Hello, Room 13 Families! 

It is hard to believe that we are already done with 12 days of school. The students are adjusting very well to the school routine and acclimating to the differences between Kindergarten and First Grade. As we start our academic core subjects, we will still continue to focus attention on beginning of the year behavior goals of being an attentive listener, walking appropriately in the hallways, being a good friend, being respectful to all adults on campus, among many others. 

This past Thursday, Ms. O was the substitute in our class while I took my daughter to an appointment. It had been planned to be for only the first half of the day, but it ended up being for the entire school day. That same morning, Ms. O successfully led the students out for the school's first fire drill and the students were superstars! Thank you, Ms. O for a great day!

Here are some of the learning topics that we discussed over the past week:

• Being a Safe, Responsible, and Respectful Superstar

• Being a "Strong Listener." We made a chart that will be kept on display to remind students about our listening goals when sitting together as a class, working in a small group, or working with a partner.

• We continued our review of number bonds in Math. Each day we focused on a different number, working up to 9. For example, making number bonds that equal 9 and then writing the corresponding number sentences, like 4 + 5 = 9 and 5 + 4 = 9. 

• We read more read aloud stories and we used those as launching points for conversations about being a friend, being brave, and being accepting. 

• We do morning journal writing so students get into a rhythm of writing daily. 

• We also reviewed syllables and clapped the beats in words. 

Thank you to those of you who attended Back to School Night. It was wonderful to meet new parents and to see familiar faces return to the classroom. It is always special to be able to teach younger siblings of my former students. 

I understand it is difficult to attend an event in the evening when there are other events, it's hard to find a babysitter, and conflicting work schedules. If you were not able to come, your child's informational packet will be sent home in this week's Thursday envelope. Two very important forms will be sent home in your child's homework folder on Tuesday. Please sign and return those papers as soon as possible. 

Click here for a link to our slideshow presentation. 

When we are transitioning to another classroom, whether that is to an outdoor classroom like the garden or an indoor space like MakerSpace and Art, there is a singular expectation of walking in a quiet, fairly straight line. There are many different behavior expectations at school, depending on where a student is and what is being asked of them. My goal is to be consistent so students don't have to guess about my expectations for them. Walking quietly to class helps the receiving teacher (like Ms. Kaplan in art or Mrs. Amanda in Music) to bring the class in and start the lesson as soon as possible. Also, walking in a fairly straight line allows for another class to safely walk by in the halls and for students to show respect to one another by walking with their attention forward and keeping their hands/feet/water bottles/lunch boxes to themselves. 

When we are transitioning to a break like Snack Recess, Lunch Recess, or at dismissal, students should expect to still walk in a fairly straight line, but since we are not walking to another classroom, I do not have an expectation that the line will be quiet. Don't get me wrong, there shouldn't be a lot of noise coming from our line, but students are excited at their recesses and at the end of the day, so I honor that by relaxing line expectations in regards to sound. 

If you have any questions regarding my expectations, please reach out via email or a quick chat at the front of the school at the end of the day.

Homework is an optional educational activity. Students are not required to complete homework, but 15 minutes of daily reading is strongly recommended. 1st Grade homework is comprised of a small packet of pages that review concepts already taught in class. There is never a reason for a child to overly struggle with their homework. You know your child best. If you would like to reduce the amount of work on a singular page (like the Eureka math), please just write a note at the top to let me know you reduced the workload so it was a better fit for your child at this time. The packet will go home on Mondays in the weekly "Homework Folder" and are due back in the folder each Friday. Homework will begin this coming Tuesday.

These activities are always good extra practice:

• Watch your child write their name. Please help your child to make sure they write their name this way: start with an uppercase letter, followed by ALL lowercase letters

• Holding a pencil with the proper pencil grip (Adorable YouTube video).

• Cutting paper with scissors safely. Click here for a scissor safety video.

• Counting up to 20, 50, 100, 120

• Everyday Speech published a brief web article about walking in lines at school. Click here to read the article.

• This week, we read Stellaluna and Mitsy the Brave Oven Mitt. Your child may want to hear those stories again. Below, are links to read alouds on YouTube. (I did not make these videos, but I did watch them before posting here.)
  Stellaluna Read Aloud Video
  Mitsy the Brave Oven Mitt Read Aloud Video

• The Zones of Regulation is an ongoing, daily topic that we will speak about throughout the year. Click here for a very short video that defines each zone. It may be helpful for when you ask your child how their day was and what zones they were in. It is ok if your child isn't sure about their zones yet. Sometimes it can be hard for children to identify how they are feeling.

• From outdoor seats for reading to pencils and baby wipes, take a look here at our Classroom Amazon Wish List. Feel free to share with others. Thank you!