As we draw near to the end of October with its flurry of activities, the students are reminded of all that we learned during this month: that..."oblique" is another way to say "diagonal" (great debate over that one!), Christopher Columbus has a holiday (we try to be courageous and persistent like him), vertebrates have a spine, and -er words are everywhere! If your student spontaneously shouts an -er word or a homophone pair at the dinner table, rejoice with him/her and promise to write them down to share in class the next day. I rejoice, too, for I learn something new everyday teaching first grade.
Work on our North America maps has begun. We will be reading stories of Central America to reinforce this map work. The study of different cultures broadens our minds, so that we are less likely to feel like the center of the universe. As we enter into the holiday season, this study of other cultures with their holiday celebrations will hopefully enrich our own family traditions. I hope our studies will initiate lively conversations at home.
