News and Notes

Thank you all for supporting the Scholastic Book Fair. I love the new classroom books, and it is such a joy bringing the children to the fair and watching their faces light up at all of the great literature. I must say, your children are quite discerning customers! They certainly know books and what reading is all about. I thank you again for sending your child to school so well prepared to learn. Please remember your child's "Family History Bag." Let me know if you would like me to email a copy of the directions for this project:) I would love to have them in the first week of November so that children can begin presenting. Our Family Unit will begin in mid-November!

Also, I sent home everything in your child's locker on Friday. I like to disinfect the lockers every once in a while, especially since cold season has begun! I didn't check your  child's change of clothes, so they might still be in condition and weather-appropriate; however, sending them home gives you the option to exchange them for warmer (or bigger) clothing. Some children choose not to use quiet time items, but many still do. Feel free to send in a small blanket or towel with your child.

I hope you all enjoyed looking over your child's school photos!

A few things to consider:

1. I have edited both the "instruction" and "Thursday" website pages. I will be moving the Telian PowerPoint to the curriculum page. The instruction page is intended to expand upon the curriculum and its implementation in the classroom. I hope this is helpful. Please let me know if you are unable to access the new pages.

2. I apologize for causing any confusion over the Thursday afternoon sessions. Kindly read the website page "Thursdays," and I believe it will clarify both the purpose and process behind the Thursday afternoon small instructional groups. We are so fortunate that the superintendent provided this special time for individualized instruction for our kindergarten students. Thursday afternoons are utilized in the same way across the district, and our data shows that full day kindergarten and Thursday instructional groups are having a positive impact on student achievement.

3. The ball chairs have arrived! Kindly see the "instruction" page on the website for further information. I will keep you posted on our progress!

Straight posture takes training! We will begin using the balls Monday:)

4. I will no longer be using the website as a tool to communicate current curriculum, news or information. The site is current and informative; however, I believe that it is easier for everyone to use one tool for direct communication, the blog. In other words, I won't be asking you on the blog to go the website. Consider the website a cache of important information which you can repeatedly access. The blog is the easiest, most efficient way to communicate information to you directly. Please do feel free to comment. I would love to hear from you, and it is a great vehicle for you to communicate ideas with each other! Unfortunately, Google Blogger does not allow for more than 10 direct email notifications, so I suggest you use the feed tool and social networking options for alerts!

START BLOGGING!

5. We have learned 4 new Lively Letters: o, a, m, n. We have begun "starting corner capitals" in handwriting, and after a successful Five Senses mini-unit, we will be returning to our Properties Unit, "properties of solids, liquids and gases." In Math we continue to work on Counting and Comparing; however, we will, of course, deviate slightly so our little pumpkins can explore and weigh some pumpkins. It is the week before Halloween after all!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

A glimpse into the classroom...

Welcome to the "Book Nook."

Making personal dictionaries for sight word reading and vocabulary building.

The bee boxes at Lands Sake Farm. We all tasted some of their sweet honey!

Writing with a purpose: "Button Shop to the right!"

Volunteer Opportunity

Please consider helping out on the following dates/capacities:


Stephanie and Fiona will be sending a follow-up email to handle the volunteer scheduling. Thank you!

1. Scholastic Book Fair Classroom Visit: October 21  11:30-12:00.
I am looking for 2 volunteer to help small groups of students choose and pay for books.

Our class visits the book fair!
October 21
Send money in an envelop if you want your child to purchase books!
*Kindly label the envelop to simplify the purchasing process.*

2. Hearing and Vision Testing: October 26   10:15-11:30
I am looking for 2 or 3 volunteers to guide the transition for small groups of students to and from the      Health Office.

Hearing and Vision Testing
October 21
{All children will escorted to and from the Health Office to minimize the impact on classroom instruction.}

Thank you very much!

Website

Be sure and check out the Powerpoint presentation on Telian Lively Letters posted on the Home page of the classroom website: http://thoreau.colonial.net/Teachers/Silven/.

Let me know if you are unable to open it. Also, please note that there are components of the program that will be covered in later grades; thus, the later slides may not be relevant or applicable to your child's program this year. Let me know if you have any questions!

Finally, the website for Lands Sake Farm is: http://www.landssake.org/.

Telian Lively Letters

Here are the letters we have studied thus far. Coming this week: the "cute baby" letter o, "the apple" letter a and the letter m!

News and Notes

Dear families,

The year has certainly picked up momentum! We are now fully engaged in all areas of the curriculum and have begun our in-depth units of study including workbooks, interactive technology, direct instruction, partner and small group work, centers and workshops. We have recently completed our first unit in the TERC Investigations curriculum and will begin Unit 2 this week!

Classroom jobs:

The children and I generated a list of jobs that we need to keep our classroom community peaceful, organized and productive. This week the children will each be assigned a job for the week. Jobs include:

1. The "Name Writer" who checks to make sure everyone remembered to put her/his name of papers
2. The Inspectors, who job it is to make sure the room is neat and tidy!
3. The Safety Officers who check around the room and hallway for potential hazards (e.g. open lockers, slippery marker caps on the floor ...)
4. The Messengers who bring the attendance and notes to the office and other teachers as needed
5. "Footprints" who leads the line and sets the pace and direction of the line in the hallways
6. The Light Helper
7. The Bell Caller who gives the 5-minute clean up reminder and rings the bell for clean up
8. The Peacemakers who help solve minor issues throughout the day
9. The Line Inspector
10. Chair Patrol who help push in chairs so that nobody trips!
11. The Reporter who finds out necessary information and reports back (what day of school it is, etc.)
12. The Distributor who hands out papers and other items

*Look for additional posts today and tomorrow!