What a BUSY WEEK!!!

Is it Friday yet!?!?  If your children didn't tell you, we've had a busy week this week (and it is only Wednesday).  Monday I was out sick, Tuesday I came back to find out that the School District had Benchmark Math Assessments (due Friday), and then today we had visitors from a partner with the District named West Ed. that walked around the school with clipboards to verify that all teachers are providing the highest quality of instruction to the students.  I was pulled out to attend a walkthrough this morning, which meant the students were left in the hands of a "guest" teacher for the second time this week.  As important as these things may be to keeping and maintaining a positive and academically sound learning environment here at Cordelia Hills, eventually they have to stop and give everyone a break.  The teachers are also expected to turn in Progress Reports at the end of this week as well.  I don't know about you, but this kind of feels like a lot of things to put into one week.  How are the students expected to maintain and function routinely with all of the "disorder" they've been asked to endure this week??  Please note, I am not complaining about all of these extra activities, I just wish someone higher up the "educational ladder" than I would have the common sense to see that pacing all of these "important" things over the course of the month, rather than in one week, might provide better results to all involved.

Moving away from that comment, I would like to tell all of you how proud I am of my class this year.  They are working very hard and maintaining a strong commitment to achieving their learning goals.  Both Kinders and 1st Graders are showing tremendous growth in Reading and Writing, and continue to excel in proving their knowledge of math objectives.  They received high praise from both "guest" teachers, and that is a reflection of the work all of you parents are doing with your children at home.  THANK YOU!!!

Next week I truly hope to begin book bags, as well as Guided Reading in the classroom, to help motivate and fulfill the reading desires of our hungry little book worms.  It's been a very busy week for all of us at school though, so please understand if it's not up and running on Monday.  I'm still working out the Reading Groups for the class so that the students are best paired by ability level.  I want to make sure these Reading Groups are effective and beneficial to all of my students.

Thanks again for all of you who provided sports pics to the class.  We should have a lot of fun making our Sports collages later this week.  I've been reminding the class, but they may not have relayed the message home, if you wish to be a part of our school's Recipe Book, please send in a family recipe with your child by Monday, so that I can submit it to the PTA for you. 

-Mr. Linnet

Send pictures in with your children...

...hey everybody, we will be focusing on "Sports" next week in 1st Grade, and continuing with the theme of "Friends" in Kindergarten.  If any of you have cool sports magazines, or pictures that you can donate to the classroom, we will use them to make colages.  Also any sports pictures of your child that you want to send in we can use for a mural in the classroom, as well as inspiration for a writing topic.  Only send what you are willing to lose, you know how 5-7 year olds can be when they are excited.  I'd hate to have a cherished family picture cut-up, glued-on, or massacred in some other creative way.  Copies printed off the computer are fine, or you can email them to me and I will upload them in the classroom.

My work email is: nicl@fsusd.k12.ca.us

Looking forward to seeing all the great photos.

"He could go all  the wayyyyyyyyy!!!"

"He shoots, he scores!!  GOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!"

"It's a deep fly ball, it's going, going, going, back, back, back, back, it could be, IT'S OUTTA HERE!!!!"

-Mr. Linnet

P.S.  Feel free to comment back with your favorite sport's quotes.  Maybe they will end up on the mural.

Welcome Parents...

...I hope you found this site easy enough.  Please take the time to read my messages and feel free to add comments of your own.  I'd love to get input from you as well.  You can choose to "follow" this blog and then you should receive an email announcement any time I update with a new "post".

I may tinker with the visuals from time to time, but I am going to try to keep the basic display the same.  My intention with this project is to use the "social network" to relay information with all of you.  I may also share thoughts or ideas with other teachers that check it out.  If you like the site and want to share it with other teachers, friends, etc., then please feel free.  I want this site to be useful to people, so if it is not then I would like to know. 

Have a great day and I'll see you later.

Mr. Linnet

We've made it through the 1st Month of School...

...and it has been a busy one.  We started out with 30 students in my class, then reduced it down to 28.  The students have been working really hard, and I feel like I never stop working.  19 Kinders and 9 First Graders in one room is A LOT!!!  As you may have already noticed, the students have become comfortable with my routines, and are learning how to work together in the classroom.  We do seatwork skills (writing/ identifying syllables/ reading/ etc.), do some activities at the carpet (attendance/ calendar/ stories/ sight-word practice/ etc.), then return to our tables for more skill work.  After recess we do Center activities (computers/ books/ word sorts/ writing/ manipulatives/ art/ etc.), return to the carpet for another story, and then do math while the First Graders are at lunch.  After the Kinders leave, we do writing practice, have PE, then end the day with some Math and the occasional History or Science lesson.  I try to keep the routine set, as I have found it keeps my students motivated and willing to work hard and stay on task.  The homework packets are thoughtfully prepared each week based on the skills we have practiced in class.  They go home each week on Monday and are returned by Friday.  I check them in myself each weekend, offering any comments I think are relevant, then start the cycle over again.  This detailed account might sound a little boring, but I do try to have fun in my class whenever possible with my students.  Now that the busy work is out of the way, let me leave you all with my favorite lesson of the week:  Apple Muffins!!

We have been reviewing the letters and sounds for Aa and Mm.  As a culmination for the 3 week focus, I decided to surprise my students with a culinary lesson making (A)pple (M)uffins.  We mixed up all the ingredients together in class, set them in muffin cups, and baked them during lunch at the staff room.  While the muffins cooled, the students made little flags labeling their "phonetic morsels".  They wrote an (a) on the apple flag and colored it, then wrote an (m) on the muffin flag and colored it.  We put the flags on the muffins with toothpicks, then they brought the muffin home to share their edible lesson with the family.  Everyone had a great time and walked away with a personal connection to the letters "Aa" and "Mm".  To all you teachers reading this, I definitely recommend adding cooking to your Educational Arsenal.  The kids love it and you know they will remember your intended learning objective while they "eat it"!!

Progress Reports will be going home early in October, so if I don't post again for a couple weeks, please understand how busy I am getting them prepared.  Please comment and let me know what you would like to hear about, or what you think of my little blog.  Not really sure how this works, but am giving it my best!!

*P.S.  - Please don't put names on the site.  I am trying to be vague on individual names until I create some alternate names for my students.  I want to be considerate of privacy laws and respectful of my families.  Photos will come in the future when I learn how to post some w/o actually putting my students on (maybe examples of student work or pics of my empty room, not sure yet).  Thank you for respecting the privacy of others!!