First grade is an exciting and important year! We spend much of our time learning to read and write. We use Saxon Phonics to learn all of the letter sounds, how to code them and how to blend them together to read. Our reading series is Journeys by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This series exposes the children to fiction as well as nonfiction stories. They have an opportunity to learn in whole class reading groups and in individualized small groups. We work on understanding the parts of a story and its characters. The children also keep a journal for their creative writing and literature responses.
Our math program, Go Math follows the new Common Core Standards. It provides the children the chance to explore and truly understand the concepts of addition, subtraction, place value, money, telling time and shapes. We do a lot of working strengthening their number sense and problem solving skills. The math program uses hands on manipulative formats and encourages children to explore different ways to answer a question.
In religion, we learn about God, Our Creator, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, as well as our Church family. We incorporate God and how he wants us to live in all we do. We also learn about celebrating the Liturgical Year, which includes Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter and about many of the Saints. Some of the prayers we work on are Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be.
In Science we cover living/nonliving things, animals classifications, healthy habits, life cycles, food chains, weather and the stars. In Social Studies we include concepts of school, family, community, our country and some of its important people such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and the Pilgrims.
We learn a lot in first grade but we have fun and make great friends along the way!