your child is invited to participate in conferences, please let me know ahead of time if there is something you would like to discuss without your child present. They can wait in the hall at that time, or we can arrange to chat prior to conferences on the phone if you do not want little ears around! This will ensure that your student led conference will be smooth sailing! I am excited to see everyone in person on Thursday and share with you all of the great things your first grader is doing!