7th Day of School

One of the daily rituals in our room is Every Day Counts Calendar Math. During that time we talk about the typical calendar (the day, month, year, weekends, holidays). We also count how many days we have been in school. Today was day 7. While counting we discover patterns in numbers, counting by five's and ten's, more/less, and the movement through time. This is a vital portion of our Math Workshop.

We are also beginning our math diagnostic test. This test covers all basic math skills. It is given one on one with each student. They will be asked to count, order and write numbers. We are also looking to see if anyone has a basic sense of addition and subtraction.

During our work period for Math Workshop we have been exploring patterns. We have discovered that patterns are found everywhere. The students have been busy making patterns out of cubes, bears, and through movement. This weekend have your child find something around the house that has a pattern.

What's In a Name

As you are waiting for our regular homework to start, you can have your child practice writing their name. You might think, "Yes, my child knows how to write their name." However it may not be exactly what we want from them. When you watch your child write their name the first letter should be capitalized, the rest of the letters should be lowercase. Have your child write their name ten times a night.

Also as your child is writing their name, they should say the letters out loud as they write them. This will help them learn their letters if they don't know them. If your child knows their letters and writes their name correctly, have them practice writing their last name. Following the same rules.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!!!

A big thanks goes to our parents who have been so generous. We have received air fresheners, packing tape, stickers, candy, puzzels, cleaning wipes, glue sticks, computer paper, crayons, and BOOKS just to name a few donations. While some of the items did have a name attached, most did not. We would like you all to know how much we appreciate our families. With your support, it is sure to be a great year!

Our Class

The "Rekenrek"

The boys and girls were introduced to a vauable tool in Math Workshop today. It is called a "Rekenrek". A rack of beads make up the rekenrek. The tool is designed to help students make visual images for counting. This will help the students count and represnt quantities, add and subtract numbers, and build their overall "Number Sense". As the boys and girls were introduced to the rekenrek they were asked what they noticed about the tool.

Bryce said, "There are red and white beads".

Courtney said, "I see ten beads on each row and there are ten rows".

Jack said, "There are 100 beads". Mrs. Ellis asked, "Tell me how you know". Jack replied, "Because 10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10 is 100".

This was the first time the students have seen our friend the "Rekenrek", but it will not be the last.

Hooray for School

Finally we are back at school. We quickly jumped back into our routines and got busy learning new ones. One interesting tool we used today was the document camera. During the closing meeting of our Writer's Workshop we shared every paper one at a time with the camera. It shows the students work on the screen using the projector. The students shared with their classmates what they loved about school. Some students began to write by writing beginning letters in words they knew. For example, if they loved books they would write " i l b " which would stand for I love books.


As we begin to learn new routines, there is a new routine for parents to learn. Each Monday afternoon our class newsletter and Mrs. Phillips Connection goes home on a yellow piece of paper. You should have found it in your child's Home School Folder. Please make sure you read it weekly. If you can not find yours you can always click on the word newsletter in this blog to read it.

Also our first homework assignment was sent home. The students are to completely fill up the cardstock sheet of paper with pictures of themselves and family members. They can cut out pictures from magazines or use stickers. The paper will be used during Writer's Workshop. Please put as many pictures as possible on both sides. The cardstock is due by Friday.

Tropical Storm Fay

Today is our third day off due to the storm. We should have been completing our first week of school. But we are still stuck at home trying to stay dry. We are looking forward to coming back to school on Monday. As Mrs. Ellis looks out her front and back door all she can see are down limbs and puddles of water.