What a super day we had in paradise....your children are truly wonderful! I so look forward to coming to 'work' each Tuesday because your children are eager to learn and happy to be at school. Thank you for that! Since this is my first blog to you, I'd like to let you know what Tuesdays look like for your child.
They arrive at 9am and start with their calendar as usual. After calendar, Grade 1s can read a book and then draw (or keep reading). Grade 2s must do a 'fun sheet' and then read and then draw (if there's time). This is also the time I may give them their unfinished work from last Tuesday to finish up. I also use this time to connect with parents and answer any questions. I send the 'fun sheets' home as soon as they're done. I see the fun sheets as a different way to get them thinking...
Our first lesson is "Health & Career Education" (formerly called Personal Planning). I noticed in the overview it says I'll be starting with a NUTRITION unit but I'm starting with a FRIENDSHIP unit instead. We've already been talking about this and your children have shown me that they are very kind & caring friends already. I'll try to dig deeper as we move along this unit as social responsibility is very important to me. Sometimes I'll be sending home their work the day we do it, sometimes, I'll keep it all together and send it home at the end of our unit. If I send it home the day of, it might because I'm thinking you might like to use it as a springboard for conversation.
After recess, we have Math. Right now, we are learning about sorting and patterns. Today we learned about the 'core' of a pattern so feel free to ask them what that means and to give you some examples. The Grade 2s have learned to translate patterns into letters (i.e. ABABAB) and/or numbers (123 123 123) and/or colours (red, blue, red, blue, red, blue). Ask them how many times a pattern has to repeat for us to know that it truly is a pattern.
After Math, at 11:40, we go to the LIBRARY for our weekly book exchange time. This means students should bring their book back every Tuesday so they can sign out a new one.
After lunch, students have COMPUTERS with Mr. Asmoucha. This is one of their favourite times of the day. They work on the portable MAC computers to learn the basics of a MAC computer. Sometimes they use software such as Kidspix and sometimes they go to safe educational websites to do online learning activities. (When they are learning with Mr. A, I am teaching his class French in his room.)
After computers, we have journals time. During 'Journals' they write about whatever they want to tell me about. Often it is about what they did on the weekend, sometimes it is about something exciting coming up and sometimes they springboard off of a book. Right now, I give the Grade 1s a sentence starter (ex. I like....). This is when I connect with them on a personal level and help with their writing too. You can help them by talking about what they did on the weekend which will help them remember things to write about.
After all this hard work, we may have free play (usually-not always).
----BIRTHDAYS----BIRTHDAYS----BIRTHDAYS----BIRTHDAYS-----BIRTHDAYS
Of course, if it is a BIRTHDAY day, we make a card for the birthday person. The birthday kid gets to wear a crown for the day and choose a birthday story for me to read aloud to the class. Birthdays are special and on Tuesdays we go all out for a birthday! (Ms. Taylor has kindly let me have the birthday celebration job because I just absolutely LOVE birthdays...including my own!) If you wish to send in cupcakes or something for the class on your child's birthday, feel free to do so on their birthday or the closest Tuesday. Please don't feel like birthdays are only celebrated on Tuesdays. Just know that on the closest Tuesday to your child's birthday, he/she will be coming home with a class birthday card and feeling like a prince or princess.
There's a lot of information packed into my first installment of MONTAGANEWS...believe me...they won't all be this long!
Have a great rest of the week everyone and I can't wait for next Tuesday already!!
Ebru Montagano
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