Weekly Update

Hi Everyone!

Sorry I did not have the opportunity to post on my classroom blog this weekend! 

Here's Your Weekly Update...

Please Subscribe to My Blog!
I know I keep posting about this each week, but I can't stress how important it is to subscribe to the classroom blog so I don't have to post information in several different locations. Please enter your email address in the box to the right that says "follow by email." You will receive a confirmation email to verify your subscription. Please click the link in the email to verify your email address. You will then receive an automatic notification each time I've published a message. Please don't skip that important last step--you MUST verify/confirm your email address to be subscribed. ***Please note: At the end of September, I will no longer send an email to notify you of content on the blog. You must be subscribed to receive classroom news and updates.***

Homework Starts Today!
The kids have practiced doing their homework in class last week. This week, they will begin to do their homework at home. I have taped the homework routine to the inside front cover of their homework journals. Please read that for the outline of what to do each day. A few notes about homework:

• I will send homework journals home on Tuesdays, since that is the day the written homework begins each week.
• Homework journals are due back on Fridays. I will check homework journals on Fridays. Your child will receive a completion grade. 
• The homework journal gives your child practice writing the 1st Grade Words of the Week. I will assign 5 words each week. On some pages of the homework journal, there is room to practice more than 5 words. Your child should, at a minimum, practice the 5 words for that week. Your child may use the rest of the room on the homework page to practice writing any other words from our 1st grade list. This is encouraged, but not required. The first grade sight word list can be found on the first grade page of the Puma Paw newsletter. You can visit the Puma Paw by clicking on the link on the Pinebrook home page.

Ice Cream:

As a general rule, ice cream will now be available for sale on Fridays in the cafeteria. Your child may buy ice cream to eat with a school lunch, or to eat with a packed lunch. I don't ask the kids if they are buying ice cream on Fridays; I expect them to know whether they have permission to purchase ice cream. If students are bringing money for ice cream, please put it in a sealed envelope or baggie with their name, teacher's name, and student ID number, so it can be taken to the cafeteria for their lunch account. 

Library Books:

Please help your child remember his/her library books each Monday. Books must be returned each week in order to checkout new ones. 

Focus Areas for This Week:

• Reading-We will begin learning and practicing good habits that readers develop/use and setup a reader's workshop routine.
• Writing-We will continue handwriting practice, emphasizing proper letter formation and starting letters at the top. 
• Math-We will continue learning the routines and procedures of Math Workshop as we finish our number sense and counting unit. Please support your child with skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s at home, as well as, counting forwards and backwards from 30.
• Science-We will talk about the 4 seasons, earth's rotation on its axis and around the sun, and why we have day and night. 

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

I hope everyone had a wonderful dreary weekend! We had beautiful weather in Connecticut for our friend's wedding! It was such a special weekend!