September 30

What energy we had today!

The children loved their day and night spinners so much that I let them take them home today. You can use your child's love of the spinner to gently use words like morning and evening. Help your child to find the place on the spinner where morning and evening will happen. Find "the middle of the day when we have lunch."

Some children began  to use the spinner as a clock face. That is great  learning, too. Of course it doesn't work perfectly that way, but it allows for lots of fun conversation and play time.

Talk about the change of the month. Look at a calendar at home to help your child get ready for the change of calendar at school.

Did you see our class photo of Terry Fox Day? I've been having technological problems at home so that's the only photo I've put up so far.

Miss Owen

September 29

Mark next Monday on your calendar.

Division 9 will be performing in the Primary Assembly. Watch the planner for details.

(And ask your child which poem in the duotang needs extra attention.)

Miss Owen

September 26

What a great run we had for the Terry Fox Foundation!  Watch for photos. I'll post some over the weekend. Thanks to Micah's dad for taking photos after my camera battery ran out.

Have a wonderful weekend. Laugh and play together. Read a good book.

Miss Owen

September 25

It was exciting to learn more about our new Math program during our Professional Development Day.

One thing I've added to my toolbox is a series of three questions that your child will be hearing a lot this year -- and not only in Math.

1. What are you doing?
2. Why are you doing it?
3. How is it helping you?

These questions help to focus the mind on behavior. The goal is to make us all more aware of the strategies we use to solve problems of all kinds.

I'll be asking myself these questions as well.

Here are my answers about the big question of how I'm spending my year.

1. What are you doing? Teaching Grade One in the school I attended as a child.
2. Why are you doing that? I prefer to teach Grade One because this is the age group I understand best and because I love their developmental stage. Knowing what to do next is seldom a problem when I'm teaching Grade One. I love the sense of continuity I have when I connect with former classmates, now grandparents, bringing their grandchildren to school. I love the memories of my own time at Gibsons Elementary that flood in as I walk in the playground or enjoy a track meet.
   
3. How is it helping you? My days are filled with deep joy and satisfaction. I laugh more and sleep better. I feel like I am filling an important place in my world.

How about you? What are you doing? Why? How is it helping you?

September 23

We borrowed a voice control meter from Mrs. McGowan.

0   Silence

1   10 cm voice (only those 10 cm away can hear)

2   Conversation

3   Presentation

4   Outside

Today children used a number 1 voice during work time and we all enjoyed the calm atmosphere.

Tomorrow is the Terry Fox Assembly first thing in the morning. You are always welcome to join us for assemblies.

September 22

We had a fabulous day, today! You can all be so proud of how your children are behaving. Today everyone showed respect to others both in the classroom and in the hallways. Ask your child to show you what kind of voice to use in a classroom.

You might also ask about Miss Owen's work hat. 

September 19

Yum, yum! Our friendship fruit salad was a huge success.

So were the binoculars we made from the toilet rolls you sent.

Mr. Heidebrecht heard the children read this week. The room tingled with excitement. I can imagine that same excitement as your child reads the duotang to you at home. Reading with your child is your biggest contribution to your child's success in school.

September 18

A small jar of coins is a mathematical treasure trove. Adults aren't the only ones motivated by money. Here are a few things you can do with coins when children are in Grade One.

1. Sort coins. At first, children will sort by value because the coins look different. When that is easy, suggest more challenging sorting. Use the images on the coins or the dates for sorting.
2. Count coins. Begin with a simple count of how many coins there are in a small handful. Then talk about whether there are more pennies or more nickels. Then talk about how many more pennies there are. How many more is a difficult concept for children this age, so don't rush this.
3. When children can count comfortably and correctly to 50, you can introduce counting nickels by 5s and dimes by 10s. You can also mix dimes and pennies and find the value of the selection. This shows the way we form numbers. (Twenty-four is 2 dimes and 4 pennies.)

Keep the activities playful and the coin jar will remain a favourite activity for years and could lead to a serious hobby of collecting. For now, simple sorting and counting are enough of a challenge for most of our class.

Miss Owen

September 17

The weather report says today is the last warm day for this season.

With rainy weather on the way, you'll want to sent an extra set of clothes, including underwear, for your child. The extra set should be in a bag that will hang on the hook at school. We don't want kids to carry extra weight back and forth.

That's one reason to check the back pack every night. You never know what a six-year-old will decide to hoard in a dark place. And there's no reason to haul rocks back and forth between home and school. A routine that includes a quick inspection of the back pack avoids all sorts of problems.

Miss Owen

September 16

A thermometer is a wonderful tool for Grade One students. I'm not talking digital thermometer, here. I'm talking about the thermometer with the red line that goes up and down with the changing temperatures.

We will be checking and recording the temperature throughout the day for the next three days. If you have an outdoor thermometer at home, check it with your child.

Some children in Grade One can read the numbers. Others will simply be able to tell if the line is rising or falling. In September, either is fine.

If your child is interested in daily weather forecasts, check out the school weather forecast by the weather network at http://www.theweathernetwork.com/schools/CABCPOI2150456/cabc0113

If your child is awake either later in the evening or early in the morning, enjoy the full moon together. Then watch as it changes over the coming weeks. This is easier in December when days are shorter, but we are discussing this now, so take advantage if you can.

Miss Owen

September 15

If you ask, "What did you do in school today?" or, "What did you learn in school today?" you will probably get the stock kid answer, "I don't know," or, "Nothing."

To get better answers, try asking for something specific. Here are some conversation starters that might work for you:

"Which friends did you play with today?"

"Tell me something fun you did."

"Tell me about a story you heard today."

"What is your favorite part of the playground?"

"What did you eat first in your lunch?"

"Which crayon did you use the most today? What did you colour with it?"

"What did you do in choice time today?"

"What do you think I (your grandma, your dog, your stuffy, etc.) would like most in your classroom? Why?"

"Tell me about a game you played today."

"Did you work with your scissors today? What did your scissors do?"

"What made you feel really proud today?"

"What made you laugh today?"

"What did you pretend today?"

September 12

We are learning about night and day. For a start, we are figuring out what we mean when we use these words. Ask your child to tell what night is and what day is. Yesterday I heard many interesting explanations.

In Grade One we spend a lot of time working on standard printing. How the paper is placed on the desk makes a big difference. If you child is printing, check to see whether the paper is parallel to the forearm that holds the pencil. Often a simple shift in how the paper is turned makes all the difference, especially when it comes to how easy it is to sit the letters on a line. We aren't worried about lines just yet, but we are getting ready.

I will not send reading books home on the weekend. You and your child can enjoy other reading material together.

Have lots of fun with your child this weekend. Talking about your fun times and adventures together builds vocabulary.

Miss Owen

September 11

Thank you to everyone who signs the planner daily.

Please remember to let me know if you have made alternate arrangements to the way your child goes home. I will NEVER take your child's word for a change. I MUST hear from you that there is a play date or that someone new is picking up your child. This is a safety issue and your child's safety trumps everything.

Remember to send back the reading duotang tomorrow because we work in this book at school as well as at home.

Miss Owen

September 10

We are pattern crazy.

What patterns can you find in your house? Talk about them together.

Miss Owen

September 9

Today we made the letter a by putting a back on the letter c. Now we will use a lower case a in our names.

Tomorrow we will take our home reading books home for the first time. We want to read our books to you.

September 8

Hurray for Division 11! We can all zip up our backpacks and hang our jackets properly on our hooks. This keeps our classroom tidy.

We had a chance to hold Duke today. Duke hides in his pink igloo when things are noisy so we have to use quiet inside voices if we want him to come out so we can see him.

Today we started our printing practice. We started with the letter C because we can use it to make so many other letters.

September 7

Duke the guinea pig will join us on Monday.

Watch for a letter about Duke. It will be in the planner pocket.

Remember to sign the planner each day.

Miss Owen

September 5

Twenty-two Grade One children became Division 11 at Gibsons Elementary School today.

We learned that it is important not to steal someone else's thinking by calling out answers before others have time to think.

We learned to "run the pattern" and to line up quietly when we are in the hallway.

Everyone is looking forward to meeting Duke the guinea pig on Monday. I'll be asking for host families for Duke for the weekends.

Miss Owen

Welcome to Division 11

It's so exciting to start a new school year. Even though we started school on Tuesday, I feel like we really start when the new students meet the new teacher.

Some things will be ready when the children arrive. We will make other things together after they come.

I'm looking forward to meeting all the children and their families.