Welcome!

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Wow! What a week!

     As I sit here drinking my vanilla soy latte from Starbucks, I can't help but wonder why I am so tired... and then it hits me! This was our first full week (five days) of First Grade!  And boy, what a week!  Between getting ready for Back to School Night (Thank you to everyone who could make it!) and working solo on Thursday and Friday (Mrs. Coulter was visiting her oldest daughter on the East Coast) I could tell the kids were feeling the transition, too (lots of heads hitting the desks, a few tears, and a few tiffs among friends).  The beginning of the year is always a little more tiring than the rest of the year- all of us are trying to adjust our schedules back to that nice 7:45-3:00 schedule, along with homework, sports practices, and other after school activities.  I always remind myself that it is a tough transitional time, and even I find myself heading to bed an hour early! But, like everything in life, this too shall pass! Usually my Firsties don't get into the swing of things until closer to the middle of October, so until then, please keep in mind that extra sleep is so important for these little six and seven year old's right now! With that said, has your child told you about our wiggle breaks?  I definitely understand the importance of bathroom breaks, but I also see the need for wiggle breaks, too!  We take a few minutes here and there to dance, play Simon Says, or do a few simple exercises throughout the day- right around the time when I see the kids needing to get up and get the wiggles out!  It usually does the trick!
     I also understand that First Grade is the first time in your child's life that he or she is sitting in a desk...for hours...day after day.  Talk about a tough thing to adjust to!  They not only have to get used to having a desk, but they also have to learn how to keep the inside of their desks nice and neat, too!  They have to learn not to play with their pencils, fanny packs, etc.  Mrs. Coulter and I have the honor of trying to teach them how to correctly sit in a desk to show their teachers that they are listening- feet on the floor (under their own desk), no heads leaning on their hands, sitting up nice and straight, eyes on the speaker.  In fact, Mrs. Wolfe and I have the same poster in our room that shows how students should be sitting, so these are skills they will be using for years to come.  

      Has your child talked to you about buddy or partner work during math and reading?  After I have taught the whole class our math lesson of the day, I pair them up with a buddy and let them find a comfy spot on the floor to complete the rest of the worksheet with a friend!  They love this! And, it gets them out of their desks for a few minutes = )  It teaches them patience, because they are not allowed to progress onto the next problem if their buddy isn't ready yet.  It teaches them kindness, because they usually end up helping each other when their buddy doesn't understand a concept.  It also allows Mrs. Coulter and I time to walk around the room and help students on a more one-on-one scale.  Here are some photos of our students during one of our buddy sessions of math:  
Comparing two numbers using cubes to understand "greater than" and "less than"
Math buddies working hard together!
Friends teaching friends!
     During buddy reading time, we allow the students to share the story of the week with a friend and take turns reading out loud to each other.  We use the acronym EEKK to remind them how to sit: "Elbow to Elbow, Knee to Knee, I have a friend to read with me!" We switch partners every week, so your child will have a chance to read with each friend in our class by the time the year is through.  I will try to post photos of EEKK time in one of my next blogs. 
     Finally, the kids were very excited to have their first science experiment this week!  They are learning about plants- right now we are focusing on the functions of the roots, stems, and leaves.  To demonstrate the function of stems carrying water to the parts of the plants, we placed Napa cabbage leaves into a beaker filled with colored water.  We can't wait to get back to school on Monday to see whether the stems actually carried water to the other parts of the leaf! Here are some photos of our little scientists:
Our Napa Cabbage stem experiment

Scientists working hard at their desks

      I leave our blog this week with a few reminders for the upcoming week: Your child should have brought home their yellow folder this weekend. Inside the yellow folder you will find a behavior chart and possibly a small book about their First Day. Please keep the book at home - it does not need to be returned! However, their behavior chart is in their yellow folder.  This chart MUST be signed by a parent and RETURNED inside the yellow folder by Monday. This is my way of communicating with you about your child's behavior for the week.  This is your child's ticket to the prize box! If the chart is not signed, or not returned, or lost, your child cannot go to the prize box, so please don't loose these precious slips- they'd be so bummed! If the slip is returned a day or more late, and it is signed, your child will get to use that ticket in the prize box the following week (in addition to the slip for that week).  Hope this all makes sense- I know the kids are super excited to go to the prize box on Monday! Please refer to the packet from Back to School Night for more information on our behavior system. 
   Please don't forget that Tuesday is a mass day for our class, and shorts are not permitted on mass days. Also, there is no school on Friday- the parish needs a day free of students on campus to prep the school for the fall festival.  Thank you for a great week, and we will see you on Monday! 

 Take care!
~Ms. Hudson
 

2 comments:

  1. Ms. Hudson,
    I really appreciate these updates. Lots of cool stuff. Particularly, you make mention of the classes in-process plant experiment of root, stem, and leave function. Funny as this may sound, you must post the cabbage results. :)
    Good luck this week.

    ~Robert

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ms. Hudson - your blog is SUCH an incredible place for us to see all the great work you do and the fun stuff that happens in your class. Thank you for sharing!

    ~Maureen

    ReplyDelete