Dear parents,

A reminder that the October Scholastic orders are due TOMORROW!
Friday is our new library day, so don't forget to send back any books from last week.

Well, we've moved on to another vowel sound. We have quite a long list of 'i' words (words containing the sound 'ee'), with many additions that students found themselves while reading. (I'll add a picture to this ASAP.) Next we're going to tackle 'o', which sounds like 'oh', and can also be written "eau" or "au". Today I asked volunteers to come circle the letters that make the sound before we tried to read the word. Breaking a longer word up into syllables really helps us focus on each individual vowel sound so that we don't guess the word based on the first letter. Please keep reviewing words from the 'a', 'e' and 'i' list, even as we move on. We'll do this at school as well so that we add to what we know and don't forget past sounds!

Today in our Daily and Seasonal Changes unit, we talked about the different times of day when we're awake: before, during, and after school. Students helped me make a list of things that they do at all three times of the day. We had many activities in common. Tomorrow we will review our lists and the children will work in groups to illustrate them. Ask your child what other activities people do during the day, or share what you do during the day while they're at school!

In math today we reviewed our "de plus" and "de moins" questions (we're getting really good) and then worked on illustrating some numbers and counting some sets. I heard lots of French counting! You may have noticed our little booklets that came home yesterday. These illustrated numbers up to 10. We're pretty good up to 10 (although there are a lot of backwards numbers that I didn't catch before they went home that you may want to correct); however, past 10 is pretty tricky. It just takes practise - lots of practise counting while looking at a group of objects so that we start to associate the word with the number (what does fifteen really mean anyway?). We will continue to work on this every day at school, but any extra help at home will make a huge difference! Thanks!

Today we also had a class discussion in our circle about how their new lunch routine is going now that they eat in the gym. There are some things we can do to help our class get dismissed for recess a bit sooner. Some of our ideas are:
- Start cleaning up as soon as you hear the bell!
- Look around on the floor and make sure there is no garbage left behind.
- Put your lunch bag in the blue bag right away.
- Make sure your coat is on and you are sitting down.

Maybe you can review these tips at home so that we get a nice long lunch recess tomorrow!

Tomorrow (Thursday), I expect to be sending home a small information package that you will want to look out for. It will contain a brochure outlining the grade 1 curriculum as it applies to Area 24, Area 24's 5-day schedule, and 1 or 2 other things. Some of this information was included in the first day newsletter, and as always, this blog is the best way to stay up to date with what we are up to! Anyway, please be sure to check for that tomorrow or Friday!

Talk to you soon,
Tamara