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May 18, 2011

Our caterpillars have arrived!!! We have five little caterpillars that will transform into beautiful Painted Lady Butterflies in about 17 days. The children are so excited! We have been keeping a class diary about our little fuzzy friends. We have named them...Captain Jack Sparrow, Anabella, DeeDee, Karly, and Herbie. We gave each one a unique voice and characteristic which has been very entertaining. We are reading books about butterflies and insects and watched a really cool song/video about Metamorphosis. I hope the children are sharing their new knowledge about insects with you. They seem to be soaking up the science!
If you have a chance to go to the public library and check out some books about insects, especially butterflies, I bet your child would be thrilled!

Happy Insects!

May 15, 2011

May

Can you believe it is already May? The children and I are hard at work learning lots of things we will use in first grade. Thank you for working so hard with your children on their homework! The extra practice really helps them and it is showing.
Many of the children have been asking to take AR tests and get on the computer to do Math Facts in a Flash. They are sooooo excited! It is great to see their enthusiasm. The rule for AR is you have to read the book twice, at home to an adult, then you may bring the book in and we will get you on the computer as soon as possible to take a quiz. If your child is not ready for this please don't push too hard, they will have lots of opportunities to take AR tests in First Grade. Remember...not all children learn at the same rate. :)
Math Facts in a Flash is a computer program that helps children practice their math facts with a time limit. In order to do this they have to be able to add facts up to ten at a reasonable rate. Counting on fingers is acceptable. If your child can do simple addition flash cards with you at home at a reasonable rate then they are probably ready to go on the computer. If your child tells me they are ready I let them take a "trial practice test". If they get almost all of them wrong I tell them they need to practice more at home with flash cards and we will try again. I have flash cards available at school to practice with when they are finished with their other work.
I am trying to keep their enthusiasm at a high!!!! Thank you for your help. :)

Happy reading and adding!!!