Wednesday September 1, 2010

Happy first day of September! We talked about our new calendar this morning. The kids thought that today should be Sunday instead of Wednesday, since we were starting over with the numbers!

Mrs. Abbey read Signs in the Park, a non-fiction article about different signs that we see outside. The students discussed the signs which they saw on their way to school. Point out signs as you drive & talk about what they say and why they are there...pretty soon your child will be pointing out and naming signs for you!

We talked about our writing folders and what to do if we don't know what to write about. We brainstormed a list of things that the class enjoys writing about. Mrs. Abbey is going to add pictures to this chart so that the students can "read" about ideas they can write about if they are having a hard time coming up with an idea on their own. At this point in the year, many of our writing assignments and stories are pictures. Eventually, we will begin adding initial sounds of words to our pictures, and will work our way up to adding phonetic spelling of words and ideas. All students progress through these phases of writing at very different rates, so do not be alarmed if it is taking your child a little longer to master these skills.

We went to the computer lab this morning. Most of the students remembered everything that was taught last week--how to log in, choose the right program, navigate through the program, quit the program, and log out! What a smart group of kids!

Mrs. Canada, the guidance counselor, came and talked with the class about being a good listener. They read a story called Listen and Learn which taught them that it is important to listen to the teacher so that we can be good learners! They also played a game together, identifying when made-up characters were doing a good job listening or if they needed to do a better job.

With computer lab in our daily schedule, we did not have time to share 3 more posters today. We did add the three "I Am Special" posters that were shared yesterday to our wall of friends. Those students were: Ryan, Alex, and Kaylee!

Parent Notes:
•Thank you for checking your child's folder each night, filling out paperwork, and returning information in a timely manner! That is very helpful to me!

•Thank you to all parents who placed book orders. I will send them home in your child's backpack when the orders arrive (usually 1-2 weeks). A few of you told me they were gifts, so I will put them in a tied bag into your child's backpack. Please let me know if you would rather pick up your child's book order.

•Yesterday a nightly reading record sheet went home with your child. Please help them complete this each night you read together! The time recorded can be books read by your child, books read to your child, or books listened to on tape. My youngest daughter who is 4 1/2 enjoys "reading" me one book every night by telling what she remembers from a familiar story or by reading the pictures of a new story. When she's finished, I read her a story. Reading with your child is a great way to teach them to love reading!

•I reminded the students that there is going to be a substitute teacher here tomorrow, while I work on assessing students individually. They should be great listeners and helpers for the sub!