Shoe Tying and Word Families

This morning we continued to work on word families during our reading and language time.  We read a fun book about a little girl who wanted a pet bat.  Each time we heard a word in the -at family we had to stand up.  We got quite a workout standing and sitting, and we learned a lot of words in the -at family.  We learned that in word families everyone in the "house" has to have the same "last name."  Students also had to write one word in the -at family for each year they were old.  Some lucky boys and girls only had to write 5 words while some who were not so lucky had to write 7 words.  It was a real challenge for some while others were able to do it quickly without much guidance. 

A tip for the homework, the rhyming words should look something like -at family, fat, sat, cat, mat, chat.  If you are not sure what to do or need more help, please send me an email or give me a call so that I can help.

This afternoon we read a book called What Will I Do If I Can't Tie My Shoe?  In first grade students should be able to tie their own shoes without help.  If your child is not able to tie their own shoes yet, please practice with them at home.  One student (who has tie shoes) said "My dad says I don't have to tie because he does it for me.''  I must admit that as a parent, sometimes it is faster to do the tying and get out the door, please know that it is time consuming at school when 10 -12 students need shoes tied at one time.