Fox Creek

We have the "Can Do" Spirit!  Our philosophy is we will listen, think, learn, and help our friends to do the same. First grade is a special year with lots of growth and development.  The goal of Fox Creek is to generate a positive attitude as each child begins the process of lifelong learning.  We recognize that each child is a unique individual with his/her own learning style, pace and inner timetable of development. We respect these differences and design our instructional program to respond to each individual.

Writing

The children will develop written language skills as we invite students to take ownership of their writing.  Each child will explore a variety of writing experiences.  The five important steps include prewriting, writing, revising, editing and evaluating. We follow a Writers Workshop format and include lessons from Jennifer Serravallo’s Writing Strategies and also incorporate Step Up to Writing lessons.

Reading

Reading is a life-long journey of comprehending by constructing meaning from print.  All children will progress through the same stages of reading but not in the same way or at the same pace. 

Math

Problem solving is the primary focus of our Bridges program. The program involves number corner, work places, home connections and problems/investigations. Hands-on materials are used as the child moves to the abstract or symbolic level.  We establish links between past experiences and exploration of new concepts.  There is an ongoing review and informal assessments emphasizing a home/school partnership.

Social Studies and Science

Our social studies and science curriculums are integrated into our reading and writing programs.  The social studies program is Social Studies Alive which covers families, citizenship, being a good friend and Asia.  We use the science program called "FOSS". We do hands on experiments throughout the year. Our units are Pebbles, Sand and Silt, Solids, Liquids and Gases and Living Things. We will have live animals and plants such as mealworms, darkling beetles, butterflies, brassica plants and milkweed bugs for the children to observe. They write observations in their science journals.