Friday, March 27, 2015

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Nightly Reading

As tempting as it may be some nights to let your child skip their home reading, this image really illustrates the importance of nightly home reading.



Sunday, March 15, 2015

Weekly Wrap Up

Conference appointments have been set, and your form should be attached to this newsletter. Every effort has been made to accommodate your first choice of days, times requested, and to coordinate with teachers of your other child(ren). If you find that you are not able to make our conference please let me know as soon as possible and I’ll be glad to reschedule.

Your child will bring home his/her report card on Thursday. Only the envelope needs to come back (signed). Please keep the report card at home.

Our new math topic can be a bit tricky for some, especially finding equivalent fractions and comparing fractions. You might want to check on how your child is doing with his/her math homework each night.

We have a shortage of Kleenex at Toffolon right now, and I’m not sure when we’ll be getting more. Any donations for the classroom that you can send in for now with your child will be very gratefully accepted.

There are a few other items we could use in our classroom. Many thanks if you can send any of these in:

  • Plastic spoons and forks for forgotten ones at snack time
  • Plastic grocery store bags - Great for when kids forget their backpack or need to carry extra stuff home. We also use these for personal trash bags during cold season.
  • Back issues of children’s magazines, such as Highlights, Sports Illustrated for Kids, or National Geographic for Kids - Great for something different to read!

Here's what we'll be learning about next week:
Reader’s Workshop: Biographies
Writer’s Workshop: Opinion Writing
Spelling: Unit 23 - Words home on Monday, test on Thursday
Math: Topics10 - Fractions
Science: Habitats
Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. Together we are partners in your child’s education!


Saturday, March 7, 2015

Fractions and Weekly Wrap Up

The children have really shown grit and perseverance this week in math! We’ve spent the week focusing on identifying fractions of a set, such as 1/3 of 18, and placing fractions and mixed numbers on a number line. We found fractions of a set using cubes, we made fractions with Play-Doh, and even wrote number lines on our desks with white board markers. I’m so proud of how hard they’ve all worked!!!

By the middle of next week they’ll be comparing fractions. One tool they can use for this is the fraction chart I sent home last week. If your child lost his/hers, another one can be found in the File Cabinet section of our class website. Another tool they can use is the ABCYa Fractions Virtual Manipulatives website. It’s also available as a free app for iPads.

Any time that you find that your child is having trouble with their math homework, or you want to see how a concept is taught, remember that your child can login to his/her enVision Math account from home and rewatch the video lesson of the day. 

Each morning students are asked to copy their homework for the night into the assignment notebook in their Jungle Book. If you ever have questions about whether or not your child has homework, please check their assignment notebook. Also, feel free to email me if you have questions or don’t see homework written down.

Please check your child’s Jungle Book each day. Important notes and corrected work are sent home regularly in it.

Here's what we'll be learning next week:

  • Reader’s Workshop: Biographies
  • Writer’s Workshop: Opinion Writing
  • Spelling: Unit 22 - Words home on Monday, test on Friday
  • Math: Topics 9 & 10 - Fractions
  • Science: Habitats

Don't forget to follow our class on Twitter. If you're not following us, you're missing out on up to the minute news and pictures about your child's day in school.

Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. Together we are partners in your child’s education!