Happy Weekend!!!
I hope that you are enjoying time with the warm weather!
Just a few quick reminders for next week:
-On Monday we are going to be using our "Tiny Topics Notebooks" (if they are at home, please send them)!! :)
-Next week we are going to be spreading our love for reading by doing a project about our favorite book. We will not be doing this until later in the week, but if your child has a favorite book that they have read at home, I encouraged them to bring it in (so that they can use examples from the story when they write about it). They don't need the book if they know it well, but some may want to bring it in.
-We have started a very new math curriculum. It requires a lot of thinking about HOW we are doing math and explaining it. This is big jump for kids this year and it will be a challenging transition for most kids. I am planning on sending a Family Letter each week that comes with the new curriculum, but it does mention homework. We still have a no homework policy for the district, but if you would like to use the family letter to work on anything extra, feel free (do not feel like you need to do what the letter suggests). Sometimes I may attach the quiz that your child took at the end of a "lesson" (which is usually 5 days long). These quizzes will be challenging for your child in class because it is such a big transition in deeper thinking and explaining. Please don't be alarmed if they had a tough time completing the quiz (especially early on in the year), but you could use it to talk over more if they get a quiz sent home. This past week, our topic was fact families.
Next weeks Specials:
Monday: ***LIBRARY (bring books)
Tuesday: Art
Wednesday: Phy. Ed.
Thursday: Music
Friday: Phy. Ed.
Have a wonderful weekend!!!! :)
Find out what's happening in our classroom and stay up to date on information!
Friday, September 22, 2017
Saturday, September 16, 2017
Our First Weeks!!
Good Morning!
As the first full week of school wrapped up I thought I would fill you all in on just a bit of what we've been up to!
Last week Thursday, we all got a "gift." If you see a tiny little notebook traveling around with your child, it is their new "Tiny Topics" notebook. We talked about how sometimes coming up with a topic to write a story about for writer's workshop is sometimes the HARDEST part! We also learned that topics or story ideas could come to us at ANY time. That's where this gift comes in. They can take these with them anywhere they'd like (although the goal would be to have them with at school for writer's workshop time each day). Anytime they think of a story idea, they jot it down in the notebook and can keep up the good writing!
For the first unit of writing, kids are learning and practicing "Personal Narratives" - a real story that happened to them in their lives. If you happen to think of "meaningful" topics with your child, encourage them to jot these topics in their notebooks!! :) It is easy for kids to forget special days they have had in the past, but you might be able to help them remember! We learned that meaningful story ideas are times we felt strong emotions. For example, the day you got a pet or had a surprise party the emotion was excitement. They could write a story about a scary time or a time that they were worried and how they got through it. This was our main focus last week and coming up we are going to learn all sorts of ways to make our stories more exciting to read!!
Reading update: I have to apologize in advance for the super long notes that I am going to be sending home in your child's new reading folder this week. It is all really important information on different ways to encourage kids to read at home and how to help them pick good fit books. Look for that coming home this week!!!
One more quick note: I forgot to tell the kids, but I will be gone at a conference this Monday. If you have a chance and think they would like to know, they will have a sub on Monday.
Thanks and have a wonderful week!
As the first full week of school wrapped up I thought I would fill you all in on just a bit of what we've been up to!
Last week Thursday, we all got a "gift." If you see a tiny little notebook traveling around with your child, it is their new "Tiny Topics" notebook. We talked about how sometimes coming up with a topic to write a story about for writer's workshop is sometimes the HARDEST part! We also learned that topics or story ideas could come to us at ANY time. That's where this gift comes in. They can take these with them anywhere they'd like (although the goal would be to have them with at school for writer's workshop time each day). Anytime they think of a story idea, they jot it down in the notebook and can keep up the good writing!
For the first unit of writing, kids are learning and practicing "Personal Narratives" - a real story that happened to them in their lives. If you happen to think of "meaningful" topics with your child, encourage them to jot these topics in their notebooks!! :) It is easy for kids to forget special days they have had in the past, but you might be able to help them remember! We learned that meaningful story ideas are times we felt strong emotions. For example, the day you got a pet or had a surprise party the emotion was excitement. They could write a story about a scary time or a time that they were worried and how they got through it. This was our main focus last week and coming up we are going to learn all sorts of ways to make our stories more exciting to read!!
Here is our Weekly Specials Schedule for Week of 9/18:
Monday: Art
Tuesday: LIBRARY - *Bring books back!!!
Wednesday: Music
Thursday: Phy. Ed. - **Bring shoes!!
Friday: Music
Reading update: I have to apologize in advance for the super long notes that I am going to be sending home in your child's new reading folder this week. It is all really important information on different ways to encourage kids to read at home and how to help them pick good fit books. Look for that coming home this week!!!
One more quick note: I forgot to tell the kids, but I will be gone at a conference this Monday. If you have a chance and think they would like to know, they will have a sub on Monday.
Thanks and have a wonderful week!
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