This week we will begin Chapter Three. In this chapter, your student learns about the numbers 6 through 10. Your student will count a number of objects, then color the same number of boxes in a ten frame. ten frame After learning about each quantity, your student will learn to write the numeral. At the end of the chapter, your student writes the numbers in order both forward and backward. This chapter's vocabulary includes exposure to the written number words six, seven, eight, nine, and ten. Your student uses the words in conversation but is not expected to write the words. Here are a few activities you can use with your student to practice numbers to ten. 

• Make a ten frame by cutting the last two egg cups off an empty egg carton. Have your student count up to ten small objects (such as beans, coins, or buttons) as they drop each object into a cup of the ten-frame carton. Change the activity by starting with up to ten objects in cups of the ten-frame carton. Have your student name and write the number of objects. 
• Play a game using fingers on both hands to count and to name numbers. Take turns. One player holds up six or more fingers, and the other player names the number. 
• Make a poster together showing objects that are commonly found in groups of six, seven, eight, nine, or ten, such as six juice boxes in a package, seven days in a week, eight legs on a spider, nine squares in tic-tac-toe, and ten pins in bowling. • Show your student page numbers in a book. Have your student count up to page 10 and back to page 1 by flipping pages. 

We finished our first chapter in our math curriculum! Yay! This week, we will be beginning chapter 2! In this chapter, your student will learn to compare numbers from 0 to 5. At first, they will draw lines, matching objects in one group with objects in a second group to see if any are left over. Then they will count the numbers of objects in two groups to compare the numbers. Finally, they will simply compare two numbers. You can use the following activities to practice and review comparing numbers throughout the year.

• Look for opportunities to talk about one-to-one correspondences in your home. For example: How many mittens do you need for two hands? How many dinner plates do you need for four family members? 
• When setting the table, have your student count a group of forks, and then a group of spoons. Ask your student whether the groups are equal in number. If not, ask which group has a greater (or lesser) number of objects.

We will be continuing our first chapter of the Big Ideas math curriculum. We will continue our work on modeling, counting, and writing our numbers 0-5. That will take us through the middle of the week, and on Thursday they will take their first chapter assessment. Friday, they will then take the pre-assessment for Unit 2, that will start the following week. 

We will be starting our math curriculum, Big Ideas! In our first week, students will begin to identify a connection with quantities and the number. Specifically, students will model, count, and write numbers 0-5. In addition to this, students will be taking their first pre-assessment. Pre-assessments will be given to students individually during center time. If students begin to feel frustrated or demonstrate they need more support, the pre-assessment will end. I will be completing this to gather more information on what your student already knows and how I can support the better in the classroom. Assessments will be filed for collecting data until the end of the school year. If you would like a copy, please email me and I’d be happy to send a scanned copy.