Time is racing by and it's almost Christmas! The class has been working very hard on our song for the concert. Many children in our class have also joined the primary choir and will be performing additional songs for the concert on the 18th.
I have to take a moment to share how proud I am of the children in this class. We have come such a long way since September in our reading and writing. They continue to amaze me each and every day. I can tell you wholeheartedly that I feel very blessed to be their teacher. We are having such a wonderful year together!
Hopefully you and your child have had an opportunity to check out the raz-kids online reading program. Some of you are already familiar with it from previous years. I apologize that it was so late coming. The original account that was set up for our class wasn't working so we had to wait on approval for another and Mr. Ouellette just received it a week ago. I know that its a wonderful tool for those who do have computer and internet access. We will also be using the school netbooks to practice in class later in the year. Remember that students can write each raz-kids book on their reading log and it will count as a book read for our reading competition throughout the year.
The curriculum this month will be centered around the theme of the holiday and Christmas season. We will be exploring some beautiful literature as a class and we will continue to work on our reading comprehension strategies and skills in both small groups, partners and as a whole class. The kids are working at remembering to stop and think while they read. They have special bookmarks that we made that help to remind them of the special kinds of questions they should ask themselves as they read to improve reading comprehension.
In writing, I have special news...... our letters to Santa have been answered! He delivered them right to our school today..... they even arrived ice cold!! Our writing this month will be writing in response to reading activities. In math, students continue to complete the unit on measurement. We have just begun to learn about area. We will hopefully have a little bit of time to begin learning about 3D geometry where we study the attributes of shapes such as spheres, rectangular prisms, triangle based pyramids etc. We have lots of fun in this unit because in order to explore we get to do some fun building! In social studies we will continue to explore our local community of Brantford. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all the parents that have given us their valuable time to come in speak with the children. What an amazing opportunity it has been for us.
If I don't see you personally before the holidays, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Hopefully you all have some time off to rest and relax and enjoy family time.
See you in 2014!
Wednesday 4 December 2013
Thursday 7 November 2013
November News
Happy Mo-vember!
A few quick points...
We have just been informed that Picture Re-Take Day is tomorrow- Friday! So sorry for the last minute notice.
A special thank you to all of the parent volunteers who were able to come along to Brantwood Farms and the Safety Village. I really appreciate your time and assistance. For those who were unable to join us on the Safety Village trip, I wish I had video-taped the children driving those jeeps around the mini-village. We had some up on curbs, on the wrong side of the road, running red lights and even crashing into medians and each other. It was hysterical.... but the children had a riot!
The Curriculum This Month....
In reading and writing we will be focusing on a Remembrance Day theme. This is sometimes a very challenging topic for children to grasp. We do talk about war and how many soldiers gave their lives in the name of freedom. We discuss how there are many countries still at war around the world and explore what the word "peace" means to us here in our own community and at our school. You may have children asking some challenging questions about the reality of war and each family may choose to address these questions differently. Students will also have an opportunity to learn about the structure of letter writing as we will be writing letters to war veterans to thank them for their service to our country. This is always such a wonderful experience for the kids.
In Math, we will begin a new unit on measurement. Students will learn the basic principles of measuring length and area using non-standard measuring units (paper clips, snap cubes, pencils etc). A question might be "how many paper clips long is your desk?" or " how many cue cards does it take to cover the surface of your desk?" You can support your child at home by playing silly games like "Let's see how many running shoes it takes to measure the length of our hallway using the same shoe over and over again!" You can also begin to introduce your child to measurements in centimetres or metres at home... let them help with a measuring tape. Or you can look at these websites together:
http://www.funbrain.com/cgi-bin/meas.cgi?A1=s&A2=1&A3=0
http://www.kidport.com/Grade1/Math/MeasureGeo/G1-M-MG1-1-1b.htm
http://www.beaconlearningcenter.com/WebLessons/MeasuringTools/default.htm
In Social Studies we are studying our local community and how humans meets their needs in the community. We have talked about the difference between needs and wants. Something that is sometimes an interesting discussion with little ones! Kids are learning about how there are various community helpers that meet these needs for us. For example, police officers keep us safe, grocers sell us our food while farmers grow it. I am wondering if there are any parents who might like to come in talk about their jobs as community helpers? For example, fire fighters, police officers, nurses, bankers etc. It would just be a brief chat with the children about what you do and then an opportunity for them to ask you questions. Thank you in advance!!!!!! To reinforce your child's learning, you can take them to this site where they get to build their own community!
http://www.sfsocialstudies.com/k/u2/index.html
In Art, we will be responding to different design challenges making prints and Remembrance Day themed works of art. Thank you again for all of your support with your child's learning.
I very much look forward to seeing you at the student led conferences next week!
Tuesday 15 October 2013
Portfolios, Roots of Empathy
Hi everyone!
Just wondering if anyone is missing a Brantford Public Library book called Touch and Feel Dinosaur? It was accidentally returned in our library bin. I don't want anyone to have extra fines. Send me a quick note in the agenda if this belongs to you. Thanks.:)
I also wanted to fill you in on some other news from our classroom.
Roots of Empathy:
We will be starting a program called "Roots of Empathy" whereby children learn all about the development of an infant through the first few months of their lives. Mrs. Metcalfe, who is off on maternity leave, has kindly agreed to bring her sweet bundle of joy in each month so that our class can learn all about the baby. Roots of Empathy is a wonderful program that has been proven to be effective in reducing levels of aggression among schoolchildren by raising social/emotional competence and increasing empathy. I had the pleasure and privilege of being a part of the program with my old class when I was off with my son Alex, and I can certainly say that it was an extraordinary experience that I will never forget.
To learn more about this program, you can visit the link below:
http://www.rootsofempathy.org/en/where-we-are/north-america/canada/ontario.html
Portfolios:
Our class will begin using portfolios as a means to store and keep track of our work. We will be using these portfolios so that children can look at their work from the beginning of a unit and then see first hand how much they have learned at the end by noticing the changes and improvement in their learning. Part of the goal is to make students reflective learners who can see their strengths and areas of need and then work, with my support, to set goals and improve their overall learning. We will also be using these portfolios as a tool to share our learning with you during the interviews this year. As you may have already heard, we will be doing student led conferences this year, and your child will have the wonderful opportunity of guiding you through collections of their work, different assessments etc. Soooo..... this does mean that you will see a little less coming home, as I have been storing it in each child's portfolio. Thanks for your patience with this!
Just wondering if anyone is missing a Brantford Public Library book called Touch and Feel Dinosaur? It was accidentally returned in our library bin. I don't want anyone to have extra fines. Send me a quick note in the agenda if this belongs to you. Thanks.:)
I also wanted to fill you in on some other news from our classroom.
Roots of Empathy:
We will be starting a program called "Roots of Empathy" whereby children learn all about the development of an infant through the first few months of their lives. Mrs. Metcalfe, who is off on maternity leave, has kindly agreed to bring her sweet bundle of joy in each month so that our class can learn all about the baby. Roots of Empathy is a wonderful program that has been proven to be effective in reducing levels of aggression among schoolchildren by raising social/emotional competence and increasing empathy. I had the pleasure and privilege of being a part of the program with my old class when I was off with my son Alex, and I can certainly say that it was an extraordinary experience that I will never forget.
To learn more about this program, you can visit the link below:
http://www.rootsofempathy.org/en/where-we-are/north-america/canada/ontario.html
Portfolios:
Our class will begin using portfolios as a means to store and keep track of our work. We will be using these portfolios so that children can look at their work from the beginning of a unit and then see first hand how much they have learned at the end by noticing the changes and improvement in their learning. Part of the goal is to make students reflective learners who can see their strengths and areas of need and then work, with my support, to set goals and improve their overall learning. We will also be using these portfolios as a tool to share our learning with you during the interviews this year. As you may have already heard, we will be doing student led conferences this year, and your child will have the wonderful opportunity of guiding you through collections of their work, different assessments etc. Soooo..... this does mean that you will see a little less coming home, as I have been storing it in each child's portfolio. Thanks for your patience with this!
Tuesday 1 October 2013
October News in Grade One!
The students have been working very hard and I am so proud of them. We have come a long way since the beginning of September already in the areas of independence, work habits, printing skills and reading. The children have continued to develop friendships and a sense of mutual respect toward one another as a classroom community. We have such a lovely group this year, we talk a lot about taking care of one another and showing patience and kindness to each other because we all have to spend each day together in one room.
October is a busy month for us at school. We will celebrating Thanksgiving with lots of fun activities that coincide with our reading, writing, math and art. We will also be having a Halloween dress up day on the 31st and a class party. Kids will be parading through the school and neighbourhood to show their costumes. For the class party, you are welcome to send some treats with your child if you like. Please be sure they are peanut and nut free. Thanks so much!
The Curriculum This Month......
Reading: Our Home Reading Program is off and running. Hopefully you are enjoying reading with your child each night. I do my best to match the book close to your child's reading level. When we do reading assessments to determine a reading level, we look for three things: your child's accuracy and ability to solve the words on each page, your child's comprehension and understanding of what they have read, and then we look at how fluently they can read the story. Is it read word by word and choppy? Or does it flow like natural speech with expression and intonation in their voice? So even though your child may be able to read all the words on a page, comprehension and fluency also account for the level of book that is appropriate to them.
We will also be sending home the logins for our RAZ kids online reading program soon. Mr. Ouellette has signed our class up, we are just waiting for the passwords. If your child enjoys reading online this is a great program. You can listen to the book first and then practice reading independently. There are also quizzes that kids can do after to check for understanding. If your child more readily reads the online books rather than the book bag books, by all means record these books on your child's reading log and send it in so that we know that they have read it. It will count toward the total number of books that your child has read this year and I want to make sure that they get credit for all the books they have read independently.
The ideal goal for students in grade one is to be reading at a level I-J by the end of the school year. Don't worry..... we've got all year and lots of time to practice!
Writing: Each child's goal is to be able to write one to two sentences independently with the help of their personal dictionary and the classroom word wall (these have our spelling words posted that we have already learned). We will be working on a writing process called "Try One, Try Another." Children will write about a specific topic, then receive some feedback from me about their specific work and have the opportunity to use the feedback and classroom learning to "try another" and show their very best work. This is a great way for students to visually see their learning and improvements. It also allows me to assess the very best work that kids can show me.
Math: The children have been working hard counting by 2's all the way to 100. This is a skill they really need to know, so please continue to practice with them whenever you can. I am impressed with their improvements this week! We also exploring number relationships. You can support your child with these concepts by doing the following activities:
- practice estimating using 12-13 small objects scattered ( not in rows or groups). Ask "is the number of objects closer to five or ten? About how many are there? Then count.
- your child is using "10 and........" to represent numbers from 11-20. Count out 14 small objects and ask your child to put 10 on one side; then count what is left (i.e. 14 is 10 and 4.)
- show a number of objects between 10 and 20. Ask your child "what is 2 more?" and "what is 2 less?"
Science: This month we are exploring daily and seasonal changes. We have had a great time using magnifying glasses to investigate nature outside and look for signs of fall. We have even learned about different kinds of leaves that are found on the playground. Students will be challenged to assess the impact of daily and seasonal changes on outdoor activities ( farming, gardening, swimming etc) and then we will look at how various innovations have allowed for some of these activities to take place out of season ( i.e. greenhouses allow farming in the winter). We will also take it to the next level by looking at how the change in seasons can impact society and the environment. For example, the in the winter, some people suffer from seasonal affective disorder, people use more energy by turning up the heat in the winter time. People use appliances at peak times which put a strain on power supplies etc.
As always, if you have any questions or would like to discuss your child's progress with me, I am always available to chat on the phone or meet with you in person. Please just write a note in the agenda and we can arrange something. Thanks again for taking the time to read this. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. I wish you all a restful and relaxing long weekend with your families.
October is a busy month for us at school. We will celebrating Thanksgiving with lots of fun activities that coincide with our reading, writing, math and art. We will also be having a Halloween dress up day on the 31st and a class party. Kids will be parading through the school and neighbourhood to show their costumes. For the class party, you are welcome to send some treats with your child if you like. Please be sure they are peanut and nut free. Thanks so much!
The Curriculum This Month......
Reading: Our Home Reading Program is off and running. Hopefully you are enjoying reading with your child each night. I do my best to match the book close to your child's reading level. When we do reading assessments to determine a reading level, we look for three things: your child's accuracy and ability to solve the words on each page, your child's comprehension and understanding of what they have read, and then we look at how fluently they can read the story. Is it read word by word and choppy? Or does it flow like natural speech with expression and intonation in their voice? So even though your child may be able to read all the words on a page, comprehension and fluency also account for the level of book that is appropriate to them.
We will also be sending home the logins for our RAZ kids online reading program soon. Mr. Ouellette has signed our class up, we are just waiting for the passwords. If your child enjoys reading online this is a great program. You can listen to the book first and then practice reading independently. There are also quizzes that kids can do after to check for understanding. If your child more readily reads the online books rather than the book bag books, by all means record these books on your child's reading log and send it in so that we know that they have read it. It will count toward the total number of books that your child has read this year and I want to make sure that they get credit for all the books they have read independently.
The ideal goal for students in grade one is to be reading at a level I-J by the end of the school year. Don't worry..... we've got all year and lots of time to practice!
Writing: Each child's goal is to be able to write one to two sentences independently with the help of their personal dictionary and the classroom word wall (these have our spelling words posted that we have already learned). We will be working on a writing process called "Try One, Try Another." Children will write about a specific topic, then receive some feedback from me about their specific work and have the opportunity to use the feedback and classroom learning to "try another" and show their very best work. This is a great way for students to visually see their learning and improvements. It also allows me to assess the very best work that kids can show me.
Math: The children have been working hard counting by 2's all the way to 100. This is a skill they really need to know, so please continue to practice with them whenever you can. I am impressed with their improvements this week! We also exploring number relationships. You can support your child with these concepts by doing the following activities:
- practice estimating using 12-13 small objects scattered ( not in rows or groups). Ask "is the number of objects closer to five or ten? About how many are there? Then count.
- your child is using "10 and........" to represent numbers from 11-20. Count out 14 small objects and ask your child to put 10 on one side; then count what is left (i.e. 14 is 10 and 4.)
- show a number of objects between 10 and 20. Ask your child "what is 2 more?" and "what is 2 less?"
Science: This month we are exploring daily and seasonal changes. We have had a great time using magnifying glasses to investigate nature outside and look for signs of fall. We have even learned about different kinds of leaves that are found on the playground. Students will be challenged to assess the impact of daily and seasonal changes on outdoor activities ( farming, gardening, swimming etc) and then we will look at how various innovations have allowed for some of these activities to take place out of season ( i.e. greenhouses allow farming in the winter). We will also take it to the next level by looking at how the change in seasons can impact society and the environment. For example, the in the winter, some people suffer from seasonal affective disorder, people use more energy by turning up the heat in the winter time. People use appliances at peak times which put a strain on power supplies etc.
As always, if you have any questions or would like to discuss your child's progress with me, I am always available to chat on the phone or meet with you in person. Please just write a note in the agenda and we can arrange something. Thanks again for taking the time to read this. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. I wish you all a restful and relaxing long weekend with your families.
Wednesday 11 September 2013
Some new updates...
You can add these to your calendar at home....
Blue and White Day: We are having our first school spirit day. Children are encouraged to wear as many blue and white pieces of clothing on Friday, Sept 13th to show their school spirit.
Terry Fox: We are doing a school wide Terry Fox walk on Sept 27th. Permission forms will be coming home soon. We are also asking for donations from each student if possible. Thanks in advance!
Gym: Gym will be every Day 2 and 4. You can mark these on the board calendar in your child's agenda at the front or right now they fall on Monday and Wednesday. Ms. Sabatino will be teaching our class gym, health, drama and music.
Library: Mrs. Kneebone will be volunteering in the library and taking our class down in the next week or two. I will speaking with her about which day works best and let you know as soon I can. Our library has so many new and wonderful books this year. Ms. Sabatino has been working really hard to buy and catalogue many new additions that kids will love!!!
Book Orders: I have sent out Scholastic book orders to each child. If you are ever interested in ordering, it's a great way for us to get new books and resources for our classroom. With every order that I send in, Scholastic gives me free bonus points which I use toward buying great things for our room.
PLEASE SEND IN CHEQUES ONLY AS I CAN'T SEND CASH IN THE MAIL- THANKS SO MUCH! :)
Highlights Magazines: I am sending home little slips with each child in case your family wants to order a subscription. Even if you dont want one, please sign and send back...... if I send in all the signed forms (even when you dont order).... they will give our class a free suscription for the year that we can all enjoy!
Spelling Words: Next week we will begin our spelling program. In your child's agenda you will see a list of words that they can study and work on at home throughout the week. We will have a weekly spelling quiz on these words. We will focus on the word structure throughout the week and expect kids to be able to independently spell them by the end of the week. They can take a peek at our word wall if they absolutely can't do independently, but my hope is that they will study and learn the words to use them in their own reading and writing. It would be a tremendous help if you could assist your child with learning these words at home. You can build them out of playdough, paint them on the sidewalk with water and a paintbrush, write them on a chalkboard in your kitchen, build them out of magnetic letters....anything that works to reinforce them. Thank you for taking an active role in your child's learning.
Monday 2 September 2013
Welcome!
Welcome to the grade my grade one blog! First of all, thank you for taking the time to log on to this site. You can become a follower by clicking the bar on the side. This will be the primary means of communication throughout the year so that I can keep you informed about the curriculum each month, give you extra ideas about websites and activities that you can use to help support your child's learning at home, and fill you in on details about homework, special days etc.
It's going to be a fantastic year. I am so eager and excited to get to know each and every one of your precious children. I will do everything I can to make them feel safe, happy and cared for at school. I appreciate your trust and faith in me to share this wonderful learning experience with you and your child.
If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to send me a note in the agenda and I can call you or we can set up a meeting. My goal is to keep you informed about what your child is learning and how they are doing at every step of the way. I am never too busy to chat with you about your child's progress.
Here are a few important items to kick start the year........
Agendas:
Students will be writing in the agenda each and every day at school. Its an important skill for them to learn in grade one and its a great way for me to keep in touch with you at home. I do ask that you please check the agenda each day because sometimes we put last minute reminders about special days, trips etc. I may also write notes home in the agenda for you to read. If you could quickly sign your initials when you read it.... it should take about 10 seconds I promise....... and I will do the same to let you know that I have seen anything that you have written. This is always the best way to get in touch with me because I don't always get to the phone or email throughout the busy day at school but I do check agendas first thing each morning. Thank you so much for your help with this in advance. I know that evenings can be busy for families, but this is a great way to keep the lines of communication open.
School Supplies:
Some of the important items that your child will need to help them be successful this year will be the following items:
-pencils
-crayons and markers
-erasers
-pencil sharpeners
-calculator (we do begin to teach some fundamental skills by exploring a calculator)
-pencil case
-ruler (this is a great tool to help with math skills.... the bigger the better)
- please donate box or two of Kleenex for your child to share with the class....... we get lots of stuffy noses throughout the year. Thank you in advance :)
- if you have a pair of headphones that you are okay to let your child leave at school, please label and send in. Students can store them in their desk and use them for computer time. Don't feel like you have to rush out and buy some, its just an extra item that your child might enjoy
- water bottle
- a change of clothing to be kept in your child's backpack
Shoes:
I do ask if it's at all possible, that you send your child with a pair of indoor shoes. Ms. Sabatino requests that children have proper running shoes to participate in gym class. Sandals and crocs etc are not safe and kids wont be able to play the fun games. Please pick a pair of shoes that your child can do up independently ( i.e. Velcro etc) as it gets really tricky for me to tie the laces of all the kids. Its also a good idea to have separate running shoes for inside and out, especially on the muddy days so we don't get dirt on our rug.
Lunches:
We have two nutrition breaks throughout the day. Some parents like to label or divide kids lunches so that they know what to eat each break and don't eat everything all in the morning and feel hungry in the afternoon. Whatever works for you, just an idea that might be helpful.
Field Trips:
I truly believe that children's learning is enriched by experiences outside the walls of a classroom. I will do my best to plan as many great experiences for trips as possible throughout the year. We would love to have parents and grandparents come and volunteer on each trip. I am legally required to have a certain supervisor to child ratio on each trip so I always welcome anyone who would like to volunteer and help us out. We do ask, for the safety of each child, that you have an up to date police reference check on file at the office. Its a good idea to get this in as soon as possible if you plan to com on a trip or help out at school this year. We are so thankful for parents who give their time to volunteer.
Star of the Day:
Each student will have a special day when they get to lead morning calendar time, line up at the head of the class line and have special responsibilities throughout the day. I don't create a calendar with the star names, I just follow our class list so that each child gets several turns throughout the year in order. Students may bring in show and tell anytime they wish, but I do ask that toys and valuable items stay at home in case they get lost or go missing. Good ideas for show and tell are pictures, things they have made, shells from the beach on a family vacation etc....
The Curriculum This Month:
Reading and Writing: This month we will be exploring a variety of wonderful books that I will read aloud and others that the children and I will read together. I will be doing various letter sound and reading assessments on your child to help me better understand where they are at and how I can best plan my program to meet their needs. In the next few weeks we will begin guided reading groups with leveled books.... more details to come. Our writing program kick starts from the very beginning of school. We will review our letter sounds and work at using them to form complete sentences. I try to find silly and fun topics for kids to write about and encourage children to share their work with the class so that we can celebrate their achievements. You can support your child at home by encouraging them to write as often as possible. Some great ideas are grocery lists, letters to friends or family.... any real life, purposeful writing is a great way to encourage a child to write. You can also continue to read to your child each day. We will begin our home reading program in a few short weeks and your child will be reading a short text to you each night! I will send information packages home when we begin the program.
Math: We are practicing our counting skills, by ones all the way to 100 and also counting by 2's, 5's and 10's. The class will also begin a unit on sorting and patterning. Children will learn to classify various shapes and objects by specific attributes like the number of sides, ability to stack or roll, type of animal etc. We will also work on creating repeating patterns using these different attributes. You can support your child at home by doing a few of these activities:
- Make a colour pattern using different coloured crayons or markers ( green, yellow, yellow, green, yellow, yellow). Have your child describe the pattern and tell you what comes next.
- Sort laundry or grocery items with your child ( all socks, all shirts). Have them tell you why they are all the same.
- Collect various shoes at home and put them into a pile. Ask your child to sort them (summer and winter, laces and Velcro, adult and child etc. Ask them how they decided which shoes to put into which pile.
Social Studies: We will begin a unit on Rules, Relationships and Responsibilities. Students will help to create various important rules that will help our class function as a cohesive unit. We will explore special and important relationships in their lives and what kinds of responsibilities are important to be a helper at home and school.
Art: The kids will examine all kinds of different tools to create art. From different paints, to oil and chalk pastels, modelling clay and even various materials that we find outdoors. We will have so much in art and soon you will have some beautiful masterpieces to hang on your kitchen fridge! Art days are always on Fridays, so its a good idea to send your child in clothing that you don't mind getting a little dirty. I have paint smocks but we do sometimes have spills etc. If you have any extra paint smocks or old shirts that have been washed, we always appreciate the donations to our classroom.
We are diving right into grade one! It's going to be a very special year.
Thanks again for taking the time to read this. I look forward to meeting you at Meet the Teacher Night!
It's going to be a fantastic year. I am so eager and excited to get to know each and every one of your precious children. I will do everything I can to make them feel safe, happy and cared for at school. I appreciate your trust and faith in me to share this wonderful learning experience with you and your child.
If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to send me a note in the agenda and I can call you or we can set up a meeting. My goal is to keep you informed about what your child is learning and how they are doing at every step of the way. I am never too busy to chat with you about your child's progress.
Here are a few important items to kick start the year........
Agendas:
Students will be writing in the agenda each and every day at school. Its an important skill for them to learn in grade one and its a great way for me to keep in touch with you at home. I do ask that you please check the agenda each day because sometimes we put last minute reminders about special days, trips etc. I may also write notes home in the agenda for you to read. If you could quickly sign your initials when you read it.... it should take about 10 seconds I promise....... and I will do the same to let you know that I have seen anything that you have written. This is always the best way to get in touch with me because I don't always get to the phone or email throughout the busy day at school but I do check agendas first thing each morning. Thank you so much for your help with this in advance. I know that evenings can be busy for families, but this is a great way to keep the lines of communication open.
School Supplies:
Some of the important items that your child will need to help them be successful this year will be the following items:
-pencils
-crayons and markers
-erasers
-pencil sharpeners
-calculator (we do begin to teach some fundamental skills by exploring a calculator)
-pencil case
-ruler (this is a great tool to help with math skills.... the bigger the better)
- please donate box or two of Kleenex for your child to share with the class....... we get lots of stuffy noses throughout the year. Thank you in advance :)
- if you have a pair of headphones that you are okay to let your child leave at school, please label and send in. Students can store them in their desk and use them for computer time. Don't feel like you have to rush out and buy some, its just an extra item that your child might enjoy
- water bottle
- a change of clothing to be kept in your child's backpack
Shoes:
I do ask if it's at all possible, that you send your child with a pair of indoor shoes. Ms. Sabatino requests that children have proper running shoes to participate in gym class. Sandals and crocs etc are not safe and kids wont be able to play the fun games. Please pick a pair of shoes that your child can do up independently ( i.e. Velcro etc) as it gets really tricky for me to tie the laces of all the kids. Its also a good idea to have separate running shoes for inside and out, especially on the muddy days so we don't get dirt on our rug.
Lunches:
We have two nutrition breaks throughout the day. Some parents like to label or divide kids lunches so that they know what to eat each break and don't eat everything all in the morning and feel hungry in the afternoon. Whatever works for you, just an idea that might be helpful.
Field Trips:
I truly believe that children's learning is enriched by experiences outside the walls of a classroom. I will do my best to plan as many great experiences for trips as possible throughout the year. We would love to have parents and grandparents come and volunteer on each trip. I am legally required to have a certain supervisor to child ratio on each trip so I always welcome anyone who would like to volunteer and help us out. We do ask, for the safety of each child, that you have an up to date police reference check on file at the office. Its a good idea to get this in as soon as possible if you plan to com on a trip or help out at school this year. We are so thankful for parents who give their time to volunteer.
Star of the Day:
Each student will have a special day when they get to lead morning calendar time, line up at the head of the class line and have special responsibilities throughout the day. I don't create a calendar with the star names, I just follow our class list so that each child gets several turns throughout the year in order. Students may bring in show and tell anytime they wish, but I do ask that toys and valuable items stay at home in case they get lost or go missing. Good ideas for show and tell are pictures, things they have made, shells from the beach on a family vacation etc....
The Curriculum This Month:
Reading and Writing: This month we will be exploring a variety of wonderful books that I will read aloud and others that the children and I will read together. I will be doing various letter sound and reading assessments on your child to help me better understand where they are at and how I can best plan my program to meet their needs. In the next few weeks we will begin guided reading groups with leveled books.... more details to come. Our writing program kick starts from the very beginning of school. We will review our letter sounds and work at using them to form complete sentences. I try to find silly and fun topics for kids to write about and encourage children to share their work with the class so that we can celebrate their achievements. You can support your child at home by encouraging them to write as often as possible. Some great ideas are grocery lists, letters to friends or family.... any real life, purposeful writing is a great way to encourage a child to write. You can also continue to read to your child each day. We will begin our home reading program in a few short weeks and your child will be reading a short text to you each night! I will send information packages home when we begin the program.
Math: We are practicing our counting skills, by ones all the way to 100 and also counting by 2's, 5's and 10's. The class will also begin a unit on sorting and patterning. Children will learn to classify various shapes and objects by specific attributes like the number of sides, ability to stack or roll, type of animal etc. We will also work on creating repeating patterns using these different attributes. You can support your child at home by doing a few of these activities:
- Make a colour pattern using different coloured crayons or markers ( green, yellow, yellow, green, yellow, yellow). Have your child describe the pattern and tell you what comes next.
- Sort laundry or grocery items with your child ( all socks, all shirts). Have them tell you why they are all the same.
- Collect various shoes at home and put them into a pile. Ask your child to sort them (summer and winter, laces and Velcro, adult and child etc. Ask them how they decided which shoes to put into which pile.
Social Studies: We will begin a unit on Rules, Relationships and Responsibilities. Students will help to create various important rules that will help our class function as a cohesive unit. We will explore special and important relationships in their lives and what kinds of responsibilities are important to be a helper at home and school.
Art: The kids will examine all kinds of different tools to create art. From different paints, to oil and chalk pastels, modelling clay and even various materials that we find outdoors. We will have so much in art and soon you will have some beautiful masterpieces to hang on your kitchen fridge! Art days are always on Fridays, so its a good idea to send your child in clothing that you don't mind getting a little dirty. I have paint smocks but we do sometimes have spills etc. If you have any extra paint smocks or old shirts that have been washed, we always appreciate the donations to our classroom.
We are diving right into grade one! It's going to be a very special year.
Thanks again for taking the time to read this. I look forward to meeting you at Meet the Teacher Night!
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