Hello families,

It was lovely to meet with all of you over the past few weeks. I always enjoy conferences (especially when we can do it in person) because I feel like I get to know the students even better! Thank you all for taking the time to meet with me. We won't have any other scheduled conferences this year, but I am always available for a meeting if you feel the need.

I was out sick the past few days, and it sounds like the class had a tough time settling down and getting any meaningful work done. We took some time today to re-establish expectations and norms, and to discuss how to continue to be your best self even when routines are interrupted. This is a work in progress!

We have started out new  math unit on multiplication and division. This week we did a lot of prep work by talking about making a reasonable estimate. One of the ways to do this is to think about what we know about the multiples of 10. If we are multiplying 22 X 56, we can start by saying we know 10 X 56 = 560. That means 20 X 56 = 1,120 (or twice as much as 10 X 56). Once we have that established, we have a pretty good baseline or estimate. If we proceed with the problem but get a solution in the multi-thousands or below 1,000, we know our solution is not reasonable. Next week we will begin looking at various strategies for breaking the numbers apart when multiplying. I will send home a family letter about this unit on Monday. Stay tuned!

I will be brief about reading and writing because we have moved very slowly this week, particularly since those are harder lessons to have taught by a guest teacher. In the past few days, the students wrote and shared letters with me. They are still working on paragraphing and elaboration skills. They are also still working on reading their club books and writing about their reading.

The class has earned a celebration. This time, the "selection committee" chose bedtime day and flashlight reading. Please remind your kids that they can wear comfy clothes/pajamas on Monday. They can wear slippers, bring a blanket, and bring a stuffy. If possible, have the bring a flashlight so we can read in the dark -- just for something fun and different! They will still need to be prepared for PE and the outdoors.

That is all for this week. As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns.

Happy Friday!