Get Ready for a CRAZY MONTH!!!

Well, we made it through Halloween and all the fun that comes with it.  The kids looked great in their costumes and were very busy with Halloween-themed activities at school.  The Kindergarten class got to eat pretzels hanging on string at recess, and the 1st grade class got to make their own caramel apples.  Despite missing two days of school this past week, I was able to complete assessments of all my students in preparation for the 1st Trimester Report Cards, which we will start putting together in 2 weeks.  Which brings me to my main revelation:  WHAT IS OUR DISTRICT DOING WITH CALENDARS????

I don't know if any of you have taken the time to look at the new calendar for this year, or if you are playing it week-to-week, but this next month makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE!  The first week is normal, then the next week we only have 1 full day and 2 half-days for Report Card Planning and Veteran's Day (2 days off of school for this?).  The third week consists of 2 full days, 2 half days, and another day off for Report Card Conferences.  Then there is no school for the whole week of Thanksgiving.  For those of you keeping track at home that is only 10 teaching days the entire month (8 full days and 4 half days = 10 full days of instruction). 

Now I am not unhappy with the extra time with family, I love my family and look forward to spending more time with them.  But seriously, 10 days in the month of November, and probably less in December (we get 3 weeks off for Winter Break).  How does all this extra time off during the school year make education better for kids (or help their families who now have to pay for extra daycare or make changes to their work schedules)?  This crazy schedule adoption with the weird breaks is the reason we start school in mid-August and get out in late-June.  Why can't "Traditional" schedules mean what it used to mean?  Was there really anything wrong with starting school the week after Labor Day and getting out the first week of June?  Maybe it is just me, but I've felt that has been a pretty "tried and true" schedule for most of America.  I guess I just like simple routines too much!!

Anyway, now that I've shared my thoughts on this matter, I would love to hear from all of you reading this.  How will the schedule effect your family over November and December?  This is not a request made by the district, just something I personally would like more insight on.
*Does your family like the new schedule?
*What academic/personal benefits does the extended breaks in Nov/Dec have for your family?
*What changes, if any, would you like made for future school calendars?
*Does your family welcome the trade-off of more time with family in the winter rather than more time together in the summer?

As your child's teacher, I am a voice for you and I want to best serve your family's needs.  I do what I can in the classroom for your child, and if I know your feelings on matters like this, I will be your voice in conferences and meetings where these kinds of decisions are made.

Stay warm and healthy this month.  Enjoy the time with your family.  And take some time out to tell the people in your life what they mean to you.  That is the spirit of Thanksgiving!!

-Mr. Linnet
(I am thankful for my beautiful family, kind friends, and all my amazing students who inspire me and fill my heart with joy!!)

HALLOWEEN THIS FRIDAY!!!

Okay all you ghouls and goblins, witches and vampires, princesses and super-heroes, get your costume together for a spooky good time in Mr. Linnet's class on Friday!!  Both Kinder and 1st Graders may dress up in our combo class, or if they prefer, just come to school with some crazy hair.  We will have some ghostly games, ghastly stories, and haunted activities to make your bones chill.  We will make some books, do some art, and maybe even eat some halloween treats.  So don't miss out.  Parent helpers are welcome to dress up and help out throughout the day, and we will have a Halloween Costume Parade through the school with the Kindergarten classes at 11am.  Hope to see you there!!
-Mr. Linnet

New Link!! Book Club Orders Online!!

Check it out on the right, you can now order books through Scholastic from our Blog!!  Simply click the tab, create a family account, put in the activation code provided, and start shopping!!  This should make things much easier for all.  You pick what you want, purchase them online, and they are mailed directly to the school.  I will do my best to stay on top of this new feature and I hope it helps!!!
-Mr. Linnet

Comments are working now!!!

Please feel free to leave comments.  I have fixed the filter so anyone can leave a comment now.  If you do not wish to use your email address, just post as anonymous.  It shouldn't block anyone out anymore.  Thanks for all the feedback and your endless work at home.
-Mr. Linnet

How are we doing???

Hello to all my families and students.  I'm curious what your thoughts are about how this year is going so far.  We've had many changes this past year, and have had a couple months adjust to those changes.  So now I'm wanting to hear from you:
 
How are the routines?
How is the homework going in your home?
Are your children still happy and excited about school?
Are the Book Bags proving helpful?
What are you hearing from your children that maybe I am not?

Please take the time to respond, even if you don't have much to say, a simple "Things are Great!" will work.  I'm wanting to make this blog a collaborative process to better my practices and best meet the needs of your children.  I hope you are satisfied with the structure and pace of my class.  I'm feeling very confident in the direction of our class, and feel like I am keeping pace with the expectations of both Kindergarten and 1st Grade standards as I learn the new curriculum, however any input you have will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks to all who have been helping in the classroom, and to all of you who have been putting in the extra effort with your children at home.  I see it in their homework as well as what they produce in the classroom.  Keep up the great work!

PROGRESS REPORTS

As you now know, your child has received their first Progress Report for the 2010-11 school year.  In the envelope you will find your child's academic and behavior report, with some comments suggesting goals for the rest of the trimester; a letter/sound sheet you can use as a study guide to work on any letters/sounds your child does not know/remember; and a High-Frequency Word List for your child's grade.  It is not expected of them to know all of the letters, sounds, and sight words by the 1st Report Card.  I just like to give you the information as a collective so you can adjust to meet your child's specific needs.  Some families put them on index cards to use as flash-cards, some families give their child a whiteboard and work on 3 or 4 specific letters/words at a time, some choose to only work on the specific letters/sounds we are coving in class that week.  Feel free to adjust the pace of your practice to best challenge your child.

You will receive a reminder on the coversheet of Monday's homework, but please remove all papers from the Progress Report envelope, sign by the "x" on 1st Reporting Period, and return the envelope next week.  I'd like to get them back on Monday if possible, but anytime during the week is okay.  We have to keep them on file all year, so it is important they not be misplaced or thrown away. 

Overall the class is performing exceptionally well considering all the changes made this year.  30 students in a K/1 classroom is no small order, and they have all risen to meet the challenges.  They have adjusted to my routines, are becoming better independent workers, and are still conveying a passion and enjoyment for learning.  I couldn't ask for more as a teacher.  Keep up the great work and enjoy your weekends!!

-Mr. Linnet

Book Bags went home today!

Many of you have been asking for more challenging books, and today you get them.  I have finished assessments for the First Progress Report of the year, and have also leveled the students for Reading.  I factored in their initial reading proficiency level, their ability to track words 1-to-1, and their knowledge of Sight Words.  The children were "buddied" up in groups of 3 or 4, and given a set of 5 books to begin with.  Each time they can read the book by themselves, they will sign off on their record sheet.  When they can read to you without any errors, and can answer comprehension questions correctly, then you sign them off.  Finally they read to me, and when I sign them off they get new books.  When a team can finish all of their books, then they each get a prize from the prize box.  The book bags are to stay in their backpacks when they are not in use, that way they can read the books at school and at home.  I started this program last year and had great success with it. 

Thank you for all the continued support and happy reading!!
-Mr. Linnet

Fun Project: Sports Collage

Some of the parents asked me about the project we did in class this past week, because the children came home excited about their creations.  What we made were Sports Collages focusing on identifying pictures related to specific sports.  Our 1st Graders were reading sports stories relating to non-fiction and author's purpose.  Kindergarten has been comparing/contrasting elements of stories by looking at what was the same/different in various stories.  We have also been doing picture sorts based upon beg. letter sounds.  I decided to blend the multiple learning objectives and allow the class to have some fun working in groups to identify similar elements of a specific sport (ie. football players have helmets, pads, footballs, etc.).  I sorted the class into groups of 4-5, and gave each group a different sport to search for.  They had to scour through various ESPN magazines to find pictures that matched their specific sport.  Then they cut out the pictures and glued them to their poster.  The class had 30 minutes to try and fill their poster with as many pictures as they could on the specific sport they were given.  When time was over, we cleaned up the class and shared our posters.  The class worked very well together and created some wonderful collages.  The nice thing about this project, is that it can be duplicated at home with simple ease.  You can use the Sunday newspaper to make a collage about everyday things (clothes, food, toys, etc.). You can use old magazines to identify story elements (heroes, villians, animals, places, etc.).  You can even use old books or magazines to identify specific letters or words (find the sight word "like", find the letter "p", etc.).  It can be used to help reinforce learning objectives from school, or can be played for fun on a rainy day.  If your child liked this activity, and you have the resources to allow them to repeat it at home, I encourage your family to go for it.  They can even bring in their creations to share with the class.  Have Fun!!!

Welcome to Autumn!!

Fall has finally arrived, at least according to the calendar.  The weather has been rather unpredictable so far, with Summer unusually cool and Autumn rather hot!!  Hopefully things will change soon, as fall is generally a wonderful season to enjoy family and nature.  Playing in the leaves, watching football, and enjoying the festive holidays of Halloween and Thanksgiving with family and friends. 

At school, fall is also a time to celebrate.  We have just reached the halfway point of the first trimester.  Progress Reports will be sent home later this week, bringing with it the stress of reaching learning goals.  Some students are making great progress, while others are just settling in to the routines of school.  Parents are eager to know how their children are doing, and what they need to do to help their child meet these 1st Trimester goals.  In Kindergarten, the goals are simple, while in 1st Grade they can be a little surprising.

Kindergarten families should expect reports that reflect their child's understanding of letters and sounds.  We have also been monitoring student's abilities to read/write some simple sight words, as well as numbers 0-5.  We've spent the early weeks of school identifying parts of a book, sentence structure, colors, patterns, and examples of good behavior.  If your child still does not know all of the letters/colors/sounds, then I would focus attention here.  I have added two more sites to our list to help in these categories.  Anytime you can have your child identify/say/create/etc. the letters and sounds, the easier it will be for them to transfer the knowledge from short to long term memory.  In all, the class has been performing very well on all learning objectives, and I credit this to the time and effort all of you have put in with your children.  Thank you!

1st Grade families should expect reports that reflect their child's understanding of reading and writing, math and science skills.  When they left Kindergarten, they were expected to read between a level 3 and 4 on the DRA assessment.  Now at the end of the first trimester they need to read between a level 6 and 8 on the DRA.  Writing has advanced from 2-3 sentences on a topic with phonetic spelling, to 5-6 sentences on a topic with correct spelling of sight words, capital letters at the start of each sentence, and proper ending marks to identify statements from questions.  Writing is also moving away from simple sentence patterns (ie. I like the ..., I see the..., I can..., etc.) to more complex writing (ie. The ... is..., It can... and ..., It is special for... but not for..., etc.).  If your child is not reading simple paragraphs or stories with ease (only pausing for new/difficult words), or is having trouble writing w/o sentence frames or having the story make sense, please make this the focus and practice these skills daily.  Math has been focused on Addition, and we will be moving into Subtraction before the end of the Trimester, so please make opportunities for your child to practice these skills at home whenever possible.  I will be linking addition/subtraction games to our Sites of the Month to help your child with extra practice at home.  In Science, we have be learning about Weather and tools for understanding weather.  Most of the class understood basic concepts like the Water Cycle, and Wind is moving air, but struggled with relating to weather tools like wind vanes, rain gauges, and thermometers.  If your family has any of these tools at home, now would be a good time to introduce them to your child, and maybe even let them keep a journal monitoring them during the fall (wind vane) and winter (rain gauge).  They might have fun with it, and it would greatly help them create a personal connection to their learning.

Overall, we've had a great start to the school year, and I feel extremely blessed to have the class that I have.  All of my students are pleasant, hard-working, and passionate to learn.  Thank you again to all the parents that put in the extra work, both inside and away from the classroom, and I wish all of you a positive and fun-filled fall!!