Several families came out to Meet the Staff night on Thursday and the children were thrilled to show off the classroom - especially their desk! What a thrill to have your very own desk!
I document a great deal with pictures, especially since 'hands on' activities can't be put into a notebook! If you click on the small picture, it will enlarge.
We've been establishing routines and slowly introducing different parts of a grade one day, and we're pretty much there now. The kids are getting used to how different parts of the day are structured and are beginning to gain more independence in navigating them. Thankfully, our school has not been reorganized this year and therefore our schedule should remain more or less the same (not to say that we won't need to 'tweek' things as we go along). Thanks to everyone for your support, I look forward to a great year with your children! We've been exploring patterns: finding them, extending them, and creating them. Yesterday, we took a little walk around the school to see if we could find some patterns. The kids soon caught on to the fact that all of the bulletin borders were patterns! But we looked a little harder to find patterns in the wall blocks, floor tiles, furniture and other school fixtures. We dropped in on Ms. Piazza's office and took a look around too but I couldn't get any pictures - they were so excited when they saw all of the cool stuff she has in there (especially the jars of CANDY) it was all I could do to keep their hands off of everything! You can have lots of fun looking for patterns with your child. Patterns can be found in music, buildings, books, and nature. We like patterns because they give us a sense of order, calm and beauty. They are also important in understanding math! We are also working on number patterns (counting by 2's, 5's and 10's) and looking for these patterns on the hundred chart. I often like to integrate expectations into different subject areas because in connecting different areas of the curriculum it makes them more understandable, relatable, and interesting! For example, science and social studies naturally lend themselves to literacy and numeracy activities. The pictures below show an example where an art activity perfectly illustrates the concept of primary and secondary colours. Plus, it's fun! Reading at home with your child is really, really important! I encourage you to read together as often as possible and make it an enjoyable activity. Even if your home language is not English, you will still be helping your child at school. The skills you model as a competent, fluent reader in your home language will translate over to your child's efforts to read.
This week, I will be launching our "Take Home Reading" programme (THR for short). Your child will bring home a folder - usually on Tuesday or Wednesday - which will contain a book to read together and a weekly poem as well. The poem may include instructions for a literacy activity to be completed at home. As well, the 'weekly words' will be included for review. Please try your best to spend a little time each day working with your child. Just a few minutes spent can make a huge difference, believe me I've seen it happen! The folder will contain a reading log for you to provide feedback to me - just a few words is all that is necessary - to let me know how your child fared with the book, poem and words. Return the folder on Monday and I will update it with new materials. Thank-you in advance for your support. Grade One is off to a successful start! Thank-you everyone! Special thanks to the parents and grandparents who have joined 1C's Remind group. If you haven't done so yet, please take a minute to sign up. If you've misplaced the directions, just click on the "Newsletter" tab at the top of the page and you will find them there.
I'd like to introduce Mrs. Carrie James, who will be working alongside me this year as an educational assistant to four students in the class. Although she is aligned to these four students, I think you can see from the picture below that she is very much involved with all of the kids! I am so grateful to have her in the room and look forward to a wonderful partnership. |
About Mrs. C.Mrs. Cuckovic, or "Mrs. C." as she's called, is a retired educator who spent a long and varied career with the Greater Essex County District School Board in Windsor, Ontario. Archives
November 2020
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