With fall comes unpredictable weather. Please send a jacket or coat every day. Sandals or shorts are no longer appropriate. If your child is sick, please send me a text or email. You are also responsible for calling the office. I cannot excuse students-only the secretary can do that. If your child has a deep cough, a fever, or a green runny nose, please do not let them come to school and spread germs. We use hand sanitizer liberally and try to keep everyone as healthy as possible!
Some of the things we are working on this month are:
math: writing numbers 0-10, using 5 frames and looking at different ways to make 5. We are making an ABC pattern (ask your child what it is) and learning what comes before and after any number within 10.
writing: writing all the letters, uppercase and lowercase starting at the TOP! Have your child sing the song for you. We are also trying really hard to use the lines and spaces in writing to help our letters look neat and uniform. "Remember if you practice sloppy you'll be good at sloppy. If you practice neat you'll be good at neat!" You may see several homework pages come home for reworking. I have been trying to keep caught up with them in school. Students are getting faster, more comfortable and sloppier in their work (it always happens this time of year) so I am sending them home to be fixed. I am getting more strict and holding them accountable so they will produce work they and I will be proud of. Please support me in this effort. It will take you sitting with them while they write. encouraging them to do their best (including their name), reminding them to start at the top, using the lines, writing at least 5 best on each line, sitting at a clean, quiet place, sitting up straight, and using their free hand to stabilize the paper. We will continue to work on writing all year. It is sort-of my soap-box (if you didn't notice). Thank you in advance for your help, and supporting your child in their school work.
literacy: along with writing the letters we are working hard on the sounds they make. For the next 2 weeks in centers we are looking at beginning sounds. We've also been working on beginning sounds since school started as we learn each alphabet letter. We have been clapping syllables in words (practice at home!) and listening to all the sounds we hear as we read words in class.
social studies: We have been learning the Thanksgiving story. It's hard for children to imagine a world without all the electronic devices we have readily available. They don't understand the pilgrims had to build homes, grow food, and work for basic survival. They couldn't run to Walmart. We have been comparing Thanksgiving in 1620 and Thanksgiving now. Not having cars, telephones and internet are hard concepts for five year olds. We will continue to talk about Thanksgiving as well as fall, harvest time, seasons (briefly) family, and holidays.
As we move into the holidays and a very busy time of year, I want to give you a heads up of our calendar.
Friday, November 15 is picture make-up day. If your child was absent, is new or you wish to have retakes please send back the picture envelope by Friday.
Monday-Tuesday November 18,19. I will be out of town. We will have a substitute those days. I try to give the students plenty of notice when I will be absent. Sometimes it causes a little stress. Hopefully things will run smoothly and they can be good helpers.
Friday November 22 is Flag Ceremony (our awards assembly) It is at 10:00 this month if you are interested in coming. I will notify the parents of the students receiving the "catch the vision" award.
Wednesday-Friday, November 27-29 is Thanksgiving Break. Please have a happy, safe holiday.
Starting in December we will be making a "secret Christmas gift" for our families. Each student needs to earn $1.50 to pay for the gift. Please give them a job they can do to earn the money. I will send home a note about it after Thanksgiving.
Our next book order is due Wednesday, November 20. It will be the last book order before Christmas. Remember books make great gifts. If you would like me to hold your order and notify you when it comes send a note in your child's folder.
Our class T-shirt order has not been forgotten! I have called the company a couple of times but didn't reach them. I finally got a hold of them last Thursday. They are swamped right now with all the back to school orders. Turn around time is about 6 weeks. Our order should be filled by Thanksgiving, but they are not promising. In the past they have been very 'generous' in their time predictions. We have received our order before they said. So I anticipate the same. Plan on our shirts around Thanksgiving time.
Reading folders are due back every Monday. Please read each night with your child. It is the single most important thing you can do to help them be successful in school. I feel like I really preach about it, but it is something I firmly believe in. I understand schedules are busy and lives are hectic. Please take 15 minutes 4 days a week to show your child you value reading and want them to be good readers as well.
Wednesday is library day. Books can be returned to class any day, but we only check out new books on Wednesdays.
The ziplock baggie (book in a bag) will usually come home on Friday or Monday. They are due back after you read them. Don't forget to initial the enclosed paper next to the title of the book.
Also, just a heads-up for the pm parents. On Tuesday, December 10 we have a very special activity planned school wide. It will be in the morning. All pm students are invited and encouraged to come to school with the am class that day. More info will come home in the next few weeks, but tentatively calendar that day.
Finally, as we go into the holiday season and I reflect on the things I am most grateful for, I have to say I am grateful for my family. They mean the world to me. I have three beautiful daughters, three amazing son-in-laws, a great husband and five adorable grandchildren. I am thankful to live in this fun city where I can go uptown and run into so many people I know and feel comfortable and safe wherever I am. I am grateful for a supreme being that has so much influence in my life. I am grateful for my classroom and the amazing group of students I get to spend each day with. I love them so much and look forward to seeing their smiling faces, their bright eyes, the wonder in their gazes and the anticipation of each new day. They have such enthusiasm and boundless energy. I feel old when I can't keep up, yet young when caught up in their excitement. I am grateful they can keep me grounded yet let me experience a whole new world every moment I am with them. I am so grateful to each of you. I appreciate your support, I respect your efforts, I acknowledge your great work. Thank you for trusting me with your most prized children. I love spending my days with them, learning from them, and celebrating the aha moments that a only a teacher can have. I am in the greatest profession in the world, and I love it!
Sorry all the pictures this time are from the afternoon class.
Red Ribbon Week
We pledged to be 'drug-free' then went out on the lawn as a school and let our balloons go.
watching the "teachers vs. 5th graders soccer game
we loved it for about 15 minutes! then it was a little boring just sitting there being the audience
the teachers creamed the 5th graders.
