October 9, 2026

I hope everyone had a great week. It is amazing how fast time goes by! Here is a look at what our class worked on this past week.

1st Grade Math: Dominoes, Fact Families, and Comparisons
In 1st grade math, our focus was on dominoes, fact families, and comparing numbers using greater than (>), less than (<), and equal to (=) signs. Understanding fact families helps children see how addition and subtraction are directly connected rather than separate skills. Practicing with comparison signs and visual domino models builds strong number sense and prepares students for more complex math reasoning down the road.

2nd Grade Math: Base Ten Concepts and 3-Digit Numbers
Our 2nd graders focused on base ten concepts, learning what each digit represents in a 3-digit number and solving base ten math riddles. Mastering place value with hundreds, tens, and ones is essential for building a solid foundation for multi-digit addition and subtraction. Working through math riddles also gives students a fun way to practice flexible problem-solving and mental math.

Writing Workshop: Small Moment Personal Narratives
In writing workshop, we officially started our personal narrative unit on "small moment" stories. I am teaching the students how to zoom in on a single, specific event rather than trying to write about a huge topic. We use the visual of a watermelon to contrast a big general topic—like "my vacation"—with a tiny watermelon seed story, such as "splashing in the pool with my cousin."

Before writing, students physically touch each page of their blank booklet and tell their story out loud, planning out a clear beginning, middle, and end. This habit helps them sequence their ideas and ensures they stretch their story across the whole book. Focusing on that tiny seed moment allows them to capture real details, actions, and feelings from a specific memory.

Ask your child: "What watermelon seed story are you telling across your pages in writing workshop right now?"

Global Read Aloud: The Adventures of Beekle
Our classroom has joined classrooms around the world for the Global Read Aloud, a six-week program where we are exploring books by author and illustrator Dan Santat. This week, we read his Caldecott Medal-winning book, The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend. The story follows an imaginary friend who leaves his island to find his real-world friend.

After reading, the kids created their own imaginary friends and wrote short stories about the adventures they would share. Their artwork and writing are now displayed on the bulletin board outside our classroom! Moving forward, Mr. Mongeon and I will collaborate each week to read the next book and lead a connected project.

Civics: Exploring Community Helpers
In civics, we focused on community helpers and read the book Whose Hands Are These?. To give the students a firsthand look at how helpers support communities, Nurse Aubrey joined our class via video call from Moretown School to talk about her role in keeping students healthy and safe.

NOTES:
*Since we had Friday off, I did not send home Weekly News Journals this weekend.

*Please try and make sure your child reads, is read to, or jointly reads a book each night. It is amazing how these minutes of reading add up and the success kids have because of it.

That is all for now. I hope you all have a great long weekend.

Peace,
Mr. Young