Mathematics

Well first of all let me thank you for such wonderful attendance at our parent meeting last night. We have 18 out of 21 families represented, an awesome percentage! And many families had two adult family member here as well. A big thank you to all the parents who brought refreshments to the meeting. I am soooo grateful that so many people volunteered to do some of the photocopying. Most of Language Arts for the year has been sponsored for copying. That will save me an unbelievable amount of time and aggravation. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I am pleased that the children are finally "getting the hang" of our math workshop. It's a very different approach to math, but it allows me to help students move through the materials at the pace that works best for them -- faster for some, gentler for others. Let me explain how it works in practice. Each math session begins with a lesson. Sometimes this lesson is fairly long and takes up most of the math time, but it is usually fairly short. After that, students can continue working on their assignments. If they want to work alone, they can stay in their seats. If they would like to work with another student, they can sit on the rug and collaborate. If they need help, they can come over to the table and I will work with them. If they are finished working on their assignments, they can go outside and check them using the answer keys. One the assignments are corrected, students make them into a little booklet (an idea I got from my class last year!) and they turn them in. The students then take a quiz over the material they just studied, and move on to the next assignments sheet.

Students are starting to take the first round of quizzes, and all have learned how to correct their own work. Grades will be posted on the gradebook as they come in. This first unit on place value is one of the hardest, but I'm pleased at the progress they've made.

Homework: If students did not complete the final draft of the "I Used to Be" poem -- and most did not -- that needs to be finished by Friday. Also, most student should be starting on the second assignment sheet in math (Number Sense 1.2) even if they did not yet have a chance to take the quiz on the first one yet. They can do that Friday.

For those of you who observe Rosh Hashanah, have a blessed holiday.