Tuesday, March 5, 2013
March Volunteer Schedule
Just a note that March's parent volunteer schedule is now posted. Click on the volunteer schedule tab above to see this month's schedule.
March Already?!?
Hi parents,
It's time for another update on all of the exciting happenings that are going on in our first grade classroom. We have been very hard at work with our "Under the Sea" unit and have learned a lot about under water creatures. We focused on new vocabulary, list writing, sound blends, using descriptive words and making inferences.
We used the "Poisson arc-en-ciel" books to teach us about friendship, sharing, making inferences about text and inferring the author's message. We also discussed characters, setting and plot in stories and identified the "problem" in several stories and the solution and conclusion to these problems.
In math, we focused on measurement and measuring new things such as temperature, weight, volume, time, etc. We then moved on to focus more specifically on time and how to tell time. Telling time on an analog clock is a very difficult concept to grasp and we will continue to work on this in the coming months. Here are some interesting ways you could practice the concept of time with your child at home:
Kids draw the hands, dance around until the music stops, find a desk, and write the time. Teacher checks, and they start over.
These “peek-a-boo” clocks are one of the best projects I have seen for telling time! This craft is giving students the opportunity to apply the concept of time in a different way which ultimately will expand their understanding of the skill give them the confidence to feel comfortable working with time. We made these in class and they proved to be very useful during all of our time telling activities.
In the next month, we will be starting a unit on Community Helpers (Les aides dans notre communaute) and we will be learning about the people and places that make our community so special.
** Reminders:
-Home reading books and math bags will not be going home during March Break.
-March Break is next week and there is no school for students from March 11th to March 15th.
It's time for another update on all of the exciting happenings that are going on in our first grade classroom. We have been very hard at work with our "Under the Sea" unit and have learned a lot about under water creatures. We focused on new vocabulary, list writing, sound blends, using descriptive words and making inferences.
We used the "Poisson arc-en-ciel" books to teach us about friendship, sharing, making inferences about text and inferring the author's message. We also discussed characters, setting and plot in stories and identified the "problem" in several stories and the solution and conclusion to these problems.
In math, we focused on measurement and measuring new things such as temperature, weight, volume, time, etc. We then moved on to focus more specifically on time and how to tell time. Telling time on an analog clock is a very difficult concept to grasp and we will continue to work on this in the coming months. Here are some interesting ways you could practice the concept of time with your child at home:
Click on the link below for a free download of these time telling games!
Make a life size clock! (Kids can even use their arms as the arms of the clock!)
In the next month, we will be starting a unit on Community Helpers (Les aides dans notre communaute) and we will be learning about the people and places that make our community so special.
** Reminders:
-Home reading books and math bags will not be going home during March Break.
-March Break is next week and there is no school for students from March 11th to March 15th.
Friday, February 8, 2013
February Update
Hi parents!
Just wanted to check in about a couple new things coming up in our classroom. We have been hard at work with out "Sous l'ocean" Unit (Under the Sea) and have been learning about whales (les baleines), starfish (les etoiles de mer), fish (les poissons), and many other sea creatures.
In literacy, we are continuing to focus on sound blends (like the sounds "oi", "au", "on", "ou", "in", etc. We are learning about writing lists and about components of stories (such as characters, setting, author's message, etc.) We are also continuing to focus on our sight words or "Mots magiques". For a list of these words, check out this blog post.
In math, we are focusing on measurement and measuring weight, length, height, temperature, volume and time. The students are loving exploring our different measurement centers and learning how to estimate measurements before measuring and checking to see if their guesses are accurate. We are just beginning to learn about telling time (the current focus is time on the hour, ie. 3:00, 6:00, 7:00) and we will continue to focus on telling time in future weeks and will start to learn about half hours as well. We encourage you to practice these skills at home as well as this is often a difficult concept for students to grasp at first and will require lots of practice for some.
We had hoped to send home our math bags this week but due to some technical difficulties, the math bags (your child's math homework in the form of math games that you can play to practice math skills with them) will go home starting on Monday. These math bags will be sent home every Monday and should be returned by the following Friday. These games can be played as many times as you would like and are intended to practice skills we are currently working on at school.
Also, report cards went home Wednesday February 6th and I ask that you please review your child's report with him or her and fill out the last page of the report card and return it to school. If you have any questions regarding your child's report card or their progress, please don't hesitate to contact me.
*** Important note: We are hoping to make small shoebox aquariums for our structures program in 2 weeks. We are asking that parents send in one small shoebox (or similar sized box) in with their child so that we may plan, create and present our shoebox aquariums as part of our structures program. Thanks parents!
Just wanted to check in about a couple new things coming up in our classroom. We have been hard at work with out "Sous l'ocean" Unit (Under the Sea) and have been learning about whales (les baleines), starfish (les etoiles de mer), fish (les poissons), and many other sea creatures.
In literacy, we are continuing to focus on sound blends (like the sounds "oi", "au", "on", "ou", "in", etc. We are learning about writing lists and about components of stories (such as characters, setting, author's message, etc.) We are also continuing to focus on our sight words or "Mots magiques". For a list of these words, check out this blog post.
In math, we are focusing on measurement and measuring weight, length, height, temperature, volume and time. The students are loving exploring our different measurement centers and learning how to estimate measurements before measuring and checking to see if their guesses are accurate. We are just beginning to learn about telling time (the current focus is time on the hour, ie. 3:00, 6:00, 7:00) and we will continue to focus on telling time in future weeks and will start to learn about half hours as well. We encourage you to practice these skills at home as well as this is often a difficult concept for students to grasp at first and will require lots of practice for some.
We had hoped to send home our math bags this week but due to some technical difficulties, the math bags (your child's math homework in the form of math games that you can play to practice math skills with them) will go home starting on Monday. These math bags will be sent home every Monday and should be returned by the following Friday. These games can be played as many times as you would like and are intended to practice skills we are currently working on at school.
Also, report cards went home Wednesday February 6th and I ask that you please review your child's report with him or her and fill out the last page of the report card and return it to school. If you have any questions regarding your child's report card or their progress, please don't hesitate to contact me.
*** Important note: We are hoping to make small shoebox aquariums for our structures program in 2 weeks. We are asking that parents send in one small shoebox (or similar sized box) in with their child so that we may plan, create and present our shoebox aquariums as part of our structures program. Thanks parents!
Monday, January 14, 2013
A couple friendly reminders :)
Hi firstie parents! Just a couple of quick things and reminders for you.
1. Blog Post Reminder: I have sent home a message in your child's agenda today stating that there is a new blog post because I am finding that parents are not checking the blog for important information. This is partially my fault, as I have not been posting as regularly as I would have hoped but I will now be posting important information here instead of sending home paper copies in order to make an effort to save trees.
2. Parent Volunteer Schedules: I will no longer be sending home paper copies of the parent volunteer schedules. I will post them on the blog and they can easily be found under the "Volunteer Schedules" tab above.
3. Volunteering: If your name does not appear on the volunteer schedule and you would like it to, please contact me by email. Also, please understand that we have a large number of parents and grandparents who would like to volunteer and I am sometimes unable to accomodate everyone. I am doing my best to make a schedule that works for all. Also, it is important to note that the times are now indicated on the volunteer schedule. Some morning shifts do not begin until 10:00am. I know this is not as convenient as the 9:10am start but unfortunately, I frequently have a prep period (and the students are at gym class) first thing in the morning and therefore I am unable to have parents begin right at 9:10. If you are unable to make your scheduled volunteer time, please let me know and I will make changes. Remember that these are just suggested times. You are wonderful to volunteer your time but are by no means obligated to.
4. Home Reading Program: There is some confusion about when books go home and when they are returned. Books will continue to be sent home on Wednesdays and should be returned no later than the following Tuesday. Please ensure that your child completes their homework, returns the book (in its plastic bag), their homework bag, and the coloured in book mark. Homework is not optional and if it is not returned completed by Wednesday, I will make note that it is incomplete and I will not send another book home with the student.
5. Math Bags: Our math homework or "Sacs de maths" program will begin shortly. I will include a detailed description of how this program will work on my blog so please be sure to check here for more information when the math bags come home. Thanks!
1. Blog Post Reminder: I have sent home a message in your child's agenda today stating that there is a new blog post because I am finding that parents are not checking the blog for important information. This is partially my fault, as I have not been posting as regularly as I would have hoped but I will now be posting important information here instead of sending home paper copies in order to make an effort to save trees.
2. Parent Volunteer Schedules: I will no longer be sending home paper copies of the parent volunteer schedules. I will post them on the blog and they can easily be found under the "Volunteer Schedules" tab above.
3. Volunteering: If your name does not appear on the volunteer schedule and you would like it to, please contact me by email. Also, please understand that we have a large number of parents and grandparents who would like to volunteer and I am sometimes unable to accomodate everyone. I am doing my best to make a schedule that works for all. Also, it is important to note that the times are now indicated on the volunteer schedule. Some morning shifts do not begin until 10:00am. I know this is not as convenient as the 9:10am start but unfortunately, I frequently have a prep period (and the students are at gym class) first thing in the morning and therefore I am unable to have parents begin right at 9:10. If you are unable to make your scheduled volunteer time, please let me know and I will make changes. Remember that these are just suggested times. You are wonderful to volunteer your time but are by no means obligated to.
4. Home Reading Program: There is some confusion about when books go home and when they are returned. Books will continue to be sent home on Wednesdays and should be returned no later than the following Tuesday. Please ensure that your child completes their homework, returns the book (in its plastic bag), their homework bag, and the coloured in book mark. Homework is not optional and if it is not returned completed by Wednesday, I will make note that it is incomplete and I will not send another book home with the student.
5. Math Bags: Our math homework or "Sacs de maths" program will begin shortly. I will include a detailed description of how this program will work on my blog so please be sure to check here for more information when the math bags come home. Thanks!
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Happy New Year!!
Hi Broadview parents and Happy New Year! I hope that you are all doing well and avoiding the nasty flu bugs going around. I am so glad to be back in the classroom (don’t get me wrong, I love the holidays, but I really love being with my firsties and back in our routine!). Just thought I’d give you a little update about what we are doing for the first few weeks of January and clear up a few things that some parents have asked me questions about.
Firstly, we are currently working on a snow man unit (“Les bonhommes de neige!”) after reading the book “La vie secrete des bonhommes de neige” (The Secret Lives of Snowmen).
We are using our imaginations to create short stories about what we would do if we were snowmen and what we think snowmen (and snow women) at night when we are asleep.
For a neat visual art and language project, next week’s “Les structures” program will entail planning and building a snow creature out of clay and firing it in the kiln at Dovercourt. The students will then present it to the class and also have an interview with Madame to explain it in French!
In math, we are continuing to work on basic addition and subtraction. Most of us are finding that subtraction is a little trickier and we could use some practice at home. In the next couple of weeks, our math game/homework program will begin and this will provide great opportunities for practice. Another great way to practice would be with websites such as this one:
and games like these:
Check it out with your son or daughter today! J
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