New Year Excitement!

I was so happy to welcome a class of 22 new students on Tuesday, September 4th.  We are going to have a great year!  Along with the excitement of the new school year, there is a lot of information to share as well.  When you have a chance to read through the following information, please let me know if you have any questions. 

Our Daily Schedule:

8:35-9:05- Students are arriving, going to breakfast if necessary and playing at developmental centers. 

9:05-10:05-Math

10:05-12:40-Reading

12:40-1:10- Lunch

1:10-1:30- Recess

1:30-2:20- Resource

2:20-2:50-Rest/Remediation/Enrichment

2:50-3:40-Unit Study (Science or Social Studies)

3:40- Dismissal begins

Birthdays: 

If you would like to send in a special snack for your child's birthday, you are welcome to.  Snacks should be store bought and sent to the nurse's office first so she may check for allergies. 

Recess: 

We really enjoy our precious 20 minutes of recess! Even when the weather is a little bit warm or cold, we still go out for a quick playtime.  It is very important for children to get daily exercise.  It helps their brains get refreshed and ready to learn!  So, please dress your child accordingly.

Snacks:

 Please try to remember to send a separate daily snack with your child.  The snack should not be included with his/her lunch.  It should be in a small ziploc or brown bag, labeled with your child's name (or your child can simply keep it inside his/her bookbag.  Please, send only one snack.  We have very limited time for snack in our day.  If a child is trying to eat several snacks, they will not be able to without missing instructional time.  Also, please do not send in any wet snacks such as jello, pudding, fruit cups, etc.  I do keep a limited supply of extra snacks in my room in case a student forgets, but if it happens repeatedly, I do start to run out. 

Breakfast:

Sometimes, students tell me they are "supposed" to eat breakfast at school.  Usually, I have no way of validating this, so please let me know if your child is or is not supposed to eat at school if applicable. 

Discipline:

In my room, we use a clip chart for behavior management.  All students begin their day on green and then move their clips up or down throughout the day based on good or bad choices.  At the end of the day, your child will have a smiley face in their agenda that matches the color they were on that day.  Please check your child’s agenda nightly.  Here are the colors of our clip chart and what each color means:

Pink- Outstanding

Purple- Great Day

Blue- Good Day

Green- Ready to Learn

Yellow- Think About It

Orange- Consequence

Red- Contact Parent

Please keep in mind that the students are still adjusting and learning our classroom rules.  A day or two of not being on green is not the end of the world.  I usually include a small not so that you understand why your child is on yellow, orange or red.  This is simply so you have a chance to discuss these behaviors with your child.  If a student is repeatedly on yellow, orange or red, and the behavior becomes a problem, I will discuss it further with you.  At that time, a more individualized behavior plan may be necessary.

If you have concerns about your child's behavior, please let me know.  

Pictures: 

I will often take pictures of the class and our daily learning activities and post them on our blog.  I will never include names or identifying features about your child.  If you prefer that I don't post pictures of your child, please let me know. 

Here are some (faceless) photos of our first week of school:

Looking forward:

Next week we will...

Math- Continue building our math routine (calendar, math tubs, independent work, whole group lesson).  Start discussing ways to sort things.  

Language Arts- Focus on rhyming words.  Read lots of song books.  Practice writing lowercase and capital letters.  Discuss author and illustrator, text and illustrations.  Continue learning how to write in our journals. 

Unit Study- Discuss ways to be a good citizen, problem-solving and conflict resolution.