Happy New Year and Quick Update!

Hi Everyone!

Happy, Happy, Happy New Year!  I have had coffee, cookies, and too many carbs.  I have read books, slept late, spent endless days in my workout clothes (even if I never got around to working out!), and cleaned out the DVR.  I suppose it's time to return to routines, wear pants with buttons, and cook something with vegetables.  Can I get an AMEN?  :)

This week, school will also be about reestablishing routines, reminding the kids about rules and expectations, and reconnecting as a classroom family.  To that end, we are slated to welcome a new student to our class on Tuesday!  The kids are excited to meet Anish, and the boys are especially happy that as a boy, he will tip the classroom gender balance in their favor.  We'll now have 23 students total...11 girls and 12 boys.  (Although if I'm included in the count, I guess it's still a tie!)

Here's the rest of your classroom news:

Mid-Year Literacy Testing:
Over the next month, I will administer the mid-year Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA).  Remember, the DRA tests a student's ability to decode words, read fluently, and retell / comprehend a story.  In preparation for our mid-year testing, please ensure your child is reading each night at home.  Please use the discussion guidelines on your child's weekly homework sheet to talk about his/her nightly reading.

No Written Homework or Sound of the Week:
We will not have new sight words or a new Sound of the Week this week, so there will be no written homework.  Please get back into the routine of reading every night for 20 minutes.  Please remember to record your child's reading in his/her agenda.

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will be reviewing our good reader strategies for our mid-year literacy testing.
• Writing:  We will write about our New Year's goals and resolutions.
• Math:  We will begin our Fact Families unit.  A fact family is made up of 2 addition sentences and 2 subtraction sentences.  All 4 math facts are related (thus the term fact "family") because each fact uses the same 3 numbers.  For example, the fact family for 2, 3, and 5 looks like this:
• 2 + 3 = 5
• 3 + 2 = 5
• 5 - 2 = 3
• 5 - 3 = 2
• Social Studies:  We will begin our Economics unit.  We will discuss the differences between wants and needs, goods and services, and consumers and producers.  We will talk about the importance of saving money now for future wants and needs.

As 2017 begins, I remain thankful for the blessing of your sweet children, you, and the support you offer each day.  Please let me know how I can assist you!