Thank you to those who loaned us your abacus for the day.

What we did in class: 

• Read Chapter 8 in Life of Fred
• Learned what Ordinal numbers are: First, second, third...
• Counted by 5s (in a money situation) 
• Completed simple addition and subtraction in our heads or with our fingers
• Introduced place value to the Thousands
• Completed a place value worksheet (some children are still reviewing place value to the hundreds) 

Two announcements:
        1- Will you please send your child to class with a pencil in his/her book bag.
        2- If you are willing and able I would love for you to send your child to class with an abacus. They are such great learning tools. I can even store them for you so you don't have to remember each time. Ikea and amazon are great places to find them.

What we did in class:

• Read Chapter 7 of Life of Fred
• Time
• Sometimes there are many possible answers
• Reviewed Place Value
• I feel like each student now understands place value to the hundreds. Hip hip hooray! 
• Reviewed using a number line with a worksheet. 
• I gave each student a worksheet that I believed was at his/her level. If you feel the worksheet he/she brought home was too hard or too easy please email me or comment on this blog. 

Homework: If your child did not finish the number line worksheet in class then it is homework. 

What we did in class:

• Read Chapter 6 in Life of Fred
• Introduced Astronomy and the term collinear 
• Reviewed the commutative property
• Reviewed Place value
• Played a place value game with a partner

Don't forget to have your child bring back their homework.

What we did in class: 

• Read Chapter 5 of Life of Fred
• Counted by 5's
• Briefly introduced fractions
• Reviewed time
• Counted by 10
• Introduced an abacus 
• Taught place value

Homework: Place value worksheet (started it in class) 

Please remember to have your child bring in a picture of themselves. We will use these pictures on and off throughout the semester.

Today each student received a laminated ruler for measuring. Please have them put this in their notebook along with the laminated clock.

What we did in class today:

• Reviewed time
• Measured ourselves on the wall 
• Learned about estimation and measurement
• Completed a measuring activity worksheet
• Read life of Fred Chapter 4
• Counted by 5's and 2's
• One yard equals 3 feet

Homework: Measuring activity measuring things around the house. Please bring this back Tuesday.

I could really use some help in the classroom. Plan on me contacting you to see when you can come in and help. :)

What we did in class: 

• Read Chapter 3 in Life of Fred
• Counted by 2's
• Counted by 5's
• Simple addition

• Learned how to use a number line
• Learned how to read a clock

Homework: Please have them complete the time worksheet and bring it back Thursday. 

Today was another great day in class. I gave each child an assessment to gauge what level of ability they were at. I will review the assessments and make decisions on what to teach and what homework to assign based on these. Because I am trying to teach each child on their individual level I could use help in the classroom. Teaching 12 students all on different levels is tricky. I don't want to short change anyone. If you could volunteer to help in the classroom once or twice a month I would greatly appreciate it.

What we did in class:

• Completed an assessment 
• Read chapter 2 of Life of Fred and completed questions
• Time
• Counting by 2's
• Sets
• Learned about fact families 
• Small groups: using a number line, tracing numbers, commutative property (all groups completed a worksheet. If your child didn't finish they were asked to bring it back finished on Tuesday.) 

Wahoo we had our first day of school! I loved meeting the students and I look forward to getting to know their personalities better each time we are together.

Our first day was spent getting to know each other and learning how class will work. We have several different levels of ability in our small class. I will do my best to accommodate each child's abilities. On Thursday I will be giving each child a short assessment to help me gauge their ability. Please let me know if you feel your child is not being challenged correctly.

I realize that two hours a week is NOT nearly enough time to teach math.  There is a lot that we will not be able to cover in class. I recommend khanacademy.org and/or readingeggs.com (It has a math program) to supplement both your teaching at home and my teaching on T/TH.

What we did in class: 

• We read chapter one of the Life of Fred (Butterflies) and completed the questions at the end of the chapter.  
• Time
• Yard = 3 feet
• Commutative property