Healthy Classroom

In an effort to establish a healthy classroom, please try to keep your child home if they are sick. Wash hands often and use hand sanitizer when necessary. This is the time of year when many of us feel under the weather. I am keeping sanitizer and kleenex within easy reach of students. I am also being liberal with water and bathroom passes in an effort to help Room 5 stay healthy. If you know your child is sick, let me know, I will send work home. If we work together, we can battle this flu season.

Spelling Words, 9/8/09

Room five doesn't have conventional spelling tests, but we do look at a spelling pattern each week, and use this pattern to help us read and write more fluently. Usually the spelling review is done using the activotes and the Promethean. Ask your student about the activotes, they are pretty cool.

Spelling words this week concentrate on the long 'a' and the short 'a'. Students learn how a silent 'e' changes the sound of the vowel. For example 'man' and 'mane'.

This week's words:
bag
cap
ham
bake
ate
mad
back
cape
made
rake
Review words: fog, tug
High Frequency words: different, number, other

Feel free to work with your student on this spelling pattern and these words.

Reading

Room 5 has a great classroom library. It has taken me years to collect enough books to interest and appeal to everybody. Your student gets to choose three of my books a week to keep at their desk to read. You should begin or expand your library at home as well. Go to the library and keep library books next to your child's bed. I also find many books (cheap) at the Goodwill. Whenever you can buy your child books, this will not only help them on their weekly homework, but will help them become better readers.

On a side note, Homework Packets are due Friday since this is a short week.

Make 10

Today I introduced a new game that you might want to duplicate at home. It is called Make 10. We play with number cards but you can use a deck of regular cards (take out face cards) or Uno cards. Students lay out 4 rows of 5 cards. They take turns choosing two cards that equal 10 when added together. They then replace the cards they took. Keep playing until the deck is empty. I found that many students stumbled trying to make 10. They didn't know which cards to use. Try practicing this at home.

Technology in the Classroom

Yay! Our classroom laptops are up and running in Room 5. I am so excited to have this learning tool to share with your child. My next step is to buy a mouse to go with each computer so that students do not have to try to navigate using the internal mouse (that sensory pad). In the beginning students will be asked to play simple educational games, type in Word, and draw in Paint. These activities are designed to help your child better understand the laptops and how they work. If you have one at home feel free to look at the educational websites I posted last week and allow them to explore with Word and Paint.

September 2

Well, the weather is beautiful. Take advantage of it by doing something outside with your child. Today in the classroom, we are going to take the time to go outside and look at the shadows. (Cross your fingers that the sun keeps shining).

First of September

A Few Notes:

Sorry I didn't blog yesterday. The school server was down. As is, I am posting this from home.

A new week is here. Homework Packets went home, be sure to get them done to be turned in on Thursday.

Thank you so much, all weekly reports came back this week. What a great turnout! Look for them this Friday as well.

This weeks spelling pattern is short e, o, and u vowel sounds. Make sure your child knows all five short vowel sounds and examples of them.