Dear Families,

In math, we are learning all about two-dimensional shapes! Students are exploring the different parts of shapes, such as sides, curves, and vertices (corners), and using those features to describe and identify shapes like triangles, rectangles, squares, circles, and hexagons.

Students are also building and creating shapes using hands-on materials like pattern blocks, straws, and clay. This helps them understand how shapes are made and how they can be combined to create new ones.

🔤 Vocabulary Words

We are learning: side, curve, triangle, rectangle, square, hexagon, circle, vertex, vertices, two-dimensional shape, and sort

🏡 Bring It Home

Here are some fun ways to practice shapes at home:

🔍 Shape Hunt (Highly Recommended!)
Encourage your child to go on a “shape hunt” around your home or outside!
• Find a circle (plate, clock)
• Find a rectangle (door, book)
• Find a triangle (roof, sign)
• Find a square (tile, window)
• Find a hexagon (honeycomb shapes if you can find them!)

You can turn this into a game by asking:
👉 “How many shapes can you find in one room?”
👉 “Can you find something with 4 sides?”

🎲 Guess the Shape Game
Think of an object and have your child guess the shape by asking yes/no questions!

✂️ Shape Sorting
Cut out pictures from magazines or draw objects and sort them by shape.

✏️ Shape Tracing
Trace real objects (cups, boxes, lids) to create shapes and talk about what makes each shape special.

🔍 Keep in Shape

Shapes are everywhere! Talk about shapes you see in your daily life—on walks, in the car, or around your home. Helping your child notice shapes in the real world builds strong math thinking skills.

This week we will continue working in Chapter 7: Subtraction Within 10. In earlier chapters, students explored taking apart numbers (for example, breaking 6 into 4 and 2). Now, we are connecting that understanding to formal subtraction sentences, using the minus sign to show how many are taken away or separated from a group.

Students will explore subtraction in different ways:

• Taking away from a group and finding how many are left
  
  
• Separating a whole into parts
  
  
• Discovering subtraction patterns (subtracting 0, subtracting 1, and subtracting a number from itself)
  
  
• Studying related facts to see how addition and subtraction work together
  
  

Vocabulary: left, minus sign, separate, subtract, subtraction sentence, take away

Ways to practice at home:

• Talk about real-life subtraction (bananas eaten, people leaving a line, toys being put away).
  
  
• Take turns subtracting 1 from numbers up to 10.
  
  
• Create subtraction sentences using coins or small objects.
  
  
• Hide some objects under a cup and challenge your student to figure out how many are hidden.

➕ This Week in Math: Exploring Addition!

Your student is learning two different ways to understand addition:

1. Joining groups that are actively moving.
   For example, if 2 students join 3 others to play a game, there are now 5 students playing.
2. Putting together non-moving objects (like counters) to focus on parts and a whole.

Along the way, your student is discovering some important patterns:

• Adding 0 to a number keeps it the same.
  
  
• Adding 1 to a number gives the next counting number.
  
  

Your student is also practicing finding missing partner numbers (addends). For example, to solve 5 + ? = 9, they might use counters and learn that 5 and 4 make 9.

The goal of this chapter is building understanding, not memorizing facts—so it’s perfectly okay if your student still uses objects or counters to find answers.

🧠 Try These At-Home Activities

🎲 Partner Number Toss
Use two number cubes (cover the 6s with tape to make them 0). Have your student toss them, say the two partner numbers, and name the total. You can even extend it by writing the addition sentence.

✋ “Get to Ten” with Fingers
One player holds up a number of fingers. The other says how many are shown and how many more are needed to make 10. Example: “Seven fingers… it takes three more to get to ten.”

🃏 Partner Match Card Game
Make two sets of cards numbered 1–5. Place them face down. Players flip two cards to find partners that make 6 (like 2 and 4). Partners get to keep the cards—whoever has the most at the end wins!

🔢 Hello Math Families!

We’re diving into Chapter 5: Compose and Decompose Numbers to 10—and it’s going to be a blast! 🎉
This month, our little mathematicians will explore how two parts make a whole and how a whole can be taken apart into smaller parts. These ideas help build a strong foundation for addition and subtraction later on!

We’ll be using number bonds to show how parts and wholes connect—think of them like friendship bracelets for numbers! 💛

🧠 Big Math Ideas

We’ll explore:

• Partner Numbers (numbers that work together to make another number)
  
  
• Putting Together & Taking Apart numbers up to 10
  
  
• Using Number Bonds to show how parts connect to make a whole
  
  

Key math words to chat about at home:
part, whole, number bond, partner numbers, put together, take apart

🏠 Math Fun at Home!

Try these easy (and giggle-worthy) ways to play with numbers together:

🪙 Penny Toss

Drop up to 10 pennies on the table!
👉 Count how many landed on heads, how many on tails, and how many total.
Ask: “What two parts make the whole?”

🌱 Bean Drop Challenge

Make a line on the table with tape or chalk.
Drop 10 beans and count how many landed on each side.
Write or draw your results—like tiny number scientists! 🧪

✋ Finger Flash

On “3,” each of you show some fingers!
“How many do you have?” “How many do I have?”
Then ask, “How many fingers altogether?”
(You just made a number bond!)

🧤 Button Toss Game

Grab 10 buttons and a cup. Take turns tossing them in!
Count how many made it in and how many missed.
Then say, “5 and 3 make 8!” or whatever your total is.

🏡 Real-World Challenge

Find groups of things around your home to split and combine:

• Snack time! “You have 3 apple slices and 2 more—how many in all?”
  
  
• Toy time! “Let’s take apart our 10 blocks—how many are red and how many are blue?”
  
  
• Cleanup time! “You put away 4 books, I put away 6—how many together?”
  
  

🧩 Learning Goals for Module 5

By the end of this unit, your child will be able to:
⭐ Name the parts and whole for numbers up to 10
⭐ Use number bonds to show how numbers work together
⭐ Recognize that 5 can be part of many combinations (like 5 + 3 = 8 or 5 + 4 = 9!)

💬 Keep It Going!

Encourage math talk by asking:
• “What two numbers could make 7?”
• “Can you show me another way to make 10?”
• “What’s a part and what’s a whole in our snack?”

Learning math is all about play, discovery, and connection—so keep counting, combining, and celebrating those “aha!” moments! 🎈

In this chapter, your student compares numbers up to 10 as equal to, greater than, or less than each other. Your student also learns to classify objects into categories. You can use the activities below to practice and review number comparisons, sorting and classifying, and data collection. 

• Place up to ten pennies on a table. Ask your student to place an equal number of pennies on the table. After you have played for a while, vary the game so that your student sets out a number of pennies that is greater than or less than the number of pennies you place on the table. 
• Play the finger game from Chapter 2 to compare numbers to ten. Hold up two to nine fingers. Have your student name the number of fingers. Then ask your student to hold up an equal number of fingers, a greater number of fingers, or a number of fingers that is less. 
• Use scraps of paper to make two sets of number cards from 0 to 10. Mix up the cards and place them facedown on a table. Each player takes a number card and turns it faceup. Players compare the numbers. The player who has the greater number takes the faceup cards. Play continues until there are no cards left in the pile. The player with more (or the most) number cards wins
• Invite your student to help you sort the laundry. Have your student describe the sorting rule, such as light and dark items or clothing and towels. Have your student count the number of items in each group. 
• Help your student make a chart to tally and compare the number of cans of vegetables that are peas and the number of cans of vegetables that are not peas

This week we will begin Chapter Three. In this chapter, your student learns about the numbers 6 through 10. Your student will count a number of objects, then color the same number of boxes in a ten frame. ten frame After learning about each quantity, your student will learn to write the numeral. At the end of the chapter, your student writes the numbers in order both forward and backward. This chapter's vocabulary includes exposure to the written number words six, seven, eight, nine, and ten. Your student uses the words in conversation but is not expected to write the words. Here are a few activities you can use with your student to practice numbers to ten. 

• Make a ten frame by cutting the last two egg cups off an empty egg carton. Have your student count up to ten small objects (such as beans, coins, or buttons) as they drop each object into a cup of the ten-frame carton. Change the activity by starting with up to ten objects in cups of the ten-frame carton. Have your student name and write the number of objects. 
• Play a game using fingers on both hands to count and to name numbers. Take turns. One player holds up six or more fingers, and the other player names the number. 
• Make a poster together showing objects that are commonly found in groups of six, seven, eight, nine, or ten, such as six juice boxes in a package, seven days in a week, eight legs on a spider, nine squares in tic-tac-toe, and ten pins in bowling. • Show your student page numbers in a book. Have your student count up to page 10 and back to page 1 by flipping pages. 

This week we will begin Chapter Three. In this chapter, your student learns about the numbers 6 through 10. Your student will count a number of objects, then color the same number of boxes in a ten frame. ten frame After learning about each quantity, your student will learn to write the numeral. At the end of the chapter, your student writes the numbers in order both forward and backward. This chapter's vocabulary includes exposure to the written number words six, seven, eight, nine, and ten. Your student uses the words in conversation but is not expected to write the words. Here are a few activities you can use with your student to practice numbers to ten. 

• Make a ten frame by cutting the last two egg cups off an empty egg carton. Have your student count up to ten small objects (such as beans, coins, or buttons) as they drop each object into a cup of the ten-frame carton. Change the activity by starting with up to ten objects in cups of the ten-frame carton. Have your student name and write the number of objects. 
• Play a game using fingers on both hands to count and to name numbers. Take turns. One player holds up six or more fingers, and the other player names the number. 
• Make a poster together showing objects that are commonly found in groups of six, seven, eight, nine, or ten, such as six juice boxes in a package, seven days in a week, eight legs on a spider, nine squares in tic-tac-toe, and ten pins in bowling. • Show your student page numbers in a book. Have your student count up to page 10 and back to page 1 by flipping pages. 

We are starting chapter two of our math curriculum this week. In this chapter, your student will learn to compare numbers from 0 to 5. At first, they will draw lines, matching objects in one group with objects in a second group to see if any are left over. Then they will count the numbers of objects in two groups to compare the numbers. Finally, they will simply compare two numbers. Throughout the chapter, your student will circle a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down to show whether two groups or numbers are equal. They will circle a group or number to show that it is greater than another, and they will draw a line through a group or number to show that it is less than another. Your student will learn more about comparing numbers in Chapters 4 and 9. 

You can use the following activities to practice and review comparing numbers throughout the year:

• Look for opportunities to talk about one-to-one correspondences in your home. For example: How many mittens do you need for two hands? How many dinner plates do you need for four family members?
• When setting the table, have your student count a group of forks, and then a group of spoons. Ask your student whether the groups are equal in number. If not, ask which group has a greater (or lesser) number of objects. 
• Play a finger game to compare numbers. Hold up two to four fingers. Have your student name the number of fingers. Then ask your student to hold up an equal number of fingers, a greater number of fingers, or a lesser number of fingers. 
• Use masking tape to change the sixes to zeros on two number cubes. Take turns tossing the number cubes and comparing the numbers.
• Place a number of small objects, such as paperclips or beans in each of your hands. Invite your student to guess which hand has more. Have your student verify the guess by counting the objects and comparing the numbers.

This week we are continuing our first Unit in our math curriculum, and working with numbers 0-5. 

Use the following activities to model, count, and write numbers with your student. 

• Use objects in your home to talk about numbers. Ask, “How many forks do I have? May I please have four grapes? How many socks are you wearing?” 

• Toss coins on a table so that the coins fall in a random arrangement. Ask your student to count the coins and say the number. Repeat this a number of times to give your student practice visualizing a number of coins in different ways. For example, your student might see that three can name the number of coins in a row as well as the number of coins that resemble two eyes and a nose. 

• Play a game using fingers on one hand to count and to name numbers. One player holds up one or more fingers, or a fist for 0, and the other player says the number. Take turns. 

• Help your student form groups of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 objects. Invite your student to use pieces of paper to write and label the number in each group. Then challenge your student to order the numbers by placing the pieces of paper in a row.