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
Monday, December 10, 2012
Sight Words!
Hello Firstie Parents!!
Another quick update about what is happening in Room 7… We are still really enjoying having Louis le lutin visiting our room. This morning he greeted us by zip-lining through the class. Madame Byrd was worried about his safety but he made it down the zip line no problem and the kids were very excited.
We are continuing to work on sight words and are using our Sensory Table and Word Work Table to work on reading and recognizing sight words. The sight words (high frequency words that we would like to know ‘by heart’) we are working on and that you could work on at home are as follows:
-Le
-La
-Les
-Un
-Une
-Des
-Chat
-Bonjour
-Va
-Louis
-Tu
-Ami
-Me
As promised to a few parents in Parent-Teacher interviews, here are some “Sneaky No-Learning Teaching Tricks” (i.e ways to work on these sight words with your child if you are struggling to get them to sit down and do the dreaded “homework”).
Sight Word Stacks
Write a different sight word on each foam square. Then, put them all in a bag. Pair up the students and have them take turns picking a foam square out of the bag. If they can read the sight word that's on the square they get to keep it and add it to their stack. With each word they get their stack grows. If their stack of foam squares topples over they have to put them back in the bag.
Sight Word Twister:
Write out sight words and tape to Twister board. Kids spin and play as usual but must read and say the sight word they are about to put their hand or foot on.
Fly Swatting Sight Words:
This is a class favourite and we often do this to practice letter and number recognition as well. Write or type up sight words on a large sheet of paper or on small cards and spread out on the table, tape to the wall or put on the floor. Give the kids fly swatters (or just use a glove or bare hand) and say one of the sight words out loud. The kids are to find the sight word and swat it as quickly as possible. This is a great game to play with siblings or parents as opponents.
Sight Word Hockey:
Great for the boys!! Use a leftover strawberry container to create a hockey net and use bottle caps as pucks. The child must first read the sight word out loud and then may have the chance to shoot it into the net. They are required to at least try to read/ sound out the word before "shooting".
Sight Word Cups:
This can easily be played with plastic kids cups or Dixie cups. Write the sight words on the cups (or tape them to reusable cups) and hide a candy, toy, or some sort of prize underneath some of the cups. Kids then need to read the sight word before lifting up the cup to see if a prize is hidden underneath.
**Two things to note:
1) We are still collecting items for our Hampers for Harmony House. Our theme is Paper and Linens.
2) We are in need of items for our Sensory Bin:
- cotton balls (large)
- marshmallows
- white rice
- dried beans (any colour)
If you can donate any of these items we would be very appreciative.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Happy December!
Hi Parents!
Happy December! I hope you are finding time to enjoy the first snowflakes and snowballs with your kiddos amidst the hockey practices, holiday shopping and seasonal get togethers! If your home life is anything like our school life right now, I imagine you are very busy! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this little blog post today to learn about the exciting things going on in our classroom.
As some of you have heard, we have a very sneaky little visitor in our classroom this month. “Louis le lutin” has graced us with his presence for the month of December (he’s on special leave from the North Pole with instructions to watch out for well-behaved students and to learn about Grade 1 and our firsties) and will be returning home in a couple weeks.
So far, he has played a few sneaky little tricks on us and has left us coded messages and sweet, personalized notes for the students. We are having a great time writing to Louis and practicing letter writing, proper letter format, capitalization of names and letter at the beginning of sentences, appropriate punctuation for our sentences, and much more! Every day when we arrive, Louis is up to something new and can be found hanging from the flag pole, playing games on the computer or drinking Madame’s tea. His silliness prompts excellent discussions and wonderfully creative writing ideas.
During math centers, Louis has brought us some fun number sense and numeration games and he is trying to teach us new tricks to make simple addition easier. Our favourite so far is with a number line
(like these ones that we all have at our desks). It would be great to practice this trick at home. The trick goes like this- if your number sentence is 4 +5 = ?, you start at 4 on the number line, then count up 5. Simple as that! J
We are also starting to work on subtraction and since Louis is always stealing and hiding things, we often have to figure out how many are left… This is a problem we are working on today:
Yesterday, homework bags went home for the first time and the students were VERY excited! Please remember to do ONE sheet with your child per book and ask them to color ONE monster on their bookmark each time. I will send home books as frequently as they are returned. Please DO NOT feel that you have to return the homework nightly. You can judge whether your child is feeling overwhelmed with the amount of work or whether they need more of a challenge. Also- I welcome feedback about the home work bags! Thanks!
Lastly, as you also might have heard, this afternoon we are having a little class party!! Each group of students earned 10 behavior points so we are celebrating together with games, music, balloons and our good friend Louis might even do “Le gigue des lutins” (the Elf Jig)!
P.S – Thank you to Isaac’s mom, Tania who has brought in some play doh for us! We are still looking for more play doh, and if anyone is able to make us some we would be very grateful. J
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