Dear parents,
I am happy to report we have had a successful first four days in first grade! Thank you for helping to make it so great!
A few reminders:
Homework
Reading Minutes
Please begin to establish the habit of reading for 15-20 minutes per day. Help your child select books that are EASY for him/her to read (At or BELOW their reading level). If your child is not yet reading, it is perfectly fine to read to them. It is actually highly recommended that you continue to read to your child for many years after they are reading independently. This way they can hear reading modeled fluently and it can also be a bonding time for you and your child. However, let them do some of the work too! Beginning readers need lots of practice.
There should be a blue September Reading Calendar in your child’s Homework Binder. Begin recording reading minutes right away! At the end of the month, kids who return their calendar will earn a book charm. Those who reach the 400 minute monthly goal will earn two book charms. Those who read more than 400 minutes will earn three and those who read 800 minutes will earn four! First grade is ALL about reading, so please make this a priority this year. Thank you!!
“Me in a Bag”
Hopefully, you have seen in your child’s Homework Binder a brown paper bag and directions for our “Me in a Bag” homework assignment. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. It is meant to be an easy and simple way for us to get to know each other better. I shared my bag today and my five items were a plum, a turquoise marker, a teacher/angel figurine, an ultrasound photo of my baby, and a photo of me wakeboarding. Ask your child if they can remember why I picked each of those items. Return these bags to school as soon as possible. Thanks!
Spelling Words
This week, our class is studying words with the short /a/ sound. There is a parent letter and spelling list in your child’s Homework Binder. If your child got a 100% on our spelling pre-test last week, then I gave him/her a Challenge List to practice. Our first spelling test will be this Friday, September 13.
Math
I will be sending home a Topic 1 math packet tomorrow. Please complete lessons 1, 2, and 3 this week. I would like your child to always complete the Reteaching and Practice pages. The Enrichment pages are there for a challenge. They are recommended but not mandatory.
Unfinished Work
If you see unfinished work coming home, please have your child complete it at home and return it to school for credit.
Our Learning
In class, we have been practicing a lot of routines and have been spending time getting to know one another. We are also learning what it means to get along with others and be respectful. We discussed the importance of being respectful and responsible and what those both look and sound like. Next, we will discuss safety and being ready to learn.
On the first day of school, I read the class “First Day Jitters.” After that, we wrote about one thing we each were nervous about before coming to school this morning. We had fun with it and the discussion seemed to help put everyone at ease and made us laugh about how scared we all were for the first day. I am putting each child’s writing into a class book that they will be able to read all year long in our classroom library. I continue to read them many different stories surrounding the theme of back to school.
In math, we are beginning to work with addition and counting “how many in all.” In writing, we will learn how to write small moment stories and add details to bring them to life. We are also working on handwriting and forming our letters correctly. It seems that we need a LOT of work on this. In Word Work, we are practicing reading and spelling short /a/ CVC words, such as had, cat, and ham.
Thank you to those parents who signed up at Meet the Teacher to volunteer their time to help our class this year. We will get a classroom volunteer schedule going soon. Stay tuned.
That’s all for now! Have a good night!
Amanda Zylstra
I am happy to report we have had a successful first four days in first grade! Thank you for helping to make it so great!
A few reminders:
- Please send your child’s Homework Binder to school each day and check it each night.
- Remember to eat a healthy breakfast each morning so your child is ready to learn.
- Please send your child to school with a small healthy snack or two. We have two quick snack breaks during the day.
- Please do NOT send your child to school wearing flip-flops – we get many stepped on toes, twisted ankles, etc.
- Popcorn Tuesdays are here! Send your child to school with a quarter on Tuesdays so they may purchase a bag of popcorn at lunch time. They love this!
Homework
Reading Minutes
Please begin to establish the habit of reading for 15-20 minutes per day. Help your child select books that are EASY for him/her to read (At or BELOW their reading level). If your child is not yet reading, it is perfectly fine to read to them. It is actually highly recommended that you continue to read to your child for many years after they are reading independently. This way they can hear reading modeled fluently and it can also be a bonding time for you and your child. However, let them do some of the work too! Beginning readers need lots of practice.
There should be a blue September Reading Calendar in your child’s Homework Binder. Begin recording reading minutes right away! At the end of the month, kids who return their calendar will earn a book charm. Those who reach the 400 minute monthly goal will earn two book charms. Those who read more than 400 minutes will earn three and those who read 800 minutes will earn four! First grade is ALL about reading, so please make this a priority this year. Thank you!!
“Me in a Bag”
Hopefully, you have seen in your child’s Homework Binder a brown paper bag and directions for our “Me in a Bag” homework assignment. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. It is meant to be an easy and simple way for us to get to know each other better. I shared my bag today and my five items were a plum, a turquoise marker, a teacher/angel figurine, an ultrasound photo of my baby, and a photo of me wakeboarding. Ask your child if they can remember why I picked each of those items. Return these bags to school as soon as possible. Thanks!
Spelling Words
This week, our class is studying words with the short /a/ sound. There is a parent letter and spelling list in your child’s Homework Binder. If your child got a 100% on our spelling pre-test last week, then I gave him/her a Challenge List to practice. Our first spelling test will be this Friday, September 13.
Math
I will be sending home a Topic 1 math packet tomorrow. Please complete lessons 1, 2, and 3 this week. I would like your child to always complete the Reteaching and Practice pages. The Enrichment pages are there for a challenge. They are recommended but not mandatory.
Unfinished Work
If you see unfinished work coming home, please have your child complete it at home and return it to school for credit.
Our Learning
In class, we have been practicing a lot of routines and have been spending time getting to know one another. We are also learning what it means to get along with others and be respectful. We discussed the importance of being respectful and responsible and what those both look and sound like. Next, we will discuss safety and being ready to learn.
On the first day of school, I read the class “First Day Jitters.” After that, we wrote about one thing we each were nervous about before coming to school this morning. We had fun with it and the discussion seemed to help put everyone at ease and made us laugh about how scared we all were for the first day. I am putting each child’s writing into a class book that they will be able to read all year long in our classroom library. I continue to read them many different stories surrounding the theme of back to school.
In math, we are beginning to work with addition and counting “how many in all.” In writing, we will learn how to write small moment stories and add details to bring them to life. We are also working on handwriting and forming our letters correctly. It seems that we need a LOT of work on this. In Word Work, we are practicing reading and spelling short /a/ CVC words, such as had, cat, and ham.
Thank you to those parents who signed up at Meet the Teacher to volunteer their time to help our class this year. We will get a classroom volunteer schedule going soon. Stay tuned.
That’s all for now! Have a good night!
Amanda Zylstra