Greetings!
Our first week back went smoothly. We saw the eclipse, started researching how to care for our soon to be coming pet bearded dragon, and did a lot of great get to know you and team building activities, both with ourselves and our Mountain Lion Mentor class! We kicked off the year with a take home art project of a collage so we could help both mentor classes get to know each other better, and we started reading the book “Wonder” by Raquel J. Palacio which we will be writing a book report on in class.
Heading into the second week, here’s the top things to know about!
- The Get to Know You collage is due on Wednesday. It needs to have a picture of your student, and your student’s name. Anything else they put on it is up to them, but ideally it will help us get to know your student better!
- I sent home an “anti-permission” slip last week. Please, only sign it if you do not wish to have your child touch the bearded dragon.
- This week we are starting a more normal work cycle that will include quiet reading time when they arrive each morning. Please start looking for books to send in with your child so they are reading what interests them. Any age and school appropriate material works great for me. I have lots of books in the classroom as well which they are welcome to explore, but often a book that the child owns, loves, and has chosen themselves is far more powerful.
- Please sign up for snacks! We will need everyone to volunteer for at least two weeks out of the year. These snacks really keep us going throughout the day and are much appreciated in our classroom.
Along with a normal work cycle comes the start of assessments. Ms. Nicoletta, our instructional coach, will be coming in to our classroom regularly throughout the week to help me with math, language, and writing assessments. These assessments help us figure out where to begin teaching your child, and Nicoletta is helping to guide me through them so we can ensure that your child is placed with work that will challenge him or her.
This week we will also be exploring the Great Lessons, starting with the Birth of the Universe and moving through the Story of Man. There will be no take home projects associated with the Great Lessons, but we will be tying them into timelines. We will be making timelines of our lives, so please start talking with your child about the events that have made up their lives. These can be anything from the birth of siblings, to moving homes, to any significant event that can be plotted on a time line. Please feel free to send in pictures if you have them so your child can decorate their timelines.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to email me.