Dear Team Blowey Parents,
I have to begin with a few apologies. After being out sick for two days last week, forgetting my laptop at home, and then having limited access to internet I was not able to post earlier. Also, because I forgot my laptop at home I wasn't able to access the documents I was hoping to send home in the boomerang folders today. Sorry about that! It's tough to get back into the groove of things after being out sick. Hopefully I'm on the right track to be healthy again! And hopefully the members of Team Blowey are on the right track to being healthy again too!
Tomorrow, I'm hoping to send home a paper about IXL, the online math website for students to be able to practice at home. My goal is to have students start practicing again by the end of the week. If you do not have access to a computer and/or the internet at home please let me know.
REMINDER: The Cumberland Fair field trip is this THURSDAY!!! Your child will need to have a packed lunch and a water bottle. We will be going rain or shine so please remember to dress appropriately. Also, there will be no money coming along on this field trip. The students are not permitted to buy anything at the fair.
Parent volunteers for the field trip, I will be sending some more information home for you in the boomerang folders tomorrow.
Again, I apologize for the chaotic start to the week. I'm hoping yours will go a little smoother!
Have a fantastic day!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
September 19th-23rd
We're now into our second full week of school!
After ending last week on such a high note (getting a marble for the compliment jar, ask your child about it) we started this week in high spirits. As I'm writing this, Team Blowey is in Library and before I left, they told me that they were going to be working extra hard to get another compliment! We'll see how that goes. Fingers crossed!
Today we also learned a fun song to help us remember IPICK. It's still new for us so your child might not be able to remember all of the words or motions yet. We'll practice more as the year goes on. IPICK, if you remember, is the phrase we use to help us find just right books. Soon, your child will be sent home with a bookmark they created to help them remember this very important skill.
Math was a lot of fun today too! I brought in a suitcase which automatically started a lot of conversation among students. Some thought that I brought my newly adopted kitten, Daisy. Some thought I might have had a snake! But instead, inside the suitcase was our learning target for math. This year, we will be "unpacking" standards with students so that they may fully understand what it is that they are trying to reach. Together, we picked out the important words and phrases. We then put on our thinking faces and turned into investigators to solve the mystery of the learning target. As the unit progresses, we'll be revisiting this target often. Math ended today with a fun game of "What's my rule?" We'll learn more about this too.
Homework for this week is to complete the "All About Me" poster that is in the homework pocket of your child's boomerang folder. This assignment is to be completed by Friday. However, if you think that your child does better trying to finish homework over the weekend instead of during the busy week, that is just fine too. I did not mention this to the students as I'm hoping to try and instill the importance of breaking up larger projects into smaller pieces. If you feel like your child is stressing out over the project, though, just send a little note my way so that I know to expect your child's work on Monday instead of Friday.
Students should continue to read nightly and fill out their school reading logs. Remember, for every 300 minutes your child reads they will be recognized.
I'm still looking for a few permission slips for book buddies and for the Cumberland Fair so please send those in ASAP!
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: In your totes, you should have seen a reminder from Miss Bolduc about the roller skating event coming up on Saturday. Since Miss Bolduc left so suddenly, she decided to keep this event so that the students may have another chance to see her. I'll be attending too! We hope to see you all there!
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me. Have a happy day!
Love,
Miss Blowey
After ending last week on such a high note (getting a marble for the compliment jar, ask your child about it) we started this week in high spirits. As I'm writing this, Team Blowey is in Library and before I left, they told me that they were going to be working extra hard to get another compliment! We'll see how that goes. Fingers crossed!
Today we also learned a fun song to help us remember IPICK. It's still new for us so your child might not be able to remember all of the words or motions yet. We'll practice more as the year goes on. IPICK, if you remember, is the phrase we use to help us find just right books. Soon, your child will be sent home with a bookmark they created to help them remember this very important skill.
Math was a lot of fun today too! I brought in a suitcase which automatically started a lot of conversation among students. Some thought that I brought my newly adopted kitten, Daisy. Some thought I might have had a snake! But instead, inside the suitcase was our learning target for math. This year, we will be "unpacking" standards with students so that they may fully understand what it is that they are trying to reach. Together, we picked out the important words and phrases. We then put on our thinking faces and turned into investigators to solve the mystery of the learning target. As the unit progresses, we'll be revisiting this target often. Math ended today with a fun game of "What's my rule?" We'll learn more about this too.
Homework for this week is to complete the "All About Me" poster that is in the homework pocket of your child's boomerang folder. This assignment is to be completed by Friday. However, if you think that your child does better trying to finish homework over the weekend instead of during the busy week, that is just fine too. I did not mention this to the students as I'm hoping to try and instill the importance of breaking up larger projects into smaller pieces. If you feel like your child is stressing out over the project, though, just send a little note my way so that I know to expect your child's work on Monday instead of Friday.
Students should continue to read nightly and fill out their school reading logs. Remember, for every 300 minutes your child reads they will be recognized.
I'm still looking for a few permission slips for book buddies and for the Cumberland Fair so please send those in ASAP!
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: In your totes, you should have seen a reminder from Miss Bolduc about the roller skating event coming up on Saturday. Since Miss Bolduc left so suddenly, she decided to keep this event so that the students may have another chance to see her. I'll be attending too! We hope to see you all there!
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me. Have a happy day!
Love,
Miss Blowey
Monday, September 12, 2011
September 12th-16th
Our first full week of school! Woo hoo!
This week, Team Blowey is moving more into a traditional schedule. We are continuing to work together to develop the Daily 5 as well as integrating our Treasures reading program. We have also been working together to create graphs during our afternoon math time! The graphs are representing data our class collected about themselves. It's been a great time learning more about each other.
We have even practiced what to do if there is a fire in the building. Team Blowey did a great job! We were quick and we were quiet!
We're also wrapping up our crayon presentations. Last week we read a poem about a box of crayons that learned about working together as a team. To help us understand that, we created our very own crayons that represented us and what we like to do. They will be on display in the hallway sometime this week so if you're in the neighborhood please come down and check it out! The presentations have been going really well and we have really been learning a lot about what a good presentation and a good audience looks like. Ask your child about what they learned.
Just a reminder that the student reading survey will be due TOMORROW, Tuesday the 13th. This survey lets me know your student as a reader a little more so that way we can be on the same page. Students may ask for help if they need it. There will be no other homework assigned this week. Regular homework will likely start in the beginning of October. In the meantime, students are always encouraged to read every night.
Today in the boomerang folders you will also see a permission slip for our field trip! We will be going to the Cumberland Fair on September 29th. If you are interested in being a chaperone please let me know ASAP. Any volunteers who would like to come with us must fill out the volunteer paperwork, which also authorizes a background check.
Have a happy day!
This week, Team Blowey is moving more into a traditional schedule. We are continuing to work together to develop the Daily 5 as well as integrating our Treasures reading program. We have also been working together to create graphs during our afternoon math time! The graphs are representing data our class collected about themselves. It's been a great time learning more about each other.
We have even practiced what to do if there is a fire in the building. Team Blowey did a great job! We were quick and we were quiet!
We're also wrapping up our crayon presentations. Last week we read a poem about a box of crayons that learned about working together as a team. To help us understand that, we created our very own crayons that represented us and what we like to do. They will be on display in the hallway sometime this week so if you're in the neighborhood please come down and check it out! The presentations have been going really well and we have really been learning a lot about what a good presentation and a good audience looks like. Ask your child about what they learned.
Just a reminder that the student reading survey will be due TOMORROW, Tuesday the 13th. This survey lets me know your student as a reader a little more so that way we can be on the same page. Students may ask for help if they need it. There will be no other homework assigned this week. Regular homework will likely start in the beginning of October. In the meantime, students are always encouraged to read every night.
Today in the boomerang folders you will also see a permission slip for our field trip! We will be going to the Cumberland Fair on September 29th. If you are interested in being a chaperone please let me know ASAP. Any volunteers who would like to come with us must fill out the volunteer paperwork, which also authorizes a background check.
Have a happy day!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
September 6th-September 9th
We are now in the second week of school and things are really starting to roll! We have been working together as a class to develop S.O.P.'s (Standard Operating Procedures) for many times throughout the day. For example, morning arrival, getting ready for lunch, and dismissal time all have S.O.P's. This way we all know what we are supposed to be doing and when we should do it. It's going to take a lot of practice though for us to make things just right.
Speaking of just right, Team Blowey has begun our conversations about just right books. We talked about an acronym to help us find the book that is perfect for us.
I look at a book
P urpose (Why am I reading this book? Example: To learn more about a topic, to fill up time during a long car ride, Daily 5 time in the classroom, etc.)
I nterest (Am I interested in this book? Do I think this is a book I will enjoy?)
C omprehend (Am I understanding what I'm reading?)
K now all of the words (5 finger rule)
The five finger rule helps us find out if this is a "just right" book. If there are 0-1 words on a page that we don't know, the book might be a little bit too easy for us. If there are 2-3 words on a page that we don't know, then the book is just right! If there are 4-5 words on a page that we don't know, maybe we can put the book back and try again later.
Our homework for this week is to find some books at home that we think are just right books. Your child should have gotten a gallon sized ziplock with their name on it. Put the books in there and bring them back to school. Those will be our book bags for this year. We will be constantly updating them as we continue to grow in our reading. We will also use our classroom library and our school library to help us find more books.
Students will also recieve a reader's interest survey on THURSDAY night that they may complete with your help. This will help me begin to understand your child as a reader a little bit more.
We're off to great places and we hope you are too!
Speaking of just right, Team Blowey has begun our conversations about just right books. We talked about an acronym to help us find the book that is perfect for us.
I look at a book
P urpose (Why am I reading this book? Example: To learn more about a topic, to fill up time during a long car ride, Daily 5 time in the classroom, etc.)
I nterest (Am I interested in this book? Do I think this is a book I will enjoy?)
C omprehend (Am I understanding what I'm reading?)
K now all of the words (5 finger rule)
The five finger rule helps us find out if this is a "just right" book. If there are 0-1 words on a page that we don't know, the book might be a little bit too easy for us. If there are 2-3 words on a page that we don't know, then the book is just right! If there are 4-5 words on a page that we don't know, maybe we can put the book back and try again later.
Our homework for this week is to find some books at home that we think are just right books. Your child should have gotten a gallon sized ziplock with their name on it. Put the books in there and bring them back to school. Those will be our book bags for this year. We will be constantly updating them as we continue to grow in our reading. We will also use our classroom library and our school library to help us find more books.
Students will also recieve a reader's interest survey on THURSDAY night that they may complete with your help. This will help me begin to understand your child as a reader a little bit more.
We're off to great places and we hope you are too!
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