Weekly Update

Hi Everyone!  Happy Friday!

Today marks the end of our second quarter.  As I reflect on the progress the kids have made this year, I am proud of their hard work in the classroom, and of their hard work in building a community in our little corner of the school.  Thank you for your role in supporting their growth!

Math Fact Fluency:
To build and practice math fact fluency, I will begin administering timed addition and subtraction tests next week.  I sent a note home in yesterday's Thursday folder about a program we'll be using called "Smart Cookie Math."  With Smart Cookie Math, the timed tests alternate between addition and subtraction, and they get progressively more challenging as the kids "level up."  As they pass each level, they get a little cookie sticker to add to their "Smart Cookie Jars."  There's a super cute app that goes along with this program called "Smart Cookie Math."  The levels in the app align with the levels of the written tests.  You can purchase this app in the app store for $1.99.  We have it on our classroom iPads, and the kids seem to really like it.  The Smart Cookie Math app is similar to Reflex math in that it allows the kids to practice fact fluency.  However, I believe the Smart Cookie app is more user friendly to 1st graders.  Beginning in 2nd grade, the kids will be required to use Reflex Math each week, so it's a great program with which to become familiar now.  However, some 1st graders can get easily overwhelmed by the pace and presentation of Reflex Math.  I've found the Smart Cookie app helps to build the same skills, but the kids take to it more easily than Reflex.  

Operation Comfort Cases:
Our school is participating in a community service project in support of an organization called Comfort Cases.  Comfort Cases aims to support children in the foster care system by providing them with a new backpack or duffel bag filled with both essential supplies and comfort items to help when transitioning to a new home. Each grade level is collecting a different supply for the Comfort Cases, and in 1st grade, we are asking for donations of new stuffed animals.  Pinebrook will host a community-wide Comfort Cases Packing Party on Saturday, February 17th.  More details will come as the event gets closer, but for now, please consider donating a new stuffed animal to be included in a Comfort Case.  You may send the donation to school with your child.  Thank you!

Valentine's Day Party:

Mark your calendar...our classroom Valentine's Day party will be Wednesday, February 14th from 12:05-1:15 pm in our classroom.  All families are welcome to attend.  The kids will exchange Valentine cards at the party.  If your child brings Valentines, please be sure he/she has one for every student in the class.  If your child wants to attach a little "something" to his/her Valentine cards, please don't attach candy or food... little items like pencils, erasers, tattoos, stickers are fine.  Our Room Moms will be providing bags for your child's Valentine cards.  Please watch for more details and a food permission slip soon!

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will explore nonfiction text features, such as tables of contents, headings, maps, diagrams, and glossaries. 
• Writing:  We will complete some Groundhog Day writing activities as we focus on editing for mechanics, punctuation, and proper sight word spelling.
• Math:  We will finish our place value unit.
• Social Studies:  We will continue our Famous Americans unit, in which we discuss the lives and contributions of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington Carver, Benjamin Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Please let me know if you have any questions about any of the information I've written here.  I welcome your feedback.

Don't forget - no school on Monday due to a Teacher Workday.  Meantime, enjoy your weekend!

Weekly Update

Happy Friday!

We started something new in Morning Meeting this week called "Circle Time". Circle Time is a Restorative Practice meant to build deeper community, empathy, and communication in our classroom.  During Circle Time, we go around our meeting circle sharing our "number" for the day.  We each choose a number between 1 and 5...1 means "I am having the WORST day ever", while 5 means "This day could not get any better!"  After we share our number, we share why we chose it. It helps us know what's happening in each other's hearts and minds so we (the kids and me!) can both better support each other, and have greater understanding of why someone may be acting in a particular way.  We have a little "Circle Time Bear" called a "talking piece", and this means we must be holding the bear to speak.  (We haven't named it yet.)  So far, the kids have reacted very positively to Circle Time. My intent is to continue expanding Circle Time to include some discussion questions and additional character building.  Please ask your child what he/she thinks about Circle Time!  I welcome the feedback. :)

Operation Comfort Cases:
Our school is participating in a community service project in support of an organization called Comfort Cases.  Comfort Cases aims to support children in the foster care system by providing them with a new backpack or duffel bag filled with both essential supplies and comfort items to help when transitioning to a new home. Each grade level is collecting a different supply for the Comfort Cases, and in 1st grade, we are asking for donations of new stuffed animals.  Pinebrook will host a community-wide Comfort Cases Packing Party on Saturday, February 17th.  More details will come as the event gets closer, but for now, please consider donating a new stuffed animal to be included in a Comfort Case.  You may send the donation to school with your child.  Thank you!

Valentine's Day Party:

Mark your calendar...our classroom Valentine's Day party will be Wednesday, February 14th from 12:05 - 1:15 pm in our classroom.  All families are welcome to attend.  The kids will exchange Valentine cards at the party, and I sent home a class roster in yesterday's Thursday folder for those of you wanting to get a start on those. (Shout out to the Type A peeps!)  The card exchange is completely voluntary, although historically, the majority of the class participates.  If your child brings Valentine cards, please be sure he/she has one for every student in the class. If your child wants to attach a little "something" to his/her Valentine cards, please don't attach candy or food... little items like pencils, erasers, tattoos, stickers are fine. Please watch for more details regarding the party soon!

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will continue learning strategies for reading nonfiction books.  We will explore personification in fiction stories.  Personification is when a non-human character exhibits human traits.
• Writing:  We will explore character traits and opinion writing as we continue to focus on editing for mechanics, punctuation, and proper sight word spelling.
• Math:  We will begin our place value unit.
• Science:  We will finish our Winter Adaptations unit.
• Social Studies:  We will begin our Famous Americans unit, in which we discuss the lives and contributions of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington Carver, Benjamin Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

As always, please reach out with questions, comments, or concerns.

Enjoy the weekend!  Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary!  Leo and I have been married 22 years.  I'm not sure whether to be happy or frightened because it means I'm old!  I'm not sure how we're celebrating, but I know our celebration will involve lots of carbs!  Calories don't count this weekend! 

Short Weekly Update

Hello Parents!

We've hit that nice lull in the school year where the calendar isn't overwhelming, the kids have mastered our classroom routines, and we find some rhythm to our days. I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts...I know if I blink, it will be June!  

A short, sweet update for you...

Operation Comfort Cases:
Our school is participating in a community service project in support of an organization called Comfort Cases.  Comfort Cases aims to support children in the foster care system by providing them with a new backpack or duffel bag filled with both essential supplies and comfort items to help when transitioning to a new home. Each grade level is collecting a different supply for the Comfort Cases, and in 1st grade, we are asking for donations of new stuffed animals.  Pinebrook will host a community-wide Comfort Cases Packing Party on Saturday, February 17th.  More details will come as the event gets closer, but for now, please consider donating a new stuffed animal to be included in a Comfort Case.  You may send the donation to school with your child.  Thank you!

Mid-Year Literacy Testing:
I am concluding our mid-year Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA). Remember, the DRA tests a student's ability to decode words, read fluently, and retell / comprehend a story.  In preparation for our mid-year testing, please ensure your child is reading each night at home.  Please use the discussion guidelines on your child's weekly homework sheet to talk about his/her nightly reading.

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will talk about strategies good readers use when reading nonfiction texts.  We will examine the point of view in fiction stories.  The point of view helps us know who is telling the story.
• Writing:  We will practice opinion writing.  We will write about character traits. We will continue to focus on editing our writing for capital letters, punctuation, spacing, and properly spelled sight words.
• Math:  We will finish our Fact Families unit.  Place Value comes next. 
• Science:  We will continue talking about human, plant, and animal adaptations.

Please remember to reach out anytime with questions, comments, or concerns!

Enjoy the long weekend!  

Weekly Update

Happy Friday!

I couldn't resist this meme after our first snow days.  My boys were surely grateful for the extra sleep, and I was grateful for extra coffee in my pajamas!

Here's a little information and a friendly tip for you...Teachers watch the forecast religiously in the winter.  Most of us follow a gentleman on Facebook who has a page called "Jay's Wintry Mix".  If you're on Facebook, consider liking/following his page. His hobby is weather forecasting (especially in the winter) with a strong emphasis on Loudoun County.  If you want to really know what's happening with winter weather, follow Jay.  He analyzes model runs, historical data, and weather trends to let us know what's happening with the weather.  He gets the forecast right more often than any news/weather outlet you'll find, and the comments on his page can be downright hilarious.  :)

Meantime, we are trying to settle back into our normal classroom routines.  As much as I love to spend endless days in my workout clothes over Winter Break, I have to admit it feels really good to see the kids (they always grow so much over a break!), begin to reestablish procedures, and get back to business!

In other news...

Mid-Year Literacy Testing
Over the next month, I will administer the mid-year Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA).  Remember, the DRA tests a student's ability to decode words, read fluently, and retell / comprehend a story.  In preparation for our mid-year testing, please ensure your child is reading each night at home.  Please use the discussion guidelines on your child's weekly homework sheet to talk about his/her nightly reading.

Box Tops for Education:
Box Tops for Education are due next Friday, January 12th.  If you lost the collection sheet, please send Box Tops to school in a plastic bag labeled with your child's name.

Materials Collections for STEAM Expo:
I'll be sending a flyer home next week about supplies the 1st grade classes need for Pinebrook's annual STEAM Expo.  During STEAM Expo, we spend a school day exploring various topics through the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math.  To make the day possible, we are collecting the following supplies:  cardboard, straws, tape, popsicle and craft sticks, toilet paper and paper towel rolls, index cards, pipe cleaners, construction paper, and cardstock. If you are able to donate any of these items, please send them to school with your child.  You may collect and send supplies through February.  Thank you!

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will talk about good reader strategies to use when exploring non-fiction texts.  We will practice retelling fiction stories.
• Writing:  We will write stories with a beginning, middle, and end while focusing on editing our writing for capital letters, punctuation, spacing, and properly spelled sight words.
• Math:  We will finish our Subtraction unit.  We will begin our Fact Families unit.  A fact family is made up of 2 addition sentences and 2 subtraction sentences.  All 4 math facts are related (thus the term fact "family") because each fact uses the same 3 digits.  For example, the fact family for 2, 3, and 5 looks like this:
• 2 + 3 = 5
• 3 + 2 = 5
• 5 - 2 = 3
• 5 - 3 = 2
• Science:  We will talk about winter changes and how animals prepare for winter.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

It's going to be cold this weekend!  Time to make soup in the slow cooker, and curl up on the couch with a blanket and coffee.  I hope you have a relaxing weekend planned after the intensity of the holidays.

Happy New Year and Quick Update!

Hi Everyone!

Happy, Happy, Happy New Year!  I have had coffee, cookies, and too many carbs.  I have read books, slept late, spent endless days in my workout clothes (even if I never got around to working out!), and binge watched Hulu.  I suppose it's time to return to routines, wear pants with buttons, and cook something with vegetables.  :)

This week, school will also be about reestablishing routines, reminding the kids about rules and expectations, and reconnecting as a classroom family.  

Here's the rest of your classroom news:

Mid-Year Literacy Testing:
Over the next month, I will administer the mid-year Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA).  Remember, the DRA tests a student's ability to decode words, read fluently, and retell / comprehend a story.  In preparation for our mid-year testing, please ensure your child is reading each night at home.  Please use the discussion guidelines on your child's weekly homework sheet to talk about his/her nightly reading.

No Written Homework or Sound of the Week:
We will not have new sight words or a new Sound of the Week this week, so there will be no written homework.  Please get back into the routine of reading every night for 20 minutes.  Please remember to record your child's reading in his/her agenda.

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will be reviewing our good reader strategies for our mid-year literacy testing.
• Writing:  We will write about our New Year's goals and resolutions.
• Math:  We will finish our Subtraction unit, in which we learn strategies for quickly solving subtraction facts.
• Science:  We will talk about winter changes and how animals prepare for winter. 
• Social Studies:  In preparation or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we will talk about Dr. King, his life, and his contributions to our country.

As 2018 begins, I wish each of you a year filled with joy, peace, and happiness.  I remain thankful for the blessing of your sweet children, you, and the support you offer each day.  Please let me know how I can assist you in the new year!