Week 2: Learning About Rules

Story of the week: I Am Your Flag and Backpack Bear Learns the Rules

Phonics: Aa /a/

Math: position words and sorting

High-Frequency words: is, for, a, A

Reminders:

·         Practice our high-frequency words at home.

·         Please turn in any missing paperwork

·         Be sure shoes are tied in a double knot before you send your child to school.

·         Thank you for the wonderful snacks! Keep them coming!

·         Your student will have their very first substitute teacher on Friday, Ms. Jane Dansen.

Dear Parents,

                This week we will reinforce our learning about the rules. The students will learn about various types of rules that keep them safe and happy: classroom rules, computer rules, traffic rules. Backpack Bear will share his story of how he learned the rules. This week we will:

·         Learn about Aa and its short sound /a/

·         Discuss how rules keep us safe

·         Use our Starfall dictionaries

·         Learn about the computer.

In math, we will finish up our positional words and start learning how to sort in various ways. We will learn about sorting, sorting by color, sorting by size, and sorting by alike and different. A great way to reinforce our learning about sorting at home is to talk about things that you sort on a daily basis. Some examples can include laundry laundry by color and family member, sorting groceries by refrigerated and non-refrigerated items, sorting groceries from household items like soap, sorting meals by time of day. Sorting is something we do all the time. Include your student in these every day activities and talk about how and why you sort things the way you do. After they really grasp the concept, you will have an even better helper around the house. They DO love having jobs.

                The gym teachers and I noticed something this morning. I had about six students with shoes that were not tied! Please be sure that your child’s shoes are tied in a DOUBLE KNOT before they come to school. I know that kids like to play with/chew on their shoe laces (which is extremely unsanitary and I will do everything in my power to get them to stop) and shoes could have come untied since they have been at school. I love your children dearly already, but one thing I hate doing is tying shoes. First of all, shoelaces really gross me out. Secondly, tying shoes eats away at my precious instructional time. I DO tie shoes, but not the whole year. I will tie shoes until Christmas break. After December I stop tying shoes. Please understand that if your child’s shoe comes untied during the course of the day, it will be taken care of in some fashion. Shoe tying is one of those life skills that I do not explicitly teach but every child will need to learn this year. To help students feel motivated to learn to tie shoes I do two things. First, they will have a shoe with their name on it posted on the wall. This marks a milestone in our room. Secondly, I reward Class Dojo points to those who can tie shoes for others. This is a very sweet thing to do for a friend and I want to reward that courteous behavior.