Happy New Year. 

The students are happy to be back at school and have jumped right back into their work around the classroom. The break brought many students back to class with fresh eyes for materials, and many students pulled out materials from earlier in the year to give things another try.

We are starting the new year with a refocus on thoughtfully constructing and using our work planners. It can seem like a lot to have a 1st grader make a plan of work for the week, but it always surprises an adult as to how much they care they put into their intentions, and the patience they have to carve out a written plan. 

In Math, we will be transitioning to our second-semester workbooks. Many 1st years have started working on subtraction, while others are still working to strengthen their skills at multi-digit addition. 2nd years are starting work on multiplication. Third years are mastering multiplication and will be starting to work on division with materials.

We will be hosting writers' circles once a week, where students can share short-form poetry. Students are expected to work on using their best handwriting for the final project. The E1 staff has been participating in a language development course, and we are learning about new research that reinforces the Montessori belief: 

The research is showing the integral part that handwriting plays in letter form recognition and recall, and how a child's work to write with their hands is directly correlated to their language development. That isn't to say that there is a correlation between good handwriting and intelligence. Ask most doctors. But there is a correlation between the time spent working to learn to form letters with their hands and their ability to construct words and sentences. Writing forces the child to slow down and physically break words apart by hand.

You can help with this development by encouraging writing at home. Pausing and admiring when a child has put in work that shows in their writing. It is much easier for a child to slow down and focus on each word in a sentence when they find a reward in writing a beautiful letter.

Students have already jumped into the civilization historical timeline work. A work that stretches across the classroom and from the beginning of man to modern day. Watching a 2nd grader wonder and reconstruct the Sumerian timeline with cards and pictures never ceases to strike awe. 

There are many other great things happening in our daily work in class. Feel free to sign up for a volunteer opportunity and have a look for yourself!