October Skills Checklist...

I just adore this time of year! Apple picking and pumpkin carving, world series and football, hoodies and scarves! The school year is moving right along. It is already mid-October! The children are diligently working in room 116. We have already tackled two units of Everyday Math and Open Court Reading. I look forward to sitting down with you face-to-face at upcoming conference time to discuss in detail your child's academic and social progress for the beginning months of 1st grade.

As I sit here drinking my pumpkin spice latte and snacking on a taffy apple, I have some suggestions of things you can work on at home through the month of October.

• tell time on an analog clock to the hour/half hour
• count 1-100
• write a complete sentence using correct punctuation and capitalization
• add or subtract using a number line or hundreds chart (no finger counting or calculators)
• knows phone number with area code
• knows street address
• knows birthday month, day, and year
• knows city and state (and how to spell them with correct capitalization)
• can write first and last name (with correct capitalization)
• can count by 2's to 50
• can count by 5's to 50
• can sort the same objects into two different groups using and identifying different sorting criteria
• can find and name dates on the calendar
• name places in a local community
• can identify main idea and details of a story
• recognizes an antonym and a synonym
• can identify a noun, proper noun, and adjective
• calculates the values of combinations of pennies and nickels
• finds compliments of 10 (6+4,5+5,9+1, etc.)
• solves simple addition and subtraction story problems