Week of January 2-3, 2013

Week of January 2-3, 2013

Getting Back to School

Show and Share: January 3-Something they received over the holiday break

Happy New Year! As we ease back into our school schedule the two days we are in school this week will be a review week. We will be reviewing previously learned letters and numbers as well as reviewing the classroom routine and rules.

Now that the weather is officially cold and snowy your children may be wearing more layers including boots, hats and mittens. It is helpful if you put your child's name inside of all of these items so that when we are getting dressed to go home we can find who stray mittens and hats belong to. If your child is wearing heavier snow boots to school please pack an extra pair of shoes for them to change into while they are at school.

As a reminder school starts at 8:30 in the a.m. and 12:00 in the p.m. All children need to be to school by that time, it allows them to perform their arrival activities and begin centers with the rest of the class. Try setting the alarm possibly 10 minutes earlier this week as they come back to school so no one has to feel rushed as they are getting ready. Another great idea is to set a timer and see if your child can get ready for school before the timer goes off. The timer can also serve as a reminder that when it goes off it is time to leave. I understand that mornings can be a little rough when trying to get everyone out the door but gentle reminders that it is important to be at school on time and that you will be leaving when the timer goes off even if they have not completed everything can be helpful, it also send the message that you think it is important to be at school on time. I appreciate your support regarding this matter.

As we start the new year we have some students that have joined our classes who have not had the opportunity to respond to being a classroom reader. Research shows that child who are read to and engage in reading activities such as listening to reading improve their language skills as well as their early reading skills. Children need to know that in books words are not the only part that tell a story but the pictures also tell a story. While looking at books with your child have them use the pictures to tell what they think is happening in the story, this is a good pre-reading skill. Once a week in the classroom I have guest readers come into the classroom to sit with the children and read books with them, listening to reading is also an important part of pre-reading/reading skills. Typically these guest readers are parents, however, Mr. Martin the principal has also joined us for these reading sessions. Guest readers come into the classroom on Wednesdays, 8:30-8:50 and 12:00-12:20, and sit with the children on the carpet and read books with them. If you are interested in being a guest reader please send me an email so that I can add you to my list of guest readers. If you have previously sent me an email agreeing to be a guest reader please send me another email confirming that you would like to continue to be a guest reader. Once I have the responses I will send out a calendar so that you know when your scheduled time will be.  

I am in need of some empty egg cartons to hold some classroom supplies, if you have any at home I would appreciate it if you could send them in to school.