And we're off!

First two weeks...success! We have all had a great time getting to know one another. We have begun sharing about ourselves and working to create a warm classroom community. Class meetings, centers, reader's and writer's workshop, and exploring math tubs have already become a part of our every day routine!

In math, we've started working on sorting and classifying skills. Students have been exploring various materials and creating groups, or sets, depending on self-selected attributes. Students naturally go to size and color first. I'm encouraging creativity to help students begin thinking "outside the box." For example, when students are sorting letters and numbers, they may first put them into groups based on the color of the number or letter. Then, students may create one set of letters with straight lines and a set with curved lines. Sorting activities can be done with almost anything. It can be a fun game to play at home!
We will be using Math Their Way as our math curriculum this year. Math Their Way uses "junk boxes" for the students to explore and to help develop many different skills. I am currently looking to collect materials for these tubs. If you have any of these at home to spare, please send them in with your child! Stay posted, as this list may continue to grow:

- Old keys
- Bottle caps/Milk carton tops
- Nuts and bolts
- Buttons
- Sea Shells
- Small pebbles (often sold to put in plant containers)

We will be starting our guided reading groups very soon. Students will be reading a variety of books from our Reading A-Z collection during their guided reading time. These books keep these books as a collection of familiar reading to choose from during independent reading time. Please send in a cereal box (or more than one!) for your child to decorate for their personal book box.

I hope to make our first trip to ImaginOn this Friday, September 4. We will be taking the city bus downtown to the transit station and walking to the library from there. Seeing as this is the first time many of the students will be experiencing this, I would like to have several adult hands on deck! If you are available Friday morning to join us on our first outing, please let me know! We will be taking the 8:50 bus and returning on the 11:00 bus.

Please take note of the dress code in the Parent Handbook. For saftey reasons, students should not wear "flip-flops" to school. Any sandal must have a secure back and fasten to the foot. In addition, the straps of shirts should span at least the width of three fingers. Shorts and skirts should reach the fingertips of the child wearing them. We play and move around a lot, so it is advised that girls wearing dresses or skirts wear some sort of shorts underneath. Thank you in advance!


We have gotten off to a great start! We're are moving quickly and soon we'll also be starting our study of the environment and weather. Please continue to check back for updates. Students will be bringing home their folder with important papers, some of which need to be returned. So please check your child's book bag on a regular basis! If you have not returned your Contact Information packet or signed and returned your Parent Handbook form, please do so as soon as possible. Also, the $15 activity fee is due near the beginning of each month. Any fees that have been paid thus far are for the month of September. If you have not sent this in, please do so. As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns!

Upcoming Dates:
September 4 - ImaginOn
September 7 - Labor Day (no school)
September 9 - Freedom Park - science fieldtrip
September 11 - Early Dismissal at 1:00
September 14-18 - Spirit Week (more information to follow)