It's time to read!

Today is the day!

The students in my class begin their Read at Home program, which is also known as 

'Read to Someone'

Inside the front pocket of each students' 'kanga pouch' is the following letter:

Dear Parent:

We will be starting a Home Reading Program in our class starting today.  Home Reading Programs are widely used in classrooms throughout Canada. The idea behind it is that parents are a child’s first and foremost teachers. It allows the child to get a second chance to practice what they worked on during the school day.  Home Reading Programs also foster the partnership between the home and the school - a partnership that brings success for all students. We are very excited about this program and need your support for it to be successful.  A new book goes home nightly (Mon.-Fri.) The book from the school comes back the next morning and is exchanged for a new book by the child.  Help your child see their success as a reader by filling out the sheet that will be in the pouch as well.  Both the book and the sheet are brought back to school daily. Reading at home will help your child become a successful reader through your modeling and assistance.  In the beginning this reading will take about 5 to 10 minutes but will evolve to about 15 as the year progresses and the stories have a few more words.

Below is a list of strategies that you can use when reading with your child:

·       ♦  If just starting out, read to the child first. Use your finger to track as you read so that your child can use you as a role model.

·       ♦  If you feel that your child would like to start - encourage them to do so!

·       ♦  Another suggestion is for your child to read one page and then you read a page.

·       ♦  Try to have your child read the story to you. Have your child use their finger for tracking purposes when reading.

·       ♦  If your child comes to a word that they don't know...

- use the pictures to help them
- suggest they look at the first letter and make the sound of that letter
- have them skip it or use the context of the sentence to try and figure it out

I thank you ahead of time for the support you are giving your child and the school.  I hope that this home reading program will allow you to see how your child is developing their reading skills.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at sherrym@eics.ab.ca.

Sincerely,

How to do it

1.     Pick a book to read together (the one in their Kanga pouch and one from their book bag too). Read it slowly and spend time looking at the pictures and asking about the story.

2.    Before you start to read, tell your child the name of the book and what it is about.

3.    Sit in a cozy place during story sharing. Ask your child to touch the book and help turn the pages.

4.    Use your finger to follow the words as you read. This will teach your

child how reading works. Point to pictures in the book that show your child who is speaking and what is happening in the story.

5.    Get creative! Change your voice to talk like different characters in the book. Act it out! If you are reading about a character flying, you and your child can flap your arms. You may feel silly but your child will love it!

6.    Take your time. Don't rush through the book - enjoy it! (Try not to think of the 101 things you have to get done!)

7.    Encourage your child to say important words or phrases and to make comments about the story.

8.    Talk about the story when you finish reading it. This will help your child remember characters and what happened.

9.    Talk about other books that you have read together that have similar actions, characters, or themes. For example, "The wolf in this book reminds me of the wolf in the Three Little Pigs."

10.  Keep your child involved. Ask your child to name the things he/she sees in the book or predict what might happen next. (Adapted from Homespun, 1992)

Please read with your kiddo tonight and each and every night.  It is absolutely alright to read to them first, then perhaps partner read and if your child is ready, they might read on their own.  If not, then have them 'parrot' which is you read first and then they point to the words and read right after you.

This is just the beginning of a very exciting journey for your child.  The best both you and I can do is believe in them so that they can believe in themselves.  Don't worry....they will get there!  It's the biggest and best change you will see in your child this year!

REMEMBER:  Fill in the sheet and send back the book so it can be exchanged each and every day!

Book orders and Birthdays!

This box is always full of wonderful surprises!

The students who have ordered something through the book orders can't wait to get their new books home!

I was excited too because this is what I ordered.  Did you know that September birthdays top the list in our classroom with 5 little ones celebrating this month.  Two have already done so!

For their birthday this year I am giving them the gift of a free book!  I will hold onto the birthday coupon but will remind you that your child can choose a book from the next order, worth up to $6.00 and I will be paying for it through the Scholastic birthday program.  The reason I will hold onto it, is, as you can see, the coupon code must be given at the time of the order.  Just write FREE next to the item that your child would like to receive and when the next box appears, their present will be inside!

The trouble with David!

Earlier in the month, this wonderful book about a little boy named David became our focus for creating our own classroom book, which you can see below.

David Shannon, the author of this book, also wrote other books about David.  We used the other books 'David at School' and 'David in Trouble' to help us think about how we should follow God's rules and be a peacemaker.

The students had the opportunity to create David, following verbal directions and watching each step before trying that step on their own.  Each and every David that was made has his own personality, and helped me as the teacher see the individual students' own ability and fine motor skills.  It helps me to know what to work on next, which is often called 'assessment for learning.'

All these wonderful happy little boys bring a smile to my face!

Our school division has adopted a policy that basically asks each classroom teacher to assist students in making 'the heathy choice, the first choice.'  To that end, I am encouraging all my little ones to choose a fruit or a vegetable from their lunch kits for their morning snacks.

We've seen a great variety and the students find that with the natural sugars, they are able to sustain their focus better until they get to eat their large lunches around 12:20.

The children are sent outside for their recess without a snack.  This allows them to play and move and 'get their sillies out' during recess.  Once they come in, we take about five minutes to each our fruit or vegetable snack.  Help keep them healthy and ready to learn by ensuring their is a fruit or vegetable in their lunch kit each and every day!  Their bodies thank you!

Sight Words and Spelling begin!

Today we began learning some new words to both read and spell.  The words are often called sight words because we want the students to see them and know them...reading them by sight.  Sometimes they are known as popcorn words because they keep 'popping' up in the books that we will be reading.  I read a statistic that said that about 250 words made up around 80% of what we read.  Knowing these words makes reading so easy!  

This yellow duotang will come home every first day of the week...so on a week where a holiday falls on Monday, the duotang will come home on Tuesday.  It should be returned to school on Friday please.  On Friday, I will ask the students to show me how well they know the words, both reading them and printing them.  It will seem like it is a spelling test, but these words should be remembered all the time...knowing them for Friday is not enough.

Usually there will be 5 words to learn plus a 'challenge' word.....to begin with the challenge words will be colour words.  Each week we will also explore a word family.  I will put in these words at the beginning of the week for the students.  Your job is to practise both reading the words and printing the words.

One of the weekly activities will be to colour the words.  These will be sent home.  Would you kindly have your child cut out the rectangles and add the words to the orange pocket at the back of the doubting?  This allows you to have 'flashcards' to review with and examples to spell the words (and see the size of the letters).

Have fun!

Welcome to First Grade!

Here is our happy home for the next ten months, Room #111.

You are always welcome!

The students have their own space for their coats and backpacks and lunch kits.  We are not hanging our backpacks up because each child only has one hook and in the winter, it will be needed for snow pants!  The students are placing their backpacks onto the wooden ledge on the bottom.

Here is where their outdoor shoes (and all too soon, boots) are kept.  Our names are on the bottom.

Our classroom is right across from our school's chapel.  Many staff members meet before class every morning to begin our day in prayer.

As you enter into the classroom, you will see our 'Challenge Accepted' board.  This is the theme of our Catholic School District for the year.  We are focusing on knowing that we CAN, with the help of others and Our Lord, do great things!

Across one wall is this very important board that will be full of words as we learn to spell, our book bins that the students will choose books to take home and read nightly, once beginning assessments are complete and our book boxes where each student will keep books for reading during 'Read to Self' time.

This is my 'little group' table where small groups of children will gather for specific lessons to assist them in learning the way of letters and words and numbers.

Here in the front of the classroom is one of the carpets that I have for our group learning time.  The students are in desks that are placed in pods to allow for group interaction and small group learning.

From this angle, near the small round table you can see that we have two lovely windows to watch God's world go by.

The first thing I noticed when I came into this classroom is that we have a sink!

In this corner is another gathering spot, with benches, another rug and a variety of bins full of learning activities.

We gather in this area every morning to do our morning calendar activities.

Sometimes I get to sit (gasp) and read to the children!  Sometimes a very attentive and well mannered student gets to sit in this comfy chair.

Just keeping it real....I never get to sit at this desk....which I have not yet had the time to clear off even!

Near the end of our first day of class, we got to interact with this cool book.  It showed us that colours can appear and move about if we follow directions.

Each student got a small baggie full of white play dough and they found that if they pressed and squeezed and kneaded the dough, colours began to appear!

Here are our 'brag tag' necklaces.  More about these a little later.

Each day, one student becomes 'teacher's pet' and gets to do a variety of special helpful jobs for the class.  The day that the student is 'Teacher's Pet' that child will get a green cloth bag to take home.  It is the bag that the student uses to bring a special item from home for their sharing time.  The student should be able to give three clues to the others in the class and we will have a fun time guessing what might be in the bag.  Please remember that it should not be a food item, or alive!

Speaking of food, we do have a student who has an allergy to 'tree nuts'.  This means that to ensure this little person's safety, the following should not be brought to school in any foods.  Sadly this means that the product 'nutella' cannot be brought to school.  Although peanuts are not in this list, it is typical of all schools, that peanuts should be avoided as well.  Try 'wow butter' as an alternative.

Here is some information:

Tree nut allergy is the second most common allergy in infants and young children. Approximately 0.4- 0.5% of American children have a tree nut allergy. Tree nuts are a common allergen reported to cause fatal and near-fatal allergic reactions.

Almond
Beechnut
Brazil nut
Bush nut
Butternut
Cashew
Chestnut
Coconut*
Filbert
Ginko nut
Hazelnut
Hickory nut
Lichee nut
Macadamia nut
Nangai nut
Pecan
Pine nut
Pistachio
Shea nut
Walnut

Thank you to those families who have already sent back these important papers.  I need permission to have your child appear on the blog.  Please know that I never, ever use names to identify the students in my care.  As soon as I have them all, I will create a group e-mail list and will be sending home information this way.

Please consider 'following' this blog.  I believe that when you 'follow' an alert is sent to you each and every time I post on this blog.  

Thank you to my two dear friends who sent me these lovely flowers on the first day of school.  I will miss working with them but know that their friendship will endure!