We have just started to learn about Japan. The children shared what they already know about Japan and also what they are wondering about.

We created a map of Japan and discussed where in the world Japan is located. We also discussed the flag of Japan and the red circle symbolizing a sun for "Land of the Rising Sun".

We had fun learning the Japanese words for all of the colors and making a large poster to practice the color words.

This afternoon, we learned about Japanese Chidren's Day and made our very own carp kites. The carp is a symbol meant to stand for strength and determination and to remind children to be determined, especially when life becomes challenging.

We read a few books and discussed the signs of spring. We also wrote in our journals and drew pictures about some of the signs of spring.

We are looking forward to warmer weather and hopefully more time to play outside.

Friendly reminder: With warmer weather and spring rain comes a lot of mud on our playground. Please be sure to continue sending your child to school with a pair of boots to ensure our classroom stays clean and safe! Thank you!

Math: We are currently in Chapter 8 - Adding and Subtracting Two Digit Numbers. We have played different games and used pictures as well as our hundreds chart to help us add 2 digit numbers. We will continue to learn some more strategies for adding and subtracting 2 digit numbers. For example, one addition strategy we will learn is grouping ones together and creating a new ten, if needed. This is a great introduction to a 2nd grade skill - regrouping.

Fundations (our phonics program): We are finishing up our work in unit 8 which focuses on making words with blends. We also learned about digraph blends such as in the word "bunch" . The unit also introduced the -r controlled vowels (ar, or, er, ir, ur).

For more information on our Fundations program, please visit our classroom website and find the "Literacy Links" tab under "Important Links".